Tuesday was the hardest ride I have ever been on, other than the MS-150 last year. It was short in distance, only 35 miles, but it took almost 3 hours. Dave and I thought we would have an easy ride over to Bellview, have lunch and then ride back. We encountered head winds of 20 mph. The wind was so strong, that if we stopped pedaling on the downhill slopes, (which is usually rest time), the wind would just stop us in our tracks (or tires, as the case may be) And the scenic route that I choose was 8 miles longer than we had anticipated. On the return trip, we ditched the scenic route and took the direct road into Hempstead. However, half of the trip was on washboard pavement that made us think our teeth would fall out. THE GOOD NEWS IS, neither Dave or I are sore. It was a good workout and since we have only 16 days until the ride, we needed the extra challenge.