Since it looks like there might not be a serious winter after all (famous last words), I decided to start putting some km in for the spring. Several experienced riders have advised me to put more time into the flats before tackling the cols, and I am hoping to follow that advice (even if the flats are kind of boring). I did a quick bike tune up and swapped in my commute wheel, since I have visions of the campy hub on my "race" wheel exploding, and rode out onto the digue. I took it easy, and spent most of my time around 17 or so mph and rode for ~26.5 miles. I was trying to keep up a high cadence, but I think I need to work up to it, as I was getting exhausted pretty fast, and reverted to my old school low RPM mashing. Overall avg cadence was still 71 rpm, which is high for me though.
I also replaced my old Flite saddle with a heavier, but supposedly more comfortable Fizik Arione. Adjusting it will not be fun, but I look forward to less squashing of sensitive tissue.