The cool front that came through in the wee hours this morning brought with it the usual blustery north wind, and when I walked out the door to ride I wondered if we'd have much of a group for Charlie's annual Thanksgiving Day ride up on the levee. I'd been up rather late the night before since my brother's two sons were staying at the house, camping out on inflatable mattresses, and we'd spent some time catching up. Since one of them is a fairly serious runner, they were out the door soon after I this morning, headed for the 100th annual Turkey Day race. (yes, 100th annual!)
So anyway, it was arm-warmers and double jerseys today, and even so, with the 17 mph wind my feet were still cold by the time I got home. The ride had started out at a nice conversational pace, but eventually things got faster and by the time we hit the turnaround it had split. I was thinking that on the way back it would be easier since we'd have a bit less headwind. Well, once again I was wrong. Ordinarily I might have tucked in toward the back and enjoyed the scenery, but with such a strong crosswind my survival instincts kicked in and demanded that I stay near the front where I could still get a little bit of draft. The pace at the front got faster and faster, and after a few miles there were just four of us in the front group with another group close behind and yet another group taking it easy farther back. I ended up riding a good bit harder than I'd planned, but since it seemed a better option than fighting the wind alone I went with it.
I had thought that it would be a crisp and clear sunny winter day today, but it's still grey and overcast with occasional drizzle. I think The Wife rode her bike out to City Park to either run or watch the Turkey Day Race. I hope she decided to run, because if she's standing around in a cold drizzle out there, she will be frozen by the time they all get back.
No comments:
Post a Comment