Winter Winds

In what would prove to be the theme for this weekend, Saturday's Giro Ride was a little unusual. A cold front had come through the night before, bringing with it a big drop in temperature and a nasty north wind. As I prepared to ride out to the lakefront I bounced around the house looking for the winter riding gear that I'd so happly stashed away so many months earlier. The result, of course, was that I was running a bit late. That wouldn't have been too bad, except that I was riding straight into a chilly north wind. Somehow, I arrived at Lakeshore Drive in time, and turned west to meet the group that I knew should be coming along in a few minutes. So I rode, and rode, and rounded a curve to find Lakeshore drive awash in slippery mud and water. I rode a bit more and glanced at my watch. Damn! The group must have taken the alternate route, bypassing the lakefront. I cautiously turned around in the slick mud, now splattered all over the bike, and soon saw Brent and another rider coming my way. I turned them around and we headed east along the lake hoping to catch the group somewhere up the road. As we came around the curve at Harrison Ave., we saw them just ahead. For reasons unknown, they had turned back onto Lakeshore Drive. Considering the wind and unfamiliar cold air, I was expecting the ride to be pretty civilized. Once again, I was wrong. Shorly after we hit Hayne Blvd., the pressure was on and it didn't let up until we'd reached the turnaround over half an hour later. As usual, we had a nice paceline going for a while on Chef Highway, but, also as usual, it started to disintegrate as riders burned out and drifted back to the safety of the pack. Also, as usual, the return trip was a lot slower. These guys never seem to learn to pace themselves! The wind was absolutely brutal all day, and there were a couple of gusts as I crossed the Seabrook Bridge that I seriously thought would blow me right off the bike. At least I had a nice tailwind on the way home!