Wind Whipped

Holy hell.

That might have been the windiest ride I've ever taken!

Winds gusting 20-30 mph today made things so unsteady in the crosswind that you didn't dare give up a firm grip on the handlebars for fear the bike would be blown into the next county.

The only thing worse than that was the time spent going INTO a headwind, which felt like riding into a wall.

Needless to say there were a lot of flags banging their flagpoles on this ride today.

I had put the word out about riding today ahead of time in case anyone wanted to hop on with me. When I got to the place I mentioned as a meeting place there were some people there, but none looked like they were waiting for me. So I slowly rolled through, and when no one said anything I just kept going on my own.

I almost turned back on the Trestle Trail Bridge going over the water, which was an adventure in cold wind.

During the ride any line of roadside pine trees was a welcome sight because it meant a bit of a break from the relentless howling in my ears.

Of course there was also a section where that wind was more of a tailwind, meaning I was riding 24-25 mph steady without much effort at all.

Out on a desolate country road I came up behind a woman walking her bike all alone into the wind.

QUICK TIP: When you see someone doing that out there this season, slow up and ask if they are OK or need any help!

I'm sure she appreciated that I asked, but she was fine and just taking a break from riding into the wind.

Then came the longest freight train I've seen! The gates were going down just as I came up on them and the engineer of the train gave me a blast of the horn.

Trust me dude, the thought never crossed my mind. Worth the long wait because the tie always goes to the train!

I'll call most of what I did today my Blue Arrow Loop route since for most of it I am following some old blue arrows that were painted on the road for some past organized ride.

RIDE ROUTE

Blue Arrow + Lake Loop, 1 lap

25.0 miles/13.1 average mph

Hazy Sun, 57, Wind 20-30 mph

2020 SEASON MILES

Indoor: 125.6

Outdoor: 285.2