Listener Ride
First things first.
The weather.
The good and the bad of the weather.
The good; Warmest of the season with some sunshine too! 72 degrees meant a ride with short sleeves and just regular bibs, meaning white winter flesh of legs and arms exposed to a warm day. Felt wonderful.
The bad; Wind. 15-20 mph and a headwind going out into the countryside, where this time of year there isn't much to break some of that wind. And of course the main climb up came right into the wind. A challenge for sure, but we all made it up, just taking our time.
By we I mean these guys...
Left to right that's me, "Italy Al" and "Rocket Robert"
I had put the word out ahead of time that I would be riding and invited anyone who wanted to tag along to meet me out there. These two were the only ones to make out. Thanks guys. Next time more people and less wind would be good.
Al was out on his way to meet a friend so he turned around after about five miles. Robert and I made our way through classic Wisconsin farm country, longing for the time when we would turn out of the headwind and get a push home. That was the easy part of the ride.
Al was able to snap a couple of pictures early in the ride.
There's Robert wondering what he got himself into going into the wind here.
Here I am taking the point as we are about to leave the 'burbs' and hit the farms.
Note the new shoes!
This was my first ride in my new Specialized riding shoes. The review, to be honest, is a bit mixed. The shoes felt good. I do believe the cleat position is correct. However, the front of both of my feet at times were tingling a bit, feeling a little numb....tight up there.
Part of that is the fact that they're new shoes and need to be broken in a bit I think. The uppers should break in somewhat. Plus, I was used to wearing shoes that had been broken in for 10 years!!!!
All in all a nice little adventure in windy but nice warm conditions today.
Oh, and the picture of all three of us was taken by a lady rider who had come up behind Italy Al on the main climb into the wind, yelling encouragement to him to get to the top.
Then she was kind of enough to take a picture before heading off down the road. She said something about being 70 years old as she headed out. Could have fooled me!
RIDE ROUTE
Larsen Loop
21 miles/11.5 average mph
Sunny and warm! 72, Windy, 15-20 mph
2020 SEASON MILES
Indoor: 125.6
Outdoor: 335.2