I have a strategy when it comes to biking. The main bike paths near my home go north and south. The direction I take depends on the direction of the wind. I start into the wind while I'm fresh and then, after turning around, ride home with a tailwind. Since the weather guy said we were going to have a southerly wind, I planned accordingly choosing a trail that heads south.
The ride started out fine. It was a crisp late fall day. I was testing out some new toe warmers that I'd bought last week (Grabber Performance Toe Heaters
I reached the 12 1/2 mile turn around point, turned around, and ran smack dab into a headwind. Almost exactly when I turned around the wind started to pick up - much earlier than the weather guy said it would. It was not from the south, west, or south-west. The wind was from the north-west and it was blowing around 10 to 12 MPH at least.
I ride a 21 speed bike. The wind was so hard I had to shift several gears lower than I usually do just to move forward and I barely did that at times. I had to stop and rest four times. I've never stopped for a rest on any of the other 33 rides this year. At one point the wind was so strong I was almost blown off the bike path. I cursed the wind - actually yelled at the top of my lungs - and I got off and walked for a half mile before it died down a tiny bit so I could ride the rest of the way home. I ended up averaging about 9.7 MPH, well below my average speed of 11 MPH.
If I'd gone north it would have been a total different story. I would have ridden home with a nice tailwind. I managed to ride for 24.5 miles, close to my goal, but it was one of the most miserable rides I've had in a long time. Whaaaaa!
Damn weather dude.
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