Commuting - What a great commute...

I really hate mentioning this, but man I loved the commute today. I had an incredible 17 mph headwind with 20 mile gusts, all the way to work. Fortunately it was at my back most of the way home. I worked up a great sweat in a 1F temperature. I hit the door home, feeling that endorphine high, and had to admit, all the belly aching I did about tyres and tubes, and wind and cold, well, I actually had a fan-friggin'-tastic ride tonight! And there looks to be a warm up in the forcast, nothing extreme, just high 30s.
I even looked at the road bike (geared) and thought that in a week I'd be flying on her! I'm planning on getting my summer fixie set up and ready to go.
I'm dying to get out there and do more than just commute miles!

Don't hate to mention it! I love reading short little stories like yours, especially since I haven't made my bike ready for our Swedish streets yet - now you inspired me!

nice story and really inspiring, thanks!

Karl, that looks like a trevligt websidan, I'll get back to read some more later and practice my already "forgotten" svenska.
Det ser ut liksom en spannande cykel tour !
Did they let you use the newly built bridge to get across to Danmark?
Corsaire

I love reading this stuff, naisme. :)

Life has conspired against my commuting this week. Your stories just keep on exciting me about getting out there again next week when I get back into town!

It was nice riding. A very "warm" 5F temp.

Man tonight sure did feel colder than last night. The SE wind at 10mph was relentless. But I was going home so it didn't matter. I did seem to be falling into a pattern though. I recited lines from Cool Hand Luke, asking the wind to kick a buck, cause it wasn't nothing. It was a "hand full of nuthin'." I sort of felt like Luke too, where he's standing in the rain crying out to God to love him, hate him, just let him know He was there. I said the same against that wind.
I'm going to have to research it, but I swear I read somewhere that a head wind will decrease your speed by a certain amount for every five miles of head wind, or somthing. I am not sure the equation, but if there is an equation, all I can say is I'm kicking some serious butt. I'm going to be in awesome shape this summer for riding the trails and just grinding it out. And I'm getting the wheels set up with my favorite tyres, 700x23s, combine that with a 48x16 fixed gearing and you have a pretty fly machine. I am so wanting to be on that setup, I'm going to try this week and see what happens. I'm really pushing the weather though, I'm sure there is still snow, they're saying we have a 70% chance for 1-3 inches of snow this weekend. If I change out the Nokians, be assured it will snow.
Besides the State Basketball finals haven't started yet, and it always dumps 18 inches aorund that time of year.

I found the formula, it's 1/2 the wind's speed that it slows you down. So a 10 mph wind will slow you 5 miles, a 20: 10 mph. And a tail wind isn't useful unless it is behind you from 160 to 210 degrees, or between 5 and 7 oclock. My source: Serious Cycling Edmund R. Burke p. 198

Hmm...based upon that, a 30 mph wind makes all progress impossible. I think the range of applicability of the formula is limited.

Paul

Hmm...based upon that, a 30 mph wind makes all progress impossible. I think the range of applicability of the formula is limited.

Paul

No, I swear that I started riding home from work this morning going straight toward my house and into a 40 mph westerly head-wind. I was actually pushed backward 3 miles into the Mississippi River, the opposite direction from where I live. What an awsome blast of pure nature! Just have to, um, still get home.

Actually, I did make forward progress. I was kidding. I feel super poweful when I'm in t hat granny gear! I went slowly, and I must say that it was a brutal 7 miles.

Icerat you should've ridden my fixie loaded with my laptop and cloths for my part time job in that friggin' wind, holy Samoly! I was glad I'd set it up to run a 48x18. I almost had it on the 16t side of the hub, but figured since I was hauling a load I needed the 18. Boy did I! Of course this morning it was blowing out of the SE, and made it a problem running home.
All I could think of was Jimmie singing "Will the wind ever remember the names it has called in the past... it says no this will be the last...and the wind screams Mary..."

Of course this morning it was blowing out of the SE, and made it a problem running home.[/I]

I never have to check the weather report to find out wind direction, I know that it'll be a headwind. I think it has something to do with my making farty sounds when we sang "They Called the Wind Moriah" in 6th grade.