It was around 70 degrees here today, so I wanted to get at least some riding in. My wife had a class, so I was on my own. Since I haven't been riding much over the holidays, I chose a flat-ish route (as flat as you get around here at least) of around 26 miles. I brought one water bottle, one bar, and one gel, and promised myself I'd go easy.

Well, the first part of this ride is never easy, because it's hill (to escape the neighborhood) followed by sprint (trying not to be a hood ornament out on the main road) followed by another hill, before you get out to the cruising part. I managed to get past it without killing myself, and settled into a pace.

By the time I got to the halfway point, I was feeling unexpectedly good. I knew I'd had a slight tail wind, but still, I figured rather than make my turn, I'd keep going and see what the road was like farther down. The good news was that the road was really nice. The bad news was that the wind kept getting stronger. At one point, I was pulling close to 30mph with about 2 watts into the pedals.

Since I hate out-and-backs, I decided to turn and cut over to another road. I got a bit turned around, but managed to find my way. By the time I was facing home, the wind was incredible. There were times where I actually had to pedal going downhill to keep moving. Debris was getting blown everywhere, including in my face, and stuff was bouncing off me and my helmet. A plastic trash can lid narrowly missed me as it zippd by.

I'd already eaten the gel, but I was getting pretty hungry, so I ate the bar. I was also getting low on water. At one particular section, where I was out in the open, the crosswind was so strong that I was riding with the bike leaned over while going straight. It let up suddenly, then gusted again, and I dropped off the edge of the pavement for a few feet. About a minute later I noticed my rear tire going down. Try patching a tire in gale-force winds - it sucks.

I finally got it patched (it never occured to me to just toss the spare tube in - duh) and got back underway. I ran into few other riders, and one of them donated a pack of Fig Newtons, since I was getting pretty low on fuel. A bit later, I ran across a guy washing his car, and got a water refill from his hose.

I decided to try to cut some distance off the ride, so I tried a short-cut on a road I've never ridden on. It ended up taking me in the wrong direction, so I added miles instead of losing them. 26 became 45 between that and the "exploration" from earlier.

Toward the end, where the last of the climbs were, I started getting quad cramps. Then, to add insult to injury, I dropped my chain, right at the beginning of a climb.

But hey, at least I rode, right?