Sunday, two days ago, I decided to ride from my hometown of Madison, WI to Milwaukee, WI. Milwaukee is due east, and there was 30mph wind from WNW. My destination was about 90 miles from my starting point. Needless to say, it was a blast. I may never get a chance to ride that far with a tailwind like that again, but when there were no trees blocking the wind on level ground, I could coast at 20mph sometimes without pedalling. At these times, I was able to comfortably cruise at 25-30 mph with moderate effort. And this is on a hybrid bike! It took about 5.5 hours including stops, and one flat tire. I would also like to think the courteous drivers on County Highways B, BB and DR. It's rides like that that are the high that I will always be trying to recapture. From now on, I will probably try to keep an eye on weather forecasts, especially looking for heavy wind predictions. If anyone else has a chance like this, I reccomend you don't pass it up.

I stayed overnight, and caught a bus back the next day, after boxing the bike. When I arrived back, I unboxed and reassmbled the bike, threw the box in a dumpster, and rode the 3 miles home. I couldn't believe how smooth the whole process was.

that sounds like a blast! I would love to be able to ride that distance with a tailwind. on my last ride it seemed there was a headwind in any direction i turned...

I ride that route a lot. Did you hit the glacial drumlin trail once it becomes paved or stick with roads? I also ride back, and more often than not, the 20 mph average from the way over becomes a 15 mph average on the way back. .

I caught the last 10 to 15 miles of the glacial drumlin trail. I think I got on near Dousman(?). I saw one other cyclist on the ride, and that was on the trail. He was on a recumbent going the other way! People say I'm nuts, but I say he's nuts for riding the other direction that day.

People spend a lot of time trying to get as aero as possible, but I think I might have been able to do some parts faster if I had a sail. Heh.

Sweet! I'm always riding out and back routes, so any time I get a good tailwind I know I'm going to pay later on. It would be pretty awesome to ride that long with such a great tailwind with no worries of the ride back. I envy you.