I hoped for balmy conditions today. It isn\’t cold; but I sure wanted a break from the wind. But did I get it? No; I did not. The wind was up to 15 mph before I got back home; and as usual, it was against me.

Speaking of balmy, there\’s an aspect of sun protection that I find only too easy to forget: lip balm.

Sport Lip Balm

I found mine in Whole Foods, next to the toothpaste; and I keep it in my top-tube pouch. That lip balm tube is so small that I could easily lose it; and I don\’t want to do that. Before I begin a long ride, I apply lip balm; but at my stops I often forget to use it, even as I\’m slathering on the sunblock.

I\’m now pushing for 45 miles or so for my Sunday long rides. Getting in 50 miles means either doing some doubling back; or riding past an odiferous petroleum refinery. Today I rode to the outskirts of the refinery; and I saw even from a long way off that they have a large flare going. One Sunday in 2013, I think it was, there was such a huge flare going that there was a big plume of smoke from it!

Back to the ride. Twenty-plus miles is a long way to work against a headwind; yet it puts me to shame when silver-haired riders go breezing (no pun intended) past me. Am I still too afraid of going so hard that I burn out miles from home? As long as I have a fuel supply, I should be OK; even if I have to go at a lame snail\’s pace to complete my ride.