That danged wind really threw a monkey wrench into my plans.

I’m getting so very close to meeting my to Love to Ride mileage goal. As of last night, I had a hair over 55 miles to go. My plan was to ride 40 or so miles today; then finish tomorrow.

But as we all know, things don’t always work out as planned. Yesterday morning was drizzly; and it was already getting cooler by 8:30 am. During the day the temperature continued to drop; and by this morning it was in the low 40s. Add winds of 12-15 mph — with gusts up to 24 mph — and I was facing a cold ride! I’ve gone riding before in wind like that; but when the temperature is cold as well, it drains my energy. It doesn’t help that it got much cooler so fast. 

But I started out; and the first time I tried to get a bit to eat, the bag with my “bites” in it snagged on my glove’s fingers. Down it went; and I lost six of eight pieces of energy bar. Full-fingered gloves drive me crazy!

So there I was, with half of my ride food gone. I did have a spare energy bar with me; but it wasn’t cut into pieces. The wind also made it harder to manage getting a bottle (with electrolyte drink) in and out of its cage.

Today it took me an hour or so to ride only 9.5 miles! I felt so cold and tired that I decided to head for home early. Danged wind; it’s not the first time that wind has ruined a ride. I hope things calm down a bit by mid-afternoon; then maybe I can take another short ride.