And now, a ride report! It wish I could report on a view like the one at left! But I don\’t have any such vistas around here, so I\’ll have to stick with more mundane things.

Windspeed is something that I can talk about for any ride report. What cyclist can\’t? I know from years of wind forecasts, and observing flags and windsocks, that they don\’t look like the pic at right in a 26 mph wind. A fifteen mph wind makes such objects extend nearly straight out; and with less fluttering than shown here. I\’d say that the wind in this pic is about 8-10 mph.

Today\’s Ride

This ride report isn\’t the greatest. I fought that wind most of the time when I was outward-bound; and my average speed was under 11 mph. Oh, well. Such conditions used to slow me to 8 mph. Bucking that headwind meant I needed to stay on the small ring, and use a rapid cadence.

I think I need more work at low-gear, high-cadence riding. I used to ride at a lower gear and higher cadence as a regular thing. Now I\’ve developed some muscular endurance, and can ride on the big ring for longer. I\’ve gotten into the habit of riding the big ring at a lower cadence; usually in the 70s. Today\’s average cadence was 87! It made me feel quite out of breath.

I began my ride at about 7:50 am; and got home around 11:45 am. In the next hour or so, I checked a weather site; and it said that the wind was 14 mph.

Murphy\’s Law in action, I guess. So, why don\’t I wait for the wind to drop before going for a ride? One, I can\’t be sure the wind WILL drop; and two, I want to be sure I get my ride, so I like to go out early.

I\’m glad the sun was out. Overcast conditions or — worse — rain, would have made my ride very miserable. As I rode, I saw a lot of high, white clouds moving in. Tomorrow it\’s supposed to get cloudier and cloudier, with 50% chance of rain Tuesday. Why can\’t it rain tomorrow instead, when I don\’t plan to ride?

Now to start planning ahead for next Sunday\’s long ride. I hope to get in a 50-miler soon; but if the wind is like today\’s, I might not be ready for it.