When I rode in last night I had a tiny tick in my right quad
just above the knee. Nothing serious but
worrisome nevertheless. I knew that
when I got up it would be gone and it was.
However when I got up the wind was howling out of the East. The total
ride for the day was 90 miles and it was straight east into the howling wind. The flag in the court yard was sticking
straight out. There was a menacing
looking sky with big black clouds hanging over to the north and east. Ed had
done the routing the day before and he had indicated that the shoulder was very
rough for the first 60 miles. With 90
miles of wheat field and big trucks I wasn’t looking forward to this ride.
The best way to turn a minor tick into a major injury is the
go and beat it up some more so I decided that I would load my bike into the van
and ride with Ed up to picnic. This was
great as I have not had an opportunity to visit with my friend in the last 4 weeks
of the trip. As we rode along in the router car it was easy to see how the
riders were struggling against the wind.
We ran into the first person who had enough at the 8.6 mile mark. I was really glad to be in the car.
Picnic was at the 53 mile mark and by the time we got up
there the clouds had broken up and the sun was out. The wind was still pretty strong but it was
on the decline. So I mounted up on my
bike and set off. It was fairly tough
going as you couldn’t get any speed on the down side of the huge rollers so you
had to grind all the way up. At the top of the hills the wind was just
screaming. I wasn’t in any hurry so I just put it in low
gear and spun away. As I got further
along the wind started to drop off and by the time I had knocked off 20 of the
37 miles the wind was almost nothing.
As I rolled into the dorm where we were staying the manager
was just driving up. So she let me and being the first to arrive I claimed the
presidential suite. I lay down and had
an afternoon nap.
As the riders staggered in was I ever glad I took a ride to
picnic.
Tomorrow is a rest day.
Terry
2 comments:
Can't tell you how much I love your blog, Terry. Your photos are beautiful!! Enjoy your day off tomorrow! Your weather is so different than it was in 2010! Sounds like it will cool down for a few days, so enjoy the relief!! Hi to the "boys"!!! --Julie
Must be tough being smart, good looking and an athlete. Enjoying your adventure vicariously through your blogs
Bill
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