Thursday drudge, headwind trudge

I wish that the giant invisible cosmic fan which is always blowing in my face would turn itself off. I am really tired of riding in the wind.

I tried out a new route today which took me through some areas that I had ridden once, months back, on a group ride from the local bike shop. The roads were two lane country roads which in Texas means straight, lousy shoulders, open fields and very little traffic. Unfortunately the majority of the few vehicles that pass are usually trucks of one size or another. But today was one of those days when I actually wished there had been more traffic. The middle half of the trip was straight into the wind. Each time a truck or car passed I was greatful for the momentary vacume and the slight increase in speed the vehicles' drag allowed me.

After the ride yesterday, I had a session with the trainer which left me in total muscle exhaustion at the end of the session, so I was riding today mostly for distance, time and endurance. It was intended to be a recovery ride of sorts . In spite of all the wind, from the cosmic fan changing direction several times so it could contiue to blow as a headwind in spite of my riding direction, I managed 50 miles at a not to totally lame 14.9 mph.

I actually had positive verbal exchanges with three people today. This is unusual enough to merit comment. Usually when I am stopped at a gas station or qwik stop store, people pass me without making eye contact or sometimes even oving around me like a crazy person. Today however, each of the three people smiled, made eye contact, asked me about the ride, commented on the weather and when I mentioned I was training for a breast cancer ride, requested one of my information cards so that they could make a donation . To top it all off, a driver passed me with two friendly toots and a wave instead of trying to run me off the road.

All in all, in spite of the giant invisible cosmic fan sent to try my patience, it was a nice ride.