The loved and hated ride...

Today's bike ride deserved a post of its own. There was a lot to love and to hate about it. Below are lists of the fun and not-so-fun things about the 16.38 miles I rode.

Things I loved about today's ride:

• My bike did not care that it was 33.8 degrees out with a below-freezing wind chill.
• I remembered that I owned a pair of thermal biking socks before I left the house.
• My cyclocomputer did not fail me halfway through the ride.
• I hit my maximum speed of 33.2mph on the flat stretch just outside of town.
• My "friend", Evil Dog, did not see me when I turned around in front of his house.
• I did not get buzzed by a Danville Co-Op pickup today.
• My 24.5-minute return trip average speed was 19.9mph.
• I ended up with a crease on my forehead from my skull cap.
• My toes and fingers did not turn blue.
• I was told I was crazy by a teen as I raced past the high school.

Things I hated about today's ride:

• My face went numb somewhere around Drouhard's house.
• I had to get out of the saddle to eke out 12.3mph heading northwest into the wind.
• My 34.0-minute outbound trip's average speed was a measly 14.4mph.
• I forgot to drink any of the ice cold Gatorade I brought with me.
• My sweat glands went into hyper-production mode before I arrived home.
• I did not have a friend along to share the pain.
• My overall average speed was only 16.7mph.
• I had to unzip both of my coats and pull out the garage door opener before it would work.
• My cheeks were stung once or twice by occasional bursts of almost-frozen rain.
• I had to stop riding and go back to work.