i had time between swim team practices to get in a long ride this morning. i rode out a mile to the east and figured out that the wind was with me, so i turned around and headed back into town. at main street i turned south into the wind and rode the eight miles to highway 44. it was pretty slow going, 12-13mph most of the way.
turning onto highway 44 headed west, the wind's fury was lessened only a bit. it was still against me, but not directly. i kept seeing the grain elevators and water tower in anthony, but it seemed that they were always farther away when i climbed to the crest of the next big hill. seriously, there are some hills on this route!
in anthony, i turned north toward harper and noticed the bank thermometer which read 87 degrees. that was almost ten degrees warmer than my start time temp. i really enjoyed nine miles of wind-assisted bliss going north. i was pushed along at 18-20mph with bursts up to 24mph. the shoulder on this highway is much better than the non-shoulder of highway 44, so i felt a lot safer. i reached harper just before 10:00am.
as i rounded the corner onto highway 160, my odometer turned over to 34 miles. that's when i knew for sure i was going to get a full fifty in. it's exactly sixteen miles from the junction of highway 14 and 160. 34 + 16 is easy enough math i can do it on the fly from the saddle.
the last sixteen miles were great. the wind pushed me along and i made it back into my driveway just in time to shower quickly and run over to the pool for practice.
i'm ready for a nap now. thank God for days off! (50.78 miles @ 15.8mph)
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