what southeast wind?

a good night's sleep does wonders for the legs. i went to bed at 8:30 last night, exhausted from too many late nights while at my brother's house in iowa. i woke up at 11:30 and fiddled around on the internet for a half hour, then went back to sleep.

when i woke up at 6:00 this morning, i felt great. i swung my feet out of bed and slipped into my cycling kit. i was ready to roll. a quick look at the wind direction determined my route for the morning. i'd head east to chicaskia road, south to highway 44 and back around to argonia. i love this route. the rolling hills on 44 are great.

leaving town, i was able to get up to speed fairly quickly. the thick, muggy air (99% humidity) filled my lungs with beautiful, warm oxygenated bliss. the rich mixture was pushed through my body by a strong, happy heart. my legs sucked the power-giving gases from the capillaries and spit out the waste in an efficient manner. all was in tune and running smoothly.

when i turned south, i was surprised by the additional speed i was able to gain. i had thought that a wind out of the southeast would have slowed me a bit, but it didn't. i "outran" the greyhounds on chicaskia road. my average climbed over 18mph. i was as full of joy as i thought anyone could be.

then i turned onto highway 44 and my elation grew. i rode the hills with little effort. i raced down into narrow valleys and burst out the other side. i was a cycling hero of old, hercules on wheels. (i have a vivid imagination.) my average crept up to 18.2mph.

when i turned north, i was expecting to gain even more speed. i did not. i slowed way down. my speeds dropped down to 15-16mph at times. i was confused. a southeast wind doesn't blow in your face when you're riding north. i gritted my teeth and kept pushing forward.

it wasn't until i reached the outskirts of argonia that i discovered that my southeast wind wasn't actually blowing southeast. the greenwood's flag said it was blowing northeast. it had been in my face for the last eight miles. grrrrr. i hate it when the wind doesn't do what i planned on it doing.

a train was speeding along the railroad tracks when i got halfway through town, so i spun around a couple of extra blocks before returning home. (37.02 miles @ 17.9mph)