Tuesday, September 7, 2010

post-work speed fest

my school year office hours occasionally allow me to get a second ride in after work. today was one of those days. i got off work at 4:00 and suited up quickly. by 4:10 i was out on the highway pushing it into a strong headwind. my speed was in the 15-17mph range most of the time, but it dipped down below 14mph a few times.

i rode out seven miles then turned around to ride back. the ride back was a blast! the strong wind was not my ally. it pushed me up and over 20mph. most of my return trip was near or over 25mph. a few times i had short spurts over 30mph. all this with just a little effort. it was awesome!

i couldn't turn onto pine street when i got back because of cars ahead of me and behind me, so i rode up to main and turned south. i pushed it down argonia's main drag and turned onto walnut.

walnut is not a cyclist-friendly street. there are four- or five-inch wide gaps in the asphalt that beat your seat to death. i hit one such dip and my taillight went flying. i braked hard. i laid my bike at the side of the street and walked back to recover the detritus. the lens was in the middle of the street with one battery still in it. the base was nearer the edge. the other battery was a few feet away. i picked it all up, put it back together and snapped it back to the seatpost bracket before riding (a little more carefully) the rest of the way home. (14.76 miles @ 18.5mph)

No comments: