back in kansas!

it could have been sleep deprivation or the bitter cold messing with my imagination, but i'm almost sure that at one point in my ride this morning i overheard that most famous of dorothys shouting to her canine pal, "toto, i think we're back in kansas again!" there was certainly enough force behind the wind to blow the pair and a half dozen flying monkeys back from oz. wow! it is windy. i've lived in kansas for almost twelve and a half years so that means something. put bricks in your small children's pockets before you send them out the door to school, because it's predicted to get worse as the day goes on.

i started out riding south, straight into the wind. i crept along at 10-11mph with bursts of 12-14mph for three plus miles before i got wise and turned around. it was just too much to ask of my legs to fight against such a gale.

with my back to the gale, i sailed back to town and turned west on the highway. i almost immediately knew this was the wrong direction to go. the speed i was getting was coming too easily, so i turned around and headed east.

the going was rough for the next four miles as i tried desperately to stay on the shoulder and off the road. the wind kept pushing me across the white line. i don't know if there's such a thing, but i'd say this might have been what you call a homicidal wind. i'll have to look it up on google later.

after four miles of buffeting, i'd had enough. i turned around and headed back to the house. the cold started getting to me about this time too. 32 degrees with a strong wind is not warm. i pedaled on and somehow reached pine street where i had no choice but to turn south and face the wind again. three blocks of torture, wobbling this way and that, and i was home. i'm not going out on my bike again today. no way! i'll just follow the yellow brick road on foot. (15.59 miles @ 14.0mph)