to the 1/100th

i could blame it on the wind which was pretty strong. i could point fingers at the temperature which wasn't exactly warm. i could claim my legs were shot from yesterday's hard workouts. i could complain about any number of things, but the facts wouldn't change. i was slow today.

before taking off this morning at 5:00, i took a look at argonia's online anemometer. the wind was strong from the south, but it was really hard to judge whether it was more from the southwest or southeast. the arrow kept swinging back and forth. it stayed on the west side a lot, but then it would swing back and stay on the east side. the hourly forecast was no help. it just said south winds at 12-15mph. south what?!

i got on my bike and headed north on pine, the wind at my back. easy going. had a little trouble with my timing device, but got that straightened out before i turned east onto the highway. my plan was to test the wind for a few miles and see if i could figure out which direction was most advantagious. going east first felt right, but the wind is tricky when it's blowing hard. it can feel like it's pushing against you until you turn around and find out what a real headwind feels like.

riding past the flag at kiser manufacturing, i got no help at all. the flag was tangled up and i couldn't get a clear east or west reading on it, so i pedaled on. i'd check the flag at the top of mock hill. it wasn't much help either. it was standing straight out, but the tree in front of it still has too many leaves to see through. i decided to keep going east and hope for the best.

i had an hour and a half to ride this morning, so i thought i could sneak in 20 miles, maybe more. i hit the ten mile mark and still had a few minutes, so i rode to the eleven mile mark and turned around. i smiled when i did so. i'd guessed right on the wind. i'd have help getting home.

i didn't have to push quite as hard on my return trip, so i let up a bit. i rode in a fairly easy gear and spun it out. as i neared milan road a glance backward revealed a beautiful orange sunrise. life was (and is) good!

i pedaled on home and rolled into my garage at most right on time. i stopped my watch and then looked at my mileage...exactly the same as yesterday's ride! to the 1/100th! that doesn't happen very often. i scribbled everything i needed for my log down on paper and headed inside. (22.16 miles @ 14.7mph)