Today started as one of those days you want to call it in. Abandon all your best intentions and give yourself a free day. Thankfully I resisted and hit the bike instead.
I woke up with my legs feeling deader than usual which I attribute to; two centuries in three days, of which one was particularly strenuous, and a trip to the gym yesterday. I seriously considered taking a free day on those facts alone. Then as I watched the morning news the weather forecast was calling for rain sporadically throughout the day. Thanks Mother Nature for giving me one more excuse to avoid riding to work today. Despite all those circumstances fighting against me, my feet hit the floor and I started getting ready for the ride in.
There is one thing I did have going in my favor this morning. Last night, after watching the weather forecast, I took the time to put the fenders on Shadow so I wouldn’t have to do it in the morning. It’s a small thing that certainly made a difference this morning when it came to getting ready.
The commute to work went great considering the weather threat. After descending Democracy I noticed the reddening of the sky and decided to stop and take a quick picture. Later, as I was traveling north along Las Vegas Blvd and approaching Volunteer, I thought to myself, “I wonder if the Cycling Gods are happy that I chose to ride despite my early morning misgivings?” Then as luck, or Cycling Gods, would have it I then hit both the Volunteer and St. Rose lights green! I was stupidly overjoyed at something so simple. I even avoided any significant rain as well. The only rain I experienced was the lightest of sprinkles between Blue Diamond and Russell Rd while traveling along Las Vegas Blvd. A total win considering the forecast.
As I got ready to ride home I again checked the weather and the radar made it look like it was raining all along my route home. Thankfully I’d packed a solid water resistant jacket to layer over top of my jersey. Riding through campus everything was soaked, but there was no rain actively falling. I was certainly glad I had my fenders mounted as I was throwing water everywhere. If not for those fenders I would have been completely soaked through within a mile of starting the ride home.
Things were going great, all things considered, on the ride home until I started ascending Cadence St. Shadow wasn’t feeling right and my back end felt oddly bouncy and I could feel these weird bumps and cracks I normally don’t. Just before Reunion I stopped to check the rear and be damned it was going soft. I stopped on the corner under a street lamp and got to work changing out the tube. Changing that tube in the wet and cold was awful. I don’t think I was able to get the full CO2 into the tube because, I think, my inflator froze up with all the humidity in the air. Then my hands were wet and frozen for the rest of the ride home. Finally, I had to stop at the intersection of Anthem Pkwy and Sun City Anthem Dr to zip up my jacket because I was cold. I was thrilled to finally get home, get inside, and start warming back up.
Great ride despite the fatigue. I’m happy with my resolve to get out and ride despite having so many excuses not to. Gym day tomorrow followed by a breakfast commute, which I haven’t done in what feels like forever. Great way to wrap up the work week and roll into the weekend!
New bike fund: $37.20 (+$0.25)
378 vehicles @ 9.8 per mile, 2.5 per minute, Speeds: 35.3 mph (avg), 76.2 mph (max) — by MyBikeTraffic.com
Cloudy-Mostly cloudy, 52°F-45°F, Feels like 49°F-44°F, Humidity 39%-70%, Wind ENE 5mph-SSW 4mph — by Klimat.app
— myWindsock Report —
Weather Impact: 7.7%
Headwind: 52% @ 4.4-11.4mph
Longest Headwind: 33m 45s
Air Speed: 16.6mph
Temp: 43.8-49.1°F
Precip: 0% @ 0.01 Inch/hr
— END —
Max elevation: 3066 ft
Min elevation: 1902 ft
Total climbing: 1664 ft
Total descent: -1664 ft
Total time: 12:30:30
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