Tonight's workout was one for the books. Not because of the mileage, but because of the adventure this ride would bring. First, the weather was looking a little scary. After having some pop up afternoon showers, I was searching for the best forecast of the evenings bike ride. I have only ridden with this group once before so I do not have anyone's phone number. I was not sure how this group treats possible inclement weather. Would they say, "Let's go for it!" or would they say "It's not worth the risk!"?? I packed up my bike and went anyway. I'm not scared of a little rain, even on thin tires. I was pleased to see one other person there who was ready to ride. Her name was Bevin and she was ready to ride, rain or shine! I was happy to meet someone who was willing to risk some rain for a bike ride out in the country.
Since neither of us knew the course that is normally ridden on Monday, we decided that in order to get 25ish miles, we would ride a route that would take us out near Pactolus School. This route brought back memories of a late March ride where it was very cold, rainy, and an overall miserable day. I was happy to ride this route and erase some old memories. Soon after crossing over 264 we had a pickup truck pass us and he threw something out the window. He was nice enough to move all the way over to pass (we rode single file) but then wadded up paper was tossed out the window. The jerk missed us, I guess not realizing that you have to plan ahead with two moving objects moving at different speeds, plus wind direction, multiplied by bad aim. I'm not at all surprised he didn't consider this, considering he littered all at the same time. The bright side was that at least it was paper and not a glass bottle.
Mile 10, 11, and 12 got really got interesting with the wind. I am not good at estimating wind speed but the headwind slowed us down to what felt like a crawl. Normally this route would provide a tailwind on the way out and a headwind on the return. We kept watching the grass and weeds on the side of the road and were encouraged by the fact that we would reap the benefits of a certain tailwind on the way back. Once we made the turnaround, we felt like we were flying! Without a whole lot of effort, we starting riding at 19.8 miles per hour. It's amazing what a little wind at your back can do! About halfway back, we approached an intersection where we had the right of way and a vehicle coming from the left had a stop sign. As a cyclist, you have to really pay attention to other traffic and always assume they don't see you. I watched the driver as we all approached the intersection and it was clear he did not look left or right. I hit my breaks as he pulled out into the intersection with not even a hint of hurry. Bevin and I simultaneously told him he was number one in sign language. I don't even think he noticed. We got back near the Bicycle Post and Bevin was going to ride back to where she lived while I still needed another mile or so. I rode back with her and then turned around to head back to my car. Shortly after I turned onto Cotanch St, I encountered the new three way stop sign. What makes this intersection interesting is that it has a double lane one way street with an intersection that has double lanes going in both directions. When everyone gets to the stop sign, no one knows who is supposed to go since there are so many different ways to go and people turning every which way. This was also the first day of this intersection being turned from a traffic light to a stop sign in all directions. It is hard to explain what it looks like, but I promise that if you ever had to drive it, you would question everything you ever thought you knew about navigating a three way stop. When I got there I waved a couple cars through because I was not about to the first accident at that intersection. I made it back to Bicycle Post with no issues and was very thankful. 25.75 miles done and we had survived!
Oh, and that rainstorm everyone was afraid of? Never happened!
Oh, and that rainstorm everyone was afraid of? Never happened!
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