Blowhard.

It's that time of year at the shop when we take turns working a 9-12 shift. It's like our day off. I like it. Yesterday was mine.

Around 12:15 I jumped on the Long Haul Trucker and headed out. I didn't have a destination or time in mind, just ride. The wind was brutal, bringing me down to 12 mph at times. I took turns going into the wind, crosswind, back into the wind.
Riding Monticello they day before on a single speed had left my legs a wee bit tired. I was feeling the wind. Before the breaking point, (me cursing at the wind), I popped the iPod in. Ahh, silence, well, no more wind rushing by my ears.

I actually didn't mind the wind too much. It's more of a mental game than a physical one. I had a friend tell me that we don't have hills but we have wind. I kept thinking of that. I was starting to long for the downhill. Once the turn came to go with the wind I was flying. I was working pretty hard going into the wind but not so much with it. That coupled with the dropping temps I started to cool down. I cranked it up a bit to maintain body heat.
Ended the ride with 3.5 hours.
I had hoped to hit the sauna up at the gym or the Anderson's after the kids were down for the night. But falling asleep with the kids kind of puts a damper on that. Next time.

Later.