Hot and Windy


Did I mention windy. Because that pretty much discribes my ride yesterday. On occasion I ride to my in-laws house for special occasions. The ride is a long 160 miles. I think my best time is a little over 8 hours? Well my fitness this spring has been really good and I thought so what if the wind is blowing 20mph out of the southeast (which is the direction I have to ride to). Well after 55miles I started thinking this ride could take over 9 hours. By the time I got to the half way it was more like a ten hour day. At that point I called Kathleen my better half and said I'm gonna need a ride but not right away because I figured I could get at least a hundred miles. I got a slight reprieve from the 20mph headwind. It was a 10mph crosswind. When I reached the century mark I called again and said I think I can make it to Washington. That is around a 130 miles. I caught a draft off of a pick-up truck towing ammonia. It was going about 30mph and I needed a break from the constant wind. It only lasted for 3-4 miles but that was the best part of the ride. When I reached the 125 mark I was exhausted and just pulled over until Kathleen found me. I was bummed that I couldn't go any farther but the body said enough. Kathleen did buy me a strawberry malt which was very tasty.

Today was a different story. I was fairly recovered from yesterdays ride. Did get a little red on my arms. Wind burn? The wind was still blowing out of the east so most of the ride was tail wind. I still had to go up all of the hills. Not quite as far either. I drove most of the way home and got out of the van around Grinnell.

Tomorrow I'm going fishing with my daughter and getting a massage. Hopefully I will be recovered for the TNWC. No Wes this time but the ride will still be fast.

The Return of Wes Hartman to TNWC


It was just a couple of summers ago I was giving Wes a hard time because he said "I want to be a pro cyclist." The reason I was giving him the hard time was he always got dropped on the Tuesday ride.
Well things have changed. Wes not only became a pro cyclist he showed up to the Tuesday ride and dropped all of us several times. When he wasn't dropping us he was riding fast enough that nobody would pull through. I think he'll have a great ride in the Tour of Georgia.

Day Light Saving and The Tuesday Night World Championship

I love DLS. That extra hour of light is the best thing since sliced bread. And of course that means we start the weekly TNWC. I can remeber 10 years ago having to goto Ames to get a hard ride in on a Tuesday. But in the last 5-6 years the DM ride has become harder than many races. As race entries keep getting higher I guess I can always just race the TNWC. Its still a free ride that always leaves at 5:30.

Yesterday must have been a day off for parenting. I had two near collisions with kids running out from between parked cars and into the road at Water Works. What are these parents thinking? Any road a car can drive on is dangerous to children. Then on the way home I get hit by a football being passed into the street. Where is the common sense today. Why would you play catch on a busy street. The High School was a block away with a huge open field. Lazyness and stupidity of the youth.