Thursday, April 23, 2009

An Unseen Evil

The unseen evil…. WIND GUST….

Tuesday nights ride with the Spinners Club was tuff to say the least. Wind was an average of 16mph accompanied by nasty wind gust of 28mph. Honestly I knew we were in for an adventure when we rolled up to the first stop sign and barely needed to apply brakes in order to stop.

I will spare you all of the details but the ride only got worse. The pack was not jiving together in a safe way so after 8 or so miles I was more than willing to turn off the course with a friend of mine and we lead our own fight against the wind. What should have been an easy ride was tons of work. At times we laughed as we grinned the pedal and barely moved. Never… not once did we have the wind to our backs. How does that happen…lol!

All in all I am glad I went but I will also admit that I was thrilled to roll up and rack my bike.

With another cycle event this weekend I am opting for a RUN tonight with Scott. Yes, your read that correctly… I am going for a run. In fact it was Scott that asked me on a “running date” yesterday. :)) Temps and weather will be perfect and I look forward to the time with Scott.

So this weekend event….

Meals on Wheels
Distance:
65 miles
Course Description: Metric*
For those of you looking for a challenging and scenic route, this ride is for you. The metric route will take you through some very scenic rural countryside as you work your way up to the mountains of Greenville County. The ride will take you through the Cliffs Communities Valley Resort where you will encounter spectacular scenery and a few enjoyable yet challenging hills. From there the route will continue on to the climb over Callahan Mountain before heading back through more beautiful countryside and on to the Furman University campus.

A huge thanks for those that donated on my behalf!!! Stephanie, Shirley, Shannon, Meyrick….. thank you just seems like a small thing to say for such a big gift!!! Being a part of such a impactful need is a great feeling!

Robin

17 comments:

Lily on the Road said...

What's with this wind, it is crazy windy here too!

Tri-James said...

Wind blows - at least I can see the hills coming and how far to the top!

Patrick said...

I HATE wind while running-- and the spring in the Northeast is full of wind.

Thanks for your advice on the GU-- Love it! :) Good luck on your race tomorrow- Kick some butt!

Marlene said...

Wind is hard enough running - I imagine it's a whole other beast on the bike. Good job getting through it.

Enjoy your "run date" - so cute!

Grey Beard said...

Wow, my last blog post anticipated your battle with the wind perfectly. That's what it was all about!

Check out the bike calculator in the upper left corner and you'll see it wasn't just your imagination, wind is the hill that never ends, and quite a steep hill at that.

Did a Century last year at this time with my partner in fierce winds. He had aerobars and no stem spacers. I had heart palpitations. Lesson learned :-O

Shannon said...

Your Welcome! I hate Wendy & her cousin Gusty, remember to show those girls who's boss!

Judi said...

headwinds suck. i totally hear ya. glad you the got the ride in.

Unknown said...

I thought I was the only one who ran/rode into a headwind that seems to never be at my back.

Anonymous said...

Have a great ride this weekend. Very cute, a running date.

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

Love the new header on ur blog Robin! and congrats on battling the Unseen Evil :-) !!

Have a great time this weekend!

Wes said...

I was getting a good taste of that unseen evil Wednesday afternoon here. Blech!! Have a great weekend!!

Chris Barber, SeriousRunning.com said...

That area near Greenville is very beautiful and should be for a great ride.

On the Gotta Run side of the house, I loved running the Furman University cross country course in High School. I always found it crazy that the start was on the golf course. All those spikes must have really torn it up!

Anonymous said...

Glad I could help a bit;-)

Have fun riding and I'm kinda jealous your hubby asks you on running dates!!!!

JD said...

Hey Robin,
Have a great time on the ride tomorrow. I thought about doing it, but Paris Mountain is having their Friends and Family day and Upstate SORBA will have a booth and rides for kids (11am - 4pm - park admission free!). I promised I would show up to help (after a little ride in the morning though!)

Have a great weekend!
jd

ShirleyPerly said...

Yes, wind gusts are even worse than strong winds! I'd rather not ride in a pack either under those conditions.

Hope your Meals on Wheels ride goes well. Glad I could help a little!

Marcy said...

What?!? You're running?!? I thought you ditched us forever! Only playin!

Stuart said...

The wind is a cyclist's nemesis at least 75% of the time; back and each side!

It just plain blows!