since I weather wussed out of the Independence ride on Sunday in lieu of riding in 50 degrees, pouring rains and gusting winds in the 20 and 30 mph range, I decided to tack on the unfamiliar part of the ride to my usual route.
The weather although cool when I started out, was a warm dry mid 70's. Unfortunately the weather man was totally wrong about the wind- It was only supposed to me 5-10 mph, but it was really in the 15-25 mph range. On top of that, it was also a head wind for almost 30 of the 57 miles and to add insult to injury, the 22 miles of the route that weren't familiar turned out to be recently repaved with the infamous Texas chip seal surface which is enough to rattle the fillings in the teeth and shake the water bottles out of their holders.
It was a tough ride but I did it. It has been a long time of life issues since I have belted out 50 miles and I am encouraged by the fact that I survived it and do not feel totally devasted by it although I am pleasantly tired.
