80 miles in sunny, 90-degree central Indiana. Aaah, life is good! Large, sweeping loop-course designed to head east and north into the wind (from the northeast) for the first half and then head for home with the wind at our backs. Nice try! Wind shifted to the south instead, so only about 15 miles of the ride were wind-assisted. GRR! Thought I was going to lose it when I realized at 60 miles that the final 20 would be straight into the wind, but (being one who never let's the road see me cry) I chose to occupy my mind by developing all sorts of fiendishly gruesome ways to eradicate all weatherpersons from the face of the earth. That predicted 7mph wind? Apparently a figment of their imagination. 12mph gusting to 21, officially -- not ideal for weakling, light-weights like myself.
Didn't have to deal with a single discourteous motorist and encountered only a handful of dogs. The worst thing we had to dodge was the dead animals -- mouse, shrew, vole, frog, cat, skunk, three raccoons in three different locations, sparrow, cardinal -- the list goes on. Did see several deer (of the live variety) and had a whole family of baby killdeer skitter across the road in front of us (cutest little things you'll ever see!).
All in all, a fantastic ride!
"If we know where we want to go, then even a stony road is bearable." ~~ Horst Koehler