They weren't kidding about that wind advisory. It blew me OFF the road. I tried to get back on the road and here comes another gust. After that I managed to get in the middle of my lane, even a little bit on the left, and the next gust blew me toward the edge instead of off the road.
Coming home I realized that the gusts would want to blow me into traffic instead of off the road. I came up with a strategy: I would assertively take a good chunk of the lane to encourage passing cars to use all of the left lane. Then as they passed I would move toward the right, giving myself plenty of room to be blown into by a gust.
In reality it didn't work that way. Too many cars and it all happens too fast to be constantly moving back and forth. So I just took the lane assertively and scanned frequently so I always knew what traffic was behind me.
Speaking of scanning, in the early afternoon that was difficult because I woke up with a crick in my neck. I had texted our med student who is helping with our rats and asked "Does osteopathic manipulation cure a crick in the neck or do I just have to wait it out?" He replied "Meet me after lunch and I'll work on your neck." WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! I was able to scan comfortably after that. It would have been really hard to be as aware of the traffic behind me, if I'd still had a stiff neck.
That, and the free memberships to the gym and the aquatic center, are benefits to working at an osteopathic medical school!
2009 Trek 7.2FX WSD, brooks Champion Flyer S, commuter bike