October rides...

[Crankin]

Wind is one of my least favorite things, even if I am not riding.
So, we did have more summer like temperatures, today, but nothing like last week, thankfully. It was the kind of day that tested my ability to know how to dress for a ride. It was 57 when I left, and was predicted to go up to 65 or so for the duration of the ride. Full sun, light breezes. So, I wore knee warmers, a ss jersey with arm warmers, and a sleeveless base layer. The arm warm warmers were off at mile 4.5, but I started feeling overheated from the base layer, despite unzipping my jersey, no head cover, and regular gloves. I think it was because the jersey I wore is slightly thicker than most ss ones; not a thermal lining, but heavier fabric. I like it for fall and spring, generally.
The sweatiness contributed to an overall crappy ride, in terms of how i felt. Legs felt dead, which makes my back stuff hurt. Not acute, just pulling. Anyway, it was gorgeous out, so I am glad I rode. At the point I took my arm warmers off, i decided to change my route, and went over to the area where my last house was, in a not direct way, as I was already on the other side of the highway that splits my town and the next town. Once I made this decision, I had one climb (shady) and a long downhill/flat return home. I've been noticing a lot about traffic patterns on these rides. Where the area near my old house gets tons of commuter traffic at rush hour, after 9 AM and before 4, it is quiet. Now, i have continuous busyness between my house and West Concord, just under 2 miles. It's flat, though. If I go in the other direction, it's busy, too, but opens up getting to quieter stuff. It is actually easier and closer for me now to head over to the town I used to live in, when I first started riding, which is noticeably quieter, than when I first moved to Concord. But, the fact is, there are just more cars. The economy is booming here, but with so many people working from home, they are out all day long!
I rode 17 miles, then met a friend for lunch, and went for a haircut. Rest day tomorrow, and I need to rethink my rest days, with my new gym class schedule.