Amazingly, we rode! The weather station I checked when we got home said sustained winds in the 20-25 mph range with gusts to 35, and I believe it. It wasn't so bad when we left at 9:30 am, but built during our ride. The tailwind on the way back was AWESOME!

I wouldn't have done it if we lived in the plains or were riding in rural areas with open fields, but this was an urban, campus, and surburban ride with plenty of trees and hills and buildings to help break up the wind gusts.

The only scary moment was when we were making a left turn across busy lanes of traffic at a light, racing to get through before the light changed, and the visor on my helmet was caught by the wind and pulled the helmet as far back on my head as the straps would let it go (which wasn't very far). It was just a strange feeling as it felt like a sail catching the wind. I've never had that happen before, and I kept my head down for the rest of the ride when we were heading into the wind!

We ended up with 21.4 miles at a utilitarian pace, with stops at the farmer's market, food co-op, and Trader Joe's, and full panniers coming home. That's when tailwinds are much appreciated!

Tomorrow is supposed to have much lighter winds (5-10 mph), so I'm looking forward to a longer and less 'exciting' ride!