I officially started riding back in to work 3 weeks ago - the weather started being OK enough and the days were long enough that I could do it without too much worry of freezing or riding in the dark. But I took a week off to go to Belize so that put a bit of a crimp in the training plans.
This past week, the weather wasn't horribly consistent so I only rode in 3 days and I was planning on riding over the weekend. The weather did not cooperate. Saturday was miserable, with torrential downpours that kept me stuck inside and a little stir crazy. I managed to get out to do some grocery shopping, then spent the rest of the day cooking.
Sunday, I had plans to go riding with a group, but the fates were against us again. Most of the group called and cancelled, except for Craig. He and I met up at Gravelly Point, under cold (wind chill of 35!) and blustery (gusts of up to 30 mph!) conditions. We set off for Dupont Circle and as we crossed over the 14th Street Bridge, Craig got a flat! He changed the flat in record time and we set off for Dupont to see if anyone else was brave enough to join us despite the conditions. No one was.
At this point I say to Craig, "So what do you want to do?" He asks me, "Do you think you can make it?" I reply, "I guess we're going to find out!" and we headed off for Potomac.
I'm not going to lie to you: the winds made riding really tough and I wasn't looking forward to the ride out there. We switched off, but since Craig is much lighter and strong than I am, we kept up a higher pace when he led. Normally, I average about 17-18 mph on this route but for the first half of this ride, I only averaged 13.6 mph.
We got to the Starbucks in Potomac, ate something, went to the bathroom and heading back off again. It was too cold to hang around for very long and I had plans that afternoon that I needed to make sure I was back in time for. About 15 minutes after we set out, I got a flat! This was extra tragic because I hadn't gotten a flat for the previous year and a half! Not a single flat all last season! I guess I was due, but it was still upsetting.
With my flat changed, we sped home! When the wind was at our backs, we had no trouble averaging 20-22 mph. In fact, we went so fast on the way home that I brought up my average speed by 1.5 mph to end with an average of 15 mph.
But the tragic events of the day were not quite over. As we were crossing the 14 Street Bridge to return home, a strong gust of wind came and scooped up my sunglasses that I had tucked into my shirt and lifted them up and over the partition in a 3-lane, heavily trafficked highway, where I promptly heard a loud CRACK. My poor, poor sunglasses died a noble death and I had a moment of silence as I finished crossing the bridge. The worst part is that they were a very expensive present from my mother for my birthday 2 years ago. But at least I got good use out of them!
So that was my weekend. The ride was tough and I felt completely wiped when it was done, but in the best possible way. When I got home, I had the best lunch I've ever eaten and taken the best shower ever. It's funny how superlative everything becomes after a really hard ride...
Rachael