Went for a two-part bike ride today: first to campus to make photocopies (4.69 mi round trip, 20:45), then got home, dropped my bag, grabbed some water, and did a quick ten mile out and back. Halfway was pretty slow: 27:40 (5:30/mi). O, the wind. I rode directly into a 25+ mph breeze (gale?) for four of the five miles. On the hills, it was head down pain. But when I turned around, suddenly it was quiet, I felt warm instead of cold, and I maxed out my poor old commuter bike. Seriously, I was going flat out in the highest gear less than a minute after I turned around and headed down the hill I had just climbed. I finished in 42:40, so the return trip was 15:00 (3:00/mi).
Here’s a quick and dirty composite graph, courtesy of Garmin+Photoshop, showing my heart rate, speed, and elevation.
(This goes in the running category ’cause I’m not yet ready to admit defeat there…)
I feel your pain! Just got out of the wind myself. I must sound like an idiot cussing like a sailor out there…