Alexis and I got on the trail to meet the in-laws for lunch just as the sun came out. We were dripping with sweat and the wind was howling. I felt it even more on the single speed I was riding. On the way back I got passed by a cuple roadies and quickly gave what I had to overtake one and catch the other. The one I passed jumped on my wheel and hung on as I bridged him up to the roadie further on. Wonder if he knew I did that in flat pedals
When I got back I outfitted the carbent and took off for my team ranch training loop. The wind seemed to really pick up even more and start gusting horribly. Even stronger than Sebring - nearing the winds we had on RAO. This is the first time I've ridden the zipps in this much crosswind and they were rock solid. They felt much more stable than the lighter wheels that came with the bike. Perhaps all the technobabble that zipp spouts is pretty accurate, after all. But the sun disappeared so dang fast and the temperature dropped that I only made one pass on team ranch and came home.
Normally I coast up to around 30 on the first downhill. This time I had to pedal hard to hit 24 straight into the wind. Going uphill was a struggle to stay in the middle ring and not hit the granny. My normal average on that loop is 19.5-20.3, and this time it was 18.
On the way back I had the wind at my back for a stretch and gunned it to 39 on the flat, outpacing a couple cars in the other lane. That's always fun. heart rate was right in the zone - 145bpm average. Average wattage went up to 205. It took a lot of power just to make any headway up some of the long 1-2% inclines after the loop. A few more weeks of this and I'll be ready for Sebring