It was the head wind! At the 24th mile, we had
the morning SAG stop. After fueling up with bananas, clementines, apple slices, a granola
bar, drinking a bottle of Gatorade, changing the batteries in my blinkie – the red,
blinking light on the back of Big Blue - and filling my two water bottles, the
east wind (A reminder that the trip is from the west coast to the east coast
thus an east wind is a head wind, blowing right into my face.) picked up
blowing steadily at 10 – 15 mph with a few higher gusts. Even with Big Blue’s
fairing, the plastic wind shield in front pushing the wind to the side, it was
an extremely challenging 46 miles to the Catalina State Park in Oro Valley/Tucson, AZ.
Added to this was the 1200 feet of
elevation gain during the ride after lunch. The wind cut my cycling speed to 7 – 12 mph. Normally, on the flat, with no wind, I can bike 13 – 18 mph. If I get
any kind of tail wind pushing me, I can hit 15 – 20 mph. At one point, I was literally blown off the rode by the
wind. This was a first for Big Blue and me.
It’s quite an experience to one second be riding along in the bike lane
and the next second veering off the road into the ditch. Luckily I didn't fall because it was a gravel ditch that gently sloped off the road. The blessing at the end of the day's ride was a long downhill into the state park.
The glorious part of each
day’s ride is that I always do make it my tent, take a shower, eat a delicious
dinner, and have a great night’s sleep because I am so tired. I love every part
of the trip: the camaraderie of the group, the beautiful scenery, and
especially the physical challenge of the ride.
A few facts:
- During the first 8 days of the trip, I have ridden 471 miles.
- It was the 8th day in a row of gorgeously clear weather with only wispy clouds.
- Big Blue is functioning flawlessly. I did have to replace the peddles on day 5 when the right peddle began to click.
- I have officially ridden Big Blue 5000 miles since purchasing her at the end of May 2014. I am proud of this fact.
- I am writing this blog entry on Sunday morning, Day 9, 3/15/15, our layover/rest day. The wind is now gusting up to 20 mph with huge dust clouds blowing through the park. I am glad we aren't biking again today because it is still an east wind.
- I will not write a blog entry for layover/rest days.
Here are a few pictures from yesterday’s ride:
I have my phone mounted on my bike. Here is a picture taken through the fairing as I was riding into the wind.
Several views along the road. The desert scenery is magnificent.
Our group's tents in the Catalina State Park Campground.
John
I also chose to ride west to east seeking assistance fro prevailing winds. Unfortunately, most winds came from the SE, blowing against the fairing, me, and my trailer. This often slowed me to 7 a 9 mph.
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