Balancing Act

I've never been good at math, and have never enjoyed it, but math is what occupied my mind this morning during the Pancake Ride.

Here it is, mid-November, and this morning felt more spring- or summer-like in sunny temperature than a winter-beckoning November day. That Spouse o' Mine and I even opted to wear cycling shorts rather than long pants and jackets. There was a southerly wind, and that made our ride into Pancake Land very fun: 18-25 mph the whole way. There is nothing finer for this middle-aged cyclist than a chance to pretend she can keep up with the big dogs in the cycling world.

Well, that finer-than feeling lasted until the coffee cup was empty and we got back on our bikes to head home. While we were happily chatting away indoors with our fellow cyclists, the comfortable southerly wind reared its ugly head and turned into a 25 mph gale with 35 mph gusts. And, now it was a headwind. Part direct headwind, part 45º angle of south/southwest "knock-'em-off-their-bikes" wind. I managed about a mile riding on the shoulder of the highway before I flagged that Spouse o' Mine and told him I was taking the gravel roads home - I was not feeling good about my balance alongside the cars and trucks and semis AND the wind. I told him to go on, that I would be fine, and he replied, "OK. If you're longer than 20 minutes, I will assume you have had a flat."

Lovely.

We parted ways, and I turned west onto unknown roads and into that ridiculous wind. Riding in that wind would be hard on any bike, but riding on a gravel (i.e., ROCKS) road on a road bike (read: little, skinny tires), with 25 mph wind hitting me from several directions was a lesson in balance, patience, mind games (what if I fall over? {I did, 4 times} What if I get lost? {I was "lost" for the whole first half of my ride home, in that it was a winding road and I had never been on it and did not recognize anything} What if a dog chases me? {I heard dogs barking twice, but none appeared at my heels, so that was OK}).

The falling over bit was kind of scary the first two times. The wind gust simply HIT me, and oops, there I went. Each time, I managed to extricate my shoe from the clip before I fell flat on my side, and I certainly had a lesson, too, on anticipation and reaction time. I imagined that I was being watched by farmers sitting snug in their living rooms all along my way. I hope I don't end up on YouTube.

And my, how the cyclists learn how to read the wind. I would imagine lots like a sailor. If there are any trees to be had, one will have a much, MUCH easier time of riding in the wind. Until he gets to the end of the treeline. And somehow the gust seems built up just that much more, as if it's lying in wait to bowl you over.

So as I was limping along, wind and dogs howling in my ears, here is the math I came up with:

Southerly wind= northerly 25 mph ride + 30 minutes eating delightful breakfast in great company - 25 mph headwind= 7 mph southerly ride + 4 mph south/southwesterly ride X what angle should I aim for to counteract the wind gusts [balancing in wind @ only 4 mph: is that possible?] minus the 2-minute stop for water and "mental regrouping time {i.e., where AM I?!} ...equals...complete fatigue for the rest of my Saturday.

I am going to take up pinochle.