My time did not allow for a 30+ mile ride today so I elected to ride south through Atascocita and Walden before heading back home. I figured this route would be 20+ miles long and it turned out to be 22.57 miles. Not any other serious bicyclists out today but I did see several casual bikers.

Leg muscles complained some today and my butt is still trying to get used to the saddle. Several times I stood up to pedal to use different muscles.

I thought yesterday’s wind was tough. Today the wind was from the SSE at 16 mph with 22 mph gusts. This slowed my average speed way down to 14.5 mph. At times I was barely moving it seemed when I got out in an open area where the wind could really pound on me. Conversely when I got a tailwind I picked up the speed to around 19 mph or so. Unfortunately this route does not have any long stretches where I could use the tailwind to make up for the slower sections.

While my weather station reported 67 when I left home at 11:46 and 72 when I finished at 1:26 I was glad I wore my cool weather wardrobe: long and short sleeve jerseys, leg warmers, shorts, windbreaker jacket and half finger gloves. The wind had a chill to it that cut through my clothing whenever I rode into it. Pulling into the garage and out of the wind when I got home felt good.

With today’s ride January miles now total 125.99 leaving 184 miles to match January 2013 miles. I was able to ride 3 days in a row but tomorrow looks doubtful with rain in the forecast. Tuesday looks better for riding with 68 and clear sky predicted.

[wppa type=”slide” album=”281″ size=”auto”][/wppa]

[iframe http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/429127497 470px 570px]

[iframe http://ridewithgps.com/trips/2153916/embed 95% 700px]