Three days, three states, and three rides... those were my unfulfilled plans for the weekend. A springtime nor'easter quashed my riding plans for Saturday and Sunday, but Monday was another story. I had intended to ride near home - in Massachusetts - on Saturday, and I had planned two rides along the coast - in New Hampshire & Maine - for Sunday & Monday. Obviously I didn't take the weather into account! I guess I thought that we'd already had enough wet weather, especially since this was the third weekend in a row of solid rain.
Saturday and Sunday were pretty much wash-out days. I had arranged to take the day off today, and I woke early fully thinking it would be raining and I'd trade today for a dry day later. No rain, although the sky was gray and the ground was wet. I decided to take a chance with the forecasted 20% chance of drizzle...
I headed to the New Hampshire coast to do an out and back ride. Luckily my cycling started by heading north, and finished by heading south. There was still quite a bit of wind left from the weekend storm, and it was blowing to the south. My ride out was definitely slowed. I was lucky and the wind direction held so on the ride back I had a bit of a wind assist. It was a cool day, starting in the high 40s and warming to the mid-50s. A bit of a chilly start, but once I got moving it was warm enough for riding. 35 miles in an out and back ride along the coast - and I felt good when I finished. That's a good sign.
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| Yes, the flags are really standing striaght out in the wind. Luckily the wind direction didn't switch on me, so the ride back was much easier than the ride out. |
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| The sea gulls didn't seem to be bothered by the wind... |
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| And the waves were pretty wild! |
