Tailwinds Ho!!

Tail winds ho!!

Woke up this morning with the sound of the wind pushing my tent around. If the wind was going our way, the that was good news otherwise if it was going to be headwinds, then that could be bad news. With 144 km (90 miles) to travel, head wind would be very bad news.

We were very fortunate because not only was it going precisely in the right direction, but it was more than a light breeze, perhaps a stiff breeze. We made really good time. I usually judge our progress at 9 AM. Good day will be 14 or so miles, today we were over 22 miles at 9 AM, just about a quarter down by 9 AM. The wind was really doing a bang up job today.

The wind would occasionally shift throughout the day, but generally to our backs. When it did shift, it became a cooling cross breeze, all very nice.

The road was generally straight and flat with Florida-like flatness with marshy grass occasionally a flock of sheep or a small herd of cattle. The cars zip by at a pretty fast clip and for the most part will give you plenty of room.

We hit lunch by 11:30. Ate more than our share then were off with 65 km to go of a total of 144 km.

When the wind is in your direction, you want to keep moving, taking only short breaks because you just don’t know if in the afternoon if the wind is going to change direction and stop being your friend.

We were fortunate that the winds continued as tailwinds and the average speed crept up past 16 km per hour finally topping out at 17.3 KPH. A very nice rate indeed. Many times we were zipping along at 24 KPH.

We arrived in camp by 2:30 PM after taking a short break to take pictures of Larry the Lobster. A huge fiberglass roadside attraction. All very fun. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s ride even though the skies are overcast and the various weather report are mixed. Either way, it ought to be pretty fun.

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Happy Biking,

Brian