45 MPH wind
Not a lot to talk about here other than the title.
Mertens sent a text to me yesterday wanting to set up a ride. He is rarely in town and even when he is, he almost never rides, so I thought it might be interesting to see what he had.
In his pursuit for a position on the bobsled team he has put on a few pounds of muscle and endured a lot of sacrifice, pain, and embarassment (read the first paragraph of Day 3: Thursday, April 17, 2008 in that link...you will laugh). For the sake of perspective, he stands a few inches shorter than me but I tip the scale at exactly 2/3s of his weight.
This mass seemed to keep him planted fairly well on the road as we rode among some of the harshest wind I have ever experienced. On paper, I have experienced winds this high before while on a bike, but something about the conditions last night seemed to pose additional challenges.
The ride was fun...mostly a social event but also an exercise in bike handling skills development. The intended purpose of my ride yesterday was recovery, but I think the wind was not going to allow much of that.
We talked about some interesting stuff. One notable topic is an opportunity presented to me to ride along in a few bobsled runs next season...I recall as a youngster saying that I would like to do that some day...Perhaps if I can save up the cash to get out there, it could happen...I will make sure my colon is empty first though.
Poopie Pants
That's too funny. People get down on the guy for his drive but that's because they mistake it for something else. In my book, Tailwind gets a lot of respect from me for having the guts to put himself on the line. Few bother to even try. He committed everything.
-- Mark