Crazy Ride

So my first ride here in Texas was nice. I found a few 'hills' or overpasses, and I enjoyed my ride... mostly cause I didn't get run over, and only one dude yelled at me to get off the road (he was just mad that I turned in front of him when he had a stop sign and I did not).

My second ride was probably the most interesting ride I have ever had, possibly even more eventful than the time Mike tried to kill himself to save a 6 year old girl. The ride started out great, I checked my bike to make sure all was well, lubed it up, and then took off. I was keeping a good pace (14 miles in 45 min.), and then I noticed my back tire went flat. No big deal, I just got off the road, took off the tire, knelt down and began the repair. The only problem, I knelt down in a fire ant pile. I didn't notice until I felt my knee light on fire! I didn't notice the pile because I wasn't looking for it, one of the many benefits of living in Utah was there were no bugs to worry about. After killing the ants on my knee and then moving out of the pile I finished the repair with no more incident. I continued my ride until I had gone about 45 min. out, and then I turned around. This is where the true test began.

What I didn't know was that the entire time I was riding the wind was at my back. I turned around and was hit by a strong breeze for the rest of my ride. The wind varied from about 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. I've been up hills, and ridden through some wind, but nothing could prepare me for the next 1 1/2 hours of riding through strong winds. The 'breeze' from the gulf is a lot stronger than the breeze through the mountains. The wind did not let up until I was about 1/2 mile from my house, and by then I was totally spent from fighting the wind for 14 miles. While to some of you this may not seem like a big deal, but 20 mph winds for 14 miles is tough.

I'm sure if I had gone on a bunch of hour long uphill rides in Utah I would've been more prepared, however, the most powerful force I have come to terms with on a bike is in fact the wind, not the terrain.

Here is a quick review of my ride:

http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/tx/lake%20jackson/684128827406563865