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We bought a tag-along bike a while ago with the notion that I could bike A. to school in the morning and bike us both home at night. It’s a short distance – about 2.5 miles one way, and on a very pleasant bike trail.
This morning we bundled him up with a hat under his helmet, mittens, and a light winter coat to keep him warm. The ride was surprisingly easy and despite the fact that this is only my 2nd bike ride of the season, I wasn’t in any sort of pain in my legs or butt after the ride.
As I scoped out the weather for the next few days it said “WINDY” with 23mph winds from the SW. How bad can that be, I wondered to myself.
Well as “luck” would have it, I found out tonight on my ride home.
The incredibly strong head wind turned my zipped up jacket into a sail (GOING THE WRONG WAY!)
The Monona bike path puts me biking directly into the wind THE WHOLE WAY HOME.
At one point, I wanted to give up, go back to the Terrace and beg for a ride home. But I soldiered on and finally made it home.
The lesson I learned: biking in a direct headwind sucks and I’m not doing it unless I can find another convenient path home that avoids the wind-swept lake for 99% of my ride.