Just goes to show

At 1:30 this afternoon I decided that I would go for a bike ride. The wind was SW, between 15 and 20 ks, so I decided I'd head into it first. By 2 PM I was on the bike and riding West from our place, along the 421. The wind was steady, but not at all overwhelming. I kept a pace of 28 ks. When I reached the 30 I turned South, what I thought would be more fully into the wind, and was able to keep my pace at 30 ks or a bit better.

Of course there are times when you ignore the evidence before you, in light of the vision of reality you believe to be real. I believed that I was going to work hard for the first half of my ride - I had planned my route for it - and then cruise home, pushed steadily by the wind. Well by the time I got to the intersection of the 243, where I turned West again, I knew something was up. The weather gods were mocking again. (You need to know that when I'm on my bike I always feel that the weather gods are sharpening their spears - it's that Mennonite Martyr complex. I think it's in our genes by now to believe that if things can go wrong for us, they will (which of course everyone in the world believes). And then we try to turn our pain and misfortune into some kind of spiritual suffering - something that will earn us eternal goodness points. Perhaps we could call this mental disposition (illness) Mennomartyropathy.) Indeed the wind was shifting. It was becoming calm and, predictably, because there were rain clouds mounting, beginning to blow slightly from the East.

I knew it. I laughed my mocking, self-pitying, guffaw and turned West again. It was my intention to complete this Tour de Blumenort regardless of the obstacles. Of course the ride West to the Blumenort turnoff was pretty reasonable. The ride South into Blumenort was also easier than I thought it would be. And when I turned around to head back, it became obvious. I was not going to gain much, if any, advantage from the wind. Again I laughed ruefully, mocking myself in the face the eternal.

So, short story long, I worked hard most of the way home, rather than cruising. The ride back North, on the 30 was pretty quick, but there was none of the anticipated speed and exhilaration. I managed to average 29.66 k/h over the whole 42 km ride, which is okay.

But I had wanted so much more!!