It cooled off today

So I took the day off from my labours, had breakfast with friends, wrote a portion of what may turn out to be a fine short story, and then set out on a 60 km bicycle ride.

Yesterday Andy Schleck rode 60 kms of the 18th leg of the Tour de France alone and out front to claw away at Voeckler's lead, and today he completed that task by placing fourth (in time at least) in the 19th stage, well ahead of Voeckler, to take the yellow jersey.

I, on the other hand, rode out onto the 421 heading east and expecting to ride toward the 75 and then to Emerson and onward, since Environment Canada (that all knowing better than stepping out the door and checking for yourself website) said the wind was NNE. Well I'm about to Sommerfeld, supposedly heading into the wind a bit, but I'm cruising at 35 k/h and the ditch grasses are waving with me. This wind's from the NW I say to myself, and since I prefer to ride into the wind first, and with it last, I turn around to head west and ride out toward Altona and then to Rosetown and onward.

Of course by the time I'm through Altona and nearly at the 306 (and I've been keeping a 34 k/h pace) I realize that I overplayed my hand again. Either the wind has shifted, or I've misread it, but I now know that I will have a 8 k run with the wind down the 306, and then I'll head into the wind (more or less) for the last 26 ks. Great.

I tell myself that I'm building strength and stamina. I tell myself that this is my HC climb at the end of the stage (Climbs in the Tour de France are designated on a scale of 4 with 4 being the least onerous, and 1 being the most difficult, and the HC climbs (Hors Categorie - that is "out-of-range difficult"), because of length, or grade, or both, or placement in the race (ie. a category 1 climb at the beginning of the race would be and HC climb if it was placed at the end of the race)). Still, the rewards for fighting a wind are so small: 1) being done; 2) beer (hopefully); 3) fitness (but that's almost mockery).

In this riding into the wind and shoveling dirt or gravel are not unlike one another. Need I say more? What reward is there in digging a sump hole to help manage the water that seems to want to collect around my garage? What reward is there in digging out limestone (that three years ago I intentionally put there) to replace it with clay so that the water drains away from the footing rather than collecting around it like it's a sink?

I've been keeping track of the Tour and watching as they wind through areas of France that I visited, or very near those parts. I want to go back and struggle up those hills and mountains to be rewarded by a great view and an exhilarating descent. But that will not be. I will be doing more riding into the wind this summer. I will also be doing more shoveling.

Yes. It cooled off today, and tomorrow it's supposed to rain.