Windchills in June

Flag outside the main Post Office

That's right! We are starting June off quite cold. Yesterday I rode to work in 43 degree weather and home in 47 degree weather. Today, after a wild night of heavy rain showers and wind, I rode to work in 41 degree weather, heavy drizzle, and sustained winds at 25 mph, gusting to 37 mph. The ride home was hot compared to the norm so far this year: 68 degrees. I checked the weather online when I got home, the winds were sustained at 30 mph gusting to 50 mph!!! And a tornado warning was in place. And of course, I had a headwind going into work. While I was at work, the winds switched directions and I had a headwind going home. I rode the fixed gear. I was pretty much out of the saddle most of the way fighting to maintain any speed into those winds. When a gust hit me, I'd drop down to 8 mph, standing up on the flats. I have to admit, for a short ride, it was kind of fun to be out in. Doesn't look like it will change much. The 10 day forecast calls for only one day in the 70's. The rest of the time it will be in the 50's and 60's. Like I've said in the past, I don't like hot weather, so this is perfect for me.

I've gotten to work by bicycle every work day so far this year (and all but 5 days last year). I have a pretty good streak going. Every once in awhile I take a mental break from bicycling. This week seemed to be one of those weeks. I didn't put in many extra miles other than my commutes and I didn't put any effort into updating this blog. I need to do this now and then. My focus in life becomes too narrow if I don't.

Yesterday I did something unthinkable. I spent some of my disposable income on something other than bike parts. I decided to go clothes shopping. The past five years I've spent almost all my extra money on bicycles, bicycle parts and clothing to wear while bicycling. My regular, off the bike, wardrobe has suffered and become thread bare. So I spent $164 *gasp* on some summer clothes for work. For me that means a couple new pairs of jeans and some polo shirts. That's a stretch for me, I usually buy jeans and t-shirts. That pretty much blows my personal wardrobe budget for the year.

One of the many reasons I bought my Surly LHT is so I could do some overnight camping, and someday, longer self-supported bicycle traveling. Last year I did my first S24O (or sub-24 hour overnight) on the Pugsley and vowed to do more. That one was an off-road trip. Now with the LHT I can do on the road trips. I haven't exactly figured out which direction I will venture off in. Since I will most likely be doing these on weekends, I will be looking to stealth camp. Campgrounds fill up on weekends. Campsites, without advance reservations, are difficult to come by. I prefer to stealth camp anyhow, but I haven't figured out where a good place to go might be. This won't happen until July as most of the weekends in June are planned with other activities for now. Packing won't be a problem for me. I have over 3,000 miles of backpacking experience. The skills and knowledge from backpacking will transfer over to bike camping quite nicely. I have all the lightweight gear and have used it all 100's of times. I'm looking forward to doing some exploring of my neck of the woods by bicycle.

June: 113 miles
2008: 3,273 miles