The weather forecast was for rain starting at noon, so I set my alarm for 5:30 to get an early start. In the morning, the weather forecast was unchanged, so I got ready and was biking by 6:30.
It was a very windy day with a south wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts to 35 mph. I continued to head west, so the wind was coming across me. The temperature was nice – 70 degrees to start with a high near 80. So, not too hot.
I continued to bike on Hwy 9, as I did for most of the day before. However, today there was a lot more traffic on the road. Yesterday, there was a good shoulder to ride on, but today’s section of the highway had rumble strips in the shoulder, so I had to ride in the lane of traffic. Not ideal, especially when I’m slowly climbing a hill and a semi truck is coming up the road behind me. In those cases, I would just bail off the road and let the truck have the lane.
The most challenging aspect of the wind was that I would catch the breeze (wash?) from all the vehicles as they passed me. In both directions. I’m sure this was because I was on the north side of the road and the wind was strong from the south. The trucks were the worst, and there were a lot of them.
There was only one town on my route and it was after 17 miles. I decided to stop there, take a break, and have a second breakfast. The hotel breakfast was somewhat lacking, and I had a taste for some pancakes. Fortunately, The Breakfast Barn was right on my route.
The pictures above were taken before my second breakfast. By the time I left The Breakfast Barn, the skies had clouded up and it looked like it could rain at any moment. I checked the radar and it was clear, and the weather forecast still said no rain until noon. So, I started biking and hoped the rain would hold off.
Biking in this wind takes a lot of concentration. I had to be aware of vehicles (especially trucks) coming at me in both directions. I was blown around a lot. The breeze from all the vehicles would push me to the right. Vehicles passing me from behind would give me a little push forward, but vehicles coming at me in the opposite direction would give me a push backwards. If a semi truck passed me in the opposite direction, I would duck down until my face was just above my handlebars to minimize the impact of their breeze.
Today was the first day on this trip where I thought that it was dangerous to be riding. However, I couldn’t find any other routes to take. So, I stopped every so often to take a break – mostly a mental break.
A little before noon I came to a road that would take me to a town with a hotel. So, I decided to stop for the day. The town is called Sibley, and is two miles south of the highway I was on. Those last two miles directly into the wind were slow going.
I found a Mexican restaurant and had an excellent lunch. While at lunch I made a reservation at the local hotel and was checked in by 1:30. I never did get rained on today.
For the day, I biked 51 miles and climbed 1,283 feet (more climbing today than yesterday). I definitely had the time to put in more miles, but it just wasn’t worth it.
Not a lot of pictures today, because I was too focused on biking.
Since leaving the Root River Trail, I’ve been biking mostly west, because the wind has been from the south. I have not been following the route that I had originally planned on Komoot. Right now, I am about 45 miles north of the Komoot route. You could say that I am off course but making great time. 🙂
Tomorrow, I plan to rectify that and get back on my route. The weather tomorrow is calling for cool temperatures, no rain, and a 5 to 10 mph wind out of the north (turning NE in the afternoon). Great weather for biking!!
Crazy day. So glad you are safe.