Damn you , tailwind.

Very, very rarely will you hear a cyclist complain about a tailwind. Matter of fact, I've never heard anyone complain about a tailwind, provided they don't ride back into a headwind.

Well, get ready for a shock, ladies and gents. History is being made as I write this.

As some of you know, I'm partial to doing group rides once or so a week, to get some sort of speed/intensity in my training. Tempo, recovery or 20min intervals can only be fun for so long, before I have to mix it up a bit. All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy; that sort of thing.

Today, I had pretty low expectations for anyone showing up to ride in a group of any sort. There was a pretty wicked looking storm rolling in from the southwest, and I can't say I blame anyone for trying to avoid that. If I had a life and something that might be more entertaining than riding my bike, I probably would have skipped it too.

But, I don't, so I didn't. I took off from Glen Ellyn at 5:20pm CST, heading in a westerly direction. Make it out of Glen Ellyn and Wheaton without swearing at a single automobile/driver. This odd twist should have told me something was amiss. I get to Winfield, aka The Hood, and stop by the house to grab a granola bar. My mom does her usual, "I think you should take the night off. It looks pretty bad out there." Which was in turn followed by my dad with, "Oh just leave him alone, Sharon."

So, I depart. Re-warm up heading out of the neighborhood, zip up the jacket due to a brisk breeze. Get to the Winfield Road/Geneva Road intersection, a T in which I can just roll right through on the sidewalk/shoulder. Strap the PT computer down, hit some buttons, and hit the gas. Felt good, felt smooth, felt fast. Get to the Prince Crossing intersection a bit...umm...ahead of schedule. Take the turn, and soon enough, I'm going 30mph...uphill. As stated previously, normally I appreciate a good hearty tailwind. Chicks dig speed and all that.

Unfortunately, there is only a certain amount of good, navigable, non-stop road around here. Usually around 18min worth. If one is doing a 20min effort, this means one would have to stop and turn around or find some other means of adding time onto the tail end. However, with a 20mph+ tailwind, your average speed rises...significantly. Particularly when you are on a personal best run (wattage-wise).

Long story short, I end up with the most powerful 14.5min of my life, with a sub-par, in comparison, 5min tacked on to the back. I've always had a hard time getting back into rhythm, and today was no exception. I then turn around again, and head in the direction of Bartlett High School for the group ride. Which no one showed up for today.

And then, it started to rain. It was a long, lonely, cold and SLOW slog back to GE, with some laps around the Lake tacked on to meet the quota for the day.