26 Miles With Irene

On Sunday August 28th Irene showed her lovely face in New Hampshire.   That day I did 130 miles the really easy way:  I rode 104 miles in our minivan.  But, I made up for it by riding the other 26 miles through a hurricane, a first for me.  We were just wrapping up our vacation in Lyme (see the prior week's post), and the original plan was for me to ride to Woodsville, about 26 miles, then ride all the way back to Manchester, a little over 100 miles further.  My family would pack up and meet me back home.  On Wednesday that week my wife informed me: "You know, there's a hurricane coming, and it's supposed to hit up here this weekend."  Oh.  So, I spent the rest of the week watching the weather, wondering if I would be able to pull off the plan.  I was thinking if the hurricane just slowed down a little bit, I'd be able to sneak in the ride before the weather got really horrendous.  And, if the wind pulled around to the north, it would practically blow me home.  What could be better?  Well, as I looked at the weather each day, the forecast got worse.  Heavy rain, winds around 40 miles per hour, out of the East and Southeast, more or less right on the nose.  40 miles per hour is enough to stop you dead in your tracks and/of blow you clear off the road.  Nope, not going to try that.  So, we revised the plan.  I'd still ride to Woodsville where Sarah would pick me up after service and we'd drive back to Lyme, grab our boat and bikes, and head back to Manchester.  Not ideal, but at least I'd get to experience Woodsville.  Secretly I hoped that the storm would slow down a bit and I would be able to get up there before the rain and the wind, very wishful thinking.  At about midnight Saturday, we heard the distinctive sound of steady rain on the roof of the cabin.  I tossed and turned as I thought about riding the next morning, and when the time came to go, it was no better.  It's a weird thing when you have to head out to ride in the rain.  You know you will be soaked 5 minutes after you hit the road, but you still put it off and try to stay dry as long as you possibly can.  I cowered under an umbrella as we walked down the hill to breakfast.  But, after a quick bite it was time to get going.  Of course I got the expected question from folks as I put on my shoes and helmet: "Your going to ride in that?,"  as they pointed to the steady wind blown rain outside. 

Once I got going, I settled into a groove.  The bike felt good, the rain wasn't too bad.  There was only one problem: I was slow.  The wind was steadily picking up, and instead of being out of the ESE, it was straight from the North, at least as far as I could tell.  I don't know how fast, but it was easily 15 gusting to 20 by the time I got to Woodsville.  This may not sound like a lot, but it is a huge drag, both figuratively and literally to push through this kind of wind, particularly with steady rain stinging the face.  The other problem was that I miscalculated the distance, thinking it was only 23 miles.   The extra three miles and the lower speed were going to make me late.  We were late last week; I didn't want to do that again.  So I pushed as hard as I could, still barely averaging 15 mph, and made it into church just as the organist started the entrance Hymn.  It was a pretty thin crowd, given the storm and the fact that Woodsville is a small congregation anyway.  I stood out like a sore thumb given the fact that I was a wet and dirty mess, which was fine.  This was an accepting crowd.   I got to introduce myself at announcements and got a number of signatures at coffee hour.  Then, the broom wagon showed up right on schedule and I abandoned the ride, at least for the day anyway.  Unlike in the real Tour (de France), in this one you can get a lift and still go back to ride another day.  In the end, it was very wise not to try to ride home.  Irene was a serious storm, and regardless of the wind, there might not have been a road for me to ride on.  Not to mention, I shouldn't be out there needlessly putting myself at risk.  Our police and fire departments had plenty to do without having to rescue some knucklehead who decided to ride 100+ miles through a hurricane.  26 was enough.

The stats:

average speed: 15.1 mph

dist: 26.4 mi

total climb: 1200 ft

avg heart rate: 148