Rose Pedals . . .: It Just Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

Thursday, July 25, 2013
Day 19 - Worthington, Minnesota to Albert Lea, Minnesota
120 miles
1,719 feet of climbing

Today was one of those "perfect" days a cyclist lives for - perfect weather and tailwind tailwind tailwind! We learned at breakfast that conditions would be "favorable" for our 120-mile ride to Albert Lea. I didn't realize exactly how favorable until I got on the road and maintained a speed of 18 to 22 miles per hour almost the entire ride. The terrain was mostly flat or gentle rolling climbs, so it was fairly easy to keep the speed going with moderate effort (even for me). The only "climb" of the day occurred after we crossed the Des Moines River at mile 34 and climbed out of the town of Jackson. Art has an amazing motor for this type of terrain - he's super-fast. Add a tailwind to that, and he was miles ahead of me the entire day. I saw him briefly at the lunch stop at mile 82 - he was getting ready to leave as I arrived. We're like two bikes that pass in the night. : )

It was a nice relaxing ride - a 120-mile "recovery" day. I finished the ride before 2:00 p.m., and it was nice to have an early day to rest and recover. Another thing that made it a perfect day - it started pouring rain just after 4:00, right after all our riders arrived at the hotel safe and sound. The only thing that would make this day even more perfect is if I could figure out why my camera is not working properly.

We had a nice dinner with fellow riders Sid and Marcy at a restaurant right next to our hotel. The topics of conversation range from the events of the day's ride, to the best shorts for riding, saddle sore prevention and, of course, food.

All day today, I kept saying to myself, "I just doesn't get any better than this." But

I've said that to myself many times on this Tour, for many reasons. A tailwind day is just one of those reasons. : )