Super windy Four Rivers

Amber and I opted not to ride Stacy and Greg's Four Rivers 200k event on Sunday because the weather forecast correctly predicted I would be driving home in a blizzard so we instead rode on the following Monday, eschewing RUSA credit.

Although Monday was dry it was still very windy with sustained 20-30 mph winds coming out of every direction possible. I still can't understand how a 20mph wind can turn more than 90 degrees in a minute, but that's what happened repeatedly today. I don't know if we were helped or were hindered by the wind but I suspect it was so random it was probably a wash.

It was 61F when we started at Costco - nice in the sun but chilly in the shade especially with the wind. We headed to the beach with a 15mph headwind freshening to 20mph within five miles of the coast.

Monday quiet

Amber's turn to pull

At The Crema I introduced Amber to the veggie baguette which she liked. We added chocolate croissants and Thai iced tea for a pleasant lunch.

Some vintage cars rolled by as we ate

As we headed inland on the San Gabriel trail we were dismayed to find a headwind here too. It's just a coincidence that I took another photo while Amber was pulling. We shared - honest.

It's so windy it's bending the telephone poles!

One of the underpasses was flooded with about six inches of water which we rode through mainly because we had no choice. I wish I had thought to get a photo or even video. Amber's stomach was bothering her so I pulled most of the way to the turn around - no really I did. She had an iced tea which helped settle it.

On the return trip we had a headwind again. How is this even possible. Fortunately it turned into a tailwind for ten miles or so before becoming a powerful headwind again when were still ten miles from the coast. There was a lot of trail maintenance activity which shouldn't have surprised me but it did.

Amber's pulling again in the video below but I really did do most of the pulling - honest!

You can see how windy it was - look at the trees blowing in Seal Beach.

This is a brave unicyclist - he's on a unicycle, on dirt, with a powerful crosswind. I noticed he had a disk brake - surely the last thing he wants to do is stop that wheel suddenly!

I took this ride as another opportunity to learn the Wahoo. It seems if you actually start it at the start of the ride it's pretty good at handling when you go off course. We made several large and small detours from the route I downloaded and it picked up again correctly. I also realized I have to snap the USB connector in firmly to get it to charge.