Happy New Year. Yesterday, I went on what I consider to be my "first real ride". That is, it was longer than 15 minutes in one direction and farther away than 10 miles from my home. I rode into work in the morning and back home again that night. I work about 32 miles one way from my home.Now, what made this a ride I'll never forget is this: In southeastern Virginia, Hampton Roads, the temperature was 37 degrees and the wind was sustained at 30 mph with gusts to 49 mph.
On top of that, I had to come home across a 4-lane bridge across pavement that was 100 feet in the air. Thank heaven there was no grating, only pavement. I slowed down to 30 mph, hunkered down behind my small windshield to make my profile as small as I could, and went for it. I noticed in my rear-view mirrors that all the cars that had been following me up until I began to ascend the bridge had dropped waaaayyy back. Evidently, no one wanted to smush me if I got blown over, and they could see the wind was beating me around pretty badly. I'm grateful to both of the lead cage drivers for holding back the rest of them temporarily.
When I arrived at the toll booth, the attendant had apparently seen what was transpiring as I came down her side of the bridge. I admitted to her, after she said it was amazing, that I didn't want to do that again. But that I am a new rider, and it was my "first real ride."
The trip back home was also the first time I've ever ridden on the interstate (except as a passenger), and also the first time I ever exceeded 65 mph.
The trip into work was a solo trip. On my way back, though, I rode along with another biker friend. So it was also my first time riding in a pair. My hands were freezing so bad that my fingertips hurt, so we pulled to the side of the interstate into the shoulder and warmed my hands up for a few minutes. Then, we had to get back out into highway traffic at rush hour, said traffic moving about 65mph. I got up some speed, saw an opening, and jumped out. But my buddy was still on the shoulder ahead of me, so I slowed down to let him in. This earned me a well-deserved high-beam flash from the car behind me, and an alternate suggestion for next time from my friend
.I suppose the most memorable thing about it was the cold and the wind. My friend told me after we each got to our respective homes, that it was a bad day to ride, but that I did well. I consider making it back home without dropping the bike or getting blown over, or freezing beyond reason, as good enough.
