There are two important things I want to know when I go on a bike ride. First what is the weather going to be so I know how to dress and prepare for the ride. Second I want to know where will we be stopping for a break so I know if I should bring food with me or buy a tasty treat at the stop. Although we can control where we stop for a break we can't control the weather and have to deal with what comes along. I will ride in a wide variety of weather conditions from 20 degrees to 95 degrees and don't care if it is sunny or overcast or even how windy it is. However I try not to go out if there is better than 50% chance of heavy rain and thunderstorms. Weather predictions are not perfect and in fact they can be down right wrong at times so there will be time you will be riding in weather you were not expecting.
That's what happen at last weeks Belmar ride. Laura had listed a century from her house with an option to do shorter distances if you met her a certain points. I chose the 68 mile option. The weather was suppose to be in the mid to upper 70s with overcast skies clearing later in the day. There was a 10% chance of light rain at 11am. It was a good day for a long ride as it wasn't going to be really hot.
Laura picked us up in Etra and we headed through Jackson, where we stopped for our first break, and then through Farmingdale towards the shore. As we approached the coast it got a little darker and there was a spritz of rain as we were waiting for a few people behind us to change a flat tire.
When we got to the beach it was overcast and foggy but there were still plenty of people on the beach. We made our usual stop at the tables in front of the Dunkin Donuts before heading back. As we rode past Allaire State Park the clouds got darker and it started to rain. It was a heavy rain that was not in the forecast. Luckily it was just heavy rain and not a thunderstorm so we just had to ride through it. It was warm enough that getting wet didn't make us cold. The rain lasted about 10 mins. We then almost dry off before we rode through another downpour.
It was definitely not fun to get wet but it did cool us off so in some ways it made the ride a little easier. Despite the rain and the miles I felt pretty good after 68 miles although I know I didn't really want to do too much more.
This past Saturday the weather forecast had a 50% chance of rain and not wanting to get wet again I moved my ride to Sunday. This was the second club ride I lead this year. The weather was perfect low 70s , low humility and abundant sunshine. I lead a hilly ride out of Lambertville to Frenchtown on the NJ side. I took the easy way up the hill and we got some good scenic views once we got to the ridge.
We headed down the hill into Frenchtown for our break. It was congested and crowded but it was still nice to sit buy the river and enjoy the scenery. Eventually we headed out of Frenchtown and down Rt 29 for 5 miles before heading back uphill on Warsaw. It was the toughest climb of the day and we have a few more easier climbs before we got back to Lambertville but all in all it was one of the more enjoyable rides I did this year.
Monday I did my own ride with a few of the members of the insane bike posse. The weather was about 10 degrees warmer and a lot more humid. My legs were tired which is why this ride was flatter. We headed from my house to Chesterfield and back on a 44 mile route. We cruised along at a decent clip.
After the stop in Chesterfield we had tailwind most of the way back. It wasn't enough however to keep me from cramping up as I did a few miles before the end of the ride. I guess the heat and riding two days in a row caught up with me but after a little stretching I was able to make it home without cramping up again.
We are now entering the dog days of summer so hot and unstable weather will be the norm. Although I will check the forecast before I ride I know the predictions will not always be reliable so will be ready to ride in whatever conditions come along.
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