CME

This weekend much was made about the CME (Coronal Mass Ejection). This is when  a large amount of plasma is ejected from the sun. There was some concern that the amount of plasma ejected from the sun this time was large enough to cause disruptions to satellites, radio waves and the electric grid. 

There was some reports of problems with radio stations coming in but no major disruptions that I heard of. If you were lucky enough to have clear skies you might have been able to see some of the aurora that the CME caused but it was too cloudy here to see it. 

On Saturday morning I did get out before my ride to get a picture of the remnants of the CME on the sun. The large black spots at the bottom of the sun in the picture above is the sunspot where the CME came from. It's 6 or 7 time bigger than an normal sunspot. 

Luckily the CME did not affect the GPS network and I was able to lead one of my Pineland cruises. It was one of the few sunny days we have had in the last few weeks with temperatures in the low 60s making it a good day for a ride. 

It was a mostly uneventful ride at a vigorous pace. We did have a bridge out but it wasn't hard to get over it. We made our usually stop at the Wawa in Vincentown before heading back. We had to detour around a town fair in Vincentown but otherwise it was a quick trip back to the start of the ride. 

We are at peak pollen season

 

 

 

As you can see by the front of my GPS. I wonder how much I inhaled of that during the ride. Luckily it doesn't see to affect me. Although the weather has been colder and wetter than normal After doing 50 miles at a good pace I feel ready for warmer weather and longer rides.

Bad Weather

Yesterday I did a ride on my own. It was May 2nd and I still had to wear tights and a jacket. It was cloudy and raw. Usually by this time of the year when I ride I may be in long sleeves but can usually ride in shorts. Although this past Monday and Tuesday where warm and mostly sunny days we seem to have had a lot more of cold and cloudy days this year. That is backed up by my ride log which says over 50% of the rides I have done this year were in cold and cloudy conditions. 

Of course as long as it is not raining I will ride but it would be a lot more enjoyable if I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.