Back from a short ride on the single-speed. My original plan for going out on my new Fuji were squashed when I realized I hadn’t dried all my cycling clothing from the washing. So I got to work on finishing that bit of laundry this morning, and then shifted gears to take a shorter ride on the fixie.

I only went out for about 12 miles, but it was harsh—not from temperature, although it was a little chilly too, but from wind. I discovered, to my chagrin, that the longest and steepest hill on the route I chose was also headed directly into a terrible headwind. I think it’s the first time that I ever seriously considered walking my bike up that hill. I didn’t though. I made it, with my head down and just focusing on turning the pedals over.

At the end of things, given the wind, it’s probably a good thing that I took a short and hard ride, as opposed to having tried to do a longer one. I might have found myself in a spot of bother out on the rode and far from home.