Wind and loads

So, this was supposed to be yesterday's post, but hey, I didn't get home til ~10:30, and I didn't feel like writing, just sleeping.

Two of my bikes are very easy to recognize as "mine," as I built cargo racks for them. Yesterday was the first time I put any sort of load on the one on my road bike, Spork. I put a crate on the back, and after dropping off a printer at a friend's house, went to the store and filled up the crate.

Total, it weighed close to 30 pounds... which is more than the bike itself weighs, and it presented an interesting problem. With all the weight behind the rear wheel, the front of the bike was lighter than usual. Combined with how high the weight was, it made for a very twitchy ride home.

Later on in the day, I went to meet up with my sister at the office where she works. I almost didn't because of the wind. I don't like riding in wind, at all, because most of my experience with wind has been on a mountain bike, which isn't the best for aerodynamics. But, I went anyways, again on Spork, and braved the 40mph gusts. And you know what? It wasn't that bad.

The road bike puts me in a position where I'm leaning forward on the bike, with an option to lean even further if I move my hands from the top of the bars into the drops. That position meant I got blown around a lot less than on a mountain bike. Which in turn meant I enjoyed the entire ride, which was longer than I expected.

Mileage: 22