Dead Calm Headwind

It is a rare day indeed when I make it out to the San Gabriel River Trail and discover a reflection of earth and sky due to the placid flow of water. But this is the view I was greeted with this morning. I could probably look back through the blog to uncover when the river last had water in its channel, but I won't. I will simply revel in the fact that at this moment it does yet again.

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It was right about mile fourteen that I started to feel the, seemingly, non-existent headwind. A couple miles earlier, a change in direction had brought that old nemesis and I face to face. Why must it always challenge me in this way? Tri-Tom flew by me in his best tuck, heading the opposite direction; Tri-Tom moving that quickly must mean he has a nice tailwind and, I thought terrific, the battle commences. My speed slowed considerably - two, three miles per hour - though the effort I was putting into moving forward had increased. I didn't really want to at this point, but I shifted into an easier gear and rose up onto the pedals to reclaim some momentum. It worked for a bit, but only that much and certainly no more. Solo riding - all work, all the time. Anyway, a couple miles of that and I began the inevitable side to side look at the trees and shrubs. Nothing. No movement at all. With evidence like that the air should have been dead calm. It was a rookie mistake, and one I fall for every time - using the trees to discern the strength of the wind. Deceptive SOBs and their dirty tricks.