The weather started out at 32 degrees with a headwind of 10 mph. Given that the ride was 92 miles we all started out at 7 am. Coldddddddd and it stayed cold all day.
About 1/2 hour into the ride, the wind picked up to 25-30 mph with wind gusts to 40 mph. The wind was so strong that I was averaging 5 mph on my bike (1/3 speed of what I normally ride at).
At one point I had to get off my bike to get up a hill. I was going about 4 mph on my bike and walking I was doing 3 mph.
I made it to mile 27 and had to get picked up. The strongest riders made it to mile 35 before they sagged. We all got driven to our lunch break which was an old community center in the middle of nowhere.
The center had no heat but they were able to find some old blankets for us to use. They were life savers!
At about noon, Bubba declared the ride over as it was becoming too dangerous. Riders were being blown into the traffic lane. It would have taken even the strongest riders 10-12 hours to complete the ride were they allowed to finish. Never did get above 38-40 degrees (at best).
Tonight we are staying in an elementary school in Columbus. Luckily we have a break day tomorrow and hopefully the weather will change. Plan is to go to Mexico on the break day.
An update - two riders actually finished the ride. It took them over 11 hours. That is about 8 mph. These guys usually average 15-20 mph. Of course we had to give them a standing ovation when they arrived during dinner.
So today we made history!
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