Lucky

Took off early today. I wanted to get 75 miles in and still get back in time to hang out with Elijah, which wound up not happening. A solo effort into a wind with gusts over 30 mph was what I faced. Not pleasant. Temps in the 30's and wind chills in the 20's. Less than not pleasant. A sun-less gray sky. &%#$ing depressing.
I donned cycling gear appropriate for February and reassured the fast-goodlooking bike that everything would be OK. No more than two miles of asphalt had gone under me and the fast-goodlooking bike, and we were conspiring to shorten the ride considerably. We were working the excuses fast and hard when I heard voices coming from behind. It took them a little to over take me, but soon at least 12 cyclists all clad in red rode by me. I'm no idiot - I was on that last guys wheel like glue.
You know how it is, if you're not a part of the pack/team it's....not very comfortable, but I stayed out of their way, at the back and they kind of came around and started to accept the fact that I was there. After all, I wasn't causing any trouble.
I figured I'd stay on their wheel as long as they were heading into the wind, and who knows, maybe I could make it out to Delano.
After we got to Wayzata I heard them talking about heading to Delano. COOL!
As the ride progressed their leaders would fall back and let others do the up-front work. I'd let these guys move in front of me, again, I didn't want to be in their way, or interrupt their ride. It wasn't very long though, before these front guys would fall back behind me and I was in the middle of the pack working up to the front. As I worked my way up to the front some of the guys would start talking to me, they were starting to trust my abilities, and realize that I was safe to ride with and not squirrely. This was around the 25 mile mark. Little did they know.
We got to Delano and stopped for some coffee at Three Crows. I told them thanks for letting me tag along, and again, they were great. They seemed appreciative that I was along to help out. We were all laughing, complaining about how cold it was, and what a brutal wind we were dealing with.
There were three or four guys there older than me, and the rest were much younger. The young bucks had the lean biker bodies, us old guys not so much.
Delano marked the half way point and the point where the wind was now at our backs. The effort home was going to be so much easier.
Good solid cyclists. Nice and steady. Not a squirrel among them. Made some new friends today. 75/18.4

I Was The Only Blue In A Sea Of Red