Winds...

Riding in the Sacramento Valley in Northern California... well, it can get a bit boring.  It can take more than a few minutes to talk myself into going for a ride.  The roads are set up on grid that is pretty much North, South, East, and West with few curves, very little change in elevation, and there really is hardly any terrain to block the wind.

As the winds are almost exclusively from the North or the South, on a windy day, the only options (but part of every ride so they aren't really options) are challenging headwind, nasty crosswind, and a tailwind of bliss.  I never realized that I would have to take wind into account for daily rides but Northern California determined otherwise.  I do my best to be able to get the tailwind home but if your are out for a few hours, the winds often change and you have a headwind for the majority of your ride.  The winds today were 10-15 from the south and was able to time the tailwind of bliss on the way home! No challenging climbs nearby but if you want a workout, I suggest a Norther California headwind.