on the money

yesterday, sunday 2-22-2009, was the seventh annual battleship ride hosted by the west florida wheelmen. it is an out-and-back ride with the USS Alabama being the destination/turn-around point.

to start, the weather wasn't real bad. to be more accurate, the tempurature wasn't that bad; the winds however, sucked. we had a gusty +/-18mph head/cross wind the entire way to the battleship, thus blessing us with a tail/cross wind on the way home.

after the rest stop on the way home, which was at a little more than the half-way back point, was about the time when i started getting shut down. i had been riding like crap because i have not been doing many long rides and just wasn't ready, and i was tired of fighting the wind. it was tot the point where i was getting mad and trash talking the wind to myself. thinking and muttering under my breath things like, "wind, next time i see you i'm going to punch you in the face".

i rode worse than most, but better than one or two and finished the whole thing. i gave my miserable ride report to some friends after getting home and resting for a bit. shea asked me if i would do it again: hell yes.

thanks to don and his wife for the organization and awesome food/vehicle/ride support and thanks to everyone who turned out to ride. already looking forward to next years!