Oh, one other thing - the temperature was 25 degrees and the wind was blowing at 15 miles per hour! That's OK, Lance would ride with weather like this, so certainly I could. Besides, my face only hurts when I am going downhill at 30 miles per hour and the wind is blowing straight at me. The rest of the time, because I am well bundled up for my ride, my 10 mile trip is always a joy. I begin by grinding up Laurel Avenue, then reach the flats up above and really start cranking. It doesn't take long to get into the rhythm. The cares of the day fall away, and the feeling of speed is wonderful. I am careful because of the low temperature and I am constantly on the lookout for patches of ice, and left-over sand that was spread on the road when we had a dusting of snow last week.
I am vaguely aware of my shadow off to one side or the other from time to time as I change direction with the turns of the road. But it is on my next to last hill climb that suddenly my shadow races out ahead of me as the sun sets behind me. I lean on the pedals but it is no use - my shadow is ahead of me to stay. So I just enjoy the company on the climb.
I will reach the top of the hill, turn around and race down again to the bottom and then it's just a mile back to home. This time, however, I am more aware of my shadow, and decide to do a U-turn and ride back along the harbor's edge in the direction I came from, so that I can photograph my shadow riding alongside me on the surface of the road. I am just a tiny figure on huge wheels, but I am grinning from ear to ear.
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