Wind and rattlesnakes

It was a tough weekend for training, that's for sure.

When I woke up on Saturday, the winds were brutal.  I rolled back over and went to sleep.  When I woke back up, the winds were just as bad.  I checked the weather and the wind was predicted just as bad on Sunday, so I got my stuff and headed out on the bike.  The wind was coming from the south, so instead of riding Parmer, I decided to do the Dam Loop.  That would mean I would fight the wind on the way out, but should have a tailwind on the return.  The added bonus was the extra hill work I'd get.

Immediately, I was struggling to pedal and keep the speed over 10-12 mph.  When I finally turned onto 360 and started the descent toward Spicewood, the wind was gusting so hard that I was only doing 9 mph downhill, while pedaling.  As I came over the 360 bridge, I caught a crosswind that nearly knocked me off my bike, and on Bee Cave, I experienced the same in several places.  I thought that once I made the turn onto 620 to come back north, it would be all tailwind and smooth pedaling, but that wasn't the case.  As I went over the Mansfield Dam, the wind shifted, or maybe it was channeled.  I don't know, but it was coming almost directly at me from the north.  I yelled a few choice words to no one and continued grinding against the wind.  In the end, it was 60 of the toughest miles I've ever ridden.

On Sunday, I had to squeeze in my 10 mile run before the Spurs game started at noon.  I decided to run on soft surface, so I headed up to the Goodwater Loop at Lake Georgetown.  About a mile and a half into my run, I was picking my way along the single-track trail through wait-high weeds when I spotted something moving that brought me to a dead stop.  I heard the distinctive rattle and slowly started to retreat, keeping a close eye on my nemesis.  The snake was doing the same.  The snake was following the trail, so I decided not to try and wait it out and turned around and ran back finishing my run on the south side of the lake.