A Pollen Storm

Last weekend was a beautiful weekend. It was perfect for riding. I didn't ride - much. Why! Well I had a hard choice - spend time with Granddaughter or ride?

Actually, it wasn't a hard choice at all. I left work at noon on Friday, rode home, jumped in the truck and headed to North Carolina to visit my son and his family.

I got back home around 1:00 pm on Sunday and was able to get a ride in. I threw the Specialized in my truck and headed up to the Colonial Parkway. The Parkway runs from Yorktown to Jamestown by way of Williamsburg. It's a great ride, the traffic can be a bit heavy, but the road is wide and they have plenty of room to pass. The road surface is pretty rough, but I don't mind. I've been watching the Spring Classics, many of which feature cobblestone sections. When I ride the Parkway, I just pretend I am in the pro peloton riding the Paris Roubaix. In future posts I hope to feature the Parkway in more detail. But I didn't have much time on Sunday - so I put my head down and rode - not much time to smell the roses. But a didn't get a couple shots of the flowers in bloom.

The ride from Yorktown to Jamestown was spectacular. I felt good - I was strong - I was blazing fast. It wasn't until I arrived at Jamestown, refilled my waterbottles and starting heading back that I realized the reason for my break-neck speeds. I had been riding the crest of a pretty substantial tailwind. Now I was faced with 22 miles of a pretty substantial headwind - with a few hills to boot. Lucky me!

I put my head down and slogged away. The wonderful feeling of clipping along at a brisk pace evaporated as my field of vision narrowed to a small spot 5 feet in front of my wheel. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky and the temperatures dropped accordingly. It was close to 70 F when I started the ride and now it was in the 50's. I regretted not bringing along a jacket or arm warmers. Oh well - not much I can do about it now.

I passed through Williamsburg and was on the final 12 mile stretch when I looked up and noticed something unusual. As each car passed me, they kick up a fine mist of dust. As I looked further up the road, I noticed that I was riding through a light yellow haze. What in the world? A dust storm? No way? It was then that I glanced at a pool of water along the side of the road and noticed the yellow sheen floating on the surface.

Pollen!! I wasn't riding through a dust storm - I was riding through a pollen storm. Oh goodie - Spring is here! I reached the truck and felt good to have logged in 45 miles.