This was my second year to do this ride and it was a much different experience. On the drive out to Lancaster I was debating whether or not I was going to ride. I had already registered but the cold and the wind were more than I wanted to deal with. I was just going to pick up my packet and decide at start time.

I put on my cold weather gear and decided to go ahead and ride 42 mile route. The ride started on time and I made good time for the first 20 miles. About 15 miles in, the route hits the hills, all of which are short but steep. Not long after the hills we turned into the wind, 18+ mph and man was it cold! The temp was in the low 50's but with the wind mixed in it felt much colder. At this point, I was glad that I decided to do the 42 mile route.

The roads seemed much worse than the previous year. I did the long route (65 miles) last year and we rode a lot of the same roads, but I don’t remember them being as bad as they were on this ride.

The rest of the ride was slow but uneventful. I strolled into Lancaster with and average speed of 15.3 mph and had a pretty good ride, all things considered.

The wind really killed my average. I was hoping to finish in between 16 and 17 mph but the wind was just to strong.