Great tempo ride

Tuesday
Today was Tempo day. I had 30-40 minutes of warm up and cool down with 60 minutes of tempo riding sandwiched in between. I did this in the National Park heading up a gradual grade. Just before getting into the Park I was buzzed by a car from Georgia. It passed me at about 18 inches away. I pulled into the parking lot where the car had gone. I rolled up to the driver, who was out of the car now. He and his family were about to go tubing on the river. I told him it was a state law in TN to allow 3 feet when passing a cyclist. He said “what cyclist?” “Me” I replied. He asked where he passed me. He, in fact, had not even seen me. His kids admitted that they had seen me and that their dad had passed me very closely. Upon the kids, (teenagers) confirming what I’d said, he was very apologetic. I was very nice and told him I was not mad, just suggesting he pays closer attention in the future. I told him and his family to have fun and be careful as I clipped in and rolled away. I felt really strong and averaged over 200 watts for an hour and 13 minutes with an average speed of 20.6 mph. There was a storm blowing in and I was trying to get finished and out of the Park before I got caught in a downpour. I passed a fellow team member. He got on my wheel and sat on for 3 or 4 miles. We chatted a bit before I broke off to head back. I made it out of the Park before the storm, but the rain started about a mile later. As the rain got stronger, I pulled into a carwash stall and waited. The rain got harder, and then it slacked up. I called my wife and she agreed to come pick me up. As I was waiting, the rain almost stopped. It was just a drizzle, so I decided to head on home. I called my wife again and she told me to stay put because the storm was heading my way and it was pouring there. She was right. It was only a few minutes before the bottom dropped out and the rain fell in sheets. I was freezing from the drop in temperature, the wind and the fact I was soaked in sweat. I could not wait to get into a steaming hot shower. It’s the little things, ya know… My legs were definitely feeling fatigued after this ride. The rain is supposed to be around for the next day or so. At least that’s what the weather says today. We’ll see.