Despite being a dump my night's stay at the Glendo motel was comfortable and I feel I had a good night's rest. I woke up and the sunlight peeking through the window blinds was a good sign but I would not be able to motivate myself out of bed until nearly nine o'clock. When I finally did get up I was out the door within a few minutes but was immediately disappointed to be greeted by a nasty wind blowing from exactly where I was supposed to be going. A flag was being buffeted on its pole so hard that its edge was frayed and it made whipping noises. I briefly considered staying here for another day, the daily rate after all being only $25, but I knew that would only delay the inevitable since tomorrow and the day after and seemingly into infinity there's going to be wind blowing in this state. And at least the sun's out!After a good breakfast consisting of two ham, egg and cheese croissants and juice I finally got off the duff and faced the task ahead. My effort was compounded I don't know how many times over by the new chain problem but I can honestly say that no part of today's ride, not even the occasional downhill, was easy in the least. It was a full-time struggle and the numbers on the trip computer bear witness to this. I averaged a pace of only 6.5mph and gave up for the day just 25 miles later sorely disappointed with my performance, the bike and the lack of cooperation from the Weather Department.
With conditions like these it was easy to start thinking about quitting. My rationale is peppered with "good" reasons why it's okay. Then there's the flip side of the coin which will remind me the rest of my life how when the going got rough I quit where others would have toughed it out and gone on. It would be for me like wearing a big scarlet "M" and that would be a hard thing to accept in the future. And the scariest thing is that I realize I'm being motivated to stay in the game more by the disincentive of failure than by the incentive of success. Whatever the case may be it's not over til it's over as they say. Tomorrow's weather is expected to deteriorate into higher winds and colder temps. It's the devil of temptation working me over at my weakest.