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<P class="MsoNormal"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Hello JLab Bikers,</FONT></P>
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<P class="MsoNormal"><FONT face="Times New Roman">After a tough day at work on 24March11, I decided to
enjoy the late afternoon with a short (12 mile) solo bike ride along a
rectangular circuit of country roads near my house at the city limits of
Vidalia, Georgia. The weather was breezy, mostly clear sky and a temperature of
about 75F. The wind through tree branches was audible. </FONT></P>
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<P class="MsoNormal"><FONT face="Times New Roman">As I
pedaled along roads with very little traffic, I noticed that I had a headwind on
3 of 4 sides of my rectangular circuit. The first leg was downhill with a
sidewind from the right of varying strength, which occasionally challenged
balance and steering. The sidewind reminded me of riding in Newport News, VA
with a hurricane off the coast. The second leg had the strongest headwind,
because it was dead ahead. During the short upward incline, I was convinced that
the forest was funneling the wind down the road and into my face. My bike helmet
had a low pitch whistle in the breeze, which masks the sound of cars. During the
third and longest leg, I incorrectly anticipated a side breeze from the left.
The third leg is mostly uphill with a couple small declines. Instead, I had a
slight headwind. As I pedaled alone, I thought about the navy’s version of a
vector math solution of apparent wind problems, where the true wind vector is
added to your velocity vector. Therefore, I watched tree branches with new
leaves sway in the wind and determined that the true wind was a headwind. The
good news is that the German Shepherd along the third leg was too busy to chase
me uphill, again. When I returned home, I saw my roadside pile of raked leaves
blowing across the yard.</FONT></P>
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<P class="MsoNormal"><FONT face="Times New Roman">Thanks!</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV>________________________<BR>Joe D. Wilson, Jr., P.E.<BR>Vidalia, GA
30474<BR> <BR>The greatest statement in engineering and science is Genesis
1:3.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>False wisdom is often popular with negative consequences and sometimes
masts subtle evil. <BR>....October 2010 as inspired by Proverbs
1:1-19</DIV></BODY></HTML>