Short Shorts and Long Tights

The wind was gone, the sky was clear, and the temperature was 48ºF when I left the house this morning. Nice. Very nice. Since I'd rather be hot than cold any day of the week, I pulled on the long tights this morning, along with the skullcap and toe-covers. I knew it would warm up quickly, but between pockets and zippers I figured I could adjust. In fact, the first thing I did when I got to the levee where the 6:30 a.m. sun was already over the horizon was stuff the skullcap into my pocket. When Jeff rolled up a moment later he said something to the effect of, "The girls are coming." This development was clearly cause for excitement among the group of regulars who were clearly starving for something - anything - new. I'd have to say that having four attractive women on the morning ride qualified.

The group finally headed out about on time sporting a diverse assemblage of clothing styles ranging from short triathlon shorts to long tights and shoe-covers. Wardrobe selection is a real challenge this time of year and there's rarely a consensus unless the thermometer promises to stay well below 50º for the whole ride. Anyway, the ride itself was quite good today, as most Wednesday rides tend to be. The pace was fairly steady at 21-23 mph with riders taking long smooth pulls at the front. It's amazing how much smoother a ride feels when there's not much wind. It looks like this cool weather will stick around one more day before things start to warm up a bit, but it is clear that we are working our way into our Southern winter now. The ten-day forecast isn't showing anything above 71º and not much in the way of rain until Saturday. If you like riding your bike, this is not the time to be sitting on the couch! We're already talking about next Sunday's northshore ride.

Mother Duck

It was even colder this morning. The temperature again dipped down below 50F, which in my book is somewhere between chilly and cold. Rather than wrestle with the arm-warmers, I broke out the heavy Pearlizumi LS jersey this morning for the first time since spring. A cold front had come through during the night and there was a stiff northwest wind blowing. Apparently it was blowing so hard that it blew most of the usual morning riders right off the levee because there was just a handful today. Luckily, though, Brady was there, and knowing his propensity for self-flagellation, I wasn't surprised when he went to the front and proceeded to tow us like a mother duck halfway to Destrehan before reluctantly pulling over so we could put in our wimpy little one-minute pulls. The whole time he was pulling, everyone else was being very quiet as if they were hoping he'd forget we were back there and keep pulling into the wind.

Although I had skipped the ride on Monday out of sheer laziness, I still felt kind of off-form today and although my brain kept wanting to ride hard, my legs were just not cooperating. It was as if I was dragging anchor all day, even though the wind rarely let me get out of the small chainring. By the time I got home, quite a few minutes later than usual because of the relatively slow ride speed, my feet were still cold. A sign of things to come, I'm afraid. There always comes a time in December when the shoe-covers just stay on the shoes all week. I hate that week. Anyway, despite the big cup of exceptionally strong Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend that I made at home, I felt lousy all day at work too. Then, on the way home I decided to ride down Broadway instead of Pine St. because they've been digging up the intersections on St. Charles and since it was already dark, I figured it would be safer on Broadway. Big mistake. There was a steady stream of cars, all apparently in a big hurry to get home. I ended up plowing right into some kind of crack or pothole that I never saw. Shortly after that, somebody threw open a car door that I narrowly missed. Finally, I got across St. Charles and cut back over to Pine Street. That was just about when my front tire went flat, no doubt pinch-flatted by the aforementioned pothole. So I just limped home on the rim for the next ten blocks. Thump, thump, thump .....

It's already down to 51F around here, so unless some clouds roll in overnight I guess it'll be another morning in the 40s. I can already feel my feet getting cold. Maybe I'll actually have to break down and fire up the central heat soon.

Club Ride Day - Sea of Green

Bicycle racing clubs can seem a bit anti-social sometimes, especially during the racing season. The riders who are able to travel to the area races, most of which consume entire weekends, don't get too many chances to get to know the newer riders who don't or can't. Add to that the various individual constraints on training times, fitness levels, and local geography, and a larger club often ends up with a lot of riders who don't know each other very well. Fortunately, once the racing season and general testosterone levels wind down in October, there are a lot more opportunities for everyone to get together. One of those opportunities was yesterday when we had an NOBC Club Ride over on the northshore. Leading up to the ride day, there seemed to be a fair amount of interest in the ride, but it's always hard to guess who and how many will actually show up for these things. Excuses for not making winter rides are easy to come by, but this time the weather was definitely not one of them. With no rain in the forecast, and northshore temperatures set to rise from the upper 50s to the mid-70s, you really couldn't ask for a better day.

I arrived at the Puccino's parking lot at Lakeside Shopping Center a bit earlier than usual, which is to say, "more than three minutes early." There were already a few people there - Big John, Carin, Mignon, and by the time I'd picked up a cup of coffee, more were arriving, including Mark, John, Brady, and Rich. So we loaded up the Volvo, along with three other cars, and headed north over the lake for the meeting location at Abita Springs. The sky was blue and the temperature was warm enough that I was fully expecting to be riding in just shorts and jersey. By the time we got to the northshore, however, the temperature had dropped over ten degrees and we were driving through some significant fog. I was glad I'd brought the extra jersey and arm-warmers. When we arrived, the place was full of cars and people unloading bikes. Apparently some Crescent City Cyclist riders had organized an impromptu ride starting at the same time. Even so, when our sea of green finally rolled out for our club ride I counted twenty-five, including a lot of riders who we don't normally see on the faster northshore training rides. By the standards of weekend northshore rides on Saints game days, this was huge.

The idea for this ride was basically to enjoy the scenery, keep everyone together, and get a little bit of training on the side. Given the size of the group, I figured that we'd probably split up a bit after the last Enon store stop around mile 40 of the 65 mile route. The ride was really exceptionally good. For the first forty miles the pace remained mostly easy to moderate as planned. Of course, when we got onto that nice fast road back from Plainview to Enon the riders at the front started having a hard time keeping the speed down and some gaps opened up. I'd been expecting that, though, and some of us helped out by pacing some of the small groups back up. Things never did really shatter, though, and everyone arrived at the Enon store for a final break before hitting the Watchtower hill and the last 20 mostly flat miles back to Abita Springs. One thing that was really nice was that we had our own private follow vehicle, a scooter, that would give a little boost to any riders who happened to drop too far off the pace. I think the tandem got an assist on one of the hillier stretches of the route.

As we got close to the Watchtower hill, I looked over at John and commented that this was the famous Watchtower hill. He looked up the road, unimpressed, and said it didn't look too bad. I told him that often, toward the end of long training rides, it was what caused the group to finally split apart for good. Then I rode up toward the front. My plan was to ride a little harder up the hill, just for the training, and then drop back to help whoever might come off the back during the climb. As predicted, by the time I got to the top the group was spread out over a quarter mile of road. I dropped back at one point to help pace Robert and then was surprised when he suddenly came flying past me with the scooter driver pushing him back up to the group at 28 mph. I tried to stay in the draft but they lost me on the next little uphill. There were more riders still behind, though, and eventually we all regrouped a couple of miles later on Tung Road.

After the ride, most of the group walked over to the Abita Brewpub for lunch, where we could also keep track of the Saints game. As I walked in the door Brady handed me a big glass of beer that I think was the AndyGator (http://www.abita.com/brews/andygator.php) which packs a bigger punch than most. It was just what I needed - maybe more. For some reason I hadn't been particularly thirsty or hungry and had finished the 65 miles with practically two full water bottles and an unopened powerbar in my pocked. A few hours later, after a shrimp Po-boy and fries, and back at home, I was surprised to find my legs a little bit sore. I guess that I did a bit more pulling than normal, especially over the last twenty miles or so. Oh well. I'm still in off-season riding mode right now, and I guess that around next weekend I'll start to actually think about training again. For me, that usually just means trying to get in a lot of miles at a moderate pace, working a bit on leg speed and form in smaller gears, and attempting to keep the calorie intake within reason.

A Good Day to Ride

The weather today was about as good as it gets. When I left the house, stuffed into leg and arm-warmers, full gloves and two jerseys, I knew I'd be hot by the time I got back. The sky was clear, the wind was light, and I had no firm plans. I'd hardly taken two pedal strokes when I saw a rider flash down Broadway, a block over to my right. I figured it must be Rob, and indeed we soon met up on Carrollton.

As you'd expect for a great weather day in November, there was a pretty big group for the start of the Giro Ride, and considering the pleasant weather I was figuring it would get fast sooner rather than later. It never quite happened, though. Just as we hit Hayne Blvd. someone flatted and the group slowed down. A couple of guys stopped, but most of the group kept rolling. I guess it was a little too early in the ride to expect everyone to stop. After a few minutes of soft-pedaling, we came to the conclusion that they'd never catch us anyway, and in fact would probably take the Bullard short-cut, so I went to the front and got the pace rolling again. After a while we picked up the guys who had been off the front. Somehow, though, I think that early slowdown kind of took the wind out of everyone's sails. It was so pleasant to roll along at an easy 20 mph that nobody was really interested in pushing things. So that pretty much sums up most of today's ride. There was, of course, a nice little surge for the turnaround, and again for the Goodyear sign, but today they came much later and with less intensity than usual. As you can see from the photos, the locals are very confused about what to wear on days like this. We had everything from knee-warmers (that would be me) to sleeveless tri jerseys.

Finally, halfway down Hayne Blvd. on the way back, the pace started to lift significantly. I guess the group split somewhere along there. I couldn't resist making a couple of hard efforts, sprinting up the two overpasses. (Later, I'd be surprised to find my legs sore.)

After the ride a few of us went across the street to Kona Cafe' for a while, after which I finally headed home down Marconi. Tomorrow we have an NOBC no-drop ride and lunch at Abita Brewpub across the lake that should be pretty nice. It's looking like the weather will cooperate, too. I'm sure winter will eventually get here, but hey, no rush!

Later that afternoon we rode over to Whole Foods on Magazine St. to pick up some oatmeal for cookies. There were bikes everywhere, and when we arrived we were lucky to find a place to lock up the bikes. They were busy setting up the patio for a wine and food tasting event, while inside it was a sea of boots and berets, with the occasional studded dog collar, as usual. Riding home through the old streets, Audubon Park, and Tulane's campus I was reminded once again why I put up with all the city's crap in order to live here.

All About the Weather

Forty-nine degrees. It's been a long time since the outdoor temperature has dropped below 50F, and I'm sure that by the time I actually got out the door it was probably already a degree or two warmer. I dug out my DeFeet gloves, zipped up my vest, and rode out to the levee under a clear sky. I was actually rather chilly. It seems to take a week or two to get used to the cooler weather, and the fact that we only get it a couple of days at a time around here doesn't really make it any easier, or faster. Anyway, one thing is for sure. For the next few months, it'll be all about the weather. It will be too hot or too cold or too windy or too wet or some combination of the above. Today, though was pretty damned close to ideal. The wind that has plagued us all week had finally settled down. The river level was dropping. The air felt crisp and clean. Our little Friday group did the usual ride, taking long steady pulls, often in a double paceline, at an easy pace. Sam showed up today. Hadn't seen him in a while. He's heading up to Grand Junction, CO to go back to school at Colorado State in a few days.

Today, in-between phone calls and emails, I set up an NOBC Facebook page. It's remarkably easy to do, so I thought, "Why not?" If it helps get the word out a little better, it'll be worth it. About thirty seconds after it went live Dustin "became a member," which is what one does for Facebook "Groups," not to be confused with Facebook "Pages" for which one becomes a "Fan." I find it all kind of confusing, but then again I've never been much of a natural at the whole social networking thing.

Nice November Weather

A clear blue sky, slightly cooler temperature, and a bit less wind made it a fine morning for riding. The night before, someone had posted that the unpaved gravel hump in the bike path that we've been avoiding for the past couple of months had finally been re-paved, so it would be the first time the group would be doing the "full" long ride in a while.

The ride out to the turnaround started off at a pretty good clip, especially considering the crosswind. I think everything was still together, though, when we spotted Donald about a minute up the road. That's kind of when things started to get out of hand. It seemed that Rob was determined to catch him before the turnaround, and the pace started to pick up in fits and spurts until the front of the group fractured completely. Rob and one other rider split off the front and caught, but the minute they did, Donald ramped the pace up another notch and it split again, ultimately leaving Rob and a string of lone riders, including me, spread out over half a mile of bike path as we approached the upriver end of the bike path at Ormond.

The group was unusually slow to come back together on the way back, and at one point before we had all regrouped, Rob was pulling just three or four of us at the front with the rest of the group fifteen seconds back. So someone told Rob to ease up and wait, but since, as usual, he had his ipod plugged firmly into his head he didn't hear him. So we let him go and eased up to regroup, but it was fairly obvious that the rest of the group wasn't really too interested in catching. Rob eventually looked back, discovered he was alone, and eased up. I suspect, though, that Donald was being passive-aggressive and for some reason didn't want to ride with Rob today. A few of us rode up to Rob, thinking that the rest of the group was right behind us, but as it turned out, there was still a fair bit of space between us. Anyway, we eventually ended up with just a little group of four off the front. Rob was pushing the pace a bit, and when I realized that two out of our four would soon be either pulling off or turning around, I decided to sit on the back and conserve some energy for the inevitable two-man time trial into the wind with Rob riding on his forearms and me hunting around for a bit of draft. So it turned out to be a pretty hard ride by my standards, and I was all too happy to sit up at the Playground for a long cool-down and let Rob sail off down the river.

The weather was so nice all day that around 1 pm I decided to go for a ride around the park rather than eat lunch. When I got near the entrance I spotted a couple of people sitting on a bench eating po-boys. Behind them was a fully loaded tandem touring bike. So naturally I stopped to get the story. It was a couple from Scotland who had ridden down the entire length of the Mississippi River. They had just arrived in New Orleans via the bike path and had stopped at GNO Cyclery to get a broken spoke fixed. They had directions to someone's house for the night. I figure they were in their late 60s and they looked just a bit road-weary. Even at the modest speed they were doing, however, they were happy to be near the end of their journey, which in this case was the little town of Venice, another fifty or sixty miles downriver, I think. It's basically where the pavement, and dry ground, ends.

Wind and Women

This morning it seemed the wind was blowing even more strongly than yesterday. Thanks to the wind, I was still feeling a little chilly in my arm-warmers as I waited atop the levee for the rest of the group to arrive. Once we got going, though, the headwinds and crosswinds kept us working pretty hard. We had a couple of triathlete women on the ride this morning. One of them (Tanya) rides with us pretty often. The other I didn't recognize, but I think I'll remember those short shorts next time! I'm sure three or four of the guys asked me if I knew who she was. Anyway, at least the general level of attractiveness of the paceline got a hefty boost today.

On the way home I stopped for a few minutes for a cup of dark roast at Zotz on Oak Street, where I had to navigate around a road closure where they are fixing some of the granite "cobblestones" that were just installed a month or so ago. I guess these guys don't have a lot of cobblestone experience. I had noticed last week that some of them were already coming loose. They're mainly there to slow down the traffic, but I suspect that today's modern suspension systems just laugh at that sort of thing. The interesting thing about them, though, is that they were recycled from the original stones that the street was originally paved with. They had mostly been covered up with asphalt for the last fifty years or so, so it's kind of neat that they dug them up and used them as "traffic calmers" at the intersections.

Later in the day I went over to Country Day school to meet with a couple of students who are trying to get a cycling team started. The instigator, Marc, moved here with his family from Spain fairly recently. I gave them some information on bikes, training and racing. Hopefully they will be able to get something going. In the meantime, Michael is working on the annual LAMBRA meeting, currently scheduled for Dec. 5 in Jackson, MS, and is ordering a batch of LCCS jerseys for this year's winners. I think we may try for a new design for 2011 and offer whatever leftover jerseys we end up with to current and former LCCS winners at a big discount. I need to write up the order for the LCCS awards and Cup, and while I'm at it I want to see what it would cost to get some kind of trophies or plaques to give to our District Champions, at least for the Road Race and Time Trial. The problem, of course, is that we have so many age groups that it could easily get too expensive. Perhaps we'll just give awards for the skill-based races. I dunno. We'll have to see about it.