Warmup

The weather has certainly warmed up around here, and this morning I headed out in shorts, arm-warmers and a couple of summer jerseys. There was a big group for the long training ride on the levee and I ended up in a little group of six or so off the front a little bit. We had a slight tailwind most of the way out and for the last mile we were up around 30 mph. Yeah, I broke down and used the big ring today. The return trip was a little slower, but the group split again, with a handful of us pushing a bit harder off the front. When we got to the playground, I turned around and rode back for the longest time, finally meeting up with the rest of the group that had stopped when Gina flatted.

As we were riding back, I was talking with Gina and she suggested we do a few more miles. Since I'm still off work until Monday, I agreed and we took a nice little tour, riding downtown through the crazy Sugar Bowl and New Year's Eve traffic. The big tents were all set up already in the French Quarter in preparation for the big New Year's Eve party and we spotted the 2005 New Year's baby up on the roof of the old Jax Brewery. After weaving in and out of the old Faubourg Marigny neighborhood, we headed back, stopping at one point to fix another flat, and ended up at Kenny's house for a look at GiVo's new Fuji team frame and fork. It's really amazing how light bike frames are nowadays.

By the time I got home, the computer was reading 68 miles and I was planning on enjoying a left-over soft-shell crab that was in the 'fridge. First, I discovered that the soft-shell crab apparently never made it into the refrigerator - probably left it at my mom's house after dinner. The next thing I know, I hear the alarm going off on my Palm Pilot, and I'm wondering, what hell is that about? What it was about was a dentist appointment I had, once again, conveniently forgotten about. I have a particular knack for forgetting about dentist appointments (especially when I know they're going to cost me around $600). So then I had to really hustle in order to shower, eat and get out to the dentist's office, where I arrived with not a second to spare. At least the visit was painless - the one good thing about putting a cap on a tooth that's had a root canal already.

Tomorrow should be an easy day, and we're planning a group ride for New Year's day morning and then the first real Winter Training Ride across the lake on Sunday. After that, it will be back to reality on Monday.

I'm trying not to think about that.