Feeling Like Winter

Miles: 27
Layers: 4

It really felt like winter this morning. With the temperature around 34F and a strong North wind, I wasn't expecting any company for my planned easy spin along the levee this morning. As I climbed up to the bike path I was surprised to see a solitary figure waiting at the pump hump. I knew who it was. Joe was glad to have some company to help ease the headwind sections. If someone in his 70s can show up on a morning like this, there's hope for all of us!

You know how your mother would try to get you to eat your peas by telling you that there were starving children in some far-away land who would give anything for them? That's kind of how I feel sometimes about riding in the Winter around here. I was thinking today of those poor cyclists in Minnesota who were looking out their frost-encrusted windows just wishing for a morning where the temperature was above freezing so they could go out for a nice road ride. In fact, I checked the weather in Iowa City, where I'll be next Friday, just a minute ago. It's 1F right now at 10 a.m. What's funny about it is that below the actual temperature on Weather.com, it says "Feels like - 1F." No kidding??

So Joe and I had a nice easy ride, offering little resistance to the wind and happily spinning along at 14 mph sometimes. Despite the two long-sleeve winter jerseys, vest, and old summer jersey base layer, the wind was coming through my sleeves so that my arms were still pretty cold by the time I got home. As I worked my way through the uptown neighborhood on my way back, I came upon yet another movie production operation for the upcoming "Dukes of Hazzard." I'll bet Daisy Duke had a lot of goose bumps on her legs below those little hot pants today. Lots of big trucks and blocked-off streets. Gina had told me yesterday that they were filming down on Magazine street on the weekend, and somebody had said that they were supposed to be filming on St. Charles Avenue today. I like having all this stuff going on in the neighborhood. Unlike the suburbs, if they want to close off a few streets, it's not a big problem because there are lots of other streets that will get you where you're going. It's really nice to see some new business around here anyway. Of course the downside will be the perpetuation of the ridiculous Hollywood stereotype of "the South." It has always amazed me that they so steadfastly refuse to let go of the "Gone with the Wind" image. Just for the record:

• People in New Orleans don't have Georgia accents;
• People in New Orleans are not inbreeding idiots;
• The men don't wear white suits with bow ties and white hats (although it makes for a good Mardi Gras costume);
• The police chief is most definitely not a fat white moron with a Texas accent, and he does not work in an un-airconditioned office that looks like something out of the Andy Griffith show.
• Cajuns are generally considered foreigners in New Orleans, although they are generally tolerated nowadays.

With apologies to the popular image of MLK, I'm at work today trying to finish up a little presentation I have to make tomorrow for the prez and senior admin folks, summarizing the school's research funding success from last fiscal year.