The Morning Race

I got out the house a few minutes late this morning and was just casually riding to the levee when I glanced at my watch. Oh S#%t!! I knew immediately that I wasn't going to make it. I'd be a couple of minutes late, and when it comes to the morning ride, two minutes is a very long time. Sure enough, the pumping station was deserted as I rode up the levee, so I dropped it down a couple of cogs and started my morning time trial. I caught the group right about at the Jefferson Playground, and it's a good thing because that's usually where the pace starts to pick up.

This morning's ride seemed fast. Rob was riding like he had recently polished off four or five expressos, and that got a few other riders going too. Rob practically attacked a few times, and I swear there were a couple of counter-attacks. The bottom line is that we were going fast all the way out. It was fun. I was skipping pulls now and then, along with almost everyone else who was in the rotation. Amazingly, most all of the group was still together by the time we hit the turnaround.

The ride back was much, much slower. I wonder why?

On my way home I come down from the levee path onto Oak Street, crossing a set of railroad tracks that is strategically located at a particularlynasty, and busy, little intersection. As I came across the tracks this morning I could see a driver about to pull out from the stop sign directly in front of me. She never looked in my direction - until I screamed at her. Even then, she had this "deer in the headlights" look on her face as she continued to roll out from the intersection. Not even enough common sense to put her stupid foot on the brake. Amazing. Must have gotten her license at Wal-Mart. Of course I pretty much expect that sort of driving at this particular intersection, so I had ample time to take evasive action. I looked back for Mary who had latched onto the group as it came past her earlier (she commutes in from somewhere around Ormond Estates, I think, on a nice Litespeed wearing one of those nifty Timbuk2 messenger bags). She came down the levee just behind me, but I think she must have turned right just past the intersection because I didn't see her. Or maybe she turns left and takes Monticello? I'll have to ask one day. Anyway, I didn't hear a "thud" behind me so I assume she missed the car and vice-versa, so I continued down Oak St. practicing my Rouge-Roubaix bike handling skills. As it turned out my sister was a few cars back waiting to cross the same intersection, so I got an e-mail from her about almost witnessing my untimely demise.

The pollen season is in full swing now. Everyone on our block just chipped in $45 each to have the tree people come out and spray all of the live oak trees (Quercus virginiana) to kill the emerging buck moth caterpillars. I woke up in the middle of the night last night because the inside of my ear (ie. around my eustachian tube) was itching like crazy. Everything is covered with a thick layer of yellow-green pollen and the streets are full of those little messy green-brown flowers that they drop by the tons this time of year.

So what do you think? Should I wear a helmet in to work tomorrow in order to get my free donut?? The "Bike Tulane" group will be handing out free donuts and strawberries at my building's bike room every Wednesday this month to everyone who comes in wearing a helmet. It's called "Project Donut."

Gotta love it!