Base Training on the N-Shore

Sunday morning was looking good and it was nice to be heading across the causeway again, looking forward to a great Fall day. We had a group of eight or nine at the start of our 58-mile Base Training ride, and it was just warm enough to dispense with the long tights. To give you an idea of the conditions, I'll say that I headed out wearing two summer jerseys, lycra arm-warmers, DeFeet shoe covers, and my trusty DeFeet Un-D-Shirt. Twenty miles later, most of that was in my pockets. So we head out to the North and right away some kid zooms past our double paceline at around 70 mph. A few moments later we hear a siren behind us and a police car goes flying by at more like 90 mph. A mile or so later we come across the two of them pulled off on the shoulder. The kid is sitting in his car with his head in his hands and the policeman is writing up a ticket on the trunk. As we went by I told the officer "thanks," and he replied "no problem." We saw two other police cars heading to the scene moments later.

So anyway, the weather was nearly perfect all morning and we had a really nice Base Training type of ride with long stretches of smooth paceline in the low 20s. Of course, there were a few sign sprints and some hard efforts on some of the bigger hills because, being bike racers, some of us couldn't resist the urge to attack.

I got home to find the refrigerator in the kitchen, but then spent a couple of hours hooking up the icemaker and inserting the box into the narrow space where it lives. It was a bit wider and taller than the old refrigerator, and I guess I had maybe an inch and a half of clearance to work with. Anyway, I can now check the refrigerator and dryer off from my Katrina "to-do" list.

Monday morning was cooler than I expected and because it had rained a bit overnight, the streets were still damp. I briefly considered sleeping in, but my legs felt fine and the weather looked good so I went out to the levee for an easy ride. I met Mark D. up there and we cruised out to Williams Blvd. and back at an easy pace. Although it's been ten weeks since the hurricane, practically all conversation still centers around it, one way or the other, and I suppose that will continue for months.

At work I'll be assisting with the Technology subcommittee of the Economic Development committee of the Mayor's "Bring New Orleans Back Commission." Should be interesting. I've set up a little website for it already, but since this particular committee is just getting started, I don't have any good content for it yet.

Oh yeah, I almost to thank "60 Minutes" for their usual one-sided documentary last night that made it look like the entire city was destroyed, covered with mud, and sinking into the muck like a brick in quicksand. Thanks a lot, guys.