Surprising

Yesterday's ride was a typical Wednesday levee ride - a handful of riders, a moderate pace, and no surprises. Although when I arrived home there was no mail (the U.S. Post Office seems to be delivering selected mail only two or three times a week around here, and we have not received a single christmas catalog!), I was surprised to find a small package at the door. Inside were the missing package I'd ordered Nov. 5, and a few pieces of month-old mail, including a traffic ticket reminder from Iowa City compliments of The Daughter. This was the stuff that the Jackson Post Office had forwarded to me after I finally got in touch with them last week. So now I can pump up my tires again!

It was surprisingly cold this morning. Colder than yesterday or the day before. I've really got to start paying more attention to the weather forecasts. Before I headed out into the darkness, I put on my good ol' Pearlizumi vest. I knew that somewhere along the 42 mile morning ride it would end up in my pocket, but then that's exactly what they're made for.

It took a dozen miles for us to gather up a group of ten or so riders this morning, and the pace stayed pretty steady for most of the trip. I had contemplated skipping the ride this morning when the alarm went off, but I was ultimately glad that I pushed myself out the door, as usual. I got The Daughter to give me a ride to work this morning so I could bring in a few bacchanalian gifts for the office. She had just returned from a drive over to mid-city and Lakeview to take some photos for the folks back in Iowa City. She didn't have to go far to find houses with water marks at six and seven feet.

Things have gotten pretty quiet here at work over the last couple of days, so I've had some time to do more work on the Research Office's website. They've got a lot of stuff on there that they can't possibly maintain, so I'll have to set up a reality-check meeting with the director so they don't end up with a bunch of outdated information and links, but at least it will be a good start. I'm listening to the KPLU.ORG Jazz stream right now, which feels just right today. I think the weather will be warming up over the next few days, and although it was around 38F this morning, the temperature is up to 55 right now. The high for Saturday is supposed to be 71F, after which another cold front is supposed to come through just in time for christmas morning. There are no temperatures below 42 in the 10-day forecast, though, so except for the increasing chance of rain around New Year's Eve, the riding should be good.

The Mayor has lifted the 2 a.m. curfew for the functioning areas of the city, starting Friday. As you might have expected, this was of sufficient importance to returning Tulane students that they were calling the President's office to find out when it would be lifted. Tulane students and faculty who need housing will be living on a cruise ship docked at the university's "RiverSphere" berth on the river downtown. Now, that would be interesting! It's been a few days now since I've ventured outside of the uptown area here, and things are feeling more and more "normal." Of course, I know that if I go half a mile in the wrong direction, reality will slap me in the face, but I'm glad that I can enjoy occasional periods of denial anyway!

Hopefully I'll be able to make the Giro ride Saturday, but I'm guessing Sunday will be a day off the bike.