All Work and No Play

Work is really interfering with things lately! I was up early yesterday, but it was to drive up to Baton Rouge for a frustrating, irritating meeting. My tongue was sore afterward from my biting it. Then we got thrown a curve ball by the NSF director who had to change his flight schedule for his visit here Sunday and Monday. It wasn't until a few minutes ago that everything settled down on that front. Anyway, the bottom line is that I didn't get to ride at all yesterday and was grumpy about it all day. Then when I got home we had one of the sisters-in-law over for dinner. It took two bottles of Rogue Mocha Porter before I started to feel better.

So this morning I ignored a few emergency emails that had arrived the evening before and went out for a ride, hooking up with a few of the usual suspects up on the levee. The relative stability of my morning routine was disrupted, however, when I got ready to leave for work, only to remember about that flat tire on the communting bike that I had forgotten to fix. I extracted the tube, which was all bunched up inside the tire because I had ridden a couple of miles on the flat, and found two punctures. It was a nice try, but the tube was toast and still leaked from at least one other spot. By now I'm running late, so I figure I'll just take the old Pennine in to work. I pull it down from its hook in the basement only to find that it too has a flat rear tire. Damn. Not having another shraeder valve tube around, I pulled a regular presta tube out of my bag, stuck a faucet washer over the valve stem to accomodate the larger hole in the rim, and put that all together. After all that, the damned thing didn't hold air either! So I moved on to bike number three - the old mountain bike. It was hanging there in the basement with its knobby tires designed for riding in mushy wet mud with about 20 psi in the tires and no pedals. Now, seeing as how I'm dressed for work, I fished out a pair of old pedals with toe clips and leather straps still attached and installed them in order to accomodate my brand new 7C Bass Weejuns. I felt rather self-conscious riding a mountain bike while dressed like an accountant, though. I always feel like riding a nice old English 3-speed type bike is quite appropriate for someone dressed like that, but somehow it doesn't work on a mountain bike, but since the bike room at work is still closed and I have to lock up out on the street, there's not really a good way to change clothes. I'm just not going to ride up the elevator in riding clothes. I'm already considered eccentric enough!

I think my stash of heavily patched spare tubes is just about exhausted now. I may have to **gasp ** buy some new ones.

On the Rim with Randy

I was warned, clearly. When I lifted the bike off its hook in the basement and plopped it down on the floor, I could tell the rear tire was low. Not flat, you understand, just low. Maybe around 50 psi. Rather than take the time to change the tube, I just pumped it up to 120 and headed out onto the streets that were still damp from the scattered light rain that's still lingering over the city. The wet streets alone were enough to tilt the odds against me, but hey, the air was warm, the sun was about up, and I was being optimistic. We had a nice steady ride this morning, hardly ever cracking 25 mph. On the way out to the turnaround I found myself on Clayton's wheel who I hadn't seen in quite a while. When certain guys start showing up for the training rides, it's a sure sign of spring! I spent a lot of time riding about a bike length behind. Something about Clayton's riding makes me nervous. So anyway, I had forgotten all about that low tire until we were about half-way back. The bike felt sluggish and I figured that rear tire had already lost some air. By the time we came around the curve at the Country Club, I could feel some real mushiness in the rear wheel and I started wondering if I'd make it home. Then, about a mile before getting back to the playground we had to slow down a lot for a truck crossing over the levee and so I stood up and did a little bounce to see how bad it really was. I felt the rim hit the ground and knew I was going to have to deal with it. Luckily, Jeff had his car, and his floor pump, at the playground, so I stopped in there and pumped the tire back up and made it home fine.

So I thought I was done with that.

On my way to work today I was tooling along happily on the commuter when, just as I started up the Broad St. overpass, the rear tire suddenly went flat. Flat like a pancake. I never carry a spare tube or anything on the commuter since it's only about four miles to work, and once or twice a year this sort of thing happens. As I climbed the overpass on the rim I debated pulling out the cellphone and calling for extraction, but decided I'd just ride the last couple of miles on the rim, at least as long as the tire stayed more or less where it belonged. Sometimes the tube starts to bunch up inside the tire and then one of the tire beads pops off the rim and you end up walking. Looking down I could see the side of the road littered with roofing nails, which is a pretty common sight around here lately. Good chance there's one stuck in my tire right now. So anyway I squirmed my way the last couple of miles to the office at about walking speed. At least it didn't rain on me!

Uneven

A bit warmer today! The mornng levee training ride had a pretty good crowd this morning, and we weren't the only ones lured out to the bike path by the warmer air and earlier sunrise. There seemed to be a lot more walkers, joggers and other riders up there this morning, but that didn't stop the pace from getting pretty fast, especially on the way out. For some reason, the pace was particularly uneven today, surging up and down from 22 to 32 mph for much of the way. Rob seemed particularly interested in going fast today, and it seemed like the Adam's guys were trying to make it into a training race for a while. Shortly before the turnaround, Rob took off from the front and opened a big gap that I was happy to watch but not too inclined to close. That is, until Howard came by and patted his butt in the international sign for "get on my wheel." Next thing I know he's got us up to 35 mph as we come past Rob who has already eased up. At any rate, it was a pretty nice training ride today and although I'm still trying to keep my face out of the wind more than usual, I'm definitely starting to get back into the groove. Do people born in the 70s know what "in the groove" means?

So I'll be heading up to Iowa once again in April the North-Central Regionals, not only missing the Tour le Fleur, but probably missing three or four days of training. To save a few bucks we're flying up there the long way - three take-offs each way. Won't that be fun? I wonder if I can find someone in Ames who can lend me a bike for a couple of days.

Sleeping Late, Working Late

Something told me to stay under the covers this morning when the alarm went off. This time I listened. Maybe I needed a rest. Maybe I was just being lazy. In fact, I was kind of looking forward to a relaxed day at the office.

Ha!

I spent some time in the morning wrapping up a few bike racing things. There was only one Junior team in the team time trial and technically they earn LCCS points, even though there was no actual competition for them. The minimum field rules were written without taking into consideration the team events. A proposal is now on the table to require at least two teams. I'm sure somebody will have a problem with that, but I just don't think you can have a points series that doesn't require that somebody beats somebody else in order for points to be won. Otherwise, we should just call it an attendence award.

So anyway, I thought I would have a nice predictible day today, but around noon things started dropping from the sky onto my desk. First was a call from the Senate committee on Homeland Security inquiring about an interoperable communications grant that someone from Tulane wrote a couple of years ago. We ended up backing out of the multi-million dollar grant because of politics going on with one of the partners on the project which happened to be the City of New Orleans, so the new technology that might have helped in Katrina, never got tested or implemented. So anyway that is kind of a touchy subject. Then there was another fire to put out involving the Board of Regents and the now-infamous $95 M higher ed allocation, of which, BTW, not a single dollar has yet to make its way to the institutions that need it. Then I got elected to make the arrangements for a visit to campus by the director of the National Science Foundation that is scheduled for next Monday.

Last weekend The Daughter's University of Iowa gymnastics team competed in the Big Ten conference championships and the outcome was that they did not qualify for the Regional Championships, which wasn't really a surprise. What was a surprise, though, was finding out this afternoon that The Daughter qualified as an "event specialist" on Beam at Regionals, so she gets to go along with a couple of her teammates who also qualified on individual events. So that's great, but of course it means we will be making a trip to Iowa State where the meet will be on a weekend that happens to conflict with the Tour le Fleur. Damn. It seems like some years all of the gymnastics meets conflict with races, while in other years they fall on alternate weekends. This is one of the former, I'm afraid.

Anyway, I just posted a bunch of competition videos from recent meets, one of which is of The Daughter doing an excellent beam routine that scored something like a 9.925. The big question I have is when will the website bump up against it's space quota? It's gotta be really close. I still have a bunch of photos to upload and I'm afraid that's going to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Weekend Wrapup

Saturday's 2-Person Time Trial went pretty well, I think. We had a good turnout - fewer than last year, but I expected that - and other than the chilly temperatures the weather was good. I had ridden the entire 40k Friday evening in order to mark the course, and had noticed a bird that was nesting in the crushed rock of the parking lot. Someone had positioned a couple of traffic cones around her so she wouldn't get run over. I walked up to her and saw that she had two or three eggs. When I got too close, she squawked and ran, pretending to be injured so I would chase her and perhaps not notice the well-camouflaged eggs. [I checked this out on Monday and found that the bird is a Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus). They are famous for the predator-distracting "broken-wing display" that we witnessed. Awesome... ] Saturday morning there were a couple more traffic cones protecting her. Throughout the whole event, with cars and people all over the parking lot, she protected her nest. We could use more moms like that!

After the usual fire drill of race-day registration, Keith and I jumped on our bikes, got in a three-minute warmup and headed for the start line. We were going off first so that we would be back in time to help with timing and results. There was a very light wind at the start that seemed to pick up during our ride. It was pretty clear we wouldn't be setting any records today as our speed was ranging from 24.5 to 26, with occasional sections up to 27 or so. As it turned out, we would have needed sustained speeds of around 27 just to be competitive. We managed only a 59:04. The top time in the Master 35+ class was 54:30 and the top time of the day was a 51:59. Definitely a fast day. Anyway, it was fun and considering that it was my first really hard ride in nearly three weeks, I was happy to have survived at all.

I got home and went to work on the results, and had the results up on the NOBC website by mid-afternoon, then reformatted them and uploaded them to the USCF Results and Rankings database. Today I updated the LCCS rankings, so all that's left is to fix all the problems that I'm sure the riders will tell me about next week!

Sunday morning it was still pretty cool - upper 40s - when I rode out to the Lakefront to meet the Sunday Giro ride, which I had not done in quite a while. One of the bridges on Lakeshore Drive was technically closed, and since there was a police car there I figured I'd just turn around and ride in the direction of the Giro and eventually they would catch me even if they had to go around the bridge. There was just one thing I didn't know. Apparently the Sunday ride has shifted back to a 7 a.m. start rather than the 6:45 start. That's great. Unfortunately it meant that I was thinking the whole time that I had somehow missed the group. I was almost at the end of Hayne Blvd. before the group finally came up from behind, just in time for a tailwind section.

Along Chef Highway things started to get animated as we approached the turnaround. There was a flurry of attacks and counter-attacks. Damn, I wish I had been in better shape. As it was, I was just trying to follow wheels that wouldn't get dropped, and was happy to be able to stay with the small group that split off from the pack over the last mile or two.

BTW, the new guy on the Giro ride is named Brady and is a grad student at Tulane's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He looks to be pretty good.

I saw that Gina V. didn't make the time split in the Redlands TT. She must be pissed, but trying to do an uphill time trial with an injured elbow is tough.

Tempus Fugit

Update: OK. I went out and rode the 40k course with a can of spray paint in my pocket to mark the turn. It was quite nice, actually. I had been afraid it would be windy, but actually the wind was practically calm.
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Geez, it felt cold this morning! We've still got a strong North wind and morning temperatures in the upper 40s, which is rather unusual for this time of year. It was quiet up on the levee this morning. Nobody was there for the regular ride time, although I did run into Elliot somewhere down the road, so at least there was someone to share the work. Although I was not out for a hard ride, the relentless crosswind and headwind still made me work.

I'm about to skip out of work early so I can drive to LaPlace and ride the course with a can of spray paint in my pocket to mark the start, finish and turnaround. The wind is still pretty strong, so it will be a long solo ride, I think, but the forecast for tomorrow has winds down to 4 or 5 mph so that should be good. The only problem will be that it will be unseasonably cold in the morning, around 45 degrees when the first of the 2-Person teams goes off. The best news, of course, is that the chance of rain is essentially zero. Nothing screws things up for the race organizers and officials more than rain! If we have a good turnout, it'll probably be in the 50s by the time the Cat. 3s start. Assuming we have enough volunteers to handle the start, turnaround and finish, Keith and I will probably take off first so that we're back in time to help with the rest of the timing and results. I'm thinking arm-warmers and Un-deflector under the jersey, at least. Damn, I can't wait 'till summer!

I ended up spending a lot of time getting the results spreadsheet ready, downloading the release forms for the pre-registered riders, etc. Somehow this always turns out to be a last-minute fire drill! I think all of the important stuff is under control. The portable toilets, registration table, tent, generator, etc., etc. Tonight I'll need to check the stopwatches to weed out the ones with dying batteries, check the batteries in the megaphone and probably run out and pick up a fresh set, set up clipboards for the start lists, etc. I'll be lucky if I get to bed by midnight, I think.

Not Yet Summer

The alarm went off as usual and in the dim light I could barely make out the digits on the thermometer. It had rained the evening before and I wondered if the streets were still wet. 51ºF. Shorts, tights, two jerseys, long gloves. The remnants of the night's rain were still puddled in the low spots of the street as I rode through the neighborhood toward the levee. The skies were grey and I could feel as sparse light mist. I debated turning back, but it's almost the end of March already and another day off the bike just won't do, so I continued on, pushed along by a brisk north wind that I knew would come back to bite me.

I hit the levee at precisely 6:15. Alone. I looked back to see only empty road, and continued, already considering a shorter ride than the usual 44 or 46 miles, or whatever the long ride usually turns out to be. Before reaching the playground, though, I heard John come up from behind and shortly afterward a small group approached, turning around to make a pack of five or six. The pace was steady today and as usual a couple of guys turned back at the "dip." Donald was trying to burn off some excess fuel, I think, knowing that he had to turn around early, and so he had spent a lot of time at the front, finally putting in a big surge as we approached the "dip." The four or five of us left continued on to the turnaround and had a nice enough ride, although toward the end everyone was silently taking robotic pulls. There's just something about dreary weather and headwinds that does that. It looks like this cool weather will stick around for a while. Today's high probably won't top 60º and tonight will dip into the 40s. Damn, and I was all ready for summer too!

There's been a lot of interest in the 2-man TT we're putting on this Saturday, and I'm hoping we'll have enough volunteers helping that I will be able to ride. If it works out, Keith and I will probably start first so that we'll be back early enough to help with the results.

Got a call from Gina V who was on the road to Redlands where she'll be riding with the Diet Cheerwine team in the invitational Cat. 1,2 race, having apparently decided that the elbow damage wasn't bad enough to keep her out of the race. She said it will be hard climbing, but her job will be mainly in the criterium anyway. She will be moving to Atlanta in early July to start her first paying job as a doctor. This morning I found an email in my in-box from Tom Finklea. Tom raced here way back in the 70s and raced nationally with some success, particularly on the track. He was aggressive enough in criteriums to make a few enemies and, as I recall, get himself a suspension or two from the USCF. He eventually married another bike racer, got a degree in electrical engineering and moved to Austin. He's not racing any more and now has children who are married themselves. Considering that he started racing here as a Junior, that makes me feel really old. Anyway, he's involved with the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the effort to construct a new velodrome in Austin and said he may start coaching sprinters again.

One of the sisters-in-law whose house was flooded is finally going to move into her FEMA trailer but will be using our back room as an office for her real estate business. On the plus side, she brought over a big all-in-one printer/fax/scanner that is wireless enabled so after installing the drivers and software (nearly half a gigabyte!!) I can print or fax from anywhere in the house. I hardly ever need to do either at home, but couldn't resist the challenge to make it work.

Jumping in the Deep End

The drive back to New Orleans from Dallas was not particularly relaxing. By the time we were near the Texas / Louisiana state line on I-20 we had begun to catch up with the stormy weather that had crawled through Dallas over the weekend, and the next four or five hours were spent driving through thunderstorms, often at speeds well below the posted limit. When I first saw the dark clouds up the road, I had stopped and taken the bike off the roof, cramming it onto the back of the Volvo on top of the ton of stuff we were taking back with us. I had also taken the time to give the windshield a liberal coating of Rain-X. That stuff is awesome. The only time I had to flip on the wipers was when we would get into the misty spray of a tractor trailer. Otherwise, the wipers could stay off since the rain just beads up and blows off the windshield. I was glad that the car made the trip OK. I guess that proves that the alternator is fully functional, so either the battery went south or there was some sort of unusual electrical drain. So thanks to everyone for all those candles they lit! Anyway, we finally made it back home in the late afternoon to find the city covered with a thick layer of yellow-green pollen, mostly from the oak trees. In the mailbox was a paper from one of the neighbors collecting money for the annual spraying of the oak trees on our block to kill the buck moth caterpillars that are presently emerging in force, perfectly timed with the sprouting of all those yummy new little oak tree leaves.

So despite my nearly complete lack of training I decided to jump right into the deep end this morning and do the Tuesday training ride up on the levee. Things started out pretty civilized today, and I was hanging out near the back trying to ease my way back into riding when, shortly before reaching the parish line, somebody's tire exploded. It sounded like it was ahead of me, and a lot of riders sat up, including me. As it turned out, it was someone behind me in the paceline. The front part of the group, however, never missed a beat and I could see them rolling off down the levee at a pretty good clip as I coasted along. I looked back and could see that the person with the flat had lots of help, so I figured I'd just roll along easy and catch the group on its way back. A mile or two later I saw Rob on the side of the path fixing a flat, so I waited for him to finish and we rode easy until we saw the pack coming at us somewhere between the dip and the bridge. For some reason, they still weren't going very hard and I ended up rolling off the front for a while. Eventually the group responded and by the time they caught me they were going pretty fast. Somewhere around Williams Blvd. three people split off the front and for some reason there wasn't much of a chase going on. One person bridged up to the group fairly quickly, and I could see that the gap was growing. It looked to be a bit too long for me to bridge alone, but as I looked up the road considering my options I noticed that we were approaching the pumping station near River Ridge where there was water pouring across the bike path. I figured they would ease up a bit as they went across that. It would be my only chance to catch, so I took off, blasting through the water and around the curve and catching them just as they were getting reorganized. The effort took its toll, though, and I hung onto the back for the next few miles as they rotated in front of me at around 27 mph. Eventually I got back into the rotation and took a few short pulls, but I was pretty tired by the time I got home.

The 2-Person Time Trial is this weekend, and there's a lot still to do. Some people have been having a lot of trouble finding hotel rooms in the area. Perhaps we'll be able to find some people who can give them a little floor space for the night?

Lost Weekend

It's been cold and raining (a lot!) all weekend here in Dallas. This makes three weekends in a row that I've been off the bike. That may be a record. I feel fat and sluggish and frustrated, and if I wasn't still recovering from being sick I just might have been crazy enough to have gone out for a ride in this mess anyway. At least the sinus infection is about gone -- I've got one more day's worth of amoxicillin to go -- and we got to visit with The Daughter a little bit. Tomorrow morning we will have to leave before dawn to drop The Daughter off at the airport before hitting I-10 East.

That is, if the car starts.

A couple of hours ago I went to run an errand and the car wouldn't start. The battery was obviously quite low judging by the dim headlightsf, but I am not at all sure why. We borrowed some jumper cables and started it up, and it seemed fine. Since the battery is a few years old, I made a run out to the local Wal-Mart to pick up a new one and swapped it out. Let's hope that the problem was with the battery, because otherwise we'll be spending even more time here in D-town than planned, and believe me, we are ready to be back home at this point. It has been a very long weekend indeed.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Gina V who is pursuing a joint degree in medicine and bicycle racing, matched her top choice for her residency last Thursday. Looks like she'll be a resident at Emory in Emergency Medicine! Not too shabby.

I'm impressed.

Rainin' in D-town

Got in a short ride yesterday up here in Flower Mound, but plans for an early morning ride this morning were thwarted by cold and rain. To make matters worse, I've got only occasional internet access, since the place where I'm staying doesn't have wireless. (Yeah, I know...) On the plus side, The Daughter scored a career-high beam routine in the meet against Iowa State (which they lost), then drove from Ames to Iowa City, packed a bag, and went to the airport to catch her 5 a.m. flight to Dallas which was an hour late arriving. It was just as well, since we went to the wrong gate initially and would have otherwise been late meeting her. The rain's still falling and it's cold and windy - not quite what I was expecting.

The funeral was quite nice, as funerals go, and The Wife gave a very nice little memorial that included something that The Daughter had written. We will be here a couple more days to provide much-needed emotional support until we have to head back to New Orleans.

I wish I was half-way through a long ride on a warm summer day. Reality, however, is not even close.

Slow Progress

Feeling marginally better today, but it's still not quite right when I'm on the bike. It was really windy up on the levee this morning and predictibly the group was small. Donald, Ronnie, Bob P and Joe filled out the group on the way out, although we eventually picked up Elliot. The pace stayed moderate, but even so, the ride back was not what I'd call "easy." I think perhaps I can resume serious training now, although I know it'll take a little time to get back to where I was. Although I fondly remember back when I could bounce back from this sort of thing in a couple of days, it takes longer the older I get.

At least I seem to be finally making some slow progress in the battle against the sinus infection, and I'm hoping to get in at least one good training ride while I'm in Flower Mound, TX. I'll be heading out around 4:30 a.m., I think, so I'll miss the traffic in Baton Rouge and get in to Dallas in the early afternoon.

I know one person whose palms will be sweaty tomorrow morning. It's Match Day.

Battle!

This morning's long levee ride was a battle. A battle against the stiff North wind that came with the little cool front last night. A battle to stay near the front of the rather large group in order to get a little draft and be on the right side of the inevitable split that the first crosswind section would bring. A battle just to get on the bike with that same dull headache and legs that haven't seen hard work for two weeks.

I have decided that if these bacteria want to live here in my head, then they're just going to have to deal with the training rides too. It's either them or me, and I think the Amoxicillin may finally be getting enough penetration to do a little good.

So the first part of this morning's ride felt like the first part of a race. The pace was fairly fast, the wind was blowing people around, gaps were opening. It wasn't too long before the group rotating at the front started to dwindle, and by the time we hit the parish line four of us had separated from the rest of the group. I knew that with the wind, few of them would do the whole ride today. Whenever we have a north wind like this, it seems like you fight it both coming and going. There's a bit more tailwind on the way out than the way back, but mostly you've got either a headwind or a crosswind. About a mile before the Luling bridge I sat up and let the other three go. I had a feeling I'd need my energy for the return trip. As it turned out, of the whole rest of the group only Bob had continued on, so for most of the return trip we had five instead of four, which was nice, but not everyone was going all the way back today and by the end it was just Todd, Bob and me. My legs were feeling pretty good, but I know they will probably be sore. That good feeling was just because they were fresher than usual, not stronger.

I decided to take the Volvo over to Dallas, so please light a few candles!

Lights Out at the Office

Woke up again with the right side of my skull feeling like it was going to explode, so naturally decided to go for a ride. Since all of my "taking it easy" has apparently had little effect on the speed of my recovery, I'm going to take a different tack now and ride my bike. The temperature is still warm - I think it was 71F this morning before sunrise. I got in a nice ride of 26 miles or so with Dan, Joe F. and Bob P. We put a little pressure on the pedals on the way back into the headwind. Nothing too dramatic, but definitely enough to shake loose some of the thick yellow mucus clogging up my head. It would have been a big mistake to be riding closely behind me toward the end of the ride.

This afternoon I was in a meeting with some of the office staff discussing the impact of our recently slashed budget when - poof - the lights went out. And they stayed out. After about 45 minutes I finally packed up and walked down 20 flights of stairs to the car, then had to exit out the "in" ramp since the exit gate apparently won't work without electricity.

I've decided to go ahead and drive over to Dallas on Thursday morning, partially to save money and partially so I can bring along my bike. Now if this damed sinus infection will just resolve itself, I might be able to get in a decent ride or two. Anyway, the funeral is on Friday, so I can probably get in a few miles that evening and then maybe a long ride on Saturday. Not sure when we'll leave on Sunday or if we'll just stick around and leave Monday morning. It's about a nine-hour drive, but not a bad one unless you catch rush hour traffic in Dallas.

Riding Regardless

I'm now quite aware of the dull ache of inflamed sinuses on the right side of my face, and although the Flonase has done a remarkable job of allowing me to breathe, the antibiotic I guess is taking longer to work. So I had to skip the team training ride across the lake this morning. Regardless, I still went for a solo hour and a half on the levee where I would have better control over my effort level and less risk of making things worse. It felt nice to be riding in the mid-day warmth. Anyway, at least I was on the bike, eh?

So the car accident in Dallas claimed the life of my brother-in-law, who was also my daughter's godfather, so I will be heading over to Dallas/Flower Mound in a couple of days once we know the details. I'll probably have to fly, which means no bike.

--rjl

Two Steps Back

So yesterday I thought I had taken a step forward and was on the road to a full and speedy recovery. Then, around 2 a.m., I wake up sweaty and feverish. 98.6 was out the window and my temperature gauge was reading 101. Damn. So I start the Amoxicillin like I knew I should have in the first place, take a couple of Advil and end up watching TV until dawn. No team training ride for me today, although I was able to meet the team for lunch. Instead, I spent most of the afternoon updating the LCCS rankings. I was almost finished when The Wife called from San Diego. Her sister who lives in Dallas, the one with whom we stayed after Katrina, was in a major auto accident. Her husband was airlifted to a different hospital and we don't know his condition yet. The Sister-in-Law suffered, as far as I can gather from third-hand reports, a broken leg, broken shoulder(?), concusson, and I think another broken bone. The Wife, who was planning to return tomorrow, is booking a flight.

Self-medicated

Half a bottle through a cheap Austrailian Merlot, I have discovered that it works just as well as Advil, but with more pleasant side-effects! It's rather funny to see on the label "Produit d' australie." As if there's anyone in France drinking this stuff. Feeling a bit better. No telling if it's the nasal corticosteroids or the fermented grape juice, though. Gina's injuries seem to be responding to the Cipro she's been taking. The photo is of the crash. She's the one in red and white with silver leg-warmers and the chainring of the upside-down bike about to slash into her elbow. Yeouch! Me? Well I'm half-way though a science experiment comparing the analgesic effects of Advil and cheap Australian Merlot. Prelimary results indicate no significant difference. Analysis continues as I listen to old music from the late 60s and early 70s that bring back fond memories of making out with a lovely girl named Dianne on the top row of the bleechers at the local high school basketball game.

Medicated

I went out for a ride this morning a bit early in order to give myself time to make my 9 a.m. doctor's appointment. It was quite warm - over 70 F in fact - but the bend in the levee around Ochsner hospital was socked in with fog as usual. Pretty soon I ran into Tim R and turned around to ride with him for a while until we saw the regular group coming. Turned around again and rode with the group for a while before I had to head back to the farm. Uneventful. I hadn't taken any tylenol or pseudofed or guiafed and by the time I got home my head was hurting again, but I figured I'd go to the clinic without any drugs that might mask what was going on. After filling out five forms that asked for all sorts of information, like whether your spouse was abusing you and whether you were afraid to go home, I finally got in to see "Dr. Ravi" who is of, I guess, Indian heritage with an unpronouncable name but nonetheless 100% American. Temp: normal. Blood Pressure: 110/70. Weight: 131 (hey, I was fully clothed). He looks in my ears and says he can still see blood around my eardrum from the airplane descent last Saturday or Monday, but anyway since I wasn't running a fever the plan is to use Flonase for a couple of days to see if it clears up, and if not, then to start taking the amoxicillin. So we'll see. I went home, downed a couple of Advil, sprayed corticosteroids in my nose and went to work where there are a couple of fires burning that will need to be put out before COB today.

The Unforzen Caveman provided a nice link to a brief writeup on Rouge Roubaix by the winner, Mike Olheiser, who made the whole thing sound quite easy. What I want to know is, who were the Herring guys he mentions? Sounds like he rolled away on the second of three dirt sections and ended up finishing two and a half minutes ahead of the next two guys. It's impressive that he avoided getting caught on the final dirt section where the really steep hills are. I got the complete results from Shane just last night and will get them up on the websites as soon as I get a chance, which probably won't be till tonight.

Team training weekend coming up. Should be fun if I don't get dropped too much.

Medical Front

Got home yesterday and was immediately drafted to help move furnature for the sister-in-law who snagged half a house of nice stuff from a client who is selling her house. With only a pickup truck to work with, we had to make three trips from the house to my basement where we deposited a couple of full-size sofas, one of which we dropped onto my foot, numerous chairs, bookcases, a dresser, TV, etc. Didn't finish up until almost 10:00 and then spent a mostly sleepless night mouth-breathing and taking pseudoephedrine, guiafed and advil.

The morning was warm, though, so I went out intentionally late so as to miss the start of the regular Thursday long ride. The plan was to ride easy until I saw them coming back and then jump in. That way, I figured I'd reduce the chances of ending up in the ER with pneumonia. There was a nice strong tailwind much of the way out, and after expelling large quantities of thick mucous I was feeling OK, but before I got to the parish line my plan was already starting to unravel. First, I saw a fairly large group on its way back, meaning a lot of the guys had turned around early. This has been happening a lot lately. I had also already seen Todd riding his TT bike solo. A few more riders went by in the other direction and I was starting to wonder if anybody had done the long ride. By the time I got to the Luling bridge, I knew the answer. There was nobody in sight, so I resigned myself to a long solo return trip into the increasing headwind. By the time I got home I was feeling much worse all-around.

On the medical front, this sinus infection is not improving measurably. By 11:00 I was feeling achey and feverish and decided it was time to find someone who could write a script for amoxicillin and called the Tulane clinic a block down the street. They offered little help. Nobody could see me. The person on the other end suggested I stop by and see if maybe the nurse-practicioner was available. I did. He/she wasn't. I retreated to my office after a five minute wait for one of the two working elevators and called the uptown family health center. The best they could offer was a 9 a.m. appointment tomorrow morning, so I took it. Then I took a couple of Tylenol tabs. This is really putting a huge kink in my training, coming at precisely the worst possible time.

Yesterday afternoon I got an email from Gina V that started with "I am hurt." It seems that the crash last Saturday punctured the bursa in her elbow and after a trip to the ER and orthopod, the arm's in a sling and she's riding a trainer looking out the window at the beautiful San Francisco weather and hoping she doesn't end up in the hospital getting IV antibiotics.

On Again

I felt so lousy yesterday that I went home around 4 pm and by 5:00 I was asleep. Woke up around 7:30, rather confused (what day is it?), but feeling a bit better. At least I got some sleep last night, and when I awoke this morning I didn't feel feverish, so naturally I decided to go for a ride. This may or may not have been wise - time will tell. It felt like I had been off the bike for a week, which isn't far from the truth, and the morning levee ride felt pretty good. I almost always feel better when I'm on the bike, and this morning was no exception. The pace was steady and moderate, especially considering the strong south wind, and hopefully the ride did me more good than harm. By the time I left for work my head was stuffy again and I had a dull unilateral headache, so I downed three kinds of drugs and headed to work in the car. The Wife is over in San Diego at a conference all week, so I get to take a car to work like a normal lazy-ass American. The weather is actually really nice, and if I wasn't still fighting this infection I probably would have ridden the bike anyway. I'm still not feeling too great and this is getting really old. The club is having kind of a weekend training camp thing this weekend. Hopefully it won't kill me.

So I got an email from Gina V the other day. She's in San Francisco and loving it (who wouldn't). She and three of her Diet Cheerwine teammates hit their first NRC race last weekend, the McLane Pacific Classic, and got a couple of top-ten finishes. Gina got tangled up in a crash in the crit and hurt her elbow, then discovered the bike wouldn't shift on her way to the pit, but they gave her a pit bike that almost fit, so she jumped back in with 13 laps to go and ended up getting 9th in a crit with about 80 starters. They got themselves in a few CycleNews photos [#2], [#3]. The Diet Cheerwine kit is mostly white with red lettering. See if you can Find Waldo. Match Day for her is March 16. That's when she and all the other graduating medical students get their top picks for Residency programs matched to those of the programs themselves and find out where they'll be living next.

So Sick

Started going downhill yesterday and by nightfall couldn't breathe through my nose at all. Probably got a secondary sinus infection, damnit. Everything hurts and I'm taking at least three OTC meds that aren't getting it done. I may have to resort to the medical profession soon.

Wintery Mix

There was time Saturday morning to get in 26 miles on the levee before I had to leave for the airport, and so I headed out early to battle the brisk wind alone. My outward bound leg was largely tailwind and I rolled along easily out to the parish line. The return trip, however, was another matter altogether. I was intent on getting a good workout out of it, though, considering I'd be off the bike for a couple of days while up in Iowa, and so I was holding a good pace for the first mile or two until I flatted. Damn. There's got to be something still in that tire, because I flatted just yesterday. I also didn't put another good tube in my seat bag, so I would only get one shot today. I checked the tube carefully, inside and out, and found nothing, so in went the new tube and I was back on the road. Soon I saw John R. coming toward me on his TT bike. He turned around, which was a good thing because by now my motivation was lagging. Getting a flat sometimes feels like a slap in the face. John rode alongside for a little bit, then looked over and said "feel like doing a little drafting?" So I latched onto his wheel as he got down on the aero bars and sucked wheel much of the way back. This head cold still has me down, and so I guess it's a good thing that I will be missing Rouge-Roubaix today, but I still wish I was there.

The trip up to Iowa City was a long one, including about three hours in the St. Louis airport between flights. The first leg featured a yappy little dog a couple of rows ahead of us that barked through much of the flight. The second leg featured a small child who probably had an ear infection who cried much of the time. Both flights were on small planes - you know, the ones with one row of seats on one side and two on the other. If I was a big person, it would be intolerable, but since I'm not it's OK. The second leg was particulary painful for me. This head cold has apparently stopped up the eustachain tube in my left ear, so the changes in cabin pressure when climbing or descending really hurt. It's kind of like having someone sticking a hot poker in your ear. I tried all the usual tricks, but this thing was obviously swollen shut pretty well. Damn, I hate being sick.

So we finally arrive and get to the hotel on campus to find that the room doesn't have internet access. Turns out some rooms do and some rooms don't. Go figure. We changed rooms. A hotel room without internet access is simply uncivilized.

I looked out the window this morning to see a nice little layer of snow on everything. Actually, it's what they call "wintery mix" around here, which means a combination of snow, freezing rain and I guess a bit of unfrozen rain. Anyway, the high is supposed to be 38F. As I write, the Rouge-Roubaix is just getting underway. The temperature there is in the mid-50s with a high in the mid-70. It will be a nice one and I hope Jason and Realdo fare well. I'm not sure who else is going from the club, though.

The gymnastics meet against Minnesota is at 2 this afternoon. I am hoping the girls put together a good one.

Incremental Improvement

Climbed back on the bike this morning. The sore throat is gone, but only because the congestion has moved down to my chest. Been here before. Now it will probably linger there for weeks, improving incrementally, almost imperceptibly. A well-evolved virus, smart enough not to disable its host - using me as a vector for long-term dissemination, keeping me in contact with lots of potential new hosts. The little critters are getting a nice windfall in that regard, because tomorrow I'll be spending a few hours crammed into a long aluminum cylinder breathing largely recycled air as I make my way up to Iowa for a two-day visit. I'm not looking forward to the two days off the bike, though, especially at this time of year, coming on the heels of a very short week. To make matters worse, I'll be missing Rouge-Roubaix, which on the one hand is like missing a root canal appointment, and on the other like missing a good friend's birthday party. Since I'm still basically sick, I guess it's just as well that I won't be doing it since it always involves a number of dangerously painful efforts, and many miles of sketchy dirt roads ridden at ridiculous speeds on standard road bikes. I'm hoping that Realdo and Jason have good luck and finish well. There are two things that play a big part in Rouge-Roubaix. One is experience. The other is luck. This is one race where brute force alone just won't cut it. On the plus side, the weather this year should be pretty good by early spring standards.

There was a nice little group for the Friday morning ride today and the pace was a bit faster than the usual Friday pace. I suppose I might have been responsible for some of that. Despite the head cold I've been battling and the lingering soreness in my lower legs and feet from my Mardi Gras hike, my legs felt pretty fresh and they wanted to be going about 23 mph. On the way back from the turnaround, the group split quite accidentally and the front part didn't wait for the back part. I was in the back part, and we were only going about 18 mph, talking and watching the other group slowly roll away from us, so I pushed the pace up to 22 or so at a rate that I though was gradual enough not to drop anyone. It wasn't, though. I guess that, being Friday, most of the guys were all set for an easy ride, so I ended up all alone in no-man's-land. Since I knew the lead group wasn't going all-out, I decided to make the bridge. After a couple of miles at 24 mph, I connected and rode in with that group.

As I was leaving the house this morning there were trucks and bulldozers and other heavy equipment on the corner tearing up the road to, hopefully, repair the water leak that's been oozing up out of the middle of the street for the last few weeks. It's quite exciting to see these things getting fixed so quickly, under the circumstances. I don't think you can go five blocks anywhere uptown without finding at least one water main leak. The underground plumbing in New Orleans is quite old and every time anything happens to make a significant change in the moisture content of the ground, everything starts to shift and naturally all of the old pipes start to break. The combination of a flood, followed by two months of drought, and a big increase in heavy trucks rolling around on these old neighborhood streets has done a lot of damage to this fragile network.

So as we speak I'm uploading another 40 meg folder to the NOBC website. This one has all of the 2002 photos. Since I reorganized a lot of the directory structure, which was badly needed, adding some new folders and re-naming some files, it will take me a long time to sift through all of the html pages and fix the broken links. It's needed to be done for a long time, though. It'll probably take me another couple of weeks to get everything going back to 1995 uploaded. I just wish that the other websites with links to the old site would fix them so that the search engines can find the new site.

Drugged Out

Well, the viruses won. I woke up Wednesday morning with a seriously sore throat and a runny nose, and so in the interest of public health I stayed at home. I ended up working all day anyway; one hand on the keyboard and the other on the tissue paper box. Despite various cold medicines, things continued downhill. This morning showed some improvement. Not enough to get me on the bike, but enough to get me in to the office where things were going along quietly until early afternoon when reports of the morning's meeting in Baton Rouge started coming in. The level of politics just never ceases to amaze me. Anyway, my head is still very unhappy and the infection is slowly working its way down to my lungs as usual.

Should be back on the bike tomorrow for a short ride.

I hope.