Things are changing. In the spring the Giro ride can be pretty fast, but as all bike racers know, "fast" comes in many flavors. Earlier in the year we'd be flying down Chef Highway at 30 mph in a smooth paceline, but now as the racing has begun in earnest the stronger riders have become less docile and a stretch of paceline riding just becomes an opportunity to wear down the other guys before launching another attack. Indeed, the Saturday Giro ride is becoming more and more like a race. I was a willing participant yesterday, happy for some hard riding to soothe my guilt for not going up to Shreveport for the Rocky Mount races. After a fast tailwind-assisted start down Hayne Blvd., the pace ramped up even more when we hit Chef Highway. The group was rolling at 30-33 mph with a group of maybe a dozen rotating on the front. As we got to within a few miles of the Venetian Isles sprint the group was beginning to fray around the edges as riders started to tire and gaps started to open as the ones pulling off the front started looking for more shelter. I looked over at Realdo and said "I think they're getting tired now." That's about when the attacks started. When I saw Reo make the bridge up to the last one, I knew it was over. Matter of fact, I think one of the guys actually said "it's over." The chase group recovered a bit, though, and we actually got really close at one point. When I hit the front I upped the pace about one mph to get us within striking distance, but when I went to pull off I discovered I was alone. Bad sign. Things had pretty much crumbled, and indeed, it was over. The return trip, although slightly more civilized, was nonetheless fast and we were already back on Lakeshore Drive just before 9 a.m.
The rest of the day I spent spray-painting the porch furniture and the ceiling fan. I love fast-drying spray paint. Immediate gratification!
So Sunday I got a few guys to meet me to go out to the Tour de La road course so I could ride a couple of laps and have a good look at the start/finish, parking area, turns, etc. We had six guys and rode the first lap pretty easy. The course is great. Other than a few cracks on the street-level bridges on Highway 10, the surface is universally silky smooth, there are lots of little hills, curves and turns, and even a bit of shade here and there. We'll have to mark the route very carefully because a couple of the turns come up on you rather suddenly after turns or hills, but in general it will be fast, challenging and fun. We rode the second lap faster, and I kept thinking how much I would like to race this one. Unfortunately, I left my camera and powerbars at home, so you'll have to use your imagination.
Yesterday's election was pretty close, but the incumbent, Ray Nagin, won the mayoral race. I hope it doesn't have too bad of an effect on our national reputation. Not too many of the incumbents survived this election. One of the newly elected city council members is certifiably nuts. That should make the city council meetings pretty entertaining.
Right now I hear the blender. The Wife is making piña coladas.
¡Mañana!
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