Summer Haze

It's hot and hazy in New Orleans today as the "extreme drought" that we've been in since October continues with no end in sight. This morning at 6:15 when I met up with the group, the first thing I thought was "man it's hot and humid today." We rolled a bit late this morning, just as Realdo arrived, and the pace, for the most part, stayed reasonable. Of course we eventually picked up Howard, and of course he took a few pulls at pace + 5 mph, but nobody bit and things stayed together all the way out. It was pretty uneventful except for when Howard and The Donald were toying with each other. The rest of us watched in bemused silence. For some reason I'm just not feeling too energetic lately and although I know I need some intensity and especially some sprint work, I am nonetheless content to sit in the paceline. It will pass, I'm sure. When we do the long ride like today, the paceline usually starts to disintegrate about half a mile from the turnaround. Some people just soft-pedal the last bit to get a little recovery, and they often turn around quite a bit earlier than the handful of riders that goes all the way to the end of the asphalt bike path. Today was no exception. Typically the pace is very slow for the first couple of miles after the turnaround, and I guess it was then that Howard and VJ rolled away. I never saw 'em, which is strange because after a while I figured it was time to get the group going again so I went to the front and tried to gradually lift the pace. For a while I was alone, but eventually the rest of the group caught and the pace got back up to where it needed to be. Still, I never realized anyone was off the front until somewhere around Kenner when I saw Howard on the side of the bike path like he'd been waiting for us - which is probably exactly what he was doing. Apparently he and VJ had been a couple of minutes ahead of us the whole time. Anyway, Howard turned off for home and the rest of us continued our paceline with the speed gradually inching up ever so slightly. By the time we rounded the Country Club curve we could see VJ up in the distance. I wouldn't say that there was an actual chase, but having him up there probably kept the pace from slacking off. Just before we reached the playground a couple of guys sprinted ahead so they could officially catch VJ before he turned off.

So I'm waiting on some parts for The Wife's commuter project bike, and perhaps I will be able to make it rideable, if not "finished," this weekend. The one thing I really want to do is get one of my old alloy cranksets on there. I'm sure it will require some significant field engineering and perhaps a hunt for a square-taper axle of the appropriate dimensions, but if I can make it work I'll just need to track down a single-speed freewheel for it and perhaps some brake levers.