Tim's Wheel

There's a Tropical Storm approaching the Gulf of Mexico this morning and together with the forecast of rain this weekend I though I should check the weather radar before I headed out to meet the Giro ride today. Just out of habit, I also checked my email. That was a mistake. The prez had been up at 3 a.m. asking me for some stats about university research. Bottom line: I didn't leave the house for the 7 a.m. Giro Ride start until 7 a.m. I knew that if they didn't start too fast, and I did a 7 mile time trial, I had a chance of meeting them somewhere around Hayne Blvd. Nothing like hopping on the bike first thing in the morning and stepping on it right out the door. So I raced down Wisner and out Leon C. Simon and up the Seabrook bridge. As I climbed the Casino bridge I looked back and saw the first few Giro riders coming over the top. Whew!

Today's Giro ride sure seemed fast. I remember thinking "who the hell is on the front" as I was closing yet another gap at 30 mph on Chef Highway. We must have been about a mile from the turnaround sprint when things really started to disintegrate. It seemed too early and the lead riders were already pretty far up the road, so I figured I'd just follow wheels. I found myself on Tim's wheel and I could tell from the way he was looking ahead that he was going to make a run for it. He gradually accelerated through the group as it fell apart with me just barely hanging onto his wheel and finally caught Matt right at the end. I think we maxed out at only about 33 mph, but then Tim had been towing me at 30+ for at least a mile. Then, on the way back, I ended up on Tim's wheel once again. I really had to dig deep to stay with him over the Casino bridge and finally blew up at the top of the Seabrook bridge. Anyway, it was some much-needed intensity and, better yet, we didn't get rained on! I was trying out some new handlebars today. My trusty old ITMs were getting pretty corroded and I was seriously afraid they might break at an inopportune time. I decided to try out some Deda 215 shallow-drop, traditional bend bars. The non-anatomic bend really did make it easier for me to reach the brake levers! Otherwise, not a whole lot of difference.

Last night I picked up a free 7-speed from someone who had put an ad in the paper. The wheels should work for The Daughter's city bike that I'm building, but I think the 21" frame will be too big.

Today is move-in day for the Tulane dorms. Last year at right about this time they had to stop everything and tell all the students to evacuate. This year, at least we'll have a few more days before Tropical Storm Ernesto can cause too much trouble. Don't need another hurricane around here right now f'sure.