What a Difference a Day Makes

You know that Tropical Story that just yesterday was heading for Louisiana and expected to become a Category 3 hurricane? Well, by noon today it was supposed to be making a sharp turn to the north and heading right into Florida as a Cat. 1 by Wednesday. Who know what will ultimately happen? Anyway, for now we'll breathe a little easier, albiet with one eye on the weather.

My legs were still a bit stiff when I rode out to the lakefront this morning to partake in my second Giro of the weekend, picking up Brooks B. along the way. As usual, the Sunday group was a bit smaller and the pace more erratic. Brooks rolled off the front on Hayne and he and another rider stayed out there almost all the way to the turnaround at Venetian Isles. The group caught them at one point and then kind of let them go again. Finally on Chef Highway we got the whole group into a big circular paceline that was rolling pretty smoothly at 26-27 for a few miles. Eventually someone got impatient, though, and surged the pace up a notch at which point most of the group stopped pulling and the paceline kind of devolved into four or five riders at the front. We caught them a couple of miles before the turnaround after a short 31 mph effort that splintered the paceline completely. I was feeling pretty dragged out by the time I rode back home.

Later in the afternoon The Wife and I rolled out the city bikes and took an easy little tour through Lakewood South and then north past the 17th street canal break and then back through Lakeview and Mid-City, ending with a stop at Williams' snoball stand. Things still look fairly bleak in these areas, some of which had at least eight feet of water. Lakewood South is (was) a pretty exclusive little subdivision right up against the canal where a lot of doctor types lived. There's a lot of work going on in there, but not too many houses are occupied yet. Man, if those people are still not able to get their houses back in shape, imagine how hard it must be for people with fewer resources. Lakeview and Mid-City are also really spotty as far as the level of recovery. We rode past Laura and Brian's old house (I think they sold it a while back) and it's pretty beat up. Like most of the houses in the area, nothing has really been done to it since the hurricane a year ago. As we rode through Mid-City there was a Coast Guard helicopter circling overhead really low. Probably giving somebody a tour. Lots of politicians will be in town over the next few days to take advantage of the photo opportunities and get in on the anniversary hype.