So Refreshing!

Temperature: 79° F
Skies: Clear Blue
Listening to: Let 'er Rip, Dixie Chicks
Caffeine Level: Dangerously High

Yesterday's long ride, combined with an easy ride in the evening, finally nudged me back on track, training-wise, and the Oh So Refreshing little cool front that came through yesterday afternoon got my head back on track too. It was actually below 70° this morning when I went out to meet the Wednesday levee ride, and even though the cooler air arrived courtesy of a brisk North wind, it was a fair trade-off. As I rode through the 'hood on the way to the river I was thinking about things that I hadn't thought about in a while. Namely, I was wondering where the hell I put those arm-warmers the last time I wore them. The pace stayed moderate and we spent a lot of time in a double paceline where the conversation included more analysis of the big Giro Ride crash that happened last Sunday. Of course I keep reminding everybody that if they had been at the Road Race in St. Francisville they could have avoided all that. Even though I seem to have acquired a few pounds of vacation fat, I sure would have liked to have been there myself.

As often happens when the humidity plunges, my beat-up old Campi shifters were a little reluctant this morning. I've come to expect that, though. The whole bike is way overdue for a complete tear-down and rebuild. Maybe some time in November, I think. For now, I'm just going to enjoy whatever cooler weather we might get in the mornings. Yeah, yeah, I know it's only September and there are still a lot of sweaty days ahead of us, but a guy can dream, can't he? A few months from now I'll be complaining about the cold.

So yesterday I lined up travel and lodging for the annual NCURA meeting in DC that's coming up in November. As usual I waited too long and the conference hotel was booked as were all of the other big hotels nearby. I got on Orbitz and, throwing caution to the wind, booked a small 1920's hotel that only about three blocks from the big Hilton where the conference is held. I usually don't spend much time in my hotel room at these meetings, and my hotel standards are pretty low anyway. As it turns out, one of the guys over there in the right-hand column has recently fired his retros after well over a year in blissful orbit and made touchdown about two blocks away from the hotel. Small world, eh? Better yet, he's offered to lend me a bike. Whatta guy. The conference is just up the road from Dupont Circle and reasonably close to Georgetown and every time I'm there, despite the cold, I want to ditch half a day of meetings and go for a ride. Anwyay, I was glad to get a reasonable airfare into DCA, because even though it's Tulane's money I cannot deal with waste. The nicest thing about flying into DCA is that I can hop onto the Metro right at the airport, hit the Red line and jump off at Dupont Circle or the next stop out with an easy walk to the hotel. Anyway, not wanting to shirk my Association responsibilities, I immediately volunteered to help out with the Hospitality Suite duties since that's where there is always an open bottle of cheap hotel wine. I'm particularly looking forward to the conference this year because I've missed the last two years.