In the Small Ring

It was cool and quiet at 4:30 a.m. and the dew dripping from the trees was the only sound I heard when I stepped outside this morning to put the roof rack on the car. The Daughter was due at MSY for 5:30 and I was due at the Morning Call for 7, and I was already feeling tired. When we arrived at the airport it was very busy already with travelers heading back home after the holiday, but otherwise there were no surprises and after as top at Starbucks I pulled into the parking lot at the Morning Call to find a number of people already there. The weather today promised to be nearly perfect, and it definitely delivered. By the time our 13-rider group got underway around 8 a.m. the temperature was around 60F, and winds were light, and the sky was clear. Half an hour later we were already peeling off layers and stuffing them into our bulging pockets. We picked up a few more riders along the way, and I guess at one point there were 16 or so before a few turned back at the end of Tung Rd. to make for a shorter ride. The rest of us continued on at a moderate base training pace, straining mostly successfully to resist the ever-present temptation to put the hammer down on the smooth stretches. Starting this week from Abita Springs, we basically took a long circuitous route to Folsom and back, eventually logging around 70 miles.

I was determined to make today a technique day, so I declared the big ring strictly off-limits for the duration, resulting in more than a few miles of spinning the 53x13 at 120+ RPM. The legs felt surprisingly good considering the previous night's mild excesses at the dinner table and the scant five hours of sleep, and I guess I pushed the pace a little bit on the way back. The weather was so nice I felt like I could ride for another hour or two.

A new Nikon Coolpix S6 has been added to the gadget collection, chosen specifically for its compact size and hopefully decent optics. I still need to pick up an SD card, figure out the rather complex menu and get the WiFi set up, but hopefully it will prove to be convenient enough that I'll actually have it with me for all those "I wish I had a camera" moments.