Calculated Compromise

The bright yellow and green line on the weather radar was definitely heading my way. It was 6 a.m. and the glow from the laptop screen was hard on my sleepy eyes. Decision time. I did the necessary calculations in my groggy head and my best guess was that it would be raining on the northshore by 10:30 or so. The southshore might get an extra half hour. The Giro ride gets me home by 10:00 easy, so even though the temperature was above 60F, I compromised and went for the Giro. The skies were dark and today there was a strong southeast wind, but I was determined to get in a decent training ride, preferably without getting my feet wet. Besides, the forecast for the next few days is not too encouraging.

The Giro group was really small, and I heard that from the start they had already been talking about turning around early. I knew that wouldn't be necessary, but whatever...

So when we hit Chef Highway, everyone turned back except VJ, Jeff and me. VJ was on his full-out Look TT bike and was quite happy to stay on the front the entire time. I was simulating pulls at the back, pulling out into the wind every 100 pedal strokes or so, just to make sure I was getting my workout. We kept up a pretty decent pace, considering the wind, for the whole ride, and by the time I turned off onto Wisner Blvd. to ride home, my legs were pretty much done. Pushing directly into the wind all the way to the house was a bit of an unwelcome chore and I doubt I ever broke 18 mph the whole time, but anyway I got what I bargained for and arrived home tired but dry. Around 11:00 the rain started, so I didn't feel too guilty about missing the northshore ride. Maybe 130 miles for the weekend.

Next was the live streaming video of The Daughter's gymnastics meet in NC where they were taking on three other teams. The "coverage" was kind of thin, considering there were three events going on at once the whole time, and they never showed The Daughter's beam routine, although they did show her on floor. The Gymhawks made a lot of mistakes today and ended up in 3rd. They should have, could have, been second. Nobody there was going to beat Georgia, though. Being able to recruit ex-Olympians makes for a pretty good team.

The minute the meet ended, we were off to The Mom's house, where I am now, to watch the Saints football game. They are not looking nearly as sharp as their last game, but I guess I'll keep holding out hope for a miracle, which would get them into the Superbowl. Still, they're doing better than they ever have before, so you really can't complain too much.