Status Quo

I had been kind of looking forward to this morning's ride after having skipped Monday for primarily logistical reasons, and so I was disappointed to find the air cold and damp when I stepped out the door into the darkness. There were water droplets atop the car as well, but the street was dry so I headed out to the levee. The weather report that I got when I arrived indicated some light rain approaching slowly from the west. The one I got from looking up at the sky indicated we'd probably get home without getting wet. Nonetheless, the group today was smallish and sluggish and entirely satisfied with the status quo. I could still feel my legs from Sunday's ride, but that wasn't really holding me back. It was the depressing weather. The sun was nowhere to be seen and everything had that dull, diffuse grey pallor to it. In perfect accompaniment, the chilly and very damp air seemed to cut through my clothes in some places, yet somehow without diminishing that clammy feeling you get sometimes when it's really humid. On days like this, there is simply no good way to dress. If you shoot for an "average" level of warmth, it's no better than the "average" comfort level you'd have if your head were in the oven and your feet in the freezer. So anyway, suffice it to say I wasn't too excited about the conditions today, even though the wind was very light.

For a change, everyone did the long ride today. I knew we'd be late getting back because the pace was rarely over 23 mph and there would be more of a headwind on the return trip. When we eased up approaching the turnaround I noticed John's rear tire looked like it might be going flat. He stopped and checked it and said it didn't look too bad, so I turned around and soft-pedaled back in the direction of home, chatting with Howard. After a while we looked back and figured they must have decided to change the tube, so we just continued on at maybe 17 mph waiting for the group to catch. Ten miles later we looked back and they were nowhere in sight. I guess they must have had some trouble with the tire, or maybe there was yet another flat, because I never saw them again. I was already running a good fifteen minutes later than usual, so after Howard peeled off at Williams I just cruised in the rest of the way at 19 mph. or so, which felt a lot harder than it should have.

Can't say my legs were feeling very good at all today. Already running late and with rain in the forecast, I rushed through my shower and jumped on the commuter, taunted over the last mile by a few occasional droplets of light rain. With three people out of town and one sick, it's deathly quiet in the office this morning. I guess it would be a good day to pick something really dull and boring from my to-do list. Lobbying reports, long-overdue filing, etc. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I wish it was summer.