Not So Terrible

As expected, the streets were wet this morning at 6 am, but the severe thunderstorms that had been predicted never materialized. Nonetheless, I decided not to make the wet trip out to the lakefront and instead took a shower and then spent a leisurely hour or so at the local Starbucks reading the newspaper, surreptitiously checking out the girls, and sipping a tall Cafe' Verona. By 10:00, though, I was convinced we weren't going to get any really bad weather, so I headed home and pumped up the tires on the old Pennine so I could take advantage of its nice full-coverage fenders. Although there was a very light drizzle falling off-and-on, it was really not so terrible and I quickly decided I could get in a couple of hours on the bike. Just as I got to the levee, I ran into Realdo and Sam on their way back. They had done the Giro ride this morning and were getting in a few extra miles. Apparently there were six or seven riders who showed up despite the weather. I rode with them back to Audubon Park and we rode a couple of laps before they headed home and I headed back to the levee for another hour or so. Naturally, when I was about five miles from home on my way back the light drizzle turned into rain. The temperature was warm and I was well warmed up myself, so it wasn't a problem thanks to the fenders keeping the spray off of my feet and back -- until I heard the train whistle! Sure enough, I had to stop and wait for a train at Oak Street, but it wasn't too long, so I didn't get too cold.

So tomorrow I'll head up to Baton Rouge for a little time trial. It seems like a lot of people are going to skip this one and opt for a long training ride in the hills instead. I'm kind of committed to going to the TT, though, since I have the check to pay for the NOBC members' entry fees! The weather is supposed to be nice except for one little thing. They're predicting winds of around 20 mph. Yikes!