Sometimes, having a camera in your jersey pocket is nothing more than a source of frustration. Today I snapped a quick image of an interesting dawn sky as the group waited to start its Tuesday levee ride. It would be the only picture taken today. The really good pictures, and there were a few of them, were not taken. In fact, they couldn't have been taken unless I'd had a camera implanted in my forehead. They were great shots, though.
The first picture not taken was of the long 15-rider paceline ahead of me as it made a graceful arc around the country club where the river curves sharply north. The morning sun illuminated the string of brightly colored jerseys as the riders followed each other at neat six-inch intervals. The picture came up suddenly and at 27 mph there was no chance to reach for the camera before the scene, and the draft, was lost.
The big group made for fast speeds today. I hovered near the tail end where the accumulation of little gaps and surges and slowdowns cause the famous accordion effect most noticible in criteriums. My legs were not quite recovered from the weekend's abuse, so I had decided to stay off the front today. By the time we were approaching the "dip," though, the number of riders dropping back in search of shelter was increasing and I was already around mid-pack. We zipped down the levee at the dip and back up the other side, and just as I hit the top again I heard someone behind me yell "flat!" I looked ahead and yelled it to the front part of the group but got no response, so I coasted a bit and finally turned around to see what happened. Well, what had happened wasn't a flat at all, instead it was another picture not taken of Donald sliding in the damp morning grass after hitting a grapefruit-sized lump of clay. Luckily he had missed the various sign posts and other immovable objects in his path and so the damage was minimal. We rode easy up the levee and finally turned around when we saw the remnant of the front group coming the other way.
The speed soon ramped up again for a while but eventually the group started to break up. We passed a little box turtle that was sitting in the middle of the bike path and Donald stopped to move him to safety. I thought at first that he would take the turtle home in his jersey pocket (he's done it before) to help populate his pond. It would have made a nice picture if I could have caught him picking up the turtle, but I just wasn't quick enough. A little while later VJ flatted and at that point just a few of us hung around to assist. The rest of the group went on its way since time was starting to get short.
The big group made for fast speeds today. I hovered near the tail end where the accumulation of little gaps and surges and slowdowns cause the famous accordion effect most noticible in criteriums. My legs were not quite recovered from the weekend's abuse, so I had decided to stay off the front today. By the time we were approaching the "dip," though, the number of riders dropping back in search of shelter was increasing and I was already around mid-pack. We zipped down the levee at the dip and back up the other side, and just as I hit the top again I heard someone behind me yell "flat!" I looked ahead and yelled it to the front part of the group but got no response, so I coasted a bit and finally turned around to see what happened. Well, what had happened wasn't a flat at all, instead it was another picture not taken of Donald sliding in the damp morning grass after hitting a grapefruit-sized lump of clay. Luckily he had missed the various sign posts and other immovable objects in his path and so the damage was minimal. We rode easy up the levee and finally turned around when we saw the remnant of the front group coming the other way.
The speed soon ramped up again for a while but eventually the group started to break up. We passed a little box turtle that was sitting in the middle of the bike path and Donald stopped to move him to safety. I thought at first that he would take the turtle home in his jersey pocket (he's done it before) to help populate his pond. It would have made a nice picture if I could have caught him picking up the turtle, but I just wasn't quick enough. A little while later VJ flatted and at that point just a few of us hung around to assist. The rest of the group went on its way since time was starting to get short.
This afternoon I was looking out over the city from my perch high atop the Tidewater Building and noticed a French flag flying near the river. I couldn't see the ship is was on, but then I saw this in the local TV website:
The French warship "La Fayette" and its crew are in New Orleans this week to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Marquis de La Fayette, a French aristocrat who fought in America's War of Independence. The French warship "La Fayette" and its crew are in New Orleans this week to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Marquis de La Fayette, a French aristocrat who fought in America's War of Independence.
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