A Saturday in August

The Saturday Giro Ride left a bit late today and even so we had to make a couple of loops around the fountain on Lakeshore Drive to wait for a couple of the Northshore guys who had been delayed because the bridge over the 17th Street Canal was closed. When we were all back together, the group rolled the rest of the way down the lakefront and over the two bridges, finally dropping back down onto Hayne Blvd. for the long stretch out to Paris Road. For a minute or so the pace was moderate and I watched a small group roll off the front wondering why there was no response. When Rob took off to bridge up to them, I thought for sure that would do it, but for some reason it took a while longer for the group to get going. Then, suddenly, we were going 29, 30, 31 mph and you could see that the gap was closing. The group came to a traffic signal that was, of course, red. It slowed a bit, then split in two and swarmed the confused driver, passing on both sides and coalescing again back into a long single paceline. It wasn't the best move I've seen this group make. When we caught the break, the pace slackened for just a moment. The rest of the trip, all the way out to the turnaround at Venetian Isles, was rarely slower than 29. I don't think I ever made it all the way up to the front where Bain and company were just relentlessly hammering away, although I can't say that I was trying all that hard.

So after the turnaround and the usual regrouping and rehydrating I noticed Tim riding up the road. Jay started after him and I went with Jay and next thing you know it's Tim, Jay, Dave and me doing a nice little team time trial at a brisk 27 mph pace. Since we weren't really killing ourselves, I was fully expecting the pack to come roaring past before we hit the service road, but apparently the were feeling lazy after their earlier effort because they were still a long way back. So we continued on down the service road and onto Bullard with the pack still behind us somewhere. We took it fairly easy down Hayne, but when got to Lakeshore Drive and looked back the pack was nowhere to be found. Even with our late start, we were still back on Lakeshore by 9 am, though, so it was a fairly day. I waited at Elysian Fields with Tim so I could ride back through the French Quarter with the west bank guys, and when they finally showed up we learned that Mignon had hit the deck rounding the curve at Bullard. She looked like she'd taken some skin off of her elbow and knee, but apparently nothing too serious. Rob D. had done the same just a few weeks ago. Apparently there's a bump or pothole or something on the inside of the turn. So anyway, we had a nice ride down Elysian Fields to the Quarter, and then up Prytania street to the park where I split off to head back to the house. I rode through Tulane's campus along the way because it's move-in day for the freshmen and I like soaking up some of that excitement.

A few hours of bad carpentry, painting and inhaling dust and organic solvents pretty much sums up the rest of the day for me, and now, well, it's just another hot August night at home. I wonder if it's ever going to rain around here again...