Fall is the one time in New Orleans where, every now and then, we get one or two really spectacular days. Today is one of them. Clear blue skies, cool temperatures that don't require more than arm-warmers, and light winds. Riding out to the lakefront in the semi-darkness I had a feeling it would be like this. I was only halfway there when I heard Chad come past me yelling "free ride, free ride!" Since he was going a good 5 mph faster than my leisurely 17 mph, I thought it didn't look like it would be quite so "free" to me. Besides, I was enjoying the ride far too much to be jumping out of the saddle to close a gap so early in the morning. I watched him disappear up the road. I hit Lakeshore Drive right on schedule at 7 am sharp, and next thing I knew, there was Chad again, having just left one of the port-o-lets. As he rode past, again, he commented "there's some leftover vodka in there if you're thirsty..."
So the group today was quite large, but it seemed that almost everyone was looking for a moderate pace rather than the more typical hammerfest. I was staying off the front, myself, although I did end up bridging a gap or two when the pace momentarily surged. I wonder who could have been up front when that happened. Anyway, by all measures it was a civilized ride today with ample time for talk, but still a respectable dose of effort. Back at the parking lot I chatted with Vivian for a while, commenting how nice it felt to finish a Giro ride and not feel too wiped out. Just to put a nice finishing cap on the morning ride, I had a tailwind all the way home.
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