Mad Dash

The alarm went off right on time, but I thought I'd give myself just a couple more minutes before putting the feet to the floor. The next time I glanced up at the clock it read 6:03. I launched out of bed, rudely slamming the pedal to the floor on a number of very reluctant physiological systems. It was already essentially impossible to make it out to the levee by 6:15, but for some reason I just wasn't willing to throw in the towel this morning and was determined to make a mad dash for the levee regardless. The thermometer was somewhere around 40F, although Rob later told me his computer said 38, so I grabbed whatever came to hand most readily, jumped onto the saddle, and - click, click, click - shifted to the big ring. My last-minute warning wristwatch alarm sounded at 6:15 midway down Carrollton Avenue as I poured a few more coals onto the fire. A few minutes later I was amazed to see a couple of riders still waiting up on the levee. The cold weather had done me a favor and reduced the turnout enough that they were still up there hoping for a few more bodies to show up.

We picked up a few more riders along the way and soon had a decent-sized group of seven or eight or ten. I was still stuck in race mode, though, and with a little tailwind we quickly formed a 5-rider group at the front. I had installed a fresh chain and cassette the night before, and I was really enjoying that silky smooth feeling you get when everything is meshing together just the way Tullio always intended. Just don't tell the guys in Vicenza that I skipped purchasing the $140 chain tool and used a $7 Superlink instead. So anyway, the pace was good and brisk today and I was in the mood to do some work. Indeed, with much of the return trip being into a headwind of one sort or the other, pretty much everyone was doing some work, especially the poor soul who was crouched behind me wondering why there was so little draft. Arriving back at home, the best I could do for breakfast was a cold hamburger bun and peanut butter before I swung a leg over the commuter and merged into the traffic for the ride to work.

By the time I got to the office I was wishing for a quiet hour and a cup of hot coffee, neither of which I got. It is a very busy time for us right now and my desk is littered with little stacks of paper, each representing an unfinished task. I had hoped to spend a little while in the morning getting my to-do list organized, but that idea went quickly by the wayside after getting a call from the Dept. of Energy about a $1.2M project for which we need to get a budget and writeup completed asap.

Meanwhile, word from Belize, via Kenny is that the Herring guys had a pretty decent day yesterday with three guys making the biggest split and probably all getting into the top 20 in the 130 mi. first stage. Woody certainly had a great day, having played a big role in the key break of the day. I hope he has some legs left for today's team time trial, which is probably going on as I write. There was even some drama during yesterday's stage with Scott having to give Bain his wheel when they flatted while making a long bridge up to the break. Kenny sent the photo above showing Mal hanging out of their team car wrenching on Michael O's bike in the middle of the race. Looks like fun, eh?