Riding on Eggshells

After yesterday's successful test ride, I thought I'd try for a longer ride in the morning. Seemed like a good plan. So I got up bright and early so I'd miss the rush hour traffic, but when I looked out the window I knew I was in trouble. The sky looked overcast and the wind was blowing, so I fired up the laptop to check the radar. Good thing I did, because a big line of heavy thunderstorms was about half an hour away. Oh well, it was a nice try. I got back into bed and drifted back off to sleep as the rain started coming down.

I don't think the sun ever came out today, but we did walk down to the local DMV to get a temporary handicapped parking tag for The Daughter's car. The difference between this Iowa City DMV and any DMV within fifty miles of New Orleans was impressive. All of the employees were pleasant and helpful, they had a huge LCD monitor showing the weather in one window and the "now serving" numbers in the other. We waited maybe five minutes and promptly received two handicapped hangtags without being charged a fee.

Finally, around 4 pm, I got a chance to go out for a ride. Riding like this is kind of a new experience altogether. It's like riding on eggshells. I'm glad that there are some little hills, because that's the only way I can get some exercise without going too fast. By "too fast" I mean more than 15 mph, which is about the speed at which I start to feel the little bumps in the road. The other thing is that my slow and cautious riding makes me feel self-conscious, especially since I'm wearing my usual club kit. Maybe I'd feel more comfortable and less conspicuous in baggy shorts and a t-shirt? Anyway, I rode ten or fifteen miles, which took an hour, but compared to riding the trainer, it was fantastic. Tomorrow morning we'll be driving back down to NOLA all day, and after that it'll be back to normal, such as it is. Frank fixed the Orbea and dropped it off at Kenny's house last weekend. Thanks Frank! I wonder if it's worth trying to fix those Cane Creek wheels that apparently got rolled over in the crash...