Long Lines

I left work a bit early yesterday, but it wasn't so that I'd have time to ride out to the lakefront for the weekly Wednesday Worlds training race. Instead, I had to meet with an A/C contractor to get an estimate on a new system for the house. I've been putting this off for at least six or seven years. Anyway, by the time I had the estimates in hand and the nice man got back into his truck and drove away it was just past 5:30. I knew I'd never make the start of the training race, but since jumping into these is perfectly acceptable, provided one adheres to the unwritten rule of going to the back and waiting a lap or so before doing anything that might affect the outcome, I rushed out the door, heading north. It's already feeling a lot like summer around here, and by the time I got out there I was pretty well warmed up. I guess I missed about a lap and a half. The race was fast and aggressive, and the group spent a lot of its time strung out in a long line at 28-30 mph. I did what I could without getting dropped, making more than one bridge across to threatening breaks. Kenny was hovering about in the group on his TT bike, occasionally launching off the front to do some planned 3-minute intervals. On the last lap a break went clear, but somehow the group closed it in time for the finish, I think. Anyway, it was a great 40 minute workout. Afterward, I rode all the way west on Lakeshore Drive with a few other riders, finally turning down Canal Blvd. to head home and completely forgetting that the whole blasted right lane is blocked off for construction. I was a bit tired and really irritated with myself for forgetting that, and ended up having to weave in and out of traffic pylons and barricades to keep from getting run over in the narrow left lane that was still open.

This morning's long levee ride was particularly well-attended for some reason. As is usually the case when I add the Wednesday evening training race to my usual routine, I was feeling a little tired from the start. I should probably shorten my Tuesday or Thursday rides in order to accommodate the Wednesday Worlds, because I'm not getting quite enough recovery from these three hard days in a row. So anyway, there were at least 25 riders this morning, and on the way out Tim, Rob and Woody were pushing the pace, so the group was strung out into this long line all the way out to The Dip. Once I dropped back, the pace was so fast and the line so long that I decided to just stay where I was rather than try to sprint up closer to the front in order to take a few pulls. Things settled down a bit after The Dip, though, so I was able to take a few pulls now and then anyway. Most of the riders in the group made it all the way out to the turnaround today. The wind was really light, which makes it much easier to stay in the draft even when it surges.

Well, and exciting NSF webcast on the ARI and MRI programs is just starting so I'm gone.....