Conferencing

The morning temperature was merely in the 50's, but I knew better than to dress for it. Instead, I went out with two jerseys, long tights, skullcap and full gloves. Crazy, perhaps, but definitely comfortable. A month from now I'll likely be comfortable with half those layers, but for now, I just don't see any point in being cold. So anyway, we had a good group of a dozen or so for the Tuesday ride. I tucked comfortably into the long paceline as we cruised up the river, each rider taking nice long steady pulls at the front. My mind, however, was elsewhere, so I was careful to leave a little extra distance between myself and the rider in front of me. This is the time of year when my mind often wanders on these rides. I was thinking about the conference I'd be attending tomorrow up in D.C., the unfinished business sitting on my desk at work, the NOBC winter kit order situation, and the hot double Macchiato that was waiting for me at Zotz, not necessarily in that order.

The ride went smoothly, and by the time I peeled off to glide down the levee onto Oak Street I was comfortably warmed up, my gloves and skullcap tucked into my pocket. I rode down the freshly paved road, swerving smoothly around the sections of granite blocks (a few of which are already getting dislodged), toward that Macchiato. As I rolled up to Zotz, that odd fellow with the limp who I see every morning sweeping the street in front of the Maple Leaf went in to get his morning coffee. I waited patiently and ordered my double espresso with foamed milk on top. The barista seemed rather happy to have something interesting to serve, rather than the usual "small dark roast." I sat for a few minutes, checked my email, and reluctantly headed back down toward reality.