Powerless

Monday morning's ride was just an easy spin up on the levee. There was still just a bit of the weekend lingering in the legs and I figured a recovery ride was the best option. It was lonely and slow but by the end my legs were feeling fine. So you would have thought that this morning they'd be all recovered and ready for action, right? Yeah, me too.

When we started out this morning I felt perfectly normal. I was nice and warm with full tights, arm-warmers, vest, etc. to ward off the pre-dawn chill. With Woody and Howard and Brady in the group I knew it would get fast. It did. The only problem was that when I'd come out of the draft and hit the front I found that I had no power at all. I mean, I'd start out at the same speed as the guy who had just pulled off, typically around 25-26 mph, and watch my speed drop as I struggled to hold the pace. I started taking shorter and shorter pulls, but it wasn't really helping. Eventually I decided to skip a rotation and while I was back there try to tighten up my shoes. I had somehow left the velcro rather loose and the faster pace was causing my feet to slide forward, scrunching my toes in to the diminutive NIKE toe box. I did one shoe and a little gap opened. Max was dropping back after taking a pull and said something unpleasant about the fact that I wasn't pulling before slotting in ahead of me. I fiddled with the other shoe and then had a hard time closing the new gap I'd created. We were only a mile or so from the turnaround, but the next time the pace surged things kind of came apart. Jeff put in a hard pull as a gap opened, and when he started to fade I went around to try and close it, but I was losing ground the whole time. I pulled off expecting someone to come past, but when I glanced back I discovered that everyone else had backed off. Anyway, the bottom line is that I was just not feeling too sharp this morning, so on the way back I stopped at Zotz for a cup of dark roast and a few minutes to contemplate the meaning of life. It's nice to sit out there on the street and watch the little business district wake up in the morning. The Yoga place across the street has a class that must end right around when I usually get there, so I see those people walking to their SUVs so they can drive back home. Next to that shop is a furniture/decorating shop, and a women dressed a bit too nicely comes from around the corner to unlock the door and do whatever they do in there two hours before opening time. Next to that I can see someone straightening up the displays at the Super10. A typical morning on Oak Street.

So it's time to get down to brass tacks for the Tour de Louisiane. We had a little meeting last night to divide up some of the various pre-event duties - sponsorship solicitation, course arrangements, and various other decisions. We're hoping that we will be able to swing either City Park or the Superdome for the Criterium this year since Lakeshore Drive is all torn up and will remain that way until the levee work is completed next March. Hopefully one of those sites will work out and not cost us more than we can afford. Every few years we really need to break even on this race! At any rate, I'll probably put up a preliminary event announcement on the website today or tomorrow so I don't start getting calls asking if the event is going to happen. I mean, of course it's going to happen. There's just this little issue of exactly where.....