Morning Tardiness

I took Monday off this week.  I knew I shouldn't have done it.  It's like telling somebody that you haven't have a flat tire in a long time.  Well, sure enough, Tuesday morning the streets were wet and the rain bike is still set up in cyclocross mode, and I just couldn't summon up the motivation for an hour and a half with cold water spraying up my backside.  I set my sights on Wednesday.

I have one of those old clock-radios with the bright red digits and the single alarm setting.  I've been meaning to get something more versatile for the last fifteen years or so, but I never seem to get around to it.  Anyway, the alarm goes off at 5:45 am every day, which gives me just enough time to make it to the 6:15 am rides on Tuesday and Thursday.  On Wednesday's, though, I can indulge in the snooze button a couple of times before hitting the floor for the 6:40 am ride.  That is, assuming I actually hit the snooze button and don't switch the alarm off instead, which of course is exactly what I did this morning.  So I woke up again at 6:30, muttered some four-letter word under my breath, and got up with the knowledge that my tardiness would mean I'd be riding by myself for a while.  The weather wasn't too bad.  I guess it was in the 40s with a moderate wind, but the sky was clear and my legs were fresh, so the ride up the river was nice. 

Somewhere around the country club I spotted a bald eagle waiting at the highest point he could find for the sun to reach him.  I always seem to see eagles when I'm riding by myself.  This is not a surprise, since the rest of the time I'm more focused on the wheel in front of me than the scenery. I stopped a took a few photos with my little pocket camera, knowing that they would reveal, at best, a white-headed black blob that, with a little imagination, could be interpreted as a bald eagle.

I met up with the group shortly before Williams and rode back downriver in the paceline.  There's a big sign near the Huey P. Long bridge announcing the impending road and bike path closure, which as of today is scheduled for Jan. 28-30 and again for Feb. 10-13.  Looks like we'll be able to do the usual ride tomorrow!  I stopped in at Zotz on the way home for a cup of coffee and a chance to postpone, at least for a few minutes, the rest of my day, whilst pondering the quote by Jane Wagner, "Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it."  Sometimes I truly wish I was more out of touch with reality.  Really.