Cold and Coffee

The conference went well, capped off with the usual Tuesday night party.  This year, however, they had a DJ instead of the traditional live band.  That wouldn't have been too bad, except that they were playing mostly crappy 2000s music - the kind with the monotonous over-amplified bass.  They even included "dancers," which were a couple of guys like you'd find break-dancing any day of the week in the French Quarter. Anyway, we made the best of it. I finally headed back to my hotel from the hospitality suite around 1 am, although things in there were still going strong.  The next morning's sessions were kind of tough, as usual.  Unfortunately my flight didn't leave until after 7 pm, so after meeting a colleague for lunch I still had a lot of time to kill before hopping on the Metro for DCA. Arrived back in NOLA from DC a few minutes after midnight on Thursday with a bag full of dirty laundry and a need for sleep.  It should come as no surprise that I wasn't out there on the levee at 6:15 that morning, especially considering the fact that it was around 40 degrees with a brutal north wind. 

After what essentially amounted to two weeks off the bike, and a lingering chest cold, I decided that trying to start training again in the cold air probably wasn't worth the risk and set my sights on today's Giro.  It was still pretty cold when I rolled out of bed today, but it was time to get back in the saddle, so I pumped up the tires, pulled on the knee-warmers and headed off for some pre-Giro French Roast.  I was really looking forward to that cup of hot coffee.  On the plus side, it was certainly nice to be riding out to meet the Giro with a little light in the sky for a change.  There was the usual cast of characters on hand at Starbucks, although they were all hanging out inside instead of outside today. 

Since I'm still feeling some chest congestion, I'm not planning on doing anything too hard until next week, so I spent most of the ride hanging out around mid-pack. The temperature was on the rise throughout today's ride, and there was a steady wind blowing out of the southeast.  The pace was fairly reasonable, so things stayed together for the most part. I dropped off the pace well before the turnaround for a little nature break, thanks no doubt to the combination of cold and coffee.  I wasn't the only one.

Tomorrow I'll be taking a pass on the northshore ride so I can help out with the timing for an informal time trial that the Tulane team is doing out on Lakeshore Drive in the morning.  I'll try and get back to a more normal routine on Monday.