Dark and Foggy



Almost finished as the fog clears.

I was up late last night getting the updated version (i.e. the version with finish times) of the Rouge-Roubaix results formatted and posted to the LAMBRA website.  It usually works out that way.  Ricky, the Chief Ref., plugs in all of the finish times in the evening a day or two after the race, which he then sends to me around 10:30 pm.  Looking them over, I noticed that the Master's race was a good ten minutes faster than last year, despite the wind and slack mid-race pace.  My own time was about four minutes slower than last year, but my overall Masters placing went from 3rd to 12th, so basically some of these old guys must be getting faster!  There's a nice video taken from within the Masters race, and at about 3:15 it shows the split on the dirt road that established the front group.  I'm the last rider to make it across.  It's amazing how fast that gap opened!  If I'd hesitated another two seconds I don't think I would have made it across.

Anyway, it rained Monday morning, which was just as well because my legs were pretty sore.  Then, on Tuesday, I did the long levee ride with still-sore legs, flatted halfway back (it was wet), and rode the rest of the way pretty easy.  This morning the legs were feeling significantly better, but still had that lingering stiffness that reminds you of the weekend.  Unfortunately it was so foggy outside, and unexpectedly dark because of the fog, that I overslept a bit and missed the group by at least five minutes.  Not a big deal, though, since it's not like I don't already get enough group rides.  So I settled into a comfortable 20 mph pace and rode up the river until I saw the group on its way back.  It was a small turnout today, with everyone taking really long, steady pulls.  The only problem was the combination of darkness and fog for the first ten miles or so.

This evening is the start of the informal Wednesday Night Worlds training races out at the lakefront.  I'm hoping I'll be able to make it out there for a little hammerfest before dinner.