Winter Gear

We've had some chilly mornings around here lately.  It always seems to take me an extra ten minutes to get out the door on days like those.  It's so easy in the summer.  Shorts, jersey, socks.  When the temperature is in the 30s or even low 40s, the process becomes more complicated.  Long tights, knee-warmers and shorts, knickers, or shorts with cold knees?  Long-sleeve jersey or jacket?  Wind vest?  DeFeet gloves or regular gloves?  Toe-covers, full shoe covers, or both?  And don't forget the chapstick.  So on Friday I got out to the levee at literally the last minute to find only Scott.  Everything was covered in a thick layer of frost, but at least the wind that had beaten us up on Thursday had died down.  I rode with him out to the parish line where he decided to continue on while I turned back.  My neck is still bothering me after 45 minutes or so, so I was happy to be able to sit up every now and then.  A number of the local riders were doing a long ride, nearly 160 miles, around Lake Pontchartrain.  If I hadn't been suffering from the nagging neck and back issues I probably would have joined them, but on this particular morning I was glad I hadn't.  Aside from the cold, I could already feel the wind picking up as I made my way back home.  On the plus side, the bike path was practically deserted.

So this morning I rode out to the Giro Ride with Danielle with the idea of doing the whole ride for the first time in about three weeks.  It was cold enough when I left home, ten minutes late, that I was wearing full tights and my winter jacket - basically full winter gear.  I knew it would get warmer once the sun came up but I just wasn't willing to suffer those first couple of hours. Arriving at Starbucks I was a little surprised to find Ben, Jaden and Woody.  They had all done that 160 mile ride the day before, spending nearly ten hours on the road.  At least I was pretty sure none of them would be kicking butt today.  The ride itself was pretty easy, as Giro Rides go, and I was glad that my neck muscles didn't start complaining too loudly until we were halfway back.

Tomorrow we have the annual LAMBRA meeting.  I hope there's a decent turnout.  It's really hard to get people to travel to this meeting, apparently even if it's just across town.  At the very least we need to get the 2014 calendar in good enough shape to post it, even if some dates are tentative.  Although we don't start until 11:00, I will probably skip the Giro and instead meet a few riders from the Tulane club around 8:00. Maybe I'll get in a few miles before that, but I'm thinking 25 miles will be about it tomorrow.