Protocol

Mid-summer mornings in New Orleans can be a lot of things, but windy is not usually one of them. For the past week or more we've been under this big high-pressure system that's made for some uncomfortably hot weather, punctuated only by a few short but dramatic thunderstorms. Riding out to meet the Giro Ride this morning I wasn't thinking about wind. Blocked by the rows of houses along Carrollton and Canal, the unusual west wind hardly even registered. Instead, I was wondering if Starbucks would be serving coffee. The city was under a "boil order" thanks to a power surge that had knocked out the pumps at the Water Board's main pumping station, lowering the pressure in the lines below the threshold at which they start to worry about contamination entering the system through all of the broken and cracked water lines under the city's streets. Fortunately, Starbucks was open for business, so all was right with the world at 6:30 am.

The group rolled out at 7 am as usual, but for some reason a few riders at the front were already pushing the pace as we headed northeast toward the lake. Turning onto Lakeshore Drive we got the full force of the west wind, and all of a sudden there was one group way off the front and gaps were opening up all over the place.  The pace crept up from the usual 18-20 mph conversational speed, and for a little while we were in all-out chase mode at 28 mph to get back up to the front group.

This was a clear violation of the Giro Ride Protocol which calls for an easy warm-up along Lakeshore Drive!

Of course, the reason for this transgression was a solid 20 mph west wind. Flying down Hayne Blvd., the group's average speed for the six-mile stretch was a bit over 30 mph. It wasn't much different along Chef Highway, either. I hit 36 mph at one point and someone told me he saw 38 for a moment. Under the circumstances, I never once considered making my way up to the front. I was pretty sure that twenty seconds on the front would have increased my chances of getting dropped significantly, anyway.  Of course, as often  happens on days like this one, the pace on the way back was easier, despite the headwind. By then, the temperature was already around 90 F and a lot of riders were starting to look a little wilted, myself included.