December First and 77

It was one of those mornings when you have the best of intentions.  After an easy ride on Monday morning that probably never cracked 20 mph, I had the idea I'd work some intensity into this morning's ride. That idea feel by the wayside almost the minute I swung my leg over that tattered Selle Italia SLR that I've been meaning to replace since this time last year. I may give the Specialized Romin that's currently on the track bike another try. If that doesn't work out I guess I'll have to bite the bullet at try to find something that's both light and comfortable enough for my well-worn and thinly padded crotch. The SLR has been pretty significantly changed since I got my current one, but that may still be my best shot.

So the first day of the last month of 2015 started out with a rather lackluster ride on my part. I guess it was around 70 degrees when I headed out in the dark, and now, at 10 am, it's 77 with the relative humidity at 73%. Perhaps that had something to do with it.  I'd spent half the night breathing out of only one nostril, so there's probably something in the air that's messing with my head. It always clears up a lot once I start riding, though.

I followed wheels out to the lakefront where a pretty large group came together for the lap of Lakeshore Drive.  I'd guess around 25 were on hand.  The pace was moderate until the last few miles, so that was good, although as easy as it would have been to move up to the front to take a few pulls, my head just wasn't in it today. Out along the lake the water was almost dead calm with a very light offshore breeze out of the south.  It was the kind of wind that makes sailors take along someone who smokes so they can tell the direction it's blowing. The pace picked up heading out to Kenner on the bike path, but the calm air and ample draft made it easy to roll along near the back at the 24-26 mph speed the group was maintaining.

Riding to work this morning I was getting showered with falling leaves here and there. The trees know it's supposed to be winter. Off to the northwest there's a somewhat stalled cold front slowly sagging in our direction, but it's not expected to give us much rain when it finally comes through around dinner time. By tomorrow morning we should have a pretty significant north wind but the temperature out on the lakefront will probably be down to only 60F or so. It's not looking like we'll see anything requiring much more than arm-warmers and base layers for at least the next then days. I'm not complaining. Next weekend's cyclocross races in Jackson, Mississippi should be dry and comfortable with temperatures in the 50s and 60s.