Long Winter Rides

Tulane and LSU riders ready to head out for the Saturday training camp ride up in Natchez

Friday evening I rushed over to the main campus to help out with the Tulane's spring activities expo where the cycling team had a table. Rather than cramming everyone into a couple of the big meeting rooms at the student center, aka the LBC, this year they had it set up at the old Fogelman Arena / Devlin Fieldhouse, aka the basketball stadium. As bait, they were supplying free pizza, popcorn and drinks which seemed to be reasonably effective. The spring expo is always a lot smaller than the fall expo that is typically held outdoors.

President Fitts chats with TUCA
riders at the Expo

Anyway, I think they signed  up a few new interested riders and there's a meeting scheduled this week, so that's good. After the expo I went home and dropped off the stuff I'd brought to the expo, threw the bike and a bag into the car and picked up Mike for the drive up to Natchez State Park for the Tulane Cycling training camp weekend. I was planning on driving back on Saturday afternoon, however, since I was scheduled to lead the NOBC Winter Ride Series ride out of Abita Springs on Sunday. We arrived at the cabins a bit after 10 pm I guess.  The Tulane and LSU riders were all busy playing some kind of card game or something, and I was exhausted, so I slipped away pretty quickly, claimed a spot on the couch in the next cabin and went to sleep.  The next morning I found Charlotte camped out on the floor sleeping on three of the couch cushions.  I didn't know she was planning on coming, but if I had I would have asked one of the guys to leave her a bed!  Lack of planning all around, I guess.

Heading out - Natchez State Park

The morning temperature was in the upper 30s, when we left for the Saturday ride around 9 am or so, and so everyone was pretty bundled up in winter gear despite the crystal clear sky. We were probably only ten miles into the ride when it became obvious that most of us were overdressed, though, so there were multiple stops for wardrobe adjustments and to wait for a couple of riders who were having difficulty with the low rolling hills.  I was pretty obvious that they weren't going to survive the whole 60+ mile ride, so at some point they got directions for a shorter route back to the cabins.

Flat #1. Took 4 tubes to get everyone
through one mile of gravel.

Of course, there was a short section of gravel along Cemetery Road that was part of our route. The road was pretty well packed down in most places, so it wouldn't have been a problem ordinarily, but of course as soon as we hit it, it became a race -- one in which I wasn't about to participate. Naturally, we were about 500 meters into the ride when the first rider flatted.  I stopped with Jerry to help with the repair and noticed he was rushing to get it done quickly, so I told him to relax because I was pretty sure the would be another flat tire before the end.  Sure enough, we rounded the next curve and there were a few riders fixing a flat.  We continued on to the end of the gravel, which was only maybe half a mile more, where the rest of the group was waiting impatiently.  After a while we started wondering why the guy with the second flat hadn't arrived so I started to ride back when one of the guys showed up saying that they had blown out two or three tubes trying to fix a big slash in the tire and the rider was walking back and we'd have to call to get someone to pick him up.  I went back there and booted the tire with a piece of Tyvek race number that I keep in my bag for just such a thing, putting maybe 30 psi in the tire since the slash was so big.  At least it got him rolling again.  We stopped a little later to put a little more air in the tire, but anyway he made it into Natchez. We left him at the Steampunk Coffee shop in Natchez and called one of the guys who had turned back early to come and pick him up.

Regrouping at Church Hill

Meanwhile, I discovered that I'd broken another aluminum spoke nipple on my rear wheel, but it was clearing the frame and brake, so I continued on with the somewhat wobbly wheel hoping another spoke nipple wouldn't go. These were some old super-light climbing wheels that I've pressed into service as my training wheels since the crash last October that took out my Mavic wheels. That was the third aluminum spoke nipple to break, so I'm sure there will be others, but I've just been replacing them with brass nipples one at a time for now. Anyway, it was a good ride even though we probably set a record for the most stops in a single training ride.  I headed back home after a quick sandwich to get ready for Sunday's ride.

There was a big group for the start of the NOBC WRS #3 ride

Sunday morning it was pretty chilly up in Abita Springs and once again I overdressed a bit. We had 20+ riders at the start, shedding a few at the turn-off for the short ride, and then a whole bunch around Enon, so we ended up with only seven for the last 50 miles or so. That worked out pretty well, though. Lenny, Jim, Mile Lew, Stephen, VJ, John Dias (yes, he's back on the bike) and I had a pretty good workout on the hilly loop north of Enon.

Only 7 did the full 80+ mile ride - weather was perfect
but got really windy toward the end

By the time we were heading back over the Watchtower Hill, Lenny and Mike were starting to come off the back and most of us were really feeling the miles. Jim went to the front after Tung Road and started towing us all back toward Barker's Corner straight into an increasing headwind, at which point we lost Mike and Lenny for a while. I was pretty tired by the time we pulled into Abita Springs with 80+ miles on the computer, but at least I felt like I'd gotten my money's worth out of the weekend!

I went out Monday morning for a spin on the levee, and between the wind and my sore legs I spent most of the time going 15 mph.  I knew better than to put any pressure on the quads, since I hadn't had a day off the bike in over a month and definitely needed a little recovery time.  This morning the temperature was a little higher and things got pretty fast along Lakeshore Drive for a while, but a few people pulled off after that so the ride out to Kenner was somewhat easier.  My legs felt surprisingly good.  They were still a little sore, but much better than they had been last Tuesday.

The Miles in the Weather

Totally worthwhile to have waited out the rain on Sunday!

Well, the power at the office went out again, so after an hour I got on the bike and rode back home. After the power went out the phones and internet went out too, of course, so sitting in a dark office with just my cellphone would have been a little crazy.  Anyway, I got home and realized it had been a while since I updated the blog. For the last week or so the weather has really been interfering with the regular group rides. There's been a lot of fairly unpredictable rain, temperature swings, strong winds, and all that standard winter stuff, except it hasn't really been all that cold.

Saturday's Eagle

Last Saturday I went out to the Giro Ride knowing it would probably start raining in an hour or two.  The radar seemed to be giving us a reasonable chance of getting in a few miles, though, so I went anyway.  Well, I walked into Starbucks, got a cup of coffee, and walked out to find it already starting to rain.  I gulped down a couple of sips and took off, coffee in hand, as a front started blowing through.  It was all I could do to control the bike in the crosswind -- with one hand -- without spilling my wonderfully hot coffee.  I got home pretty wet, but it's only about four miles so I wasn't soaked or anything.  It rained for a while and then by 11 am the streets were almost dry again and the sun was out, so I went back out and did a nice solo 50 miles on the levee out to the Spillway and back.  Along the way I found the eagle's nest along the bike path in River Ridge, along with both eagles.  I also stopped at Williams Blvd. to talk with a French couple that had ridden down from Montana on super heavily loaded bikes.  They had stopped to eat lunch on the bench there.  I gave them some directions and let them know that there was more rain coming later in the evening. Pretty sure they made it to their destination in the garden district before then.  Saturday night it rained as expected, but the forecast for Sunday's long ride on the northshore was looking pretty good with the rain ending right around the 8:30 am start time.

No power at office!

So Sunday I headed across the lake to meet up with 20+ riders at Abita Springs only to find out that there was still a line of rain heading our way. Although a couple of people took off in the rain, and subsequently froze their butts off, the rest of us hung around under the big gazebo, or in the nearby coffee shop, to wait it out. By 9:30 the rain had left, along with almost all of the riders.  There was a pretty strong wind blowing, and it felt a lot colder than the thermometer would suggest, but Steve and I headed out on the 80 mile course with the streets already starting to dry out. We ended up cutting out four or five miles since there were just the two of us and the battle with the wind was getting more and more real.  We were both hurting a bit over the last ten miles or so, but I was happy to have gotten in almost 78 miles to nudge my week's total just barely aver the 300 mile mark.

I rode solo again on Monday, trying to take it easy, which was difficult because it was still pretty windy.  Then on Tuesday's group ride I found my legs were still hurting from Sunday. Unfortunately, the pace was pretty fast, so my plan to sit in at the back and take it easy didn't exactly work out. Wednesday's WeMoRi was fast in some places and not so fast in others, and although it's not very long, for me at least, I could still feel Sunday's ride in my tired old legs. Sucks getting old.

It was damned windy out on the lakefront this morning.

Last night a cold front came through and when I went out at 5:40 am I was greeted by what must have been a 15-20 mph northwest wind.  What I wasn't greeted by was anyone at the meeting spot, so I rode out to the lakefront alone.  As expected, there were only a few people out there. I think we had five for a while along Lakeshore Drive, but by the time we were on the bike path heading west into the wind blowing off the lake it was down to just Bjarne, Jeff and me.  We weren't killing it, though, so it was fine.  We turned around a little early to compensate for the slow speed and came back with a bit of a tailwind at a more conversational speed.  I think we'd all had about enough eschelon for the day.

I think I'll try and disassemble Danielle's scooter tonight.  It stopped on her last week and we had to walk it back home about a mile.  It'll start right up and then immediately die, so I'm suspecting a vacuum or fuel delivery problem.  The only trouble is that the engine is entirely encased in all manner of plastic, so it'll probably take me an hour just to have a look.  The Tulane organizations fair is tomorrow evening, and after that I'm heading straight up to Natchez for their training camp. I'm just doing the Saturday ride, though, and heading back Saturday afternoon so I can lead the NOBC Winter Training Ride Series #3.  The weather, of course, is looking a little sketchy.  Saturday morning in Natchez will be in the upper 30s. Sunday in Covington is looking a bit warmer and sunny, so hopefully that will work out.  Also hopefully my legs will still be functional enough to ride 80 miles too.

Winter Training Rides

Yeah, the fog was pretty thick on Saturday.

The unexpected recurrence of unseasonably warm weather we've been having down here lately has been kind of a mixed bag. While I would never go so far as to complain about sustained January temperatures in the upper 50s through the mid-70s, it hasn't been without some issues, the primary one being fog. On a morning with the temperature in the upper 50s, I might normally venture out wearing little more than summer kit for a long weekend training ride, but when you look out the window and see everything shrouded in a thick blanket of fog, your plans, or at least your wardrobe, require a bit of adjustment.  When it's as foggy as it was Saturday morning for the Giro Ride, you know you're going to be good and wet. It's like riding in a cloud. For me, that meant arm-warmers and wind-resistant base layer, and even knee-warmers. By the end I was regretting having left the shoe-covers at home.

Sunday's WRS group coming over the watchtower hill from the easy direction.

Despite the fog, we had a pretty large turnout for Saturday's Giro, and with such a cluster of blinking tail lights, combined with the typically low early morning traffic volume, I wasn't feeling too concerned. My only real worry was that place where we merge onto I-510, crossing two lanes of interstate traffic, on a curve, in the fog. If I'd thought of it sooner I'd have tried to convince everyone to take Bullard and the service road instead, but they were at the front and I wasn't and it was too late by the time I realized it would be kind of risky.  Incredibly, the front of the group didn't wait until it was all clear and basically pulled in front of a tractor-trailer rig. Luckily the driver wasn't going super fast and saw what was happening and slowed down -- a lot. It was kind of lucky that everyone made it across that time.  A number of riders turned back either at the end of Hayne or when we got to Chef Highway, but as it turned out, the ride down Chef was smooth and controlled and there was practically no traffic, so that was good.  I was very surprised that the fog never really lifted until I was on my way back to the house on Jeff. Davis.

So on Sunday we had our first NOBC Winter Ride Series ride on the northshore.  This is a revival of the old winter series we used to do, but rather than start in November, we're now starting in mid-January thanks to all of the cyclocross entanglements during November and December. I also decided, somewhat unilaterally, to push the start time back to 8:30 so that the sun will at least be above the trees. We're also starting from Abita Springs so that there's a fairly easy 20 miles or so at which point the short ride can split off.  After that, there will be a few designated Sprint Zones (like the WBL has) with the rest of the ride being a little less aggressive so that most riders are able to stay with the group.

Ben and Dustin spent a lot of time on the front riding
easy tempo which kept things together nicely.

Last Sunday we had a few of the Nth Degree Junior riders on hand, being shepherded by Stanton.  I think it worked out pretty well.  We did around 67 miles with a few fast sections and they all stayed together until the last then miles or so. By the end of the last Sprint Zone up the watchtower hill and continuing to Tung Road we'd lost a couple of riders, so when the front of the group continued on, I turned back to pick up one of the Juniors and Charlotte and Stanton who was keeping track of the last Junior. Afterward about ten of us had lunch at the Abita Brew Pub.  Basically, it was a really enjoyable ride and the Sprint Zone sections were fast enough and long enough that I felt like I got a pretty good workout.  I'm already looking forward to next week's ride.

Southern Winds

Yeah!  Warmer weather for a while.

With our weekend of freezing weather in the rear-view mirror, I woke up this morning to a relatively mild 55 degrees, rising to 61℉ a couple of hours later when I got back home.  It's 72 ℉ right now and looking like we won't see anything lower than 59 for the next ten days, which is also about when we'll see the winds swing around to the north. The next few days are going to feature warm temperatures and significant southeast winds. I'll take that over freezing and strong north winds any day of the week. We'll probably have a few days with pre-dawn temperatures over 60, which means I may even get to ride with bare knees. Granted, my personal knee-warmer threshold of 59 is kind of high compared to most, but I'd rather keep those old tendons nice and warm rather than risk any winter tendinitis. Plus, these old knees are probably running kind of low on lube anyway.

So this morning I rode out to the lakefront wearing knickers, base layer and long-sleeve jersey with a thin wind vest on top. It was very cozy, but once we got to Lakeshore Drive I knew the vest was going to have to go into the pocket pretty soon, which it did.

The group wasn't too energetic this morning, which was a bit of a surprise considering the warm weather.  I think a few people were missing.  After we got off of Lakeshore Drive and onto the bike path VJ, who was on his TT bike again, started spending long, long times at the front. He wasn't going super-fast or anything - mostly in the 25-26 mph range - but everyone seemed pretty content with that.

Regrouping after the turn-around in Kenner and riding straight into the rising sun.

As we turned around out at the casino boat in Kenner the sun was just starting to peek above the horizon. A little while later I noticed Mike W had somehow appeared in the paceline, weaving and bobbing as usual but otherwise just sitting in like the rest of us. That one cog on my cassette that was skipping on Sunday seems to have settled in, or more likely the chain has settled in, because I didn't notice any skipping at all this morning.

Yesterday evening we picked up The Daughter and her two dogs from the airport. Some time early that morning our own dog had somehow, with remarkable stealth, gotten a freshly baked lemon meringue pie off of the kitchen counter. It apparently landed upside-down on the kitchen floor and he helped himself to, thankfully, mostly just the crust.  That evening when I got home from work I discovered the remnants of a bag of potato chips on the floor in my office along with dog vomit all over the living room. I think that one of The Daughter's dogs has taught him that it's OK to get things off of counters and tables to eat.

As Cold As Advertised

Cold and Clear Sunday Morning Ride

It was the coldest weekend so far this year down here on the delta. Even south of the relatively warm lake Pontchartrain waters we dipped down to 28 or so, and spent a lot of time around 32. Friday evening I sent out an email confirming that I'd be riding the Giro since I figured a lot of people were probably on the fence about it. All I got back was one response from a rider wondering if I was serious or not.

So Saturday morning I pulled some long tights over my knickers and headed north in the dark. I was well prepared for the temperature, having accumulated enough winter riding gear to stay fairly comfortable down to the mid-20s, which almost never happens around here anyway, and if it does it doesn't last long. The problem Saturday morning wasn't the 30 degree temperature.  It was the 22 mph north wind. Thanks to the complications involved in finding and layering on the clothing needed, I was running a little late, but when I arrived at Starbucks there weren't any other bikes there.  As I picked up my coffee the barista asked how many other riders I was expecting to show up.  I replied, "Maybe just me today."  I was almost right.  A few minutes before 7 am, Taco showed up. I could tell when he looked around that he was surprised I was the only one there. Having grown up in a place where your ancestors were Vikings and spent time working in Siberia, thirty American degrees barely qualifies as chilly. So we headed out to Lakeshore Drive where we could see the waves crashing over the seawall.  I would have taken some dramatic photos, however I needed both hands on the bars to keep from being blown off the bike, and even if I could have fished the camera from my pocket without crashing I'd have had a lot of trouble pushing the little buttons through the two layers of gloves that were keeping my hands toasty.  We had to turn onto Filmore and take Leon C. Simon to the bridge because the east end of Lakeshore Drive was pretty much under water from the water that had been coming over the seawall. Going over the bridges required a firm grip on the bars to keep the crosswind from taking my front wheel out from under me.  Anyway, once we got onto Hayne Blvd. I tucked myself into Taco's draft and pretty much stayed there the rest of the ride.  Since there were just the two of us we decided to take Bullard to the service road on the way out in order to avoid the stretch on the Interstate.  For similar safety reasons we turned around at Chef Highway. I ended up with 40 miles of mostly drafting and was pretty much done.  Taco continued on to the river levee and rode another 60.

Sunday morning the temperature was about the same, but the wind had calmed down to the high single-digits. I was again the first to arrive at Starbucks, but this time a few more riders showed up. Four of them.  That allowed for a nice steady Giro Ride that was faster than Saturday's.  Over the course of the ride the temperature went from 30 to almost 40, although there was a lot more ice on the edges of the road than I'd seen on Saturday.

Next week is looking to be much warmer with highs in the 70s through the weekend. I've had about enough of winter lately, so I'm looking forward to that.

Weekend Winter Weather

Heading back along the Kenner lakefront bike path on Thursday it was windy but otherwise pretty nice.

Things started going downhill yesterday.  I had made it out to the WeMoRi on Wednesday, which was fine - temperature in the low 50s.  We had a nice brisk training ride without much of the fog we'd had the day before. Thursday morning's weather was similar, maybe even a degree or two warmer.  I'd gone out a little over-dressed like I often do this time of year. It was so freaking dark, though. I have never really gotten comfortable with these group training rides in the dark. To make matters worse, they have started working on some new sections of the seawall on the lakefront and have two new stretches of the right lane blocked off. So on Thursday we made the loop out at Seabrook and as usual the speed ramped up  heading back to the west on Lakeshore Drive. We crossed Harrison at around 25 mph, which wouldn't have been bad except that was where the right lane was closed.  So we go plowing through the only truly terrible section of asphalt, in the left lane, in the dark, in a paceline. Well, water bottles start flying off the bikes and I feel my front wheel make a solid hit in one of the many little potholes that, of course, I couldn't see and probably couldn't have avoided even if I could have seen it. Thirty seconds later I feel my front tire going flat. Most of the group waited while I fumbled through changing the tube with gloves on while trying to see through my fogged-up glasses, still pretty much in the dark.  Took about twice as long as usual, but we were back on the road soon enough. For most of the rest of the ride it seemed like VJ was sitting on the front on his TT bike like a mother duck with all of us ducklings lined up behind him.  I got back home just as it started to rain. Looking at the forecast, I wasn't too hopeful about Friday.

So I woke up on Friday and checked the radar first thing.  It looked like I had a couple of hours before the real rain, but  the streets were still wet and the temperature was already falling because of a cold front that was pushing through. Although the temperature was only 48, I knew it would be even lower by the time I got back.  Also, there was already a light mist falling that I could see in the beam of my headlight as I waited for the Garmin to pick up its satellites. I'd decided to ride the old rain bike and had stuck my rain jacket into my pocket since there was pretty likely I'd hit some rain. By the time I got to the levee, just a couple of miles from home, my arms were already getting wet, so I stopped and swapped my vest for my rain jacket. With a strong north wind blowing, and all the clothes I was wearing, and my glasses already fogging up from the mist or fog or whatever you want to call it, I didn't even bother to look at the speed very much. The old Pennine probably weighs at least ten pounds more than the Bianchi, so I just plugged away at what turned out to be 14-17 mph mainly just to log a few miles that were supposed to be easy but didn't always feel that way. Fortunately I was only planning on doing 20 miles or so, so even though there were a couple of little rain showers along the way and I'd forgotten to put on my shoe covers, I wasn't really too cold or wet by the time I got back home.

This is fun??

The weekend, however, is looking pretty bad. The low tonight is supposed to be 29, although I'm sure it won't actually get quite that low right in town.  The rain should be over by then, but the predicted 21 mph north wind is likely going to keep a lot of people from getting out on the bike for the Giro. I had been planning on starting the NOBC winter ride series on Sunday but we decided to postpone it one week because temperatures on the northshore Sunday morning will be 26 and I'm pretty sure nobody is going to want to ride in that.  I could probably handle it for a couple of hours with proper wardrobe choices, but I'm not likely to make the trip unless I have some firm commitments from a few others... in writing.  I'll just have to play this weekend by ear, I guess. At least it's not as miserable as it is up in Hartford for the cyclocross national championships.  For the life of me I can't figure out why anyone would thing that kind of racing is fun!

Wet Asphalt

Strange name.....

It's been raining off-and-on almost all day.  It started early in the morning, and when I heard it at 6 am I rolled over and went back to sleep for a few more minutes.  But soon enough curiosity got the better of me and I checked the hourly weather forecast and radar.  You know, if you ride bikes long enough you eventually become an amateur meteorologist.  You also get pretty good at identifying roadkill and birds, but that's another story.  So I stared at the radar and figured I would have about a two-hour window when it wouldn't be raining.  Of course, the asphalt would still be wet, but at least the water wouldn't be coming from both above and below.  On the plus side, the temperature was in the low 70s, so getting wet would not be the deal-breaker it would on a colder day.  I decided to head out, around 9:30, on the old Orbea rather than subject the Bianchi's bearings and chain to what I knew would be a wet and gritty couple of hours. Things were going pretty well on the way out.  There was a bit of wind to deal with, but the levee bike path was pretty good and although there were a few really wet places, for the most part it was fine. I figured I'd ride out to the "big dip" at St. Rose, which would give me a 2-hour round-trip of around 35 miles.  Well, I was just about a mile from my turn-around when, of course, the rear tire started going flat. I wasn't surprised.  Riding on wet roads increases the chances of flatting exponentially. So out at the Dip I stopped to change the tube. I easily found the shard of rock that had caused the puncture.  Then, when I tried to put the new tube in I discovered it was one of Danielle's 650C tubes.  Luckily, I had another spare tube. After a couple hundred strokes of my trusty Silca mini-pump (this was my back-up seat bag, not my regular one) I was back on the road.

Turning around, I picked up a little tailwind and was cruising along nicely when a pretty good little rain shower passed over me and got me good and wet. Pretty much exactly what I was expecting - a flat tire and wet feet.  I got back home in precisely two hours, so at least that worked out.  I was feeling pretty proud of myself just for getting in a ride on such a day when, an hour later, the sun came out and the streets dried up.  If I'd waited until like 1 pm I would have had a much more dry ride, but a few hours later we were back to non-stop rain.  Ben stopped by to pick up the key to the Tulane cycling facility because the card-swipe lock was malfunctioning again.  It seems to do that every six months or so when the battery dies and I have to put in a service request to get it fixed.

Well, tomorrow it's back to work.