Cold Nose and Long Tights

Riding home from the WeMoRi on the new Marconi bike path

Last week was great riding weather until it wasn't any more, which was basically Sunday, which was also a day on which I didn't actually ride. I'd been scheduled to officiate the Cyclocross race up in Hattiesburg on Sunday, having successfully managed to avoid having to also officiate the one in Jackson the day before. I should mention that I don't actually like officiating. In fact, I would be a little concerned about most people who do, and even more concerned about people who would chose to do that instead of ride or race or otherwise be on a bike instead of the side of the road. Why I continue to do this is no doubt tangled up in some sort of complicated and deep-rooted existential need with a topping self-destructiveness. I'm sure that if I'd spent as much time over the past forty-five years working on ways to move other people's money into my own bank account (aka "being a businessman") I'd have accumulated enough to fund my own pro team, which of course I never would since that would basically be the opposite of "being a businessman."

But I digress.....

So for most of October and November I've been taking it kind of easy on the bike, putting in miles and miles at the back, looking at the scenery, and dreading the inevitable day when I would have to pull on those long tights and accept the reality that winter is imminent. Despite having spent much of yesterday under a tent wearing four layers of clothes while shivering and totally failing to do anything useful with CrossMgr, I was at least not wearing tights.

Liked the reference to Dune

This morning's temperature in the high 40s made it almost impossible to pretend it wasn't winter. I say "almost," because I did refuse to put the skullcap under my helmet or pull out the winter riding jacket that most people would reserve for temperatures in the 20s and to which I run when temperatures dip below the mid-40s. Still, I broke down and put on the new Specialized slightly thermal tights on top of my shorts, added a base layer under my long-sleeve jersey, and headed out into the northeast wind for an easy Monday morning ride (as if I needed to recover from something). The wind didn't seem quite as bad as I'd expected and I was nice and warm, in a slightly over-dressed way, except for the steady stream of body fluids coming from both my eyes and nose -- mostly the latter.

I stopped at Zotz for coffee on the way home, which I have been doing a lot recently since Danielle is in Olympia and making coffee at home for just myself often doesn't seem worth the effort. It's now almost 1:30 pm and my hands have been cold all day at the office. Perhaps it's just because I took the car to work because of some family dinner logistical complications this evening. It's gotten a lot more busy on our floor here at 1555 Poydras lately as a while batch of folks have moved into the formerly vacant offices. Should make things a little more lively around here.