Back to the Summer Pattern

Tuesday morning. Getting darker. Sunrise season for the morning rides.

There were a few mornings lately with pre-dawn temperature and humidity that hinted at a change. They were just teases, of course, and by later in the week we were firmly entrenched in the usual summer pattern of warm mornings and scattered thunderstorms, or worse. After a month or so of unusually little rain and quiet weather out in the Atlantic, it's like someone just pushed the big red Tropical Storm button, and BAM, we're looking at two or three potential systems heading toward the Gulf. So, situation normal, AFU.

Meanwhile, this week it was back to the routine group rides for me. On Saturday we had a really big and strong group on hand for the Giro. There was a pretty good northeast wind blowing, which kind of helped keep things under control along Hayne, but of course as soon as we turned south on Paris Road the speed shot up, gaps opened, and a group got off the front despite my way-too-late 34 mph effort to bridge up to it. Fortunately, there were enough people on hand to allow for multiple groups, so once the chase fizzled we still had a nice paceline going. Of course, with the partial tailwind on the way back, the speeds got pretty fast, as expected. The Chef segment was mostly in the 29-32 mph range, and when we hit Hayne the front of the group could apparently smell the barn and the average speed along that stretch was well above 30 mph, topping out, for me, a bit over 37 on the way down the overpass. We came up to the Seabrook bridge at a solid 30 mph, at which point I slammed into a hole into the concrete that I never even saw, pinch-flatting my rear tire. I limped across the bridge on the flat so I could fix it where it wasn't so dangerous. Fortunately a couple of people stayed with me, because my CO2 inflator was mysteriously broken and unusable. 

Sunday Giro

Sunday, the weather was threatening rain, so of course the group a bit smaller and hence the speed a couple of mph slower. It was a good thing, because legs were still feeling Saturday. By the following day's Mellow Monday ride, my legs were still not feeling very recovered, but fortunately we had a good-sized group and a reasonable pace. Jess, one of the Tulane students, was on hand and happy to have been able to stay with the group the whole way. She has really upped her riding over the past month or so, and it shows.

On Tuesday we had a nice group to start with, but by the time we hit the Lake Trail we'd lost everyone except William J and me. There was a significant north (yes, north!) wind blowing in from the lake, and Will had a sore back from something he had done with his daughter, so we ended up turning back a little bit early. It was still a pretty good workout, as it always is when it's just one or two. Wednesday's WeMoRi seemed pretty fast, at least to me, with a 25 mph average and 32 mph half-hearted sprint. I swear, though, I was still feeling the prior Saturday in my legs!

Thursday's 6 am ride was a little different, although I didn't know why until much later. We had a relatively small group at the start, and so the lap along Lakeshore Drive was at a moderate, but steady, pace. It was just a touch under 80 degrees to start, for a change, but there was still a bit of east wind. As we turned into the parking lot that provides a shortcut to Hammond Highway via Lake Marina, I was on the front and going a little faster than usual. Then, when I went to hop over the sharp edge where it goes up the levee to run along the floodwall heading toward Hammond Highway, I mis-calculated and slammed my rear wheel onto the edge. Well, it took a little while, but by the time I got to the access road that goes up the levee at the start of the Lake Trail, the rear tire was flat ... again. I'd pinched it ... again. Fortunately I had re-stocked the saddle bag and put in a functional inflator, so all was good five mintues later. Just after we started back up, the two Wills came up to us from behind, so we jumped onto that train like it was the last one to Clarksville. Will was on the front, and apparently locked into some number from his wattmeter, so we just got towed all the way out and back at a steady effort level that equated to 25 mph out and 20 mph back. Then we followed him back uptown at a faster speed than usual. With all of the school and rush hour traffic already picking up, it felt like being in a Alleycat. I was probably home five minutes earlier than usual, although perhaps mildly traumatized. It was, however, a somewhat better workout than my usual Thursday.

I later learned that a number of riders, including Chris, Lisa, Will W, Will J, Brett, etc. had met up earlier with the goal of crushing the Friendly Friday Strava KOM. With that kind of horsepower on hand, and a common goal, they moved the mark by over 2 mph to a bit over 26 mph average speed. So that explained the low turnout, and why the two Wills were together when they came up on us after fixing my flat. I was kind of glad I hadn't known about it ahead of time, because that would have been a hard workout even at the back.

Friendly Friday

This morning's Friendly Friday ride had a good turnout and was pretty typical, which is to say that it got a little fast on Lakeshore Drive, but then didn't really slow down a whole lot for the out-and-back on Canal which is typically a little regrouping and recovery section. Still, it wasn't super fast or anything, so nice and Friendly.

There are some developments in the Tropics lately that could turn into a problem, or two, in about a week, but in the meantime the local weather gods have apparently been making up for the lack of rain for most of August. The long Labor Day weekend is here, so that may mean three Giro Rides for me. We have the Org Fair on Sunday, so I won't be able to do anything too long or far away that day, but perhaps Monday if the weather cooperates.