A week ago Monday was Memorial Day, which of course meant a Holiday Giro. There was a pretty good group on hand for this one, and as Holiday Giros go, it was good, which is to say it wasn't too slow, and it wasn't too fast, and there were enough wheels available for drafting, which I definitely appreciated. The shoulder is still pretty achy, especially in certain orientations under load, and of course the lost fitness is coming back at a snail's pace. I've been doing a few little theraband exercises for the past week that I suppose are better than nothing, but it is impossible to attribute any improvement to them.
Tuesday's long ride turned out to be unexpectedly short. As usual, a lot of the group turned off at the end of Lakeshore Drive, leaving just Will T and me. The pace had been pretty fast, so I was already planning to turn around early on the lake trail - maybe at Causeway, or at the next outfall canal, but my plans were interrupted when I came down over the curb turning onto Hammond Hwy and managed to pinch-flat. As I was pumping up the tire after changing the tube I felt a sting on my ankle and realized I'd been standing in a little red ant pile. I brushed away as many as I could, but five or six of them managed to sting me anyway. At that point I just took it as a sign and headed back home.
Wednesday's WeMoRi went as it has been going for me lately. Fortunately is wasn't super-fast that day and I more or less survived, at least until the sprint started at which point I eased up and cruised in the rest of the way. The forecast for Thursday was not looking good, so I wasn't surprised to find wet streets when I awoke. I watched the weather radar for about half an hour and it looked like I might be able to squeeze in 15 miles on the levee around 6 am, so I headed out on the Cyclocross bike since it's much less prone to flats. Well, that didn't work out. The minute I got to the levee I felt the first raindrops, and looking to the west all I could see were dark black clouds, so I turned around and started riding toward Audubon Park, just barely ahead of the worst of the rain. Well, until I actually got to the park. At that point the sky opened up above and I limped back home in the pouring rain down various torn-up Carrollton streets. At least I tried, but I don't know if the 6.5 miles I logged were worth it.
By Friday the weather was much better and not surprisingly we had a pretty decent turnout for Friendly Friday. Saturday felt a little cooler and for some reason we had a really big turnout for the Giro. That, of course, meant that it was going to be a fast one. In addition to the usual instigators like Connor, Dustin, Jaden, Pirmin, Brett, TJ, etc., we also had Dan Bennet who was in town for a few days, and a pretty strong rider on a e-gravel bike that had a cassette cog that looked considerably larger than my 'cross bike's large chainring. There was a bit of a northeast wind which kept things together on the way out on Hayne Blvd., but somewhere along Paris Road, where we picked up more of a tailwind, the group split. At one point I found myself behind the rider on the e-bike as the speed crept up over 28 mph, and I started to worry that he would exceed the bike's assist limit, but somehow he gutted it out on that 40-pound bike with an impossibly low gear and flat pedals.
The return trip started with a nice bit of recovery pace until we got to the Hwy 11 intersection, after with it ramped back up to normal. With a bit of a tailwind, we averaged around 29 mph to the Interstate. Then, after turning onto Hayne Blvd. all bets were off and whoever was on the front put the hammer down. I think we averaged a bit over 30 mph to the overpass, after which the group kind of shattered with a fast group off the front between the bridges. Although there was no chance of catching, I did make a decent enough effort there, and then we were saved by the drawbridge being up, so everybody was back together for the cool-down along Lakeshore Drive. It was a pretty hard ride for me.
Sunday's Giro featured less wind and slightly fewer riders, so the pace was relatively tame, at least by the prior day's standard. That put me at 277 miles for the week, thanks to that long Monday ride, and despite the rain day and the shortened Thrusday ride. I was pretty happy with that since it was the first week I've had with relatively normal mileage and intensity in seven weeks. I feel like I'm still in a bit of a fitness hole, as some of those rides felt harder than they should have, but at least it's progress.
Dan was still in town for the Mellow Monday ride, which had a pretty big turnout and at a nice revocery ride pace, at least until the last bit. When we turned onto Wisner near the end, Dan launched off the front, forcing almost everyone to chase. Almost everyone but me. I felt like I really needed the recovery, so I didn't even make an effort.
On Tuesday there were three of us who continued out to the lake trail. Earlier, when we did a lap of Lakeshore Drive, the lake had been just pancake smooth, but as we headed west we started to pick up a significant tailwind. Without too much effort we cruised out to Williams Blvd. at around 24 mph, and then of course plodded our way back at more like 19. It was actually a significant workout.
This morning I woke up around 5 am and realized I'd forgotten to put out the garbage. With once a week pickup, and warm summer temperatures, you don't want to miss a garbage day around here, so I rushed down stairs and dragged the bin out to the street. Since I was already up, I went ahead and rode out to the lakefront earlier than usual, hitting Lakeshore Drive probably three minutes ahead of the WeMoRi group. I cruised east and made it around the Seabrook loop before being swept up by the pack that was relentlessly pushing 27-30 mph. Fortunately there were wheels available, so I hung on all the way down Lakeshore as my physiology caught up with my legs. At the turn onto Touissaint, though, there was a car that kind of split the group, forcing those of us at the back to chase back on. Unfortunately, when the rider in front of me blew up, I just couldn't close it the rest of the way, so it was just VJ and me on Wisner. We cut across the park on Zachary Taylor to Marconi and ultimately merged back into what was left of the group just before Lakeshore Drive. At that point, two riders were already off the front, a situation that did not change for the rest of the ride. Again, that was some badly needed intensity for me, even though I was in the draft throughout.
