Out the Door

Big combined Saturday group

On days like this it's really hard just to get out the door in the morning. After some reasonably seasonable weather during the week, things kind of started going downhill around mid-day on Sunday, and this morning was the coldest we've had thus far this Fall. Not to worry, of course. It won't stay for long since it's not even Thanksgiving yet.

Wednesday morning's WeMoRi featured minimal wind and a comfortable temperature in the mid-upper 50s, but for reasons unknown seemed to have a lower turnout than usual. I slipped into the still-intact group along Marconi, shifting immediately from Zone 2 to Zone 1,000 as usual, but fortunately there wasn't a huge acceleration onto Wisner. I got my breathing back under control just in time for the sprint up the overpass, at which point Steve and Rob opened a huge gap as the rest of the group momentarily looked around at each other to see who would take the bait. Someone eventually did, but it wasn't until almost Marconi that it all came back together. The pace settled down a bit and despite having to respond to a surge or two on the way back from Elysian Fields, I was still feeling good enough to stay with the two or three wheels at the front for the sprint at Marconi. Charles was apparently out sick, and although he tried to make an early comeback on Thursday, he's still out for the count almost a week later, no thanks to the cold snap that hit us a couple of days ago.

On Friday I did the regular Friendly Friday ride, which was nice, and then rode down to the river for a little cool-down and coffee stop with the Tulane group. The weather was still pretty nice, but by then the forecast for Sunday was starting to look ominous.

Saturday's Giro had a decent enough turnout, and with a light tailwind the group sailed out to Venetian Isles at a steady 27-30 mph pace. As we approached the shade tree where everybody likes to stop we found the entire early SaMoRi waiting there. They had apparently had at least two flats that took a while to fix. So with both groups now merged into one we had a fun ride back. I guess there were 30-40 riders most of the way.

By Sunday morning it was clear that a cold front would be coming through right around ride time, and with the predicted wind speeds in the 20+ mph range, I was pretty sure there wasn't going to be much of a Giro, if any. The Tulane group had planned a ride out to around Hopedale, starting at 6:30, so I set my sights on that. I told them I'd meet them at the end of Nashville so I wouldn't have to negotiate Broadway, which is still torn up in places. When they arrived I wasn't too surprised to see only three. They had already formulated Plan B, which was to ditch the Hopedale route and instead do a lap of Lakeshore Drive and then a loop out to The Wall and then down to the river bike path. The wind was already blowing out of the WNW and would eventually climb into the 20-24 mph range as the ride progressed. Strategically, we would be riding into it earlier rather than later. This ride was strictly Zone 2 level, which was fine with me. For some reason Josiah spent about 90% of the time on the front - also fine with me. Anyway, it was a nice ride considering the wind. Of course, the wind was just the opening act of the cold front, and by Monday morning the temperature had dropped from the 60s to the 40s.

So when I rolled out of the house on Monday morning the temperature was around 42° and there was a steady north wind at, still, around 20 mph. Charles had already texted me that he was still sick and wouldn't be there, and I was pretty sure I'd be riding solo that morning, which is exactly what happened. In fact, I don't think I saw anybody else the entire ride. It was the first day I'd pulled on the long winter tights, long-sleeve jersey, and long-sleeve base layer. I was still cold.

This morning wasn't much better, and unsurprisingly it was just Wes and I at the start. It seemed even colder that the day before despite all the winter kit I'd piled on. As I headed out to the park I fumbled with the computer to switch to the screen that shows me the time of day, and noticed that it wasn't registering heart rate. I thought I had pressed the button on my optical HRM, but since it was under two layers of clothes I hadn't confirmed that it had started. Of course it hadn't. Oh well, my heart rate is just for my own curiosity anyway. So as we are starting the ride through City Park I'm kind of hoping that Maurizio won't show up. There's something about riding in the cold that just seems to sap the motivation out of me, and for the record, it takes a bit of motivation just to stick on Maurizio's wheel. Of course a moment later I saw Maurizio turn around to join us. Atypically, however, there weren't any other riders, so I guess the regular Tuesday morning group hadn't materialized because of the cold and wind, which by the way was now blowing strongly out of the east. So Maurizio led us out to the Armory into the wind with me glued to his wheel, but when he stood up to go up the rise at the loop there I just didn't have the motivation to accelerate again. Wes eventually came around me and Maurizio slowed down so we could catch. After they turned off I continued onto the lake trail, enjoying the tailwind and dreading the long slog I knew I'd have to endure on the way back. On the plus side, I was all alone so there was nobody there to see how slowly I was going.

It looks like the weather will now be warming back up to what passes for normal this time of year with low temperatures in the upper 50s to mid-60s for the forseeable future. The Tour de Jefferson ride is this coming Sunday and I'm just a bit apprehensive about it because there will be some prizes on the line this year. If I'm lucky, a 5-person group will split off the front early and things in the second group will quickly settle down to normal, which for this ride is usually still a little bit sketchy. Anyway, I won't be going for any podium places for sure. Later this month the GCBC is doing a little 72 mile ride out of Waveland that happens to fall the weekend before my birthday, so I went ahead and signed up for it since it's a chance to do a 72 mile ride on, almost, my 72nd birthday, which of course one has to do. It's a rule.