Rode out to the Giro ride this morning under clear skies, looking forward to a fast ride. There was a large group by the time we hit the end of Lakeshore Drive. I'd say around 50 riders. The word circulating around in the pack was that a bunch of riders was planning on "going long," which is Girospeak for an extended ride out to Fort Pike or Slidell. With the forecast for tomorrow looking pretty rainy, a lot of guys were trying to get their miles in today.
The pace took a little while to ramp up, but it did, and by the time we reached the end of Hayne Blvd. it was pretty fast. I looked over to see Warren (the big guy in the center of the photo) up near the front. He stopped racing a few years ago after having a couple of heart attacks but he's been showing up at the Giro ride lately.
The group came over the I-10 overpass where we have to merge with interstate traffic for about a mile, and as usual a few of the lead riders cut across in front of a couple of cars. The rest of the group waited, but the drivers slowed down and let the group cross in front of them. (Boys and girls, don't try this at your home interstate highway.) It always seems that the size of a group is inversely proportional to its aggregate intelligence, and here again was incontrovertable proof.
Once we hit Chef Highway and got past the stoplights, things really picked up. I took a few pulls and then dropped back for a while, moving back toward the front again a bit later. My legs were feeling pretty good and as we rounded the last curve before the turnaround sprint at Eden Isles, I moved up near the front. A few riders went by at 28 or 29 mph., but it was way too early. I was sitting on Carey's wheel in the second group. The riders who had surged ahead started to fade and our group caught them just as a few riders came by on the left. I saw Branden's green jersey out of the corner of my eye and caught his wheel. He was on Noel's wheel and we pulled clear. Branden came around and started an early sprint and I switched over to Noel's wheel. Noel went past Branden and, thinking he was safe, started to ease off, but when he looked over his left shoulder he saw me smiling in his draft. I clicked it down to the 12 just as Noel stood up and went past him pretty easily since I hadn't realy been out in the wind at all yet. It felt good be able to stand up in the 12 again. A group of about a dozen kept going straight but I turned around with the group. The return trip was mostly at a good pace, but definitely more restrained than it was on the way out.
After the ride I hung around in the parking lot on Lakeshore Drive for a little too long. The skies had started to get cloudy and now I was getting cold. Ronnie walked over and gave me a Fire Department T-shirt he had (couldn't find anyone else who could fit into a small, I guess). Luckily I had worn my vest on the ride out to the lakefront, so I pulled it out of my pocket and put it on for the ride home.
Hopefuly the rain will hold off for a while tomorrow morning so we can get in a few miles on the Northshore . . .
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Friday, February 11, 2005
Pretty, baby.
This morning was crisp and clear and sunny and the wind was finally a non-issue. It was also the first morning that I've gone out to meet the 6:40 a.m. group and not needed a light. After so many cloudy mornings, it was a surprise to find how much we've tilted back toward the sun over the last couple of weeks.
I've been meeting up with this white and tan dog every morning lately as I ride down Short Street to and from the river. He'll come running out from nowhere and run alongside me, barking now and then in a very non-threatening way. Poor guy just wants to play. I talk to him to keep him occupied so he doesn't try to run across my path (they all try to do that for some reason). He'll run alongside for a couple of blocks until I'm out of his territory and then let me go.
Despite the pretty weather, it was only Rob, Joe and I this morning. In fact, the bike path was rather deserted altogether. Rob was feeling a little tired from yesterday and neither of us wanted anything but an easy spin, so I pulled most of the way out at 19-20 mph and enjoyed the scenery. We rode back even easier talking about not much of anything, with Joe in tow.
I sent our LAMBRA president a possible compromise proposal on the Cat. 3 issue last night, but am already having second thoughts. Maybe we should just do what Texas has done and eliminate the combined Cat. 1,2,3 ranking, replacing it with separate Cat. 1,2 and a Cat. 3 rankings, but let the promoters decide when to combine the groups. The downside would be the not insignificant difficulty of scoring the races deeply enough to get the top 10 - 12 Cat. 3s, and the negative impact it might have on the actual racing ("we're not going to help chase that break because they're all Cat. 2s and we're just want to be the top Cat. 3s."). I dunno. I would rather have Texas' problems which lately involve things like how many separate Cat. 5 fields you can run to accomodate the 150 Cat. 5s who want to race.
I've been meeting up with this white and tan dog every morning lately as I ride down Short Street to and from the river. He'll come running out from nowhere and run alongside me, barking now and then in a very non-threatening way. Poor guy just wants to play. I talk to him to keep him occupied so he doesn't try to run across my path (they all try to do that for some reason). He'll run alongside for a couple of blocks until I'm out of his territory and then let me go.
Despite the pretty weather, it was only Rob, Joe and I this morning. In fact, the bike path was rather deserted altogether. Rob was feeling a little tired from yesterday and neither of us wanted anything but an easy spin, so I pulled most of the way out at 19-20 mph and enjoyed the scenery. We rode back even easier talking about not much of anything, with Joe in tow.
I sent our LAMBRA president a possible compromise proposal on the Cat. 3 issue last night, but am already having second thoughts. Maybe we should just do what Texas has done and eliminate the combined Cat. 1,2,3 ranking, replacing it with separate Cat. 1,2 and a Cat. 3 rankings, but let the promoters decide when to combine the groups. The downside would be the not insignificant difficulty of scoring the races deeply enough to get the top 10 - 12 Cat. 3s, and the negative impact it might have on the actual racing ("we're not going to help chase that break because they're all Cat. 2s and we're just want to be the top Cat. 3s."). I dunno. I would rather have Texas' problems which lately involve things like how many separate Cat. 5 fields you can run to accomodate the 150 Cat. 5s who want to race.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Windagain!
The cold front that came through yesterday left us with clear and sunny skies, once the sun came up, for this morning's long training ride. Although a few of the usual suspects were absent, we had ten or so riders for the first section. The fierce North wind and resulting eschelon granted shelter to only the first three or four riders, and the rest hugged the edge of the bike path searching for the scraps, but the rotation was good and most of the guys were civilized today, so the suffering was limited. Even The Howard's pulls were relatively steady, which is to say that he only surged by a couple of mph when he came to the front.
At the upriver end of Kenner, a bunch of riders turned around, leaving only Rob, Bob, Justin and myself to make the whole trip out to Ormond. Actually, it rather improved things to have only the four of us because the pace was more even and we could get some decent shelter from the crosswinds at the back. There were lots of times when I was getting the best draft with my front wheel about even with the guy in front's crankset.
The return trip was a good workout, and it was hard to maintain 22-23 most of the time, although there was one nice section where the river turns South where we finally got a good tailwind. Anyway, the old legs were feeling it every time I'd hit the front today. Small guys and strong winds don't mix very well and I spent a lot of time down on the drops because I feel a lot more stable in that position.
For all those science geeks out there (and I know you're out there), check out this new collection of blogs from a bunch of particle physics labs called the "Quantum Diaries."
So I think The Daughter is heading down to Raleigh, North Carolina for the Hearts Invitational meet this weekend. I hope they do well!
At the upriver end of Kenner, a bunch of riders turned around, leaving only Rob, Bob, Justin and myself to make the whole trip out to Ormond. Actually, it rather improved things to have only the four of us because the pace was more even and we could get some decent shelter from the crosswinds at the back. There were lots of times when I was getting the best draft with my front wheel about even with the guy in front's crankset.
The return trip was a good workout, and it was hard to maintain 22-23 most of the time, although there was one nice section where the river turns South where we finally got a good tailwind. Anyway, the old legs were feeling it every time I'd hit the front today. Small guys and strong winds don't mix very well and I spent a lot of time down on the drops because I feel a lot more stable in that position.
For all those science geeks out there (and I know you're out there), check out this new collection of blogs from a bunch of particle physics labs called the "Quantum Diaries."
So I think The Daughter is heading down to Raleigh, North Carolina for the Hearts Invitational meet this weekend. I hope they do well!
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Ash Wednesday
The Police made their usual midnight sweep down Bourbon St. last night, marking the official end of the Carnival season. It is truly symbolic how they do that. At midnight a solid block of mounted police comes down Bourbon St., pushing the people off into the bars and side streets, followed by the big street-sweeper machines that scoop up the considerable debris from the gutters and wash everything down with water.
So, what to give up for Lent? Today it was a training ride. After flatting yesterday morning and of course forgetting to patch that tube, I found the bike this morning with another flat tire. Not wanting to risk going out spareless, I stole a tube from another wheel, put it in my rear tire, got all dirty since that was the wheel I rode in the wet on Tuesday and opened the door. I was already too late to meet the group and my motivation was already lagging. Outside it was damp and foggy again, albiet warm. I almost turned around right there and went back to bed, but I figured that in the true lenten spirit, I'd skip the extra sleep and put in a few easy miles. The closer I got to the levee, the colder and foggier it became, and when I finally got there I was already cold, the streets were damp, the fog was thick, and I was feeling lousy. OK, I can take a hint. I hit the "abort" button and went for a little sightseeing spin over to the park and headed home, probably with under 10 miles. Maybe I'm coming down with something; maybe I shouldn't have finished that bottle of vino last night; who knows? Meanwhile, The Wife is supposed to be starting a "detox" diet of some sort, similar to what The Daughter had done a few weeks ago. At least that should mean more pasta, ice cream, coffee and wine for me!!
So, what to give up for Lent? Today it was a training ride. After flatting yesterday morning and of course forgetting to patch that tube, I found the bike this morning with another flat tire. Not wanting to risk going out spareless, I stole a tube from another wheel, put it in my rear tire, got all dirty since that was the wheel I rode in the wet on Tuesday and opened the door. I was already too late to meet the group and my motivation was already lagging. Outside it was damp and foggy again, albiet warm. I almost turned around right there and went back to bed, but I figured that in the true lenten spirit, I'd skip the extra sleep and put in a few easy miles. The closer I got to the levee, the colder and foggier it became, and when I finally got there I was already cold, the streets were damp, the fog was thick, and I was feeling lousy. OK, I can take a hint. I hit the "abort" button and went for a little sightseeing spin over to the park and headed home, probably with under 10 miles. Maybe I'm coming down with something; maybe I shouldn't have finished that bottle of vino last night; who knows? Meanwhile, The Wife is supposed to be starting a "detox" diet of some sort, similar to what The Daughter had done a few weeks ago. At least that should mean more pasta, ice cream, coffee and wine for me!!
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Fat Tuesday
(click on the picture to see my Mardi Gras album)
Mardi Gras in New Orleans! The Weather Gods were kind to the Big Easy today and we had warm and mostly dry weather for Mardi Gras. First things first, though, and a dozen of us met up at 6:15 a.m. for the Tuesday long ride on the levee. It was foggy as hell, though, and there were a few nervous moments when the lead riders would suddenly see something coming the other way. At one point, Jeff was on the front and he mistook one of the access roads for the bike path and a few riders almost followed him down the levee. Seven of us did the whole ride at a pretty steady 23-24 mph, so it was a good training ride. The road was a little wet from all the fog and so naturally I got a flat, but at least it came right at the end of the ride. I could feel the tap-tap-tap of something in my tire and I tried to brush it off with my glove, but it wasn't coming out, so I had to stop. It was a big piece of sharp rock, and when I pried it out, the air came out with it.
The Wife had planned to run over to Audubon Park for the Royal Run, but she woke up a little bit late and by the time she got there they had just given out the last of the official Rex T-shirts.
By the time I got home, the truck floats were already starting to line up along S. Claiborne Ave., which is basically right outside my window. There are always a few that are playing mardi gras music, so things seem real festive around the house from about 7:30 a.m. on. The riders on the truck floats, of which there are literally hundreds, spend hours waiting in line until they actually get onto the parade route. They were still rolling around 3 p.m.
So I loaded up a backpack with the essentials and we rode bikes down a few miles to Napoleon Avenue where we caught the Rex parade. This area is very family-oriented. Lots of kids and a very relaxed crowd. I was successful in acheiving my primary goal, which was to collect at least one string of official "Rex Beads" and a Rex Dubloon. After the parade passed, we jumped back on the bikes and rode down a mile or so to Washington and St. Charles where we locked the bikes. From there we walked alongside the parade downtown. By the time we got near Jackson Avenue, Rex was at a complete stop. As usual, the Zulu parade was holding things up and Rex had to wait from Zulu to make the turn onto St. Charles before continuing. While we were waiting there, we spotted Boatner Reily, a big Tulane donor and prior king of Rex, all decked out in his tuxedo and top hat, running up to one of the floats trying to get some of the prized little "fatted calf" stuffed animals. There's a photo of him in the photo album. Finally, we made our way through the crowds to the other side of St. Charles and walked downtown via Prytania St.
The French Quarter wasn't too crowded, since it was so early. Things don't get really packed until around 4 p.m., and the interesting stuff doesn't start until around nightfall, but on the plus side, the portable toilets were still nice and clean! We made one trip down Royal and Bourbon, taking a bunch of photos, and then stopped in at Ralph & Kacoos for lunch. After that, I deposited The Wife on the Moonwalk by the river and spent another hour or so taking more pictures. When I got back, we got a little rain shower and headed off to make the long walk back uptown when it eased up.
Mardi Gras in New Orleans! The Weather Gods were kind to the Big Easy today and we had warm and mostly dry weather for Mardi Gras. First things first, though, and a dozen of us met up at 6:15 a.m. for the Tuesday long ride on the levee. It was foggy as hell, though, and there were a few nervous moments when the lead riders would suddenly see something coming the other way. At one point, Jeff was on the front and he mistook one of the access roads for the bike path and a few riders almost followed him down the levee. Seven of us did the whole ride at a pretty steady 23-24 mph, so it was a good training ride. The road was a little wet from all the fog and so naturally I got a flat, but at least it came right at the end of the ride. I could feel the tap-tap-tap of something in my tire and I tried to brush it off with my glove, but it wasn't coming out, so I had to stop. It was a big piece of sharp rock, and when I pried it out, the air came out with it.
The Wife had planned to run over to Audubon Park for the Royal Run, but she woke up a little bit late and by the time she got there they had just given out the last of the official Rex T-shirts.
By the time I got home, the truck floats were already starting to line up along S. Claiborne Ave., which is basically right outside my window. There are always a few that are playing mardi gras music, so things seem real festive around the house from about 7:30 a.m. on. The riders on the truck floats, of which there are literally hundreds, spend hours waiting in line until they actually get onto the parade route. They were still rolling around 3 p.m.
So I loaded up a backpack with the essentials and we rode bikes down a few miles to Napoleon Avenue where we caught the Rex parade. This area is very family-oriented. Lots of kids and a very relaxed crowd. I was successful in acheiving my primary goal, which was to collect at least one string of official "Rex Beads" and a Rex Dubloon. After the parade passed, we jumped back on the bikes and rode down a mile or so to Washington and St. Charles where we locked the bikes. From there we walked alongside the parade downtown. By the time we got near Jackson Avenue, Rex was at a complete stop. As usual, the Zulu parade was holding things up and Rex had to wait from Zulu to make the turn onto St. Charles before continuing. While we were waiting there, we spotted Boatner Reily, a big Tulane donor and prior king of Rex, all decked out in his tuxedo and top hat, running up to one of the floats trying to get some of the prized little "fatted calf" stuffed animals. There's a photo of him in the photo album. Finally, we made our way through the crowds to the other side of St. Charles and walked downtown via Prytania St.
The French Quarter wasn't too crowded, since it was so early. Things don't get really packed until around 4 p.m., and the interesting stuff doesn't start until around nightfall, but on the plus side, the portable toilets were still nice and clean! We made one trip down Royal and Bourbon, taking a bunch of photos, and then stopped in at Ralph & Kacoos for lunch. After that, I deposited The Wife on the Moonwalk by the river and spent another hour or so taking more pictures. When I got back, we got a little rain shower and headed off to make the long walk back uptown when it eased up.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Not Raining!
Although the forecast for today and Mardi Gras had been looking pretty bleak, it now sounds like the weathermen are backing off a bit and have lowered the chance of rain quite a bit. Based on an earlier forecast, I had been expecting it to be raining this morning, but instead it was wam and windy, and the streets were dry. I knew I needed a rest day today, so I went out a little later than usual (the University is closed today and tomorrow for Mardi Gras) and rode for about 90 minutes in an easy gear. I was glad that my legs didn't feel sore at all, although I generally felt a little flat from yesterday's ride.
I don't know what I'll be doing for Mardi Gras. If the weather is decent, maybe I'll ride down to the Quarter and take some photos for a new Mardi Gras album on Ofoto. Perhaps there will be an actual training ride in the morning, or maybe I'll go out to meet the little-known Royal Run in Audubon Park. This highly informal "event" was started many years ago when the King of Rex (aka King of Carnival) was a runner and decided to have the limo stop by and meet the usual early-morning group in the park. They handed out a bunch of Rex T-shirts, and had a big king cake too. I think that there has been a Royal Run every year since, although sometimes the King hasn't shown up. I took The Daughter out there on her little 24-inch wheel bike one year (there are usually a few bike riders who accompany the runners) and she still has the extra-large gold-colored T-shirt with the offical Rex emblem.
I don't know what I'll be doing for Mardi Gras. If the weather is decent, maybe I'll ride down to the Quarter and take some photos for a new Mardi Gras album on Ofoto. Perhaps there will be an actual training ride in the morning, or maybe I'll go out to meet the little-known Royal Run in Audubon Park. This highly informal "event" was started many years ago when the King of Rex (aka King of Carnival) was a runner and decided to have the limo stop by and meet the usual early-morning group in the park. They handed out a bunch of Rex T-shirts, and had a big king cake too. I think that there has been a Royal Run every year since, although sometimes the King hasn't shown up. I took The Daughter out there on her little 24-inch wheel bike one year (there are usually a few bike riders who accompany the runners) and she still has the extra-large gold-colored T-shirt with the offical Rex emblem.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Long and Hard
Miles: 80
Powerbars: 2
Coffee: Grande
The Northshore ride today (I know what you were thinking!) was long and hard. As I left the Morning Call this morning, where I was the only person to show up, I passed Randazzo's bakery, which is just around the corner. Although it was only 7 a.m., there was a line of people out the door, across the parking lot, and half a block down the street waiting to pick up King Cakes. King Cakes are a Mardi Gras tradition, and are technically supposed to be baked between 12th night and Mardi Gras. Some of them are pretty good, especially for breakfast, but the best ones I've ever tasted are the rather rare original French style with almond paste, no purple, green and gold decoration, and a porcelin "baby" inside.
So I drove across the lake alone, listening to some sort of alternative music on Tulane's WTUL radio, which was the only station not running the usual Sunday morning talk show c&$p. The girl acting as the DJ sounded like she was half-asleep.
Although we started out with 5 riders, Charlie and one of the northshore guys turned back at 30 miles, leaving Jay S., Richard and me to do battle with the relentless wind. The plan had been to ride easy paceline for the first 30 miles to Enon, then to step it up a notch for the hilly 25 mile loop, and then to roll back to Abita Springs at a more moderate pace. As it turned out, we had an occasional tailwind on the way out and so of course things got a little bit out of hand now and then. By the time we arrived in Enon, our little 5-man group had averaged well over 20 mph and I was already feeling my quads. The loop North of Enon was great, though, even though a few of the climbs had us all begging for mercy, and we stuck to the plan, keeping the pace and effort level fairly high. As a reward, we had a nice tailwind for the final 7 miles from Plainview to Enon, and we didn't fail to take advantage of it, pushing the pace up to around 30 at times.
By the time we got back to Enon, the strain was definitely starting to show. We negotiated the Watchtower Hill at a steady pace, since nobody was really up to the usual contest for the top. At one point on the way back, after cresting a particularly painful little hill, Jay looked over at me and said he was about ready to concede the Abita Springs sign sprint! "Yeah, me too," I replied. Richard started falling off the back on some of the climbs at one point, and Jay and I were more than happy to ease up since we were hurting too.
The ride was really just what I had been looking for, since I had been planning on a good hard weekend.
Powerbars: 2
Coffee: Grande
The Northshore ride today (I know what you were thinking!) was long and hard. As I left the Morning Call this morning, where I was the only person to show up, I passed Randazzo's bakery, which is just around the corner. Although it was only 7 a.m., there was a line of people out the door, across the parking lot, and half a block down the street waiting to pick up King Cakes. King Cakes are a Mardi Gras tradition, and are technically supposed to be baked between 12th night and Mardi Gras. Some of them are pretty good, especially for breakfast, but the best ones I've ever tasted are the rather rare original French style with almond paste, no purple, green and gold decoration, and a porcelin "baby" inside.
So I drove across the lake alone, listening to some sort of alternative music on Tulane's WTUL radio, which was the only station not running the usual Sunday morning talk show c&$p. The girl acting as the DJ sounded like she was half-asleep.
Although we started out with 5 riders, Charlie and one of the northshore guys turned back at 30 miles, leaving Jay S., Richard and me to do battle with the relentless wind. The plan had been to ride easy paceline for the first 30 miles to Enon, then to step it up a notch for the hilly 25 mile loop, and then to roll back to Abita Springs at a more moderate pace. As it turned out, we had an occasional tailwind on the way out and so of course things got a little bit out of hand now and then. By the time we arrived in Enon, our little 5-man group had averaged well over 20 mph and I was already feeling my quads. The loop North of Enon was great, though, even though a few of the climbs had us all begging for mercy, and we stuck to the plan, keeping the pace and effort level fairly high. As a reward, we had a nice tailwind for the final 7 miles from Plainview to Enon, and we didn't fail to take advantage of it, pushing the pace up to around 30 at times.
By the time we got back to Enon, the strain was definitely starting to show. We negotiated the Watchtower Hill at a steady pace, since nobody was really up to the usual contest for the top. At one point on the way back, after cresting a particularly painful little hill, Jay looked over at me and said he was about ready to concede the Abita Springs sign sprint! "Yeah, me too," I replied. Richard started falling off the back on some of the climbs at one point, and Jay and I were more than happy to ease up since we were hurting too.
The ride was really just what I had been looking for, since I had been planning on a good hard weekend.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Looking like Carnival Time
After dogsitting last night at The Mom's place, I was up at 5:30 a.m. to ride the commuter bike home in time to change and get out to the Saturday Giro ride. Broadway Street, where most of Tulane's frat houses are located, was still going strong. There were lots of students wandering around, including one who was standing in the middle of an intersection with his pants down around his ankles. His friend had both hands on his shoulders, trying to keep him upright, I suppose. You would think that for the $33,000 or so it takes to send your kid to Tulane, they would at least teach him how to drink!
As I rode out to the Lakefront down Carrollton Avenue, there were literally hundreds of people out on the neutral ground, where they had obviously spent the night, staking out their terriroties for tonight's Endymion parade that starts at 6 p.m.
The weather was nice today and there was a pretty large Giro ride group. I was surprised to see The Great Balded One, as Kenny B. calls him, in town to join us. Frank had gotten up at 4 a.m. to drive in from Brookhaven, MS, and just barely caught the group as it was heading out down Lakeshore Drive. The group seemed a little less animated than I would have expected, given the nice weather. Perhaps it was because I spent most of the headwind section along Chef Highway safely tucked in the back of the pack. When things started to ramp up for the sprint at the turnaround, Frank ended up towing me off the front, and then looked back and said "where to we sprint to?" Good question. This is one of those sprints that kind of ends whenever the rider in the lead eases up!
We do a sprint on the way back down Chef Highway as well, and since I was feeling pretty good, I moved up near the front finding myself on The Howard's wheel. Howard glanced back at me and patted his butt - the universal sign for "get on my wheel." He immediately accelerated around to the left and pulled us past everyone, pulling off about 100m before the Goodyear sign (aka the finish line) and motioning for me to come around. Man, if I had leadouts like that all the time I'd be the guy Mario was pushing into the barricades at the real Giro.
On the return trip down Hayne Blvd., Brett Reagan and I traded pulls way off the front as the pack rode in at an easier pace. Afterward, Tim, Charlie, Frank and I rode downtown with the guys who were taking the ferry over to the West Bank, dropping them off and then heading upriver on St. Charles Avenue where folks were already waiting on the neutral ground for the noon parades, still a couple of hours away.
Later in the day, after running some errands, eating a broiled catfish po-boy al fresco at the Saltwater Grill, and walking the two miles over to The Mom's house to walk her dog, I took a little 10-minute nap. We were walking back home through Audubon Park and Tulane, when I discovered that The Wife had tricked me into agreeing to go to church with her, which I swear I don't remember, probably because I WAS ASLEEP when she asked me! So we walk over to the little chapel at Tulane, which is a pretty laid-back sort of arrangement where they swap out the crucifix for the star of david depending on who's using the place that day. The priest walks in with mardi gras beads around his neck, and I immediately have this image of the guy, dressed in all his robes and stuff, in the middle of Bourbon Street yelling "show your tits" to the girls on the balconies. I guess not much of that catholic grammar school and high school religion really stuck!
So right now I'm sweating out the not-quite-live scoring of The Daughter's meet on the University of Illinois' website and looking forward to tomorrow's ride on the Northshore, hoping we can get in 75 miles or so, with 30 or 40 at a good pace. Oh, wait. The meet's over and Iowa won! Finally a good meet. Even better -- The Daughter won Beam!
As I rode out to the Lakefront down Carrollton Avenue, there were literally hundreds of people out on the neutral ground, where they had obviously spent the night, staking out their terriroties for tonight's Endymion parade that starts at 6 p.m.
The weather was nice today and there was a pretty large Giro ride group. I was surprised to see The Great Balded One, as Kenny B. calls him, in town to join us. Frank had gotten up at 4 a.m. to drive in from Brookhaven, MS, and just barely caught the group as it was heading out down Lakeshore Drive. The group seemed a little less animated than I would have expected, given the nice weather. Perhaps it was because I spent most of the headwind section along Chef Highway safely tucked in the back of the pack. When things started to ramp up for the sprint at the turnaround, Frank ended up towing me off the front, and then looked back and said "where to we sprint to?" Good question. This is one of those sprints that kind of ends whenever the rider in the lead eases up!
We do a sprint on the way back down Chef Highway as well, and since I was feeling pretty good, I moved up near the front finding myself on The Howard's wheel. Howard glanced back at me and patted his butt - the universal sign for "get on my wheel." He immediately accelerated around to the left and pulled us past everyone, pulling off about 100m before the Goodyear sign (aka the finish line) and motioning for me to come around. Man, if I had leadouts like that all the time I'd be the guy Mario was pushing into the barricades at the real Giro.
On the return trip down Hayne Blvd., Brett Reagan and I traded pulls way off the front as the pack rode in at an easier pace. Afterward, Tim, Charlie, Frank and I rode downtown with the guys who were taking the ferry over to the West Bank, dropping them off and then heading upriver on St. Charles Avenue where folks were already waiting on the neutral ground for the noon parades, still a couple of hours away.
Later in the day, after running some errands, eating a broiled catfish po-boy al fresco at the Saltwater Grill, and walking the two miles over to The Mom's house to walk her dog, I took a little 10-minute nap. We were walking back home through Audubon Park and Tulane, when I discovered that The Wife had tricked me into agreeing to go to church with her, which I swear I don't remember, probably because I WAS ASLEEP when she asked me! So we walk over to the little chapel at Tulane, which is a pretty laid-back sort of arrangement where they swap out the crucifix for the star of david depending on who's using the place that day. The priest walks in with mardi gras beads around his neck, and I immediately have this image of the guy, dressed in all his robes and stuff, in the middle of Bourbon Street yelling "show your tits" to the girls on the balconies. I guess not much of that catholic grammar school and high school religion really stuck!
So right now I'm sweating out the not-quite-live scoring of The Daughter's meet on the University of Illinois' website and looking forward to tomorrow's ride on the Northshore, hoping we can get in 75 miles or so, with 30 or 40 at a good pace. Oh, wait. The meet's over and Iowa won! Finally a good meet. Even better -- The Daughter won Beam!
Friday, February 04, 2005
Better Weather!
The hourly forecast for this morning had called for clear skies by around 5 a.m., but they were off by a few hours. Our small Friday ride Krewe labored under more grey skies and strong winds, but now, little darlin', here comes the sun ("and I say it's allright.")
The ride was pretty decent despite the wind and gloom. Rob and I traded pulls most of the way out while Jeff and Donald hung about 5 seconds back for some reason. I can't say I was feeling real good, though, and it took a little discipline to keep my pulls up to speed even though I wasn't taking more than 50 or 60 strokes. So I got in a pretty good workout, which was OK for this Friday since I'm really short on saddle time this week after missing three whole days because of rain.
The Daughter will be off to Champaign, Illinois this weekend for a meet with the University of Illinois that I know will be a tough one for them. Illinois is ranked quite high this year, and there might be a little bit of a revenge attitude at this meet since Iowa beat them at the Big Ten championships last year. The Daughter is still having problems with her ankle. They took some MRI images yesterday, so we haven't heard what they showed yet, but at any rate it's not improving like she would want. Add to that the fact that most of the team was sick with a nasty stomach virus last week and it will be tough for them to be at their best, which is where they need to be against this team.
We're supposed to be heading back up to Iowa City in a couple of weeks for their home meet against Iowa State, which should be fun except that we can't really afford to be travelling like this. Of course, I'm expecting another blizzard will come through that weekend as usual . . .
The ride was pretty decent despite the wind and gloom. Rob and I traded pulls most of the way out while Jeff and Donald hung about 5 seconds back for some reason. I can't say I was feeling real good, though, and it took a little discipline to keep my pulls up to speed even though I wasn't taking more than 50 or 60 strokes. So I got in a pretty good workout, which was OK for this Friday since I'm really short on saddle time this week after missing three whole days because of rain.
The Daughter will be off to Champaign, Illinois this weekend for a meet with the University of Illinois that I know will be a tough one for them. Illinois is ranked quite high this year, and there might be a little bit of a revenge attitude at this meet since Iowa beat them at the Big Ten championships last year. The Daughter is still having problems with her ankle. They took some MRI images yesterday, so we haven't heard what they showed yet, but at any rate it's not improving like she would want. Add to that the fact that most of the team was sick with a nasty stomach virus last week and it will be tough for them to be at their best, which is where they need to be against this team.
We're supposed to be heading back up to Iowa City in a couple of weeks for their home meet against Iowa State, which should be fun except that we can't really afford to be travelling like this. Of course, I'm expecting another blizzard will come through that weekend as usual . . .
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Levee Insurgents
Finally the streets are, mostly, dry! The skies are still grey and it's a bit colder, but conditions were pretty decent for this morning's long ride. My computer pickup cable transplant was successful and the Ergobrain now has fully restored sensory input, which means the speedometer is working again, so there' s one bit of good news.
The news at the levee pump hill was a bit more disappointing this morning, though. I would have expected a bunch of ride-hungry guys, but there were only Rob, Bob and myself this morning. Bob's the rather tall guy who moved here last Summer to start law school at Tulane. He doesn't usually make the morning rides and this morning he was running late and wasn't sure if he should stop when he saw me coming up the levee from River Road, but he did. A moment later Rob showed up and we hung around there in the gusty wind for an extra five minutes, but nobody else materialized so we finally rolled. We were soon joined by Jeff, Ronnie and Donald and settled into a paceline for what we knew would be a windy ride up the river.
The river, BTW, continues to rise. The businesses that are located on the batture, between the levee and the water, have all had to move their equipment and cars and things up closer to the levee, and this morning the infamous riversand operation, where there is often a line of dumptrucks blocking the bike path, had the heavy equipment out trying to build up their access road which had been flooded by the rising water.
Soon enough Rob got uncomfortable with the group's moderate pace and rolled up the left side past The Donald, who was on the front at the time. Donald, of course, held his pace, so Rob gradually rolled off the front listening to whatever music or motivational recordings he always has piped into his ears when he rides. I thought about riding up to him, but it was nice and comfy in the group and he wasn't going away very fast. After a while, Bob went off to bridge up to him. Right about that time, I noticed something lying across the road ahead of us. It was still a bit dark and it looked like maybe a 2x4. Easy to bunny-hop, so no worries, right? Well Donald, who was on the front, thought it was just a dark patch of asphalt and didn't realize until he was on top of it that it was one of the metal "Yield" signs, complete with steel signpost, that had been pulled up and laid completely across the road. No doubt someone, probably one of the truck drivers who we often battle with, intentionally placed it there. Donald got over it OK but Ronnie plowed right into it. Jeff managed to squeeze past it on the left edge. I had been all set to hop over it, but when Ronnie hit it, it flew up about a foot and so I ended up hitting it pretty hard. Lucky I didn't go down, actually.
Naturally, Ronnie's rear tire pinch-flatted immediately. I turned around to go move the blasted thing and just as I did, my rear tire went too. All I can say is I hope whoever did that was watching and got a good laugh out of it. Good thing we didn't see who did it, because I have a feeling that nobody would want to mess with an Angry Ronnie!
After I fixed my flat, I rolled up to Ronnie who was just about finished fixing his and he was fuming about Rob not having warned us about it. Rob and Bob were probably 200m ahead of us at the time, so there's not really much they could have done except to stop. At any rate, they never knew what happened and continued on to up the river.
After all of the delays everyone except me decided to turn around early at "The Dip," so I kept going at an easy pace and caught Rob and Bob on their way back near the Luling bridge. We rode back at a good pace, though, and got a nice stretch of 26 mph tailwind between Williams and the Country Club, which we soon paid for after making the bend and riding directly into the wind, struggling to hold 22, most of the way back to the playground. So I got home a bit late today.
When I got to work, the staff were all excited because some vagrant had just strolled right through the office from one stairwell to the other, holding a plastic bag in one hand and his pants up with the other, his face marked with bloody cuts. Of course they called Security but by then the guy was long gone. We had been told we couldn't lock the doors to our suite up here on the roof because of the fire code, so I guess we'll just have to buy a few automatic weapons so the secretary can defend herself, right?
The news at the levee pump hill was a bit more disappointing this morning, though. I would have expected a bunch of ride-hungry guys, but there were only Rob, Bob and myself this morning. Bob's the rather tall guy who moved here last Summer to start law school at Tulane. He doesn't usually make the morning rides and this morning he was running late and wasn't sure if he should stop when he saw me coming up the levee from River Road, but he did. A moment later Rob showed up and we hung around there in the gusty wind for an extra five minutes, but nobody else materialized so we finally rolled. We were soon joined by Jeff, Ronnie and Donald and settled into a paceline for what we knew would be a windy ride up the river.
The river, BTW, continues to rise. The businesses that are located on the batture, between the levee and the water, have all had to move their equipment and cars and things up closer to the levee, and this morning the infamous riversand operation, where there is often a line of dumptrucks blocking the bike path, had the heavy equipment out trying to build up their access road which had been flooded by the rising water.
Soon enough Rob got uncomfortable with the group's moderate pace and rolled up the left side past The Donald, who was on the front at the time. Donald, of course, held his pace, so Rob gradually rolled off the front listening to whatever music or motivational recordings he always has piped into his ears when he rides. I thought about riding up to him, but it was nice and comfy in the group and he wasn't going away very fast. After a while, Bob went off to bridge up to him. Right about that time, I noticed something lying across the road ahead of us. It was still a bit dark and it looked like maybe a 2x4. Easy to bunny-hop, so no worries, right? Well Donald, who was on the front, thought it was just a dark patch of asphalt and didn't realize until he was on top of it that it was one of the metal "Yield" signs, complete with steel signpost, that had been pulled up and laid completely across the road. No doubt someone, probably one of the truck drivers who we often battle with, intentionally placed it there. Donald got over it OK but Ronnie plowed right into it. Jeff managed to squeeze past it on the left edge. I had been all set to hop over it, but when Ronnie hit it, it flew up about a foot and so I ended up hitting it pretty hard. Lucky I didn't go down, actually.
Naturally, Ronnie's rear tire pinch-flatted immediately. I turned around to go move the blasted thing and just as I did, my rear tire went too. All I can say is I hope whoever did that was watching and got a good laugh out of it. Good thing we didn't see who did it, because I have a feeling that nobody would want to mess with an Angry Ronnie!
After I fixed my flat, I rolled up to Ronnie who was just about finished fixing his and he was fuming about Rob not having warned us about it. Rob and Bob were probably 200m ahead of us at the time, so there's not really much they could have done except to stop. At any rate, they never knew what happened and continued on to up the river.
After all of the delays everyone except me decided to turn around early at "The Dip," so I kept going at an easy pace and caught Rob and Bob on their way back near the Luling bridge. We rode back at a good pace, though, and got a nice stretch of 26 mph tailwind between Williams and the Country Club, which we soon paid for after making the bend and riding directly into the wind, struggling to hold 22, most of the way back to the playground. So I got home a bit late today.
When I got to work, the staff were all excited because some vagrant had just strolled right through the office from one stairwell to the other, holding a plastic bag in one hand and his pants up with the other, his face marked with bloody cuts. Of course they called Security but by then the guy was long gone. We had been told we couldn't lock the doors to our suite up here on the roof because of the fire code, so I guess we'll just have to buy a few automatic weapons so the secretary can defend herself, right?
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
It was a dark and foggy ... morning
It rained again all last night. Not the light drizzle folks in many parts of the country think of as rain, but the heavy, wake you up from a sound sleep thunder type of rain. I lay in bed at 5:45 a.m., as my always optimistic alarm went off, considering whether I was actually desperate enough to break out the mountain bike and try to get in an hour in the rain. I visualized what I might wear - that way-too-big rain jacket I have, the neoprene booties, helmet cover. But it was pointless, really, and would have served only a personal discipline role, catering to some sort of deep-seated neurosis involving fear of death, or worse - Droppage. It has always been the case that my personal statute of limitations for lack of riding doesn't run out for three days. After that, it's either a ride in the rain or, heaven forbid, a sweaty torture session on the trainer.
So I will wait yet another day in this uncomfortable and unsettled state, substituting caffeine for endorphins, and telling myself "It's only January," despite the road race results already starting to filter in from SoCal and the impending Spring races now just a month away. I could drag myself over to the Reily Center, which BTW has the world's slowest-loading homepage, for an indoor workout of some sort, trying to make do on those ridiculous exercise bikes with the easy chair seats and wire racks to hold your copy of People magazine, but frankly I'd rather be riding in the rain.
Which is exactly what I will be doing tomorrow morning if this isn't over.
So I will wait yet another day in this uncomfortable and unsettled state, substituting caffeine for endorphins, and telling myself "It's only January," despite the road race results already starting to filter in from SoCal and the impending Spring races now just a month away. I could drag myself over to the Reily Center, which BTW has the world's slowest-loading homepage, for an indoor workout of some sort, trying to make do on those ridiculous exercise bikes with the easy chair seats and wire racks to hold your copy of People magazine, but frankly I'd rather be riding in the rain.
Which is exactly what I will be doing tomorrow morning if this isn't over.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Drip, Drip, Drip ...
6 p.m. update: This is SO depressing. It has not stopped raining for at least 24 hours and the forecast for 6 am tomorrow is still calling for a 70% chance of rain. I don't think I've seen the sun since Saturday. I hear the indoor trainer calling me. Noooooo! Not that. Anything but that.
The sound of rain and wet tires out on the street was bad enough this morning, but what I really didn't need was the drip, drip, drip of water leaking through the hallway ceiling onto the floor. Yeah, yeah, I know I've had that little leak for years, but the last time there was actually enough steady rain for it to drip onto the floor was during a hurricaine about four years ago.
Needless to say, there will be no riding today. It has not stopped raining since around mid-day yesterday. After work yesterday we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some dog food. It was pouring down rain, and I guess my first mistake was to drop The Wife off at the door, thus sparing her the mental picture of what it would be like loading and unloading the car. By the time we got out of the Winn Dixie, to the tune of $200+, we had a full shopping cart, of course. So I ran out to get the car and drive it around so it would be near the door. The parking lot was now pretty much under a few inches of water in some places, one of which I promptly located with my right foot. By the time the car was loaded up, I was pretty well soaked, and of course by the time we got the groceries into the house I was both soaked and angry.
At least we had some nice Gumbo left over for dinner! I'm hoping for better weather tomorrow, because the thought of breaking out the indoor trainer is giving me a headache!
Monday, January 31, 2005
Lonely Day
Although my legs were a little sore yesterday evening as a result of Sunday's long ride, I was happy to find them in a very cooperative mood this morning. I had planned on an easy spin, and wasn't too surprised to find the usual levee-top meeting spot empty when I arrived. The skies were grey and there was an occasional light drizzle falling - not even enough to make the streets wet, but certainly something to think about - and of course it was a Monday. Since I had intended to do an easy ride, I hadn't spared the clothes and was toasty warm.
The parking lot at Jefferson Playground was also deserted this morning as I rode past, spinning easily in the 39x15. In fact, there was practically nobody up on the levee bike path at all. For a while, I fiddled with the bike computer, trying to get it to register my speed, but never got a single mph out of the thing. Yesterday, it had worked fine for 77 miles, and then this morning it was, what?, on strike or something?? Bike computers can certainly be finicky. I happen to have a replacement wire and pickup for the speed sensor, so I'll put that on this evening and see if it solves the problem. I'd hate to have to retire the computer when its so close to hitting the 40,000 mile mark. It always seems that I start to bond with inanimate objects like cars and computers when they start to show their age. It's almost like I feel sorry for them and don't want to see them go.
After I turned around, I ran into Joe F., who turned around to ride back with me. There was a strong headwind all the way back, and Joe chatted for a minute or two and then said he was going to drop back and get on my wheel, so I was pretty much back to riding by myself again. Without the benefit of the speedometer, I switched to cadence mode and just held an easy 80-85 rpm all the way back. Anyway, I'm pleased that my legs felt good. The weather forecast for the next few days is looking damned wet and nasty, but at least it won't be too cold.
It's around 2 p.m. right now and looking out my 25th floor window it looks like about 2 miles of visibility with a grey fog shrouding everything. It sure would be nice to see the sun again.
"Ain't no sunshine . . ."
The parking lot at Jefferson Playground was also deserted this morning as I rode past, spinning easily in the 39x15. In fact, there was practically nobody up on the levee bike path at all. For a while, I fiddled with the bike computer, trying to get it to register my speed, but never got a single mph out of the thing. Yesterday, it had worked fine for 77 miles, and then this morning it was, what?, on strike or something?? Bike computers can certainly be finicky. I happen to have a replacement wire and pickup for the speed sensor, so I'll put that on this evening and see if it solves the problem. I'd hate to have to retire the computer when its so close to hitting the 40,000 mile mark. It always seems that I start to bond with inanimate objects like cars and computers when they start to show their age. It's almost like I feel sorry for them and don't want to see them go.
After I turned around, I ran into Joe F., who turned around to ride back with me. There was a strong headwind all the way back, and Joe chatted for a minute or two and then said he was going to drop back and get on my wheel, so I was pretty much back to riding by myself again. Without the benefit of the speedometer, I switched to cadence mode and just held an easy 80-85 rpm all the way back. Anyway, I'm pleased that my legs felt good. The weather forecast for the next few days is looking damned wet and nasty, but at least it won't be too cold.
It's around 2 p.m. right now and looking out my 25th floor window it looks like about 2 miles of visibility with a grey fog shrouding everything. It sure would be nice to see the sun again.
"Ain't no sunshine . . ."
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Training Ride Well Done
Miles: 77
Powerbars: 1
Starbucks Coffees: 1
Coke: 1L
Fun: 1 ton
It was time for the real training rides to start, and for today's ride I had mapped out a 77 mi. route that I knew would put a little jolt into everyone's program. Our nine-man group started out with 30 miles or so of flat paceline, taking us from Abita Springs through Bush and Sun and back West toward Enon. Then the fun began. We turned North away from the Bouge Chitto river and into the low rolling hills and at the same time picked up the pace a notch or so. Though much of our ride was on smooth asphalt, we also blasted through Sie Jenkins Rd. and Moore Rd., the latter qualifying as a road only on a technicality. For some reason, I love that slightly out-of-control feeling of riding down this stretch of curvy, battered macadam as a faster-than-recommended speed. The group was riding strong today, and someone attacked almost every climb and sprinted for every town sign.
By the time we stopped in Enon, just past 50 miles, I could feel the burning in my quads. The Enon store was closed, with a sign taped to the door that said "closed because of cold weather." It was around 55F. We didn't hang around very long and started out on the last 25 mile leg with a nice little tailwind. As usual, things kind of came apart on the climb up the watchtower hill as a couple of riders were starting to feel the effects of the hills and pace.
I felt good about this ride, and although I'll probably be a little sore tomorrow, it was definitely worth it.
As I got back into town there were already crowds of people staking out their spots along Veterans Blvd. in anticipation of the afternoon's Mardi Gras parade, and shortly after I got home a long line of floats went past on its way to line up for tonight's parades on St. Charles Ave.
Looks like it's Mardi Gras Time!
Powerbars: 1
Starbucks Coffees: 1
Coke: 1L
Fun: 1 ton
It was time for the real training rides to start, and for today's ride I had mapped out a 77 mi. route that I knew would put a little jolt into everyone's program. Our nine-man group started out with 30 miles or so of flat paceline, taking us from Abita Springs through Bush and Sun and back West toward Enon. Then the fun began. We turned North away from the Bouge Chitto river and into the low rolling hills and at the same time picked up the pace a notch or so. Though much of our ride was on smooth asphalt, we also blasted through Sie Jenkins Rd. and Moore Rd., the latter qualifying as a road only on a technicality. For some reason, I love that slightly out-of-control feeling of riding down this stretch of curvy, battered macadam as a faster-than-recommended speed. The group was riding strong today, and someone attacked almost every climb and sprinted for every town sign.
By the time we stopped in Enon, just past 50 miles, I could feel the burning in my quads. The Enon store was closed, with a sign taped to the door that said "closed because of cold weather." It was around 55F. We didn't hang around very long and started out on the last 25 mile leg with a nice little tailwind. As usual, things kind of came apart on the climb up the watchtower hill as a couple of riders were starting to feel the effects of the hills and pace.
I felt good about this ride, and although I'll probably be a little sore tomorrow, it was definitely worth it.
As I got back into town there were already crowds of people staking out their spots along Veterans Blvd. in anticipation of the afternoon's Mardi Gras parade, and shortly after I got home a long line of floats went past on its way to line up for tonight's parades on St. Charles Ave.
Looks like it's Mardi Gras Time!
Saturday, January 29, 2005
A Wet Dreary Giro
"Yeech," I thought as I rode out to the Giro ride this morning in a damp, cold fog on wet and gritty streets. The temperature was in the upper 50s, but it felt colder despite the vest and DeFeet shoe-covers I had on. Of course, by the time I got out there my clear-lens Oakleys were all misted-over. I had to take them off three or four times during the ride to rinse them off so I could (almost) see through them. Toward the end, I finally gave up and stuck them in my helmet for the duration.
The group was a bit smaller than usual this morning, as one would expect, and nobody was really in the mood to inflict much pain, although the pace was fast on the way out, it mostly stayed together. It definitely helps to have a couple of the strong guys riding Power Cranks! I was considering taking a shot at the sprint on Chef Highway today (the one on the return trip), and had just latched onto The Howard's wheel when he stood on it and promptly unclipped his right foot. For a second I thought he was going down for sure, but he kept it upright so all was well. I ended up riding back uptown with Tim and Charlie, taking the long way 'round down Canal St. and then along the river on Tchoupitoulas. Traffic was pretty bad, though; a combination of early Mardi Gras people and the huge NADA convention currently in town. About halfway through the ride today my old but fancy-dancy Campi Egrobrain computer has some sort of neurological event, probably a result of something getting wet, and stopped showing me my speed except when it felt like it. Cadence still worked, though, so I switched to that mode so I wouldn't surge too much when I came to the front. Still, it's amazing how you get to be so dependent on the speedometer, or for that matter the gear indicator. You don't even realize how much you use that information until the thing stops working, and then it's kind of disconcerting to glance down and see a big fat "0" where the "30mph" should be. (Ever notice how you never seem to check your speedo when you're going slow?)
Finally, in the afternoon, the skies cleared and my hopes for tomorrow's long ride out in the country improved tremendously. Gina was nice enough to give me a call to let me know they had made it to Arizona. Just afterward I was reading Jason Sager's blog and discovered that he had recently arrived there as well, having written up a short report of the local group hammer session.
The group was a bit smaller than usual this morning, as one would expect, and nobody was really in the mood to inflict much pain, although the pace was fast on the way out, it mostly stayed together. It definitely helps to have a couple of the strong guys riding Power Cranks! I was considering taking a shot at the sprint on Chef Highway today (the one on the return trip), and had just latched onto The Howard's wheel when he stood on it and promptly unclipped his right foot. For a second I thought he was going down for sure, but he kept it upright so all was well. I ended up riding back uptown with Tim and Charlie, taking the long way 'round down Canal St. and then along the river on Tchoupitoulas. Traffic was pretty bad, though; a combination of early Mardi Gras people and the huge NADA convention currently in town. About halfway through the ride today my old but fancy-dancy Campi Egrobrain computer has some sort of neurological event, probably a result of something getting wet, and stopped showing me my speed except when it felt like it. Cadence still worked, though, so I switched to that mode so I wouldn't surge too much when I came to the front. Still, it's amazing how you get to be so dependent on the speedometer, or for that matter the gear indicator. You don't even realize how much you use that information until the thing stops working, and then it's kind of disconcerting to glance down and see a big fat "0" where the "30mph" should be. (Ever notice how you never seem to check your speedo when you're going slow?)
Finally, in the afternoon, the skies cleared and my hopes for tomorrow's long ride out in the country improved tremendously. Gina was nice enough to give me a call to let me know they had made it to Arizona. Just afterward I was reading Jason Sager's blog and discovered that he had recently arrived there as well, having written up a short report of the local group hammer session.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Off Day
We met Kenny and Gina and Gina's mom last night for a nice dinner in an interesting little spot called Adolpho's, right across the street from Bicycle Michael's in Faubourg Marigny. Actually, we met across the street at DBA where I had a great glass of Rouge Mocha Porter (a tough call, since they also had the Hazlenut Brown Nectar and Dead Guy Ale, but the Porter was on tap!). The food was great and the place has the same atmosphere as a typical 3-room upstairs apartment, which I'm sure it once was. Casual is an overstatement for this little spot, but the waiter speaks with a thick Italian accent and the cook must know his stuff.
Early this morning I was awakened by cellphone noises as the power went out, then back on, then out, then back on again. It was around when I normally get up to ride, but since we had Gina's mom staying at the house I decided to skip my usual easy Friday ride and instead fire up the coffee maker. A couple of hours later Givo and mom headed West on I-10, destined for Tucson, AZ.
I think I felt a "great disturbance in The Force" as they left. Or maybe it was just that I had to go to work instead of on a road trip!
The city is now all socked in with fog and mist ahead of a line of rain heading this way, but I think we'll probably have decent riding weather for tomorrow's Giro and even better weather for Sunday's winter training ride across the lake.
The Daughter is heading to Des Moines for their meet with 10th-ranked Iowa State tonight. We'll try and follow it via the Live Scoring website.
Early this morning I was awakened by cellphone noises as the power went out, then back on, then out, then back on again. It was around when I normally get up to ride, but since we had Gina's mom staying at the house I decided to skip my usual easy Friday ride and instead fire up the coffee maker. A couple of hours later Givo and mom headed West on I-10, destined for Tucson, AZ.
I think I felt a "great disturbance in The Force" as they left. Or maybe it was just that I had to go to work instead of on a road trip!
The city is now all socked in with fog and mist ahead of a line of rain heading this way, but I think we'll probably have decent riding weather for tomorrow's Giro and even better weather for Sunday's winter training ride across the lake.
The Daughter is heading to Des Moines for their meet with 10th-ranked Iowa State tonight. We'll try and follow it via the Live Scoring website.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Working at the Back of the Pack
The arrival of a little cold front this morning brought with it a stiff North wind that was blowing the levee group around all morning. It was one of those days when it seemed like you were always riding into the wind and never with it. Things started out nicely enough, but five or six miles out some of the big dogs got to the front and the pace started to ramp up. Ordinarily, that wouldn't have been too much of a problem, but this morning the crosswind made it just about as hard to ride at the back as the front.
At some point I dropped back after taking a little pull - all the way back - and when I arrived found little in the way of shelter. So, for most of the ride out to the turnaround I was stuck on Carey's wheel, scrounging around for a bit of draft, hugging the three inches or so of asphalt to the left of his rear wheel. To make matters worse, somebody a few riders up was short-circuiting the paceline, so we weren't in the rotation any more. The pace was fast enough that the idea of riding up the windward side of the paceline to get in nearer the front wasn't really an attractive option, so I was basically stuck at the back battling both the wind and the edge. Not fun.
Kenny, who had missed the group, had time trialed up to us, catching right about the time things picked up, and Givo, who had already seen her patients at the hospital and was squeezing in a ride before her exam, was up there in the rotation with the big dogs who were hammering into the wind at a rather uncivilized pace. After a while I saw her dropping back behind me and I knew she was in for a rude surprise. It may have looked like "the back," but once you got there you quickly realized that there was no "back." At least not in the "sit in the draft at the back" kind of way. The next time I looked back, she was OTB along with some other victims of the crosswind.
We picked everyone back up on the return trip, though, and even though it was still a crosswind battle it was a little easier. I suppose it was partially due to a little bit of occasional tailwind and partially due to the fact that some of the guys who had been pulling all morning were starting to feel it. I did a lot more work on the way back, so I got my money's worth of training out of the ride anyway.
As I rode home from the levee I noticed that it had gotten quite a bit colder than when I had started. I think the temperature had dropped around eight degrees in the two hours that I was riding.
The worst thing about these cold fronts is really my commute to work, which has me headed in a mostly Northward direction. I was definitely feeling my quads as I climbed the overpass, standing on the pedals in my Bass loafers, button-down shirt and tie, and with my messenger bag over my shoulder loaded with a thermos of real coffee and all the other usual junk that I haul back and forth to work every day.
At some point I dropped back after taking a little pull - all the way back - and when I arrived found little in the way of shelter. So, for most of the ride out to the turnaround I was stuck on Carey's wheel, scrounging around for a bit of draft, hugging the three inches or so of asphalt to the left of his rear wheel. To make matters worse, somebody a few riders up was short-circuiting the paceline, so we weren't in the rotation any more. The pace was fast enough that the idea of riding up the windward side of the paceline to get in nearer the front wasn't really an attractive option, so I was basically stuck at the back battling both the wind and the edge. Not fun.
Kenny, who had missed the group, had time trialed up to us, catching right about the time things picked up, and Givo, who had already seen her patients at the hospital and was squeezing in a ride before her exam, was up there in the rotation with the big dogs who were hammering into the wind at a rather uncivilized pace. After a while I saw her dropping back behind me and I knew she was in for a rude surprise. It may have looked like "the back," but once you got there you quickly realized that there was no "back." At least not in the "sit in the draft at the back" kind of way. The next time I looked back, she was OTB along with some other victims of the crosswind.
We picked everyone back up on the return trip, though, and even though it was still a crosswind battle it was a little easier. I suppose it was partially due to a little bit of occasional tailwind and partially due to the fact that some of the guys who had been pulling all morning were starting to feel it. I did a lot more work on the way back, so I got my money's worth of training out of the ride anyway.
As I rode home from the levee I noticed that it had gotten quite a bit colder than when I had started. I think the temperature had dropped around eight degrees in the two hours that I was riding.
The worst thing about these cold fronts is really my commute to work, which has me headed in a mostly Northward direction. I was definitely feeling my quads as I climbed the overpass, standing on the pedals in my Bass loafers, button-down shirt and tie, and with my messenger bag over my shoulder loaded with a thermos of real coffee and all the other usual junk that I haul back and forth to work every day.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Rising Tide Ride
The Mississippi is really starting to rise around here and there is official talk about opening the Spillway. While there are normally a few hundred yards of batture between the levee and the water, right now the river laps loudly against the concrete levee apron in some places. Looking the other way it's easy to see that the water level is higher than the ceilings in most of the homes along River Road. Farther out you can see the partially submerged willow trees that normally line the river bank. It's definitely a Rising Tide (which is also an interesting book), and they are saying that it won't crest for another week or two. Looks like there might be some whitewater in the spillway soon.
It was much warmer this morning - around 60F - and there were probably a dozen or so riders out on the levee, including Rob and Donald and GiVo (who will be heading back to AZ on Friday). Kenny was supposed to meet us, but he must have been up all night reading LAMBRA e-mails about the Cat. 3 controversy!!
Rob apparently had a meeting this morning and wasn't willing to settle for much less than 23-24 mph. Well of course that didn't last very long and it kind of turned into a race for a while. The group kind of split with I think Rob, GiVo and I rotating in front. The return trip, as usual, was a little more tame, but with a light tailwind we were still going 24-25 most of the time. Right after we turned around Rob took off at a decent pace, but a whole bunch of the group didn't go with him so I guess four or five of us rode just a little bit off the front for a while until everyone caught up. After that, most of the group was sitting in and three or four of us were pulling at a pretty steady pace until we got near the Bridge when Carey started doing his impersonation of The Howard. Naturally, Rob latched onto his wheel, and I onto Rob's while Carey pulled us up to 31 at one point. I was OK with that, but definitely not inclined to come around!
I was really not feeling too quick today for some reason - don't really know why - but it was a good workout anyway. Since we got back a little earlier than usual, I rode down to the park and back with GiVo before heading home. I almost made it, but with only one bumpy block of Pine Street left to go my rear tire went flat. I may have to put a couple of new tires into the budget soon.
Lots of volunteer website work is stacking up. The Brother sent me some updates for his daughter's rowing team's site that I haven't been able to get to yet, and I need to go through the NOBC event calendar and update it according to the results of last weekend's LAMBRA meeting. Somewhere in there I also need to do some actual work around here to see how the university can respond to the most recent BAA from the Department of Homeland Security.
It was much warmer this morning - around 60F - and there were probably a dozen or so riders out on the levee, including Rob and Donald and GiVo (who will be heading back to AZ on Friday). Kenny was supposed to meet us, but he must have been up all night reading LAMBRA e-mails about the Cat. 3 controversy!!
Rob apparently had a meeting this morning and wasn't willing to settle for much less than 23-24 mph. Well of course that didn't last very long and it kind of turned into a race for a while. The group kind of split with I think Rob, GiVo and I rotating in front. The return trip, as usual, was a little more tame, but with a light tailwind we were still going 24-25 most of the time. Right after we turned around Rob took off at a decent pace, but a whole bunch of the group didn't go with him so I guess four or five of us rode just a little bit off the front for a while until everyone caught up. After that, most of the group was sitting in and three or four of us were pulling at a pretty steady pace until we got near the Bridge when Carey started doing his impersonation of The Howard. Naturally, Rob latched onto his wheel, and I onto Rob's while Carey pulled us up to 31 at one point. I was OK with that, but definitely not inclined to come around!
I was really not feeling too quick today for some reason - don't really know why - but it was a good workout anyway. Since we got back a little earlier than usual, I rode down to the park and back with GiVo before heading home. I almost made it, but with only one bumpy block of Pine Street left to go my rear tire went flat. I may have to put a couple of new tires into the budget soon.
Lots of volunteer website work is stacking up. The Brother sent me some updates for his daughter's rowing team's site that I haven't been able to get to yet, and I need to go through the NOBC event calendar and update it according to the results of last weekend's LAMBRA meeting. Somewhere in there I also need to do some actual work around here to see how the university can respond to the most recent BAA from the Department of Homeland Security.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Wardrobe Malfunction
Man, it was hard to get out of bed this morning! Don't really know why, except that I was up kind of late last night and kept going back for just a little bit more wine.
The temp this morning was about 40 F, but at the last minute I put on my light Pearl vest to cut the wind for the first few miles, planning on stuffing it in a pocket before the group ride stated. You have to understand that this is kind of an old vest and the zipper has seen better days. In fact the tab that you hold onto is missing altogether. It's usually not much of a problem, but this morning I got some fabric caught in it as I was stepping out the door into the darkness. Just then, I heard a familiar voice. It was GiVo, who had stopped by on her way to work to pick up some stuff she had left at the house. She pulled some fabric out of the zipper (it was up around my neck so I couldn't see what I was doing) and I thought I had it cleared, but when I got out to the levee and tried to unzip, I couldn't get the damned thing to budge a single millimeter. Almost tore the zipper right out trying to wrestle with it up around my neck where I couldn't see. It was just partially open, so I tried pulling it off over my head, but my head was too big (as I've heard many times). Eventually, the ride started and , considering the clear skies, I resigned myself to a very warm ride. All I can say is I'm glad I've never had this happen with the zipper on a pair of pants at an inopportune time after having a couple of beers!
Once again, Rob had already ridden off down the road by the time we started (a few minutes late), and once again he looped back and met up with us around Jefferson Playground. There was a fair amount of horsepower in the group today, and as usual The Howard was there, surging up into the high 20s when he would come to the front.
I wasn't feeling too sharp, but I stayed in the paceline all the way out, taking my pulls but not lingering at the front very long. The ride back was pretty fast too, but a bit more cohesive, and I think some of the riders who had hammered on the way out were looking for a little recovery time on the return trip. I skipped a few pulls myself on the way back and there were a number of times when the lead rider would pull off and nobody was there to come through. Still, the pace stayed around 24-25 most of the way back.
Back at work after two missed days, I was greeted by a ton of e-mail, much of it having to do with the proposed changes in the LAMBRA categories and the LCCS points series, and I really haven't had time to sift through all of it yet. Not that it stopped me from putting in my $0.02 of course. Somehow, requiring promoters to have a separate Cat. 1,2 race in a 2-state district with a total of 29 Cat. 1 or 2 riders seems a little optimistic to me. I'm sympathetic to the plight of the Cat. 3s, but I really think that most of the 75 Cat. 3s in the 2-state area should be able to compete with the Cat. 1,2 riders. It would be great to have some separate Cat. 3 races, of course, but I think that making it a requirement is a bit premature.
We shall see.
The temp this morning was about 40 F, but at the last minute I put on my light Pearl vest to cut the wind for the first few miles, planning on stuffing it in a pocket before the group ride stated. You have to understand that this is kind of an old vest and the zipper has seen better days. In fact the tab that you hold onto is missing altogether. It's usually not much of a problem, but this morning I got some fabric caught in it as I was stepping out the door into the darkness. Just then, I heard a familiar voice. It was GiVo, who had stopped by on her way to work to pick up some stuff she had left at the house. She pulled some fabric out of the zipper (it was up around my neck so I couldn't see what I was doing) and I thought I had it cleared, but when I got out to the levee and tried to unzip, I couldn't get the damned thing to budge a single millimeter. Almost tore the zipper right out trying to wrestle with it up around my neck where I couldn't see. It was just partially open, so I tried pulling it off over my head, but my head was too big (as I've heard many times). Eventually, the ride started and , considering the clear skies, I resigned myself to a very warm ride. All I can say is I'm glad I've never had this happen with the zipper on a pair of pants at an inopportune time after having a couple of beers!
Once again, Rob had already ridden off down the road by the time we started (a few minutes late), and once again he looped back and met up with us around Jefferson Playground. There was a fair amount of horsepower in the group today, and as usual The Howard was there, surging up into the high 20s when he would come to the front.
I wasn't feeling too sharp, but I stayed in the paceline all the way out, taking my pulls but not lingering at the front very long. The ride back was pretty fast too, but a bit more cohesive, and I think some of the riders who had hammered on the way out were looking for a little recovery time on the return trip. I skipped a few pulls myself on the way back and there were a number of times when the lead rider would pull off and nobody was there to come through. Still, the pace stayed around 24-25 most of the way back.
Back at work after two missed days, I was greeted by a ton of e-mail, much of it having to do with the proposed changes in the LAMBRA categories and the LCCS points series, and I really haven't had time to sift through all of it yet. Not that it stopped me from putting in my $0.02 of course. Somehow, requiring promoters to have a separate Cat. 1,2 race in a 2-state district with a total of 29 Cat. 1 or 2 riders seems a little optimistic to me. I'm sympathetic to the plight of the Cat. 3s, but I really think that most of the 75 Cat. 3s in the 2-state area should be able to compete with the Cat. 1,2 riders. It would be great to have some separate Cat. 3 races, of course, but I think that making it a requirement is a bit premature.
We shall see.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Back in the Big Easy
Well yesterday's meet was kind of disappointing. The Daughter did great, competing on Beam despite her injured ankle, and posting the highest score. Unfortunately, the team had some real problems on Bars and ended up losing to a team that they really should have been able to beat. We camped out at The Daughter's house last night, sleeping on two old couches that were probably rescued from the thrift store. Then it was back to the airport and a couple of rather tedious flights to get back to New Orleans. The trip ended up costing a lot more than I had hoped after all of the changes we had to make, but that's just the way it goes sometimes! I learned some new things, anyway. For example, I learned that when you get an ice cream cone and then walk outside into 11 degree F weather, the water in the ice cream freezes and it gets kind of crunchy. Didn't know that!
So I've been off the bike now since Saturday - three whole days. I never could manage to drum up the enthusiasm to squeeze in a workout at the gym. I'll dive right back in tomorrow morning, though, and I'm sure the three-day layoff won't cause much of anything beyond the natural anxiety that anybody feels when all his competitors are out training and he's not.
Meanwhile, the LAMBRA meeting was last Saturday and there were a couple of somewhat controversial proposals. One is to allow separate Cat. 3 races to count for Series points. If we were consistently getting fields of, say, 50 riders for the combined Cat. 1,2,3 races, I'd say "great! go for it," but the fact is that most of the reglar races have fields of maybe 20 riders, and I just don't see splitting that up into two races. I cetainly don't see how it will help anything.
Had a nice chat with Givo this evening, which I really enjoyed - or maybe it was just the wine?
Naaaa.
So I've been off the bike now since Saturday - three whole days. I never could manage to drum up the enthusiasm to squeeze in a workout at the gym. I'll dive right back in tomorrow morning, though, and I'm sure the three-day layoff won't cause much of anything beyond the natural anxiety that anybody feels when all his competitors are out training and he's not.
Meanwhile, the LAMBRA meeting was last Saturday and there were a couple of somewhat controversial proposals. One is to allow separate Cat. 3 races to count for Series points. If we were consistently getting fields of, say, 50 riders for the combined Cat. 1,2,3 races, I'd say "great! go for it," but the fact is that most of the reglar races have fields of maybe 20 riders, and I just don't see splitting that up into two races. I cetainly don't see how it will help anything.
Had a nice chat with Givo this evening, which I really enjoyed - or maybe it was just the wine?
Naaaa.
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