Dark Rides and Complications

Finally the sun comes up!

With the switch back to Standard Time the morning rides again descended into darkness and, as usual, photo opps became scarce. It wasn't until Wednesday of last week that the week-long cold snap finally snapped and the wind shifted back around to the south. We may have a couple more chilly mornings over the next couple of weeks but I think it is finally safe to put away most of the cold weather gear. Still, there will be the dark early morning rides for a while yet that always make it so difficult to get out of bed and onto the bike. That very fact is what makes skipping a ride even more risky than usual because the only things getting me out the door in the mornings right now are routine and the automatic pilot. I've never really enjoyed riding in the dark, but at least once the morning temperatures finally warmed up to the point at which wardrobe decisions become simple it's a little bit easier. So anyway, things were plodding along in a very routine way ... until they weren't.

It was late at night the Wednesday before last when I got a call that they were taking my father to the emergency room. As it turned out he had a bad UTI that had now become septicemia, complicated by a non-functioning ureter. I was at the hospital with my sisters until maybe 2 am by which time they had him reasonably stabilized and had started pumping him full of the serious antibiotics. He'd remain in the ER for another day and a half until there was actually a room available in the ICU where he spent the better part of a week. Fortunately they got the infection under control and later addressed the ureteral bypass situation before kidney failure, and so he was finally released back to Poydras Home a couple of days ago. 

Last weekend it was two Giro Rides for me. Saturday's ride had a good turnout and although it was fairly fast, it was nice and steady so didn't feel as hard as it might have. Josiah (Tulane Cycling) was on hand for his first ever Giro, so I was kind of keeping an eye on him, but he rode well and never seemed to be in difficulty. On the way back, at the infamous Lake Forest - Bullard corner, Barry flatted. For a change, I decided to continue on with the front of the group. I think a few people stopped with him. I know a few slowed down enough that they never made it back to the group. Back at home we have had a sudden rat and/or mouse population explosion that prompted me to reluctantly put out rat poison. There are rat droppings all over the basement and when rats started coming out of the storm drain in the middle of the day while Candy was there cutting the grass along the side of the house that kind of sealed the deal. The next day the dead rat smell started to permeate the basement and although I found one small dead rat, I know there are others down there somewhere, possibly under the concrete (or the 60+ storage bins), because the smell is still there. Not my first time dealing with this, however, and I think we will just have to wait this one out for a few days.

Sunday's Giro had a relatively low turnout for some reason. There was a pretty significant south wind blowing, but it wasn't really enough to do too much damage. When the group is small it always means that the overall individual effort will be a little higher, at least for me, because there's less time in the draft and more time in the wind. The temperature was in the upper 70s, I think, so it felt pretty warm toward the end and I was glad I'd put a little Skratch electrolyte mix into my water bottle beforehand.

The river has been starting to rise lately.

This morning I dutifully hit the road around 5:40 am to ride out to City Park for the Mellow Monday ride. It was warm and humid and a little windy, and even in the dark I could tell the sky was cloudy. I hadn't looked at the forecast, however, and was surprised to find the meetup spot at the Museum of Art completely deserted. As I started the ride alone I pulled out my phone and checked the radar and realized why nobody had been there. There was some rain heading our way, but it was obvious it wouldn't get to the city until much later in the day. I guess the timing looked different last night and people had already written the ride off. I had a nice easy Monday ride, though, where my heart rate probably never broke 120 bpm. The rain finally came through a bit before noon. At the moment they've got thunderstorms in the forecast all the way until tomorrow afternoon, so the Tuesday levee ride will be a wait-and-see situation I guess. After that the wind shifts around to north, dropping the temperature down to the upper 50s for Wednesday morning. As we are closing in on April, that might hopefully be the last chilly morning. Meanwhile, I'm still working my way though a 7-day supply of 300 mg Clindamycin capsules for the dental infection that doesn't seem to be progressing but hasn't entirely resolved either. I've also been taking a probiotic that I picked up at the drugstore since this will be my third batch of antibiotics this year. No idea if it will matter, but I don't guess it could hurt.

On the 18th the Bianchi rolled past 100,000 miles. I still think of it as my "new" bike, and rather dread the prospect of having to buy a new one. It's getting practically impossible to get a bike with rim brakes any more, not to mention mechanical shifters. That all adds up to a lot of money and basically no upgrade path from what I have now to what is currently available. While I don't hate disc brakes or electronic shifting, neither really figure into the equation that determines when and how badly I will be dropped from a race, and both make it a little more difficult to maintain a bike without frequent trips to the shop.

Road Trip

Planning, and I use the term loosely, had been both late and minimal, but by early in the week there were four of us determined to make our way up to Calhoun, GA for the Georgia Tech Calhoun Road Race on Saturday. We were too late to get a Tulane van and in fact we'd be going kind of "unofficially" which is to say we'd be paying our own way for this collegiate race that included non-collegiate categories. Samuel and Josiah would both be riding the Collegiate D race, and then following up an hour later with the Category 5 race. Neither had been in a road race before. Dustin was entered in the Pro 1-3 race that I think included Collegiate Category A, while I would be riding the Master 40 race like last year. Dustin's mother had used some of her Hilton points to get us a really nice suite at the Hampton Inn, so that was a big help. 

I'd be driving there in the Volvo and Dustin would be taking his car, so everything seemed to be falling nicely into place by Wednesday. Well, until Candy called me that afternoon to say she'd run over something in the road and slashed one of the car tires. 

Friendly Friday

Although the tires on the car probably had another ten thousand miles in them I figured I may as well bite the bullet and get all four replaced. It was looking like Sunday would be rain, so nice fresh tire tread wouldn't be a bad idea. Of course, that meant missing my usual Thursday morning ride so I could get the car to the local Firestone shop where they had tires on hand at 7 am. Fortunately, that all went pretty smoothly other than the fact that the tires they had were all-weather tires which are a little louder and less efficient than the touring type tires I usually get, but at least I'll be well-prepared for the next time it snows in New Orleans. 

I did manage to get out to the Friendly Friday ride that turned out to be a little more of a workout than I was aiming for, but at least I'd have the rest of the day to recover while sitting in the car. With three bikes on the roof we left NOLA around 1:00 pm and met up with Dustin around Slidell where Josiah switched over to his car to keep him company. The 8-hour drive went pretty smoothly and we arrived at the hotel around 10 pm after losing an hour to the time zone change.

Saturday morning was cold - around 30°F - but at least it looked like we'd have a bit of sunshine. Conditions were actually quite similar to last year with a significant northwest wind and cold (by my standards) temperatures, and I was glad that my race didn't start until 10:00. Even so, I wore thermal knickers, base layer, arm-warmers, etc. The locals were mostly in what I'd call summer kit with maybe arm-warmers. When I was hanging around prior to the start I was surprised to meet up with Dave Schreffler who used to be in NOLA many years ago but was now down in Tampa. Turned out he was on his way back from someplace and saw that there was a conveniently located race that morning and decided to do it before the next part of his trip. 

The moment the fatal gap opened on the first lap

The Masters race had 34 riders, of which 23 were "50+," including Jame Carney who is the coach of the Piedmont University team and a two-time Olympian, former Pro, etc. It was looking a lot like it would be a repeat of last year for me, which was not exactly encouraging news. Like last year there was a head/crosswind from the left on the first long northbound segment of the lollipop course that resulted in a long line of riders hugging the right edge of the road. Just before the first turn there was a little rise that the front of the group attacked really hard. By the time the back part of the group (where I was of course) got there the lead riders were already 300 meters ahead and flying down a steep grade at 35-40 mph. I was already redlined well before hitting the steepest little climb on the course that featured a bit of 10-14%, so by the time we came over the top there were gaps everywhere and riders were strung out for a quarter mile. The next few miles were full-gas for all of us in the back half of the group trying to close things back up and rejoin what was left of the group. After some really hard efforts most, but not all, of us made it back to the tail end of the main bunch. Then, as we went up a little grade before the next right turn someone a couple of riders ahead of me blew up and opened a gap. I'd already burned all my matches and hadn't quite recovered, so I just couldn't make that last crucial bridge. 

Grupetto!

I eventually responded, but it was too little, too late. That left me alone for quite a long time, but I could see a small group of three behind me so I eventually eased up to get in which them. That group turned out to include Dave. So that was kind of it for us and the next forty miles or so were basically a moderately hard paceline training ride. After a while we started picking up stragglers from the main field (there was a small break ahead of them but it looks like the main field of 17-20 riders stayed mostly together) that eventually brought our little grupetto up to around nine riders. Despite the fact that we'd be sprinting for something like 25th place overall a few of us went ahead and had a nice little sprint at the end. I felt good for that and think I was 2nd or 3rd there, but that just meant I was 18th in the 50+ age group. A little disappointing but not entirely unexpected.

The Tulane riders had a good experience in the Collegiate D race with Sam placing 5th for a podium spot and Josiah finishing a minute later for 10th. Right after my race finished they started the Pro/1-3 race and the Cat. 5 race. Not wanting to sit around and get cold I decided to ride out to the loop and do it in the reverse direction so I could see some of the action. I was happy to see the Tulane riders staying safely in the 25-rider field (they would finish 15th and 16th). I was stopped at the corner where my own race had come apart for me when Dustin's field came by and as he rolled past he yelled for me to pick up his arm-warmers that he promptly deposited on the side of the road, so at least I wasn't entirely useless. Dustin would end up finishing 14th in the Pro/1/2 category. His field also included another 16 Cat. 3 riders and, I think, also the 22 Collegiate A riders. So basically it was a great race with, for us, respectable results.

As predicted, it was raining the next morning with no hope of stopping, so we had to ditch our original plan of riding Cheahea mountain on the way home, which was a shame but at least got us home around mid-afternoon. An hour or so into the drive back the Volvo shut down cruise control and anti-lock braking. Probably all of the water eventually got to one of the wheel speed sensors. I'd forgotten how much easier road trips were with cruise control, though!

March Already

Saturday after the Bay St. Louis ride.

Tuesday was the last day of February and already the Azaleas were starting to fade and the Oak tree catkins were getting ready to fill early March with pollen. With the coolest weather all week barely below the mid-fifties and daytime temperatures pushing the 80s it was really starting to feel like Springtime. Of course I know better than to put away all of the winter clothes just yet, at least most of them. Any excursions into the frozen north, aka anything north of Lake Pontchartrain, will still be susceptible to chilly mornings for a few more weeks, but I think it's at least safe to put away the shoe covers and thermal tights. 

Tuesday's levee ride ended up with just three of us for the full distance for some reason and was just a pretty normal ride. One of the Destrehan eagles was visible, as it has been for weeks, standing guard at the top of a tree just upriver from the nest, although I didn't notice any activity in the nest itself. Wednesday's WeMoRi was warm, humid, and fairly fast with a light south wind that I don't think was quite strong enough to have split things up on Lakeshore Drive.

On Thursday we had another relatively warm 73° morning with just a light breeze. Those conditions brought out a slightly larger group, at least for the start. We picked up Steve somewhere out toward Destrehan. The pace was steady at 22-23 mph mostly, so fairly comfortable paceline with one brief stop when Charles' tubeless rear tire sprung a leak and sprayed a fair amount of sealant that seemed particularly reluctant to seal in the 90% humidity. After holding his finger over the hole like the little Dutch boy it eventually sealed itself and we were back in action. 

Saturday almost ready to ride.

Friday morning I got up as usual, rummaged through the bike clothes drawer, pulled out shorts and jersey, and then heard something unexpected. Peering through the window blinds I was surprised to see that the street was wet and there was a light rain falling that, for all practical purposes, hadn't really been in the forecast. It was a brief little rain shower that was unfortunately perfectly timed to kill my morning ride. I consoled myself by deciding to go ahead and do the Saturday ride out of Bay St. Louis that Steve and Charles had pulled together. It was looking like we'd have a nice sunny day for that. Saturday was also Rouge-Roubaix day up in St. Francisville. I have mixed feelings about doing Rouge. On the one hand, my brain says it should be interesting, competitive, and fun, assuming I survive. On the other hand, my body says, "WTF are you thinking?" I'd probably need more than a standard dose of Naproxen. With the added gravel segments, that would at least be dry this year, it would be a rough ride with my regular 25 mm tires and rapidly degenerating bones and joints, and that's assuming I didn't find myself upside-down and on the ground clutching another broken collarbone thanks to my rather undeveloped off-road skills. Later on Saturday I'd see Strava posts from Will W who crashed out and Maurizio T who had three flats.

So on Saturday I headed straight into the rising sun to meet the 8:00 am group at the Washington Street Pier in Bay St. Louis. There was a charity ride going on from our usual starting location across the bay in Pass Christian and, as it turned out, also a small footrace starting from the Pier where we parked. Turnout for this ride was pretty good with ten people. For reasons unknowable it seemed like my legs were achy the whole ride but fortunately the pace never really got out of hand, and aside from one Strava segment called "the wall" that really isn't, the low rolling hills were more about the scenery than the pain. We had a nice 68 mile ride with an average speed just under 22 mph which is what I'd call "moderate," followed by a stop at The Blind Tiger restaurant near the marina where I ordered a Coke only to get the dreaded, "Pepsi OK?" response. Anyway, I played it safe with a fairly well-done cheeseburger, which was probably a good call under the circumstances. By the time I headed back home the temperature was well into the 80s.

Sunday was a Giro Ride, and considering the prior day's Rouge-Roubaix, I wasn't surprised to find us missing some of the usual horsepower at the front. There was a bit of a northeast wind blowing and that, combined with the aforementioned paucity of horses, made for a kind of frustrating eastbound ride down Chef Highway where almost nobody seemed willing to get a nice smooth paceline going. It was one of those rides where three people take their pulls and then nobody else comes through, the pace slows down, the people who just took pulls go back and do it again, etc., etc. After the turnaround I rolled past most of the group that was stopped at the tree and soon found myself with VJ who was on his TT bike. Shortly after that Will W and Nolan showed  up so we latched onto them as they ramped up the pace to 28-30 mph. I might have taken one short pull that whole time. Then Will decided to sprint for the Goodyear sign which split everyone up for a while. As Nolan, VJ and I eventually re-grouped, Will just stayed 30 seconds ahead in TT mode, where he pretty much stayed until our lackluster chase was disrupted by traffic and red lights and he rode off into the distance on Hayne. Anyway, it was kind of a welcome bit of intensity for me. I never saw the rest of the group, although it looks like it wasn't too far behind us.

This morning's Mellow Monday ride was super humid with a light fog along the lakefront. The pace was suitably mellow, which was nice because I could definitely still feel some of the weekend in my legs.

When the Sun Shines

Saturday Giro warmup - summer already?

While the north and northwest part of the country shivers, or skis, in brutal cold weather we have been treated to some unseasonably warm weather around here. Most mornings have had temperatures in the 60s or 70s which is a bit warmer than usual, even for us. Highs have reached the 80s on occasion.

Thursday's levee ride, for example, offered temperatures in the 70s, albeit with the generally southerly crosswind that was a fixture all week. Locally, the azaleas are in full bloom and the live oaks are dropping last year's leaves like Cat 5s in a hillclimb. And yeah, those traffic cones you see in the photo are still designating the still-unfinished road work that was started in December of 2020 (sigh...). Anyway, the warmer temperatures do seem to have awakened a lot of riders who we haven't seen too much of over the past few months. Rouge Roubaix is scheduled for next Saturday and a number of local riders are preparing, at least mentally, for that. I haven't ridden Rouge in quite a few years now, and although I was a little bit tempted this year the combination of the additional gravel sectors and the high cost keeps me on the sidelines. Well over a third of the 90+ mile route is unpaved, which is probably about double what it was the last time I rode it, and although I'm quite sure I could finish it, I think I'd be neither competitive nor comfortable. Assuming I survived. Anyway, good luck to those who will be riding it. I suppose the wide rims and tubeless tires and disk brakes and all the other stuff will keep it from being quite as brutal as I imagine.

The Friendly Friday ride was a good one, with the temperature around 70° and a nice little group that didn't get going very fast until we were on the way back from the Armory. There was a nice sprint that took us up to 32 or 33 mph but overall it was reasonably "friendly."

Sunday

By Friday I could tell that the weather for out last Sunday ride of the NOBC Winter Ride Series would be pretty nice, so I mapped out a 77 mile route that included some of my favorites like S. Choctaw and Factory and Section and Fairhaven. With that in mind I went into Saturday's Giro Ride with the idea of being a bit conservative. 

Again, we started out with the temperature in the 70s and a good-sized group on hand even though a number of the usual suspects had apparently opted to do the earlier SaMoRi, which probably meant that it was faster than usual. Anyway, our group did have some horsepower at the front that kept the speed high all the way out to Venetian Isles. There was hardly any wind, though, so it was easy to stay in the wheels as long as you were attentive and didn't let a gap open. After the turnaround the pace remained conversational for quite a long time until a nice steady rotation developed at the front that kept things rolling along at 25-29 mph. Going around the infamous corner at Lake Forest and Bullard someone hit the equally infamous hole and flatted, affording those of us who waited a nice little break.

Sunday morning was just a bit cooler, but still well up into the 60s at sunrise. Driving across the Causeway the windshield was continuously being splattered by clouds of little knats that have been activated by the warm and humid weather. Over in Abita Springs we had a relatively large turnout of close to twenty that included Mike Lew and John Eagan along with Pat and Steve and the other regulars. I was a little bit afraid that the speeds would get out of hand, but I think everyone was happy to enjoy the summer-like temperature and enjoy a bit of the scenery, so most of the ride was solidly within Zone 2 with the stronger riders taking longer pulls. Other than one short section on La 60 where it felt like we were intruding on a lumber truck parade, traffic was light for the most part. Well, at least until that little stretch on Highway 21 that always makes me feel like I'm riding the shoulder on an Interstate Highway. It's always later in the day by the time we get there, and by then it seems like everybody it out in their cars rushing to who knows where as fast as they can. Anyway, it was a good ride and I felt properly drained by the time we rolled back into Abita Springs.

This morning it was again warm but with a brisk south or south southwest wind. I was out the door a little early, which is always the case when the temperature is warm and you don't have to think about what to wear. I could definitely still feel last weekend's rides on my legs, but it wasn't too bad. It was more just leg soreness from the distance and little climbs than actual fatigue, since neither of the weekend rides had been super hard. The group was maybe a little bit smaller than usual and since we were missing a couple of the instigators the pace remained conversational for most of it. There wasn't even any sort of real sprint at Marconi, although a couple of people did put in a little dig on the Wisner overpass.

Mardi Gras Week

"Mardi Gras Week" isn't really a thing. The Mardi Gras season, if there is such a thing, starts on 12th Night and ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday, and the only thing certain about the whole thing is that Mardi Gras will be on a Tuesday. Which Tuesday that might be depends on a number of things, including the phase of the moon ... literally. From a local cycling perspective, there isn't much impact on the early morning training rides except for those riders who actually ride in parades and/or have kids and ladders and stuff that they have to get to and from the daytime parades. Except of course on Tuesday when all bets are off. There is, however, a Mardi Gras morning Giro Ride anyway that will generally get people back home in time for Rex but not for Zulu or the morning downtown walking parades.

Thursday on the levee

So anyway, most of the regular morning rides were affected more by the weather than the parades. As usual for this time of year we were riding the temperature and wind roller-coaster. Wednesday's WeMoRi temperature was in the 60s which made for a nice fast ride, and then our Thursday levee ride was likewise fairly warm but featured a pretty good southeast wind which meant a lot of crosswind segments. Things, however, were changing.

Mother Nature had something to say about Friendly Friday this week.

I rode out to the Friendly Friday ride directly into a50°, 20 mph north wind and wasn't surprised to find only one other rider at the City Park Museum of Art. We headed out anyway, knowing full well that parts of Lakeshore Drive might be flooded as often happens when a strong north wind blows a lot of water over the seawall. We were struggling along at like 16 mph for much of this ride, and of course found LSD closed and flooded at Franklin Avenue where we turned back to the west. Then, between Marconi and Canal, the road was also flooded, so basically we did a shortened, slow ride. Fortunately, the forecast was calling for a gradual warming trend all the way through Tuesday that would top out in the mid-80s. One of my nieces came in from Madison on Friday night to get a little taste of Mardi Gras parades on Saturday.

Saturday Giro

Saturday's Giro Ride started out pretty cold. It was about 40° when I rolled out from home into a pretty significant northeast wind. That kept the speed pretty low on the way out and of course pretty fast on the way back but otherwise it was a normal Giro for this time of year. By the time I got home I was pretty significantly overdressed. After that and a quick shower we hopped on the streetcar for a ride down to Napoleon, where it always ends on parade days, and then walked down to the Columns to meet up with my sister and brother in law to watch a couple of back-to-back parades. Candy bailed early but we stayed until almost the end of the second parade before walking back to Napoleon to catch the streetcar back to Carrollton.

By Sunday things were finally warming up and the wind was finally dying down which made for a nice Sunday Giro. I had had a dentist appointment the prior Wednesday that involved cutting and drilling and stitching, and although I'd felt pretty good by Friday it seemed like it got more inflamed on Saturday. Fortunately I had a fair amount of penicillin handy from prior recent dental work, both mine and Candy's, so I started on that although I wasn't expecting much improvement until maybe Monday, which turned out to be the case. Candy and I again hopped on the streetcar and then walked down to Magazine Street to watch most of Tucks, which is one of my personal favorites, before walking all the way back home as streetcars seemed to be in somewhat short supply.

I was off from work on Monday, and looking at the forecast I could see that although the day would start off a bit on the chilly side, it would warm up a lot by mid-day, so I decided to sleep a little later and wait to ride until the sun was high in the sky, which turned out to be a bit after 11:00 am. By then the temperature was in the 70s but there was a pretty strong 10+ mph wind blowing out of, mostly, the west. Since this was supposed to be a recovery ride I was trying, with limited success, to keep my effort level fairly low. That meant staying well under 20 mph for most of the way out. After turning around at The Dip, I picked up nice tailwind that made it easy to cruise back downriver in some places at 24-25 mph but with a heart rate that rarely cracked 130 bpm. It was a nice ride on a sunny day. That evening we had neighbors over for dinner. My jaw was still feeling a bit inflamed but it wasn't bad enough to keep me from sleeping well Monday night.

Happy people on Mardi Gras

For Tuesday I decided to skip riding altogether. My jaw had calmed down by then, so I figured I was good to go for the usual Mardi Gras routine. By 8:00 am the truck floats that follow Rex were already lining up along S. Claiborne playing loud music and sometimes blocking the gradually increasing traffic. Our plan was to ride out to Napoleon to watch Rex, and then ride down Prytania to somewhere around Poydras where we would lock up the bikes (three U-locks, a big cable, and a small cable lock) and walk from there to the Quarter to take in the sights. Rex started at 10:30 and was right on time, rolling through smoothly. The crowd along Napoleon is very family oriented and relatively uncrowded, so it was quite nice to be able to actually see all of the bands and floats and everything. We then headed downtown at a nice easy speed and got to Canal Street well before the first of the Rex parade. By then it was pretty warm, probably close to 80°, with a clear sunny sky. Thing were just kind of getting started in the Quarter so it wasn't too jam-packed in most places along Royal and Bourbon. The warm weather meant there was a lot of skin on display, some good, some not so good, but everyone was having a good time. I took a bunch of photos as usual and I guess we were already heading back home by 2:30 or 3:00. As we crossed Canal Street we could see the Rex floats making the loop there near the end of their route. Riding back along Prytania we could see the seemingly endless string of truck floats making their way down St. Charles.

So it was back to the routine on Wednesday. I was still nice and warm so I went out to meet the WeMoRi in summer kit, surfing a strong south wind out to the lakefront. I'd left a few minutes earlier than usual so I turned east on Lakeshore Drive and found the group, turning around near Franklin to join it and being mindful of the direction of the not insignificant wind. When the group came around the corner onto Marconi we were surprised by someone with a couple of dogs who was right in the middle of the street. The group swarmed around them with only a mild case of panic on both sides and continued on. The south wind kept the speed down as we went south on Wisner but after coming over the top of the bridge the group got a little bit scattered. Then Jaden picked up the pace along City Park avenue with MJ and me in tow. MJ kept the hammer down and next thing I knew it was just the two of us as we picked up the tailwind on Marconi. MJ was drilling it all the way, with me hanging on for dear life. I took an occasional short pull but mostly he was pulling. I of course figured we would be swallowed up by the group soon enough, but when we went around the traffic circle at Elysian Fields we saw that the group had somehow been reduced to four or five, which I guess MJ took as encouragement that he could hold them off, which he proceeded to do. So that turned into a nice little effort for me, and I was glad I'd had an easy day on Tuesday.

A Few Good Rides

Last week was a mixed bag. My usual Tuesday levee ride got pre-empted by an 8 am meeting downtown, so riding-wise that was a lost day. Wednesday morning the temperature was well into the 60s with a pretty good east or maybe southeast wind. I rode out to the lakefront as usual and cruised down Lakeshore Drive glancing over my shoulder in search of the telltale cluster of WeMoRi headlights. Soon after turning onto Marconi Rob and Jaden flew past me so fast that I didn't even consider trying to latch on to them. The group came up on me as we made the turn onto Toussant and I easily tucked myself into the draft. They weren't going all that fast, maybe 24 mph, so my physiology soon recovered from my abrupt increase in effort and I gradually moved up a little closer to the front. I could see a flashing tail light way, way in the distance that must have been Jaden and Rob. I guess Rob headed home after City Park Blvd. as he often does, and so Jaden came back to the group on Marconi as half of the group ran the red light at Harrison right in front of a police car that didn't have its lights (any of them) on. Being New Orleans everyone just took that in stride and continued on. I think Jaden peeled off a little later to head home. There was a surge after the Elysian Fields traffic circle, a re-grouping, and then as usual a full-gas mile at 29-32 mph from the bridge to the "finish" at Marconi. It was fun.

The forecast for Thursday had been calling for rain, and indeed it had rained a lot overnight, but by morning the rain had ended, leaving the roads just a bit damp. It was enough to keep everyone but me from showing up at the levee, where the road was nearly dry. Once again I did a shortened ride out to the Dip and back, and as usual it was at an inadvisably low intensity level. Then on Friday, with the temperature at almost 60°F, we had a pretty big group for the Friendly Friday ride that turned out to be considerably more fast than friendly, thanks in no small part to a brisk north wind.

By Saturday morning the temperature was in the low-mid 50s with a not inconsequential north wind, and I guess that, combined with the first of the big Mardi Gras day parades, or perhaps the phase of the moon, resulted in a remarkably small group of about a dozen for the Giro Ride. That turned out to be a pretty nice Giro with a few short fast segments and, at least for me, a bit more intensity than normal because of the smaller group and resulting increased time in the wind.

For Sunday I'd planned a 77-mile route on the northshore, and considering that the morning temperature up there was going to be in the 40s, still with some north wind, I wasn't real sure how many would be showing up. The area around the Abita Springs gazebo where we usually park was barricaded off because they had postponed their Saturday parade until Sunday, so we were parked along the Tammany Trace rather than along the school fence. Surprisingly there were about a dozen on hand for this ride, including Jorge, Keith D, John E, Apryl, Charles, Evan, Chuck, Brandon, Doug, and Reggie T. The sky was clear, so thanks to the abundant sunshine I found myself somewhat over-dressed pretty quickly, but otherwise it was a great ride. The pace was a bit faster than the prior weekend's century, but never got out of hand. One or two turned back early but otherwise everyone stayed together until we turned onto Old Military where the combination of the accumulated miles and a couple of little surges took a couple of riders off the back. A few of us waited at the end of Old Military for those since you really don't want to be riding down Highway 21 alone at that time of the day, even on the shoulder. I neglected to take any photos, unfortunately. I just had my phone, and taking photos with a phone while wearing gloves is really a little difficult and risky despite the Cat Tongue gripper stuff I have stuck to the back. 

Monday's Mellow Monday ride had, for reasons I can't imagine, only Charles, Dan, and I. We made that one into a true mellow Monday ride. The only intensity I had was when I had to chase them down after arriving about a minute late. Tuesday's levee ride had a pretty typical turnout and with a southeast breeze we were rolling pretty well all the way out to Ormond. The return trip was a bit slower, of course, and the wind direction had us switching sides a couple of times as the bends in the river changed, but other than feeling a little harder than usual it was a good ride. Rouge Roubaix is looming in the near distance now, although the chances of me impulsively signing up for it are kind of low. With the additional gravel sections and high entry fee the risk of broken bones kind of outweighs the benefits for me. There will be over 100 for the fondo-style start, so the first twenty miles or so will probably be chaos as the stronger riders try to shed the weaker and sketchier ones quickly, and those in-between with strong legs but perhaps questionable skills push themselves too hard trying to stay with the front group. 

Ahundred

The Saturday Giro waiting for the Seabrook bridge

After three consecutive rainy Sunday mornings I was starting to lose hope that we'd be able to get in a long northshore ride as part of the annual winter ride series. The week had started out about like prior recent weeks, which is to say it was chilly, windy, and/or foggy, but the forecast was calling for the next cold front to come through on Thursday rather than on the weekend, which meant that Saturday and Sunday would be cool but sunny. Finally.

By Wednesday I was pretty sure we'd be able to go for a full century ride on Sunday. Whether I'd be doing that alone or with a group was still an open question, of course. The WeMoRi had a good-sized group on hand, and although the pace was brisk it wasn't hard enough to prevent me from putting my face into the wind a few times. Thursday, however, was a different story. It was cold, with a fairly thick fog when I arrived at the meeting spot on the levee, which was rather predictably deserted. I'd dressed with the expectation of being wet from the fog, so I figured I'd go ahead and ride alone out to the big dip and back. A mile or so after I started I found Howard who said, "Is this it?" as he turned around to join me. Then a little while later we picked up Mark M. Even with a light tailwind going out the pace remained pretty calm but even so we lost Howard somewhere around the parish line. As we approached out turnaround at The Dip I commented, "I think we'll have a bit of a headwind all the way back," which turned out to be the case. Our earlier 20-23 mph pace immediately dropped to 18-20, and after a while Mark remarked, "My legs feel like jelly." Around that time we picked up Howard again. Anyway, by the time I got back home I was quite wet, inside and out.

A Friendly Friday on the Lakefront

Friday morning was the coldest of the week and perhaps that was what kept the Friendly Friday ride so Friendly. Well, that and the fact that a lot of people were anticipating some hard or long weekend rides. Will was kept in check by his plan to drive over to Gainesville for the Swamp Classic races. Charles and I were by then committed to doing the Saturday Giro and then 100 miles on Sunday, so we were happy with the relatively sedate pace.

Saturday's Giro turned out to be fairly fast. We came down the overpass onto Hayne Blvd. into a stiff northeast wind that, thanks to the levee, felt more like a direct headwind. There were a few surges right away that disconnected a number of people from the back who mostly ended up taking the Bullard shortcut. As we rounded the turn at the end of Hayne we saw Geoff and a few other riders from the 6:45 SaMoRi off to the side fixing a flat, I guess. As I was to later learn, the SaMoRi had gotten off to a very delayed start when someone had a dead shifter battery and they tried unsuccessfully to find one at Matt's house. The ride down Chef featured a number of surges but in general stayed together, and thanks to the SaMoRi's late start we caught up with that group out a Venetian Isles which made for a much bigger group heading back. That was all going along nicely until we came over the casino overpass and, as always, it got really fast heading for the Seabrook bridge sprint. Up ahead, though, I could see a lot of brake lights and stopped cars on the bridge and knew the drawbridge was either about to open or had just closed. Of course it was the former and we all had to stop for a while until it came down again. Then the bridge tender walked out and with a big length of chain and had to do some kind of kludge that is apparently standard practice now in order to keep one of the metal grid spans from popping up. I assume something is broken and they're just using some kind of hack rather than actually repairing it for now. Afterward I ran into Dustin and a couple of the Tulane riders who were doing a little ride and some criterium practice in the UNO parking lot.

So Sunday's weather on the Northshore was looking pretty good. The wind was light, the sky would be sunny, and the temperature would be rising from the low 50s to the upper 60s during our planned ride from Abita Springs up to State Line and back. Apryl had driven over from Gulfport or Biloxi, Pat and Steve were there, Charles was there, Ray and Evan were there, so by the time we rolled out at 8:30 I think we had nine. Although a few turned back along the way, the ride was never super-fast, I guess because everyone knew the rolling hills would take their toll eventually. My vest went into my pocket within the first hour and I would have put my knee-warmers there as well if I'd had the space. The ride was a really nice kind of zone 2 paceline with everybody taking pretty long pulls and nobody attacking the climbs, so for the most part six of us stayed nicely together until the last fifteen miles or so, which is pretty normal. I had mapped out the ride on Plotaroute but had neglected to look closely at the detail, which turned out to be a bit of a problem. Either Poltaroute or I had selected some of the wrong roads here and there. I had picked the wrong turn to make the loop up at State Line, but fortunately I was familiar enough with our usual route that we just ignored that turn and continued to the correct one. There were a couple of other places where I think Plotaroute must have been in "bike ride" mode and routed us onto some essentially parallel smaller roads rather than the ones I'd intended. Regardless, we didn't get lost and all was well. Thanks to the moderate pace and perhaps my lower mileage prior week I was feeling pretty good and was kind of taking longer and longer pulls as we got closer to the end. We eventually lost Ray somewhere around Tung road, but he knew where he was and arrived back at Abita Springs just a few minutes after we did. When we got back I noticed that we were still just a little bit short of the 100 mile goal, so we rode down the Trace about a quarter of a mile and back to make up the difference. All-in-all it was a really pleasant ride, and IMHO perfect for this time of year. Other groups were up in St Francisville riding parts of the upcoming Rouge-Roubaix that I probably won't be doing myself now that there's even more "gravel" than in the old days. I am clearly not built for that kind of stuff.

Wind and Water

Saturday at the Spillway. Remind me not to stand next to the tallest guy next time.

Our winter weather roller coaster is still rolling along as usual. It always seems that the end of January and the beginning of February are the most difficult. I went out Tuesday morning despite the predicted High Wind Warning that was scheduled to begin around noon (30-40 mph, gusts to 55) and unsurprisingly rode mostly alone. Given the strong ESE wind and temperature in the 40s I made the executive decision to turn back at The Dip, logging 33 decidedly Zone 02 miles. It was still very windy for the WeMoRi the following day, although by then the wind had shifted around more out of the northwest. Turnout was predictably lower than usual but not too bad under the circumstances. With the group's speed swinging from 16 to 30 mph, depending on the direction, I got in a bit of intensity, albeit not in the usual places.

Thursday was kind of a repeat of Tuesday, but with a little less wind. Again, I rode mostly alone, and again, I turned back at The Dip. I wasn't in the mood for a fight so it was a pretty easy ride.

Friendly Friday on Lakeshore Drive

Then on Friday I went out to meet the Friendly Friday group with the temperature still in the 40s. By then the north wind had subsided a bit, resulting in a reasonably friendly pace. If I'd needed a recovery ride, this would have been good, but I really didn't have much from which to recover. 

For Saturday I was scheduled for a ride out to the Spillway with the Tulane riders. This was the first part of an in-town "training camp" weekend for them. Fortunately the temperature was on the rise by the time we started, around 8:00 am. I was a bit overdressed as usual, especially considering that there was a good bit of sunshine. The temperature was probably around 56° when we started, but nearly 70° by the time we finished. Fortunately the pace was pretty easy since the 50 mile ride was a bit of a stretch for a few of the riders who hadn't been doing much in the way of training lately. Still, it was a nice ride. Arriving back at the club's University Square HQ we ordered pizza and hung around for a while. 

That evening was a meetup for dinner at the big outdoor patio at Barracuda on Tchoupitoulas, which was nice. At that point the weather forecast for Sunday was not looking very good and they decided to do a little "intro to weight training" session at the Reily Center instead of a ride. I was leaving my options open since I was feeling a little mileage-deprived and was still holding out some hope that the Sunday Giro would happen. So I woke up on Sunday morning and the first thing I did was look at the radar. Surprisingly, it looked pretty good. All of the heavy rain was north of the lake and there were only a couple of tiny spots of light rain scattered around the southern part of the state. The temperature was above 60° and the SE wind was fairly light, so I went ahead and headed out to Starbucks hoping I wasn't the only one who had checked the weather. Although the group was smaller than usual, we still had a good number as we rolled out along Lakeshore Drive. Even so, we were clearly lacking some of the usual horsepower and riding into a little bit of headwind, which kept the speed along Hayne Blvd. in the mid-20s rather than the high 20s. Then, just as we were coming off of that first segment of Interstate, the raindrops started to fall. Looking to the south, where we were headed, it was obviously raining even harder, so the entire group turned right onto Lake Forest to head back. I'd been thinking it was just a little brief shower but no. It rained steadily pretty much the whole way back, and when my shoes started filling up with water I thought to myself, "I knew I should have worn the wool socks today." 

Tuesday morning after the turnaround

On Monday I went out to meet the 6 am ride at City Park with high hopes. The temperature was up into the upper 60s and the wind was light. For some reason turnout was kind of low, however. Go figure. The ride was pretty easy this time with Mark M. occasionally jumping off the front but with little action otherwise. At least today's levee ride was for the full distance, even though there were just three of us who did that after a few turned back at Williams Blvd. The pace was moderate so I was taking slightly longer pulls than I normally do when the speed is higher. There was a very light south wind and the temperature was in the mid-60s, but it was quite foggy. I'd gone out wearing two jerseys, arm-warmers, and full-finger gloves and did not regret doing so. We were approaching Powerline Drive on the way back when I felt the rear tire going soft, which didn't last long because I was on the rim a minute later and Charles and I had to stop to fix it. Everything was wet and gritty from the fog, which is basically the recipe for flats on the levee bike path. 

On the plus side, it looks like we may finally have some decent weather next Sunday after three consecutive Sundays of rain. If that forecast holds, I'm thinking of trying for a northshore Century ride, assuming more than one person can be convinced to do that. Excuses abound this time of year, of course, but it looks like the temperature will be from the mid-50s into the high 60s on Sunday with a moderate mostly east wind that shouldn't be a problem since we'll be going mostly north and south from Abita up to Stateline and back.

Alone and Wet

Saturday Giro

The past few days have been warmer but wetter - two things that always seem to go together this time of year. Thursday morning I looked out the window, slightly surprised that it wasn't actually raining as had been predicted. The street was good and wet but the radar didn't look too bad, so I figured I'd head over to the levee and see if anyone was going to show up. The evening before I had lent my old Orbea to Irvin T., a visiting rider from B.C., Canada who happened to ride the same size as I. I'd then volunteered Charles for Sherpa duty so he could stop by the Marriott on his way to the morning ride and show Irvin the way. But at 3:30 am Charles and Big Rich both bailed, citing the wet streets. Unsurprisingly, nobody was up on the levee, but I'd dressed with the idea that I'd be getting a little wet and I was already there, so I went ahead and rode. There was a bit of a tailwind on the way out that lured me into doing the full ride out to Ormond, despite the occasional light rain. Fortunately it wasn't cold. I was approaching the Huey P bridge on the way back when I felt the rear tire going mushy and knew I'd picked up one of those shards that always seem to cause flats on the levee when its wet. As usual when I'm riding alone, I was content with an easy 19-20 mph pace.

The Friendly Friday ride had a good turnout, including Irvin, but lacking Charles who had slashed his tire shortly after meeting up with Irvin. As Friendly Friday rides go, this one had a pretty big turnout and consequently got quite fast coming back on Lakeshore Drive, which pretty much shattered the group. Irvin then missed the turn onto Canal and basically got lost a bit. When we got back to the Museum I rode back out to Wisner looking for him but he was nowhere to be found. As it turned out he had gone back downtown via St. Bernard Avenue.

Saturday's Giro had a good turnout despite a questionable rain forecast. The last time I checked they were predicting rain by 9:00 am, however, so getting in most of the Giro before that was at least feasible. This time Charles and Irvin both made it, arriving just before we started. I had given Irvin a complete rundown on the Giro, including where shortcuts were and what the options were if dropped. The pace was about average for the Giro that morning, so it wasn't too hard to sit in the draft, but somewhere along the way Irvin lost contact. Judging from his Strava it looks like he lost contact around the end of Hayne. Then he apparently didn't turn at Chef and ended up on Almonaster where I guess he stopped to look at a map. As we were returning on Chef I saw him coming the other way at which time he made a u-turn and got onto the back of the group. Unfortunately, we were probably going 28-30 mph at that point, so he was soon off the back again, although I think he did get together with someone else. When we got to Hayne the pace ramped up again to the high 20s and gaps started opening up all over the place. I was able to get into what I think was the second group. I think Charles was with another little group just behind. So we get back to Lakeshore Drive and as we're riding past that section where there are houses near the traffic circle, I see Eddie D with his bike on the grass talking on his phone. We stopped to see what the problem was and found out that Charles had crashed on the bridge and taken a few spokes out of his front wheel, so they were arranging for someone with a car to go rescue him. A few of us started to ride back to the bridge, but a few more riders, including Irvin, came by and told us that Matt was already on the way to pick him up. Fortunately, it happened as they were sprinting up the bridge, so the speed was low and the injuries minor. 

Fred's memorial bench in Abita Springs

By the time I started back home it was beginning to rain, again, so I got home wet and cold, again. Later that afternoon as I was cleaning the bike, again, I discovered that both of the plastic locknuts on my Look Keo pedals were loose. They rely on Loctite to stay in place - locknuts are generally a thing of the past nowadays when weight-saving is the name of the game for manufacturers. One of them was just a few threads from coming off of the spindle entirely, so I was lucky I'd noticed it. I ended up taking both of them apart and re-greasing them, but it was too late to save the left one. Water must have gotten into that one some time ago and the inner bearing was shot. I put it back together even though it was a little rough and I'm sure it will be fine until I get a new set. That's the first time I've ever had a problem with Look pedals. That particular set had a bit over 44,000 miles on it, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining. In a related note, the Bianchi Sempre Plus mileage is now a bit over 98,000 now. I still think of it as my "new" bike.

Longhorn on Old Military Road

I had a northshore training ride planned for Sunday but on Saturday afternoon I sent out messages saying that the forecast looked like rain. Depending on which forecast you looked at, it was going to be either raining or raining a lot starting around 9:00 am. I posted a suggested route anyway, with the notation that if it was raining I wouldn't be there. I went to bed Saturday night fully expecting it to be raining by 4 am, which is what the southshore forecast suggested. Then, when I woke up Sunday morning, I was surprised to see that it wasn't raining and the radar did not look that bad at all, so I decided to go ahead and drive over to Abita Springs. I was hoping that a few of the northshore riders might show up, but was going to ride regardless. It certainly didn't look like the weather would be any better on the southshore, and indeed it looked to be a little worse. 

I got there around 8 am for the 8:30 am start and was, of course, alone. A little group did come by that was doing the Talisheek loop, but it was only 8:15 and I didn't want to leave with them in case someone expecting to do the 8:30 ride showed up. Nobody did, though, so I headed out alone, determined to get in a few miles. Well, I wasn't ten miles in before a light rain started to fall. The temperature was in the mid to upper 50s, but suspecting that I might get wet, I had put on my Goretex wind socks, long-sleeve Gore base layer, knee warmers, long-sleeve jersey, and Gore gloves. I was also wearing a wind vest that I had planned to take off once I warmed up. That never happened, though, because there was a steady light drizzle for most of the ride and of course the streets were wet. I made a few changes to my planned route in order to minimize time on the busier highways, and got back to the car, thoroughly soaked, with 60+ miles and no flats, so I was happy with that. The Giro Ride had been rained out anyway, so it's not like I missed anything. I was glad that I had a dry towel and change of clothes in my bag! So despite a lot of weather issues last week I logged 320 miles anyway, thanks mostly to the long Monday ride and my own obsessiveness I guess.

This morning the temperature was back down in the 40s and I made the snap decision to take the day off.

Lazer Focus

Thursday on the levee

Last week was kind of a busy one that included a holiday Giro on MLK Day. On Tuesday I had an ophthalmologist appointment, and as I suspected the scar tissue behind my left lens implant had gotten pretty bad. So I was quickly scheduled for a YAG laser capsulotomy the following Friday, which wasn't really a surprise since we'd already seen some scar tissue forming soon after the initial surgery. More on that later. Meanwhile, the following day, I had to to the dentist to have one of my antique tooth caps glued back on, which was good because at least I can chew my food on one side of my mouth while I'm waiting for the implant on the other side to be completed. 

So, getting back to bicycle riding, Tuesday's long levee ride was fairly routine except that it somehow felt harder than it should have to me. I still have some lung congestion even now. The WeMoRi the following day felt a bit better, but I had to kind of rush back home afterward to make the aforementioned 8 am dentist appointment. Given the age of that crown, that I had stuck back on temporarily with denture adhesive, I was afraid the dentist was going to want to do another implant, but fortunately whatever part of the tooth that was still there looked fine, so we just re-glued the crown to it and added to the long list of things that will eventually need to be fixed. On Thursday I went out to the levee and found, well, nobody. Wednesday's ride had been super-windy and that situation hadn't changed a whole lot by Thursday. I ended up doing a somewhat shortened ride out to The Dip. I had been checking the hourly weather forecast for the northshore for days and by Thursday it was looking like we'd be OK for the Winter Ride, so I sent out a 75-mile route and hoped for the best. The Friendly Friday ride featured a strong and gusty north wind, and of course a small turnout, so it never got really fast, which was fine.

On Friday afternoon I jumped on the bike and rode over to Ochsner Main for my ophthalmology appointment. I was assuming it would be an assessment and that I would then be scheduled for the actual YAG capsulotomy at a later date. A quick look at both dilated eyes and it was determined that I should have the procedure done on both eyes, and as it turned out they could do that on the spot, so I moved down the  hall to a room with a sign on the door advising you to wear eye protection and about ten minutes later I was good to go. Of course my eyes were still dilated but fortunately I'd brought my sunglasses. The procedure made a huge difference, especially for my left eye, so that was good, although I don't think my eyes were back to normal until the next morning.

Saturday was the start of three back-to-back long rides. The first was the Saturday Giro which had a pretty big turnout, which of course meant it got fast. On the way back Lisa nailed that big hole/crack in the turn from Lake Forest onto Bullard and burped the air out of her tubeless tire. A number of us stopped at the gas station with the bullet hole to help. I had one tube with a long enough stem, so that went into the tire and we were back on the road.  Unfortunately, that tube was apparently leaky, and by the time we were approaching the Casino overpass the rim was starting to bottom out. She ended up stopping a number of times to put more air into the tube but I think eventually resorted to calling for extraction.

On Sunday I headed across the lake to Abita Springs for the 8:30 winter ride. The temperature was still in the low 40s when we started but the sky was clear and it would eventually warm up by twenty degrees during our 78 mile ride. For reasons I cannot begin to fathom we had only 7 on hand which surely contributed to the pace remaining fairly steady and moderate. I enjoyed the route, which included a bit on Thigpen and Isabel Swamp gravel, but was disappointed to find Wardline road pretty torn up and clogged with dump trucks - on a Sunday. 

Monday was MLK day so as usual there was a holiday Giro. Turnout wasn't bad, considering, but there was clearly more traffic than on the weekend, some of obviously didn't consider our smallish group to be worth slowing down for. For me, I was kind of glad that the pace remained under control. Yesterday, Tuesday, there was some rain around and the streets were wet, so I was kind of surprised to find a few people up on the levee for the 6 am ride. Although the temperature was in the 60s, I was sometimes feeling kind of chilled despite arm-warmers thanks to the constant wheel spray and occasional light drizzle. We did manage the full ride, but I arrived back home pretty wet and cold. I rinsed off the bike, lubed the chain, and quickly jumped into a hot shower.

Today's WeMoRi was nice and warm with a good turnout that included a new well-experienced rider, Cynthia, from Australia who fit right in nicely. She is a med student doing her 3rd year at Ochsner in the University of Queensland - Ochsner program.

Things for next weekend are still up in the air weather-wise with significant rain in the forecast for both Saturday and Sunday so we'll have to see what the hourly forecast looks like on Friday before deciding what will or will not work for Sunday's northshore ride.