slacker

The slack Jack is writing again but not really riding yet. Gained a few pounds that the only way I can loose them is to run. Not too fond of running but the weight dose eventually come off. Just trying to get into a normal routine again. Had a couple of trips to UNC, weather got crazy cold, and just generally got lazy. Trying something different to get motivated again. I was actually going to ride this morning but the roads were wet. Boy I have alot of excuses. Just do it, right?! If anyone is reading hope you are doing well and have some more motivation than I do. Happy Holidays.

Ali's defense

Congrats to Ali for finishing his PhD in Isotopic Geochemistry. The "old crew" of Tulane's EENS faculty were on hand, as 3 of Ali's committee members were former faculty members. Now they are at Texas A&M and UNC. I got to catch up with my former boss and ready his laboratory move to the east next month. Man there is a lot of stuff, and most of it is very heavy. Not going to be a fun week of lifting things.
As for riding, it has been pretty poor as of late. I went on my first ride in about a week today. Just 90 minutes of spinning and I was pretty pooped. I really wasn't looking forward to sampling the river after that, but it went well. Still freaking hot here. Sure a cold front came through, but the heat is still around. Looking forward to some cooler days in the near future. Maybe that will motivate the clean up around the Big Easy.

Bathroom remodel

Can you say fun? Well remodeling our only bathroom is a big pain in the ass. It started at the beginning of last week and this past Labor day weekend was full of labor. New sink, fixtures, paint, crown molding, tile. Thank goodness we kept the toilet and tub. It does look nicer, but when you have your wife breathing down your neck to hurry up in finish, who gives a rats ass what it looks like, just get it done. A few touch ups with paint and move in the new storage thingamajigs and we will have it. I hope she doesn't decide to jump into the next project right away. I need a break. I haven't riden much at all the past month. But I had a nice little ride this morning. It actually felt some what cool. Where did that come from? I shouldn't say cool, but tolerable. Had a nice chat with Richard and David about why carpenters are expensive. Good ones should be, crown molding is a pain in the ass. No matter what tools you have it takes about 3 to 4 pieces before you actually get the cuts right. I finally made myself a template so I hope I can save it for the next time... that is if there is one.

Napa

This is the way to see Napa. I haven't been riding much this past month but was happy to go on a short tour of a few wineries via pedal power. Catherine and I had a blast on the bike and I was really glad that she enjoyed it. The rest of our trip she wanted to go riding. The weather there was incredible. Very different from what we have been experiencing in New Orleans. We had a blast. Not too fast and not too slow, we had lots of time to check out the scenery and taste quite a few wines around the Yountville area. If you are ever there and want to ride check out Napa Valley bike tours and they can hook you up. Great people. They were even impressed with our use of the "water bottle" cage. As for coming home work has been crazy and I head out into the field sunday. Man o man summer sampling is here and won't stop until the weather cools in NO. That will be a while. Not much else to say, just going to hook up with my sister and one of the bros this weekend with all their kids at the parental units home. Should be a mad house.

Sluggo

Boy, have I been a slug lately. Just don't feel that snap in the legs for the past week and a half. I am sure that this funk I am stuck in has something to do with it and the sampling yesterday whipped me. Man was it hot. I actually waited until there was a pretty descent cloud cover but that didn't help. The ramp at the Audubon landing was very steep and pushing up 120 liters with a dollie is no joy. It is about 50 paces up but by the time you reach the top you are panting and the sweat is beading up all over. During all this I was sweating so profusely that when I was done it looked as if I had just jumped into the pool. I don't think I took a piss until just before going to bed last night.
Well I slugged my way through another uneventful bike ride on the levee. Of course I was 10 minutes late due to a jersey problem that I had tired to fix before departing but soon gave up and will try and fix later. Threw on a dirty one and got on down the road. Ugh, my legs had no gas and so is everything else associated with this body. At least I have a vacation to look foreward to, starting manana. Napa will be a nice relief, as long as the wife can ease up on the worrying.

catchin up

Been a while, but it has been pretty busy at home, work and on the bike as much as possible. After the boring trip to Galveston we had our annual pilgrimage to Avery Island where lots of good food and cocktails were readily consumed for 2.5 days. We had a full house and enjoyed entertaining our guests, but it really wears you out. So this week has been detox time. I finally got back on the bike tuesday and suffered through a fairly easy ride. I had to sit up at the end unexpectedly due to the rumbling presence in my lower intestines. Time to get home! Only problem was if I tried to go faster the worse it was. Relief came about 30 minutes after I got home since the wife was occupying our only bathroom getting ready for work. Not a fun 45 minutes.
Wednesday's ride was much better as there was a smaller then normal group and no one really attacked. Nice and steady. Thursday I went later with David, Luke, Mark, Joe and Margeret. We went later to get Richard to ride with us. Of course he was a no show so we soft pedalled for about 5 miles before we got into a nice rhythm. We saw the early group just past Williams and decided to jump in. Ronnie was pulling around 25 on his TT bike and kept it going for about 2 miles then VJ took over and did the same. Once Randy got to the front the pace picked up slightly and I felt like the guy in front of me would attack when Randy pulled off. Sure enough he did and we were going 29. When he pulled off I kept the pace for about 3 signs and pulled off thinking I could then ease back to 25. Well the same guy attacked again but it was a pretty futile attempt and he was gone. VJ came around me and we kept it steady at 25 and rotated a couple of times. My pulls being shorter as I was about at my limit and then let him go thanking him for pulling. Soon Randy and Ronnie caught me and I just hung on to the end. Once there Richard showed up. Imagine that. So I turned around with him and rode a few more miles and headed in. Boy was it hot. Enough rambling for now. Until next time as a local radio host says, "Entertain your own damn self."

Bored in Galveston

Got back from a work cruise in Galveston yesterday and man am I pooped. I don't know if it was lack of sleep on board a 60 foot vessel with 5 other people working 24 hours a day for 5 days or the boredom of doing seismic lines. We would just go back and forth parallel to the beach at 5 knots for hours on end. Each line 100 meters further or closer to shore from the last. I thought I was stuck in jail with little room to move around and the coast within swimming distance all the time. Sure was nice to get home.
Went out for a ride today and felt pretty crummy. My stomach ahas been bothering me ever since I got back from the trip. Well I met the fast group before I got to the normal turnaround. I really didn't want to ride fast but got sucked up into it. When I finally made it to the front I noticed we were keeping it around 26-27 and I hadn't rode in a week. My stomach was on fire. Not good, I thought I could crap myself at any minute, but I held tough for a while. Until there were only 4 of us rotating and about 10 just sitting on the back. Finally I had enough and pulled out leaving a nice gap for the sitters to try and make up. I really don't know if they caught the three out front, I was soft pedalling and letting my stomach settle. It was nice to be back but I should build into this again.

A chill in summer

Today was the first real summer day in NO. No wind and high, high humidity. The riding of late has been nice and my legs are feeling good, until today. Today seemed quite hard and we weren't going at a particularly fast pace , 21-23. With no wind, you just feel like it is a headwind since you are creating it. David and John were helping with the pulling and we had a nice ride to the parish line. On the way back we picked up Wes and John flatted just before the Huey P. As we stood around while he took forever to change the tube, seat was just pouring off me. I can be one salty son of a bitch and this day there was no doubt. I left a puddle where I was standing holding John's bike while he tinkered with the wheel. Then the only relief to a hot day is starting back up once you have been standing around for a few minutes becoming a raisin. I actually felt a chill and it was nice. It only lasted for a few 100 meters but it felt great. We just soft pedalled after John fixed his flat and that was ok with me. We have had 2 down pours since lunch and looks like more later today. I guess the city is finally experiencing a normal summer day here.

wet... no rain

Humidity is back. Those few weeks of dry weather were wonderful. Now just copletely soaked half way through a ride. I am always amazed at how much I can sweat. I really think I may live in a state of dehydration. How do those guys manage to stay upright when they have nothing do drink? I can't go on a ride without at least 2 large bottles of water.
Today was pretty nicewith John and I taking most of the pulls and Bob and Joe sitting on. My computer batteries are pretty dead as I don't think I registered an accurate speed all morning. Some of the time it was 0.0. Off to the store, and we will see how I have been training this weekend.

Triple shooting on the 4th

The riding has been ok as of late, just feeling a little rundown. Could be that summer is in full swing here with the humidity back to normal and the winds dying out.
The fourth was pretty relaxing for most of the day. C made some sangria and we hung out on the back deck and the front poarch for most of the day until the rains started. We heard the occasional firecrakers and whistlers throughout most of the day. But around 5:30 I noticed a fire truck pulled up to the corner of our block. No sirens, just guys walking down the street with EMS stuff. Maybe someone got burned. Oh well back to the sangria. About 15 minutes later a barage of news vehicles are lined up down the street. Oh shit, something bad has gone down and we missed it all.
Around 6 I took the dogs for their daily ride to the park to play some ball. As I passed the corner, I saw crime tape across the street. I asked someone with a notepad walking away what had happened. A triple shooting. Turns out about 10 people were on a porch playing cards. Some joker was standing on the opposite corner talking on a cell phone. After about 10 minutes he approached the game and opened up. Hit three people, two are fine, and the other we don't know about. Three kids were present at the time also. What is happening here? People just don't care about life anymore and they are not scared about committing crimes. Seems if they are picked up, they just get let out after a while to go about whatever they want. I am just down right sick of this. The city needs to get its act together or we will move. I don't know what I can do except complain right now. I know it doesn't help, but I don't have a gun and don't plan on having one anytime soon. I still believe that is a police matter.
Just wondering if things are going to get worse. A woman that gave a description of the shooter was upset but her description was very weak. White shirt, green and pink stripped pants and an umbrella. No skin color, height, weight... he stood there for 10 minutes before and you didn't notice. Is this description accurate? Are they planning their own retaliation? What the fuck?
Anyone who gets picked up by the police should have to do hard time cleaning the city. I don't care what they have done. Use the national guard to watch them pick up trash. Bring back the chain gangs. I think some good hard labor would rehabilitate some... at least I hope so.

Only a moron....

Well I couldn't sleep this morning and got up at my usual 5:15 to walk the dogs. I hadn't planned on riding so when I got back to the house I didn't feel like sitting around. I decided to head out. It's friday, easy day. I wasn't in any hurry to get to the meeting area. Once I got on Magazine to head through the parking lot at the zoo, I spotted Scott heading out ahead of me. He had about 250 meters on me. As we got on the bike path I was just spinning around 16 knowing he will stop at the meeting area. Riding from the zoo on the levee you have to pass the Army Corps of Engineers which has two entrances that cross the railroad tracks then the bike path and about two car lengths after that a gate. Well this morning there were two cars stopped at the gate as Scott approached and the bike path was clear. Clear until he decided to cross the the entrance. The, we will say person, in the second car decided that the guard was taking to long with the first car and threw it in reverse and almost hit Scott as he was crossing the entrance. He stopped thinking she, sorry, the person, would apologize but instead got an earful of profanity screamed at him. I think he had the classic comeback with "Only a moron like you would back into traffic". It was yelled loud enough for me to hear from 200 meters away. Turns out she, person, was a very large individual that probably hates exercise and only gets it by working her, their, jaw. We had quite a few laughs about it at the meeting area, but made sure no one would cross a road without looking twice for morons.

Cell phone crazy

My wife got me an upgrade on my cell phone. This one can fit into my pocket unlike the brick I used to have, so I wouldn't carry it around. Now that I have one I can, I get called constantly on it, and you can guess who is calling. On the other hand it is good to know someone needs you. Just hope she doesn't think I will carry it on a ride with me.
Today was pretty nice weather wise with a blustery northerly wind. The group sort of worked well for a while until Randy and I formed a second pace line which lasted our two pulls. No one would pull through so I just latched onto the first one and let the rest of them suffer with little draft due to the cross wind. When there is a cross wind on the levee only about 5 to 6 riders can enjoy a draft. If you are further back you need to ride in the grass to get anything or you are out in the wind. Hey second pace line makes sense. Well hopefully some of these guys will learn, but it looks like it will be the hard way. Much like the crazy cell phone use of today's generation. I still remember the days of rotary phones...

Sizzling solo sixty

Sixty miles today on and off the levee as I rode out past Norco and across the Bonne Carre Spillway. Very nice day for the summer, but around 9:30 am it gets HOT! I had 3 water bottles with me and a clif bar. Managed to drink one an hour but the last one went down in 40 minutes. Whew, it was nice to finish the entire ride in 3 hours. So not bad for a solo ride averaging 20mph. I am planning to go 80 this saturday which will most likely require a refreshment stop along the way. Destrehan returning? That snickers looks good...

Bored

It's been a while since the last post, but haven't had anything to say except that I am bored. Same ride most everyday, same job, same walk with the dogs, same everything. Well I am going to get some different scenery next saturday with a century ride. At least I am planning one. Just got to get through another week of sitting around at work with the same crap waiting to be done. Is there no end to monotony? I need a vacation! Anyone got any grand ideas for riding around the country and still be able to make a living? I have one, but it maybe too much to do and I don't think the wife would appreciate it. I should do it then!!! 100 miles a day for a year. Supported of course, but how to raise sponsorship, what cause to ride for and can it physically be done. Some days I feel like sure why not, then ouch what a sore ass I would have or no ass at all. I think it would be cool to see the entire country and visit at least all the state capitols and what ever research centers there are for the cause. My heart just feels like stone lately and can't seem to get out of the funk.

gettin hot

whew, got going early today. Not the norm of late, but felt ok to go to the dip or until I see the group returning. Well I got to the dip first so made my u-turn and kept the pace the same. Just thought I would see how soon they would catch me. I made it all the way to Florida before VJ and Randy came by and we were up to 25-26. I had been going 20-22 for the entire ride then had to pick it up. We had a nice rotation going then a four others caught up and the pace ramped to 27-28. Uhg, I started feeling the solo hour and 20min hitting hard. Not only were my legs feeling it but man was I ever sweating up a storm. Haven't done that since last summer. When I got home my shoes were soaked as was everything else. The hot days are back. That weather a few weeks ago would sure be welcomed again...

2 sign ride

My favorite ride on the levee. We had 3 again but the pace was quicker and we did the 2 sign rotation. The levee has numbered signs about every 2/10th of a mile and 2 is just about right when pushing the pace to then drop back and suck wheel til your next turn. I felt great today and was a little twitchy, so at the end I pulled for about 1.5 miles at 23 into the wind. The weather was fantastic once again and I think it will continue through the weekend. Perfect for painting, since we need to finish the house. Just got to find time to ride....

Krewzin

Nice, nice, nice. All I can say is Nice ride today. 3 of us and we just cruised along 18 to 21, depending on the wind. But I can't say anything bad about the wind. The ride felt great. There were time I had to catch myself from falling asleep. I don't know if anyone else has experience this, but sometimes you just get intranced and drift off. The wind kept me awake. Another good thing was that I was on time. Miracle in these days of too much to do.
We have been painting our house the last two weekends and looks like it will be at least two more before we are done. I really don't mind doing it with this kind of weather we are having. We all know the heat is coming, but don't mind the relief.

blown away

Finally got the headset fixed the correct way. Thanks to Darryl at Adam's. So I was able to get out on the levee today. A nice cool front blew threw last night but the wind is still with us. Beautiful day on tap. I knew the wind would really be kicking once up on the levee. There is no protection from it out there. Riding along the stretch that takes you along Leake Ave, I saw speeds of 13 to 14 and that was tough to maintain. I actually passed a commuter going my way and I thought he was pedalling in place. All I could think is that this will feel really good on the way home.
Made it out to the country club and turned around with John as he was heading home early. I kept it steady with a nice head/crosswind and John stayed on my wheel. Met Joe as he was heading out at the stable so I turned around with him and we had a good ride back to the country club where we witnessed the earlier group come flying around the bend. They must have been going over 30 but I knew they would be slowing fast. I told Joe we should get on Donald's wheel. I made the Uey in time but Joe ended up getting in D's way and heard him yelling. I knew Joe couldn't get on so I waited for him and pulled him all the way home. All in all I was just glad to ride on a gorgeous day.

Great ride, but...

Beautiful morning on saturday. Headed out for a ride a little later than usual for a weekend ride, but needed to get some in before getting to the housework. Nice little headwind but I was surprised how fresh I felt since I haven't been riding too much lately. I was able to maintain 21-22 into the wind and kept that pace to the Crawfish shack or the Dip as others know it. Had a Clif bar and headed home. Very nice returning keeping it around 23-24. Averaged 20 including warmup and cool down miles. Pretty nice.
Upon getting home it became a rush to start painting the exterior of our home. Can you say fun? Not me, but it has been on "our list" for sometime. C just couldn't let me go to Jazzfest yet again for the second year in a row. One of my favorite things to do and she just doesn't get it. Well the house looks beautiful with it's Cajun paint job. For those that don't know, that is the front of the house is beautifully painted and the rest remains the same. We will get to the rest of the house the following weekends. I just hope I get a ride in before the painting starts again.

Coooool front

Yesterday's storms were just a preceeder to today's cool temps and windy conditions. After tuesday's summery ride the conditions were welcomed. Riding on the levee you will have head winds, tail winds and cross winds all in one outing. Being up there with no protection can be tiring.

It wasn't too bad after picking up three for the return at the parish line. We all worked together well and kept it around 20-22 into the wind and 24-25 down wind. But the last little surge after the Huey P hurt! Nothing like a nice 10 to 15 mph wind in your face and trying to maintain 20 for as long as possible. My legs are hurting right now. Hope the wind dies down some for tomorrow's outing and I can get to the meeting point on time...

Toyota United

Pretty cool concept for a cycling team to take on. They are looking for private donors to help support changes for homelessness. It is really cool to see professional athletes doing the right thing and not so much for the fame and glory. Check out Toyota United and see what you think.

The ride today started like the beginning of summer. Sticky and heavy. Did a few hard standing surges with some spinning in between. Flet very slimy by the time I turned for home with David and Taylor. When I made the turn I felt a slight headwind, but as we continued in the wind became stronger. By the end 20 was a very hard effort. Looking forward to the front that is suppose to pass this evening, but as usual it may just drag across north of the lake and we will get some effects later in the week. Keep your fingers crossed, jazzfest is approaching...

Pull out in front of me!

I must have had that plastered on my forehead. For the past several weeks traffic has been insane, and I may be one of them. Seems that everytime I come to a somewhat busy intersection, on my bike of course, some idiot is flying to a stop either to my left or right. Why is everyone in such a hurry? This city isn't that big and you will get there soon enough. I have slammed the brakes on too many times lately to avoid the soccer moms, ghetto blasters, and all the sun fried workers the city has claimed. I have been slowing down my rides to and from work and also heading out and coming home from the morning rides on the levee. At least we still have a levee without cars... wait a minute, there are always the large rock and sand trucks who don't give a crap who is in the right. Anyway I just hope I can avoid from being killed by the local idiot or for that matter the visiting idiot!

On another note today's ride on the levee was quite nice. Steady pace for the entire ride. Richard didn't show so I didn't do the urban tour. Kind of glad with all the morons on the road these days. I think the sun is really affecting everyone. Sure hope that rain comes today....

Urban riding

Had a great experience riding through Old Metairie and New Orleans with out much traffic during rush hour. Richard led the way through some high class neighborhoods of Old Metairie, where Katrina wasn't too nice. We saw trailers in quite a few driveways but the area is nice. We circumnavigated Metairie Country Club then ended up heading down Bonnabel drive to the Lake. We seemed to piss off a few soccer moms, but hey we are allowed to ride in the lane also. Took Lakeshore drive around to Franklin Ave and headed to the Quarter. Richard headed to work and I took Esplanade back to Mid City then Jeff Davis to Napoleon for the final stretch home. All in all it was nice but the roads are still the same ole bumpy drives you would always get. My arms were sore after. We plan on doing this at least once a week. Nice views and we can see how things are progressing around the city. Not very swiftly from what we can see. Hopefully some flood gates will be operational before June. Hmmm...

wearing down

The more I ride during the week the wearier I get while at work. Riding is definitely not as boring as work can be. It was a beautiful morning again. Temps in the low 60's and virtually no wind. Amazing since the wind didn't look like it would let up anytime soon. I know when the temperature begins to rise we will be sishing the wind would be blowing. As for now things are really nice up on the levee. Surprisingly there aren't that many people out riding. Maybe the sinus syndrom is taking its toll on others. I know too well how that can feel. Looking forward to getting out of doge for the next two days and seeing the Zephyrs play on saturday. Today is opening day.

Don't you wish you were here...

day light savings?

I think it sucks. Just keep the time the same and for all those people who like to sleep in, screw 'em! I really like to get up with the sunrise and not before, so since the time change it is back to walking the dogs in darkness. This is easier for the spastic Riley. The dog is scared of his own shadow. Anyway missed the group once again, this has now become a habit. So I ride out on my own and contemplate... on just about anything. The morning was perfect. In the low 60's with virtually no wind. So maintaining 21 was doable. Met the group about a mile from the normal turnaround and we kept it around 23-25 for the ride in. Nice and steady. Felt good and caught up with some of the guys since I can't make it out on time. Anyway heading to the parental estate tomorrow for a family meeting. Looking forward to some fishing. Time to get out of here since the weather is super nice. later alligators

Wind hurts

Another blustery day up on the levee this morning. Head winds can really suck! My legs are hurting and I really didn't do much. Sluggin' the extra puonds doesn't help. Here is to the weight melting away... HA!

Getting back to normal

It's been a while since my last post and too much has happened to catch up on in a single post... so I'll just skip it. Work is crazy busy, which is good but will only last until the end of June. I have sort of an option to stay, but it is not definite. The bike is doing well and I am finally getting back into shape. Katrina added about 15 to my midsection and I am slowly making prgress of losing it. Got about 8 more to go to feel good about my weight again. Nice ride this morning up on the levee. The weather is warming up and only a single jersey needed for the ride. The River had lots of fog and the wind was very light. Only an easy 25 miler today. Still trying to get used to the time change and I never set my alarm. Harder to wake up when it is still dark. Anyway back to the grind...