By invitation of a federal judge and necessity of my employment, I recently had the opportunity to spend eleven days in the Crescent City. I've been to New Orleans a number of times over the past two years and a couple times before the storm, but this time I brought my bike with me. I had been forewarned that New Orleans left a lot to be desired when it comes to variety of places to ride but was determined to make it work.
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The first day in town, I road down a local bike shop and asked the folks there for suggestions on place to ride and they gave me just one-- the levee. Ok, in reality they gave me two suggestions, the levee and the Natchez Trace. However, since I didn't want to drive a hundred and fifty miles into Mississippi for a daily training ride, I opted for the levee.
New Orleans has a great river levee that runs for about twenty miles from downtown up the river. It's bone flat, overly exposed and curves back and forth. As the levee curves you go from headwind to tailwind and back again. You're speed literally changes from 15 mph to 30 mph in the course of half a mile. The river was high this time of year. It was a good five to ten feet above the level of the homes on the other side of the levee. Something about that just unnerved me.
I was amazed by how flat the city really is. The biggest elevation change was a pothole on St. Charles Ave. Riding on the levee you get a great view of the passing ships up and down the Mississippi River. They are huge vessels, some as long as a couple football fields.
I took the opportunity to have my own American Flyers moment. I spotted a large Greek vessel a couple hundred meters, a headwind and gave him the current in his favor (because I believe in a fair fight). Then I went to work on him. He was no match for my speed. It took me about five miles but I took him and his steam powered engine down. It was like my own personal tribute to Casey Jones and the battle of man versus machine. And in the case man won.
Feeling a little high on my fitness right now, the question for me now is who's next:
The first day in town, I road down a local bike shop and asked the folks there for suggestions on place to ride and they gave me just one-- the levee. Ok, in reality they gave me two suggestions, the levee and the Natchez Trace. However, since I didn't want to drive a hundred and fifty miles into Mississippi for a daily training ride, I opted for the levee.
New Orleans has a great river levee that runs for about twenty miles from downtown up the river. It's bone flat, overly exposed and curves back and forth. As the levee curves you go from headwind to tailwind and back again. You're speed literally changes from 15 mph to 30 mph in the course of half a mile. The river was high this time of year. It was a good five to ten feet above the level of the homes on the other side of the levee. Something about that just unnerved me.
I was amazed by how flat the city really is. The biggest elevation change was a pothole on St. Charles Ave. Riding on the levee you get a great view of the passing ships up and down the Mississippi River. They are huge vessels, some as long as a couple football fields.
I took the opportunity to have my own American Flyers moment. I spotted a large Greek vessel a couple hundred meters, a headwind and gave him the current in his favor (because I believe in a fair fight). Then I went to work on him. He was no match for my speed. It took me about five miles but I took him and his steam powered engine down. It was like my own personal tribute to Casey Jones and the battle of man versus machine. And in the case man won.
Feeling a little high on my fitness right now, the question for me now is who's next:
That's right Denny Hamlin. You and the No. 11 FedEx Toyota are going down. Just you wait till Richmond in a couple weeks. When you look in your review mirror it's gonna be me and my NCVC Cannondale CAAD 9 bump drafting you all the way through the final corner. When I get down in the drops you've got no chance. (P.S. FedEx please sponsor me-- I'm fast)
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