Time to get going again...

I've been off.

I finally got to get outside and ride on the first really nice day since October. Now let me be absolutely clear: I love the crisp, clear winter day as much as anyone and I can get a fun ride in on those clear days, but 45 degrees makes for either a very short ride or very numb, well, everything. It hit 67 degrees and the sun was allowing all the high school spring sports to get a game in today so there was only one thing to do after a really long, really stressful week - pull down the Klein from it's winter hibernation and go crank out a few miles.

I've been very occasionally riding to work (3.4 miles daily) over the winter with only a sprinkling of real rides in the mix. I find I have a hard time committing to riding during the school year. Work becomes all consuming and I feel guilty taking off when I could be entertained by my girls. They're growing so fast it's hard to want to take off for another few hours when I'm already gone so much at work. I think I may have to change that if I'm going to be ready to ride at the end of June.

Today's ride was 25 miles winding out into the hop fields north of home with a stop at my friend and colleague's house on my way back home. The hop fields are dusted white and workers were stringing the lines for the hops to grow up. It should be a banner year for those growers with the worldwide hop shortage.

My friend, Jackie, just had a double mastectomy Tuesday morning. This is her second go fighting cancer. She looks great and was in good spirits and commented about the drains around her abdomen. We talked shop a bit and I relayed the exciting fight nobody got to see in my neighbor's classroom. She said she's been trying to be up and about and walked to the mailbox in her pajamas and slippers just because she felt up to it. She's got quite a road ahead but the doctors were feeling positive about the surgery. The test results and post-op are next week. Keep your fingers crossed and spare a thought or prayer for her.