Winter 2011

Sean and I were talking about winter riding and commuting. Seems that we've not been doing a whole lot of it due to weather and laziness. I'm pretty reluctant to ride outside when the air temperature is less than 22 degrees or so -- my feet and hands really suffer to the point that riding is just thoroughly unpleasant. So instead I've been riding the trainer. A lot. I'm now to the point that I like riding the trainer. That's not supposed to happen, right?

Jividen and I rode up to Tower on Saturday for the "team" ride. It was just the two of us. Tempo/LT all the way -- we were at a conversational pace for a few minutes, I think. I was working hard, but it may have had something to do with the CX tire on the rear of the bike. I forced the turnaround because I could no longer feel my feet; Jividen could no longer feel his hands. We warmed up at Peet's in Evanston and hustled home.

This week and the past few weeks, I've just been riding the trainer a lot and when I'm not riding, I'm doing lots of yoga, core, etc. It's working a treat.

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I was struggling mightily after the holidays. I had something of a big disappointment that really put me through the wringer, but I'm feeling better about it all now. After seeing all my family in one place, spending good time with my parents and my brothers, and getting in some great conversations with my still reasonably-healthy grandparents, coming back to Chicago really knocked me out. I admit, I get homesick more than I should. I'm not sure there's anything I can do about that.

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I'm going back to Ohio in early February to defend my thesis in front of my committee. At that point I'll have turned a serious corner of my life (and lifted a major weight off of my shoulders). It'll be nice to spend evenings and weekends away from the computer and without the guilt that comes with delaying work that needs to be done.