I'm Having Seasonal Affective Order

Since my last post the weather has continued to break records for sunniness and warmth around here. Sure, we have had a cold snap or two during January, but we have also had lots of days in the 40s, and just had two sunny days in a row in the 60s!  I feel energized, more happy than sad, cheerful, motivated at work... all highly abnormal for the dead of winter. The snowblower is getting dusty in the garage.


Though I am convinced that something awful must be coming, I sure am enjoying this while it lasts! Here's a video sample of a ride from January 9th, the finish of a 30 mile ride over to the Wabash Trace trailhead in Iowa. It was a glorious day when you feel it is good to be alive!

Despite the good weather and opportunity to ride outside more often than normal, I have kept up my twice-a-week indoor training sessions with Coach Dusty and the Velo Garage crew for two solid months now. It is a good opportunity to ride with younger and stronger riders without getting dropped all the time! I took the leap and purchased a Cycleops powertap about six weeks ago to use in these sessions, which has been useful and interesting. The powertap is a harsh mistress though... she never fakes it!

 Sara, Rick and Dusty

These training sessions seldom last much more than one hour but they're all about intensity. I think it is going to pay off when the strength is needed for the long rides of the summer.

Above I'm rehydrating the night I made my goal of 5000 miles for the year.

 We did up the intensity a little last week!

Finally, dear diary, I had my annual physical exam a couple weeks ago and, inspired by those hokey "Low T" commercials, I had the doc do that test on me. I didn't really expect any issues and I checked out great for everything EXCEPT for testosterone levels! Well that's not stuff I want to be low on and I'm now using a gel product called Testim.

Initial results from this are entirely positive. I have more energy and am definitely recovering from hard exercise much faster. This may be another reason for my good humor of late! Men, get tested. It may not be just age that you are feeling.