845am

846am

As this winter transpires I am preparing my mindset to ditch it. At some point, in the near future, I will wish winter (whats left of it) away. This morning the temps are already 30 at HP visit time. And you know, Im getting used to it. The beach was very comfortable for walking. The blazing sun made it feel way warmer. It felt good on my face.

No eagle but a good way to start the day.

Yesterday I received a bunch of spring\summer clothing. Remember in retail you always work way ahead of the seasons. All the new jerseys and shorts.

Then throw in my summers Madone is ready to roll. 6.5 Project One with Ultegra Di. I will have both a new set of Easton EC90aeros AND a set of Bontys new D3's. I plan on switching off so look for a comparison on them from me.

And of course I have my summers Superfly 100 elite since last fall. I already rode it a few times. So Im set for demo bikes. Cant wait to ride them. Especially that Madone.

So here it is, late Feb. Warm temps. No snow. No snow in the 10day. Above average temps all 10 days. Do I ditch and go into summer mode? Do I hold out for enough winter to groom the trails yet?

If you add up the warm temps, store getting in summer mode, summer bikes ready to roll it adds up to ditching and calling this winter a bust. Im not sure Im quite there yet but it would not take a lot to push me over the edge.

Tomorrow is the Saturday group ride and Im in. Long Haul Trucker is bike of choice. At some point Im going to hang all the rackage back on the LHT and put it back into tour mode.

Im headed for some time on the spin bike this morn. 

Have a great weekend.

DLD

Yelling At Myself.

840am

 Today was just one of those nice drives to the HP. Saw the eagle. Took a pic. Drove to the store to hit up a bike ride.

 Today I had planed a ride. Its pretty warm out (near 40 later) and had the Long Haul Trucker ready to go. I picked the LHT over the Pug. I just wanted to lay down some road miles. Its been like forever since I did that. But on the way to the store from the park all motivation was lost. 

And then you end up arguing with yourself. More like yelling.

Whats is wrong with you? You have only one outside ride in like three weeks! Its warmer out. Sun coming out in a bit. And you ditch? Shame. Shame on you! I don't even know you anymore!

And then I feel bad for yelling at myself. I feel sorry for myself. Wait! Theres still time where I  could go... if I hurry, and get back to the store.  That time elapses and Im past the point of no return before the store opens. Huge guilt. How could you let that window of opportunity go? When will you get another chance to ride outside with temps above freezing (everyday the way this winter is going).

So, I punished myself. One hour on the spin bike. I did it for real. First time this winter. Its kinda like getting ready for an outside ride. You struggle with all the prep but once in the saddle you wonder what the struggle was all about. An hour on the spin bike was not as bad as I thought. Greenday blasting in my ears helped a ton. Loud. Very loud. Good music always helps when you ride the devil.

The devil.

I think I could do this again. 

And so spring training starts today.

Bring it on.

DLD

DANO's Modern Life!

Its hard to believe that a guy my size was a certified spin instructor. From 2004 until I opened the store in 2009 I did classes from Oct to May. Several a week. I got paid 13 bucks a class to do it. Back in 2008 I did 78 classes that winter. The pic above is the studio from 2008. Im sure its changed now.

I miss doing spin classes. You dont get quite the workout while teaching cuz you gatta talk but still. Over the winter that was quite a few calories burned that I dont burn anymore.

Its kinda weird that I did this because Im basically a shy person in crowds. In fact I avoid large crowds altogether. Thats why I dont spend a lot of time at Interbike. Too many people crammed in. No sir, I don't like it.

But I felt comfortable in front of a spin group. All 250 pounds of me. I would like to think that it was my bigger size that maybe put some at ease as opposed to some skinny tri person trying to rip their legs off. But my forte' was the music. I always matched cadence to the song. That made it a little more fun I think. And I was very good at putting a mix together. And I used everything I had. From Avril Lavigne to GunsNRoses and everything in between.

I hope to start up again someday. I always have toyed with doing something like this in the store but it would be tough to do financially. Maybe someday when Im independently wealthy.


But again, I really miss it.


DLD

855am

These guys thought I didn't see them. 910am

Still a little upset over the snow loss. But getting over it. Nothing one can do about these things but move on. Looking at the 10 day: No snow. That puts us one week into Feb so this entire winter might be a bust. 4 weeks from now the sun is higher in the sky and on average the temps start to rise. Snow comes and melts the next day. Thoughts turn to bikes, dry woods and clear roads.

Speaking of... I have been on a bike once in the last 3 weeks. Its ether been below zero or warm and raining. Once again, I have the spin bike set up right behind me in the office for going on three weeks now and have not touched it. Im experiencing a bit of a weight gain with the lack of movement. And of course the lack of sunlite.

I find it extremely hard to ride a trainer. I know it will do worlds of good for me right now. But I just cant. To me its mentally painful. To the point that it ruins my day. Several years ago I was a spin instructor at a local gym but that was different. It was social. Spinning in a corner of my office is different. Its brutal.

With the warmer temps and sunshine called out this week I will get out. On the pug. And plan on riding the group ride Saturday. 

I will try to throw in one hour on the spin bike.

Wish me luck with that.

DLD

Sad.   845am

Depressing. Thats all I have to say.

Saturday spent 5 hours grooming the trails in my Happy Place. Laying down a good base now that we had sufficient snow. The trails were in pretty good condition after that groom. All skiable.

Sunday I grabbed some ski's and got out for the first time this year. Sad to say that on January 22nd. But had a good time. Trails were in good shape.

Woke up around 3am to let the dog (Gizmo) out to pee and saw that it was not just "misting" but downright pouring out. Raining hard.

 The visit this morn to my HP was not so H. Trails are gone. The ones I spent 5 hours on just a day and a half before.  Brown grass and water puddles. I really dont know what to think. Do I ditch winter altogether at this point? Turn my thoughts to warm weather, road bikes and short sleeves?

Im just so frustrated. 

DLD