A glorious first day of summer

Somehow, I managed to stick with my plan to rest and managed to stay off of my bike today. It was a walking day though - a little less energy expended, but exercise nonetheless.

And it was a packing day too. I'm almost ready to take off for Maine with my bike and panniers. I'll be driving as far as Bangor on Thursday afternoon, then driving the few remaining miles to Ellsworth Friday morning. Then it will be time for me and my bike to hit the road.

Walking with my camera... I can't seem to stop taking pictures of all of the beautiful spring (into summer) flowers

Nice of this ladybug to pose for me, wasn't it?

Riding, then a planned pre-tour rest...

It was a beautiful evening for an after-work ride, and I hope that today's ride will satisfy me until I'm in Maine later this week. My sensible exercise plans for this week call for a ride today, followed by a short break. I'd like to be well-rested at the start of my tour, so I'm planning to just do some walking over the next couple of days. It's supposed to be a beautiful weather day tomorrow though, so I'll have to see if I can manage to stay off of my bike!

I was hoping for flowers amid these lily pads. There were buds but no blooms - I wonder, do they close at the end of the day? No matter, they were beautiful anyway.

This birthday announcement and celebration of blow-up toys caught my eye as I rode by, and my bike wanted to play too... She said that it's close enough to her birthday that she thought the display must be for her. I didn't want to disappoint her by telling her it's probably for a child living in the house.

A Canada Goose parade

Ah, the joys of spring with flocks of Canada Goose (or can they be called Canada Geese?)...

I took a back road "get me out of traffic" loop on my way to the office this morning, and all of a sudden traffic came to an absolute halt. At first I couldn't figure out what was happening, but then I saw them. A flock of Canada Geese - multiple sets of adults and their teenage offspring - decided that it was a good time to cross the road. I suppose most people would call this a big annoyance, their antics always bring a smile to my face. My only regret is that I didn't have a camera with me in the car!

What, no bike this morning? I had considered riding in today, and the weather supports a commute to work for the first time in a long while, but I'm trying to have a sort of a rest week before heading out to Maine at the end of the week. I plan to ride after work tonight, a ride that is half the length of my usual commute. And I will probably get in some walking for the next couple of days. It's time for a rest before the ride...

Gary and cool, but ending with sunshine

I didn't trust the weather on Friday enough to bike in to work, but I did leave early enough for a late afternoon ride. That was my intent when I left the office, but somehow I just didn't feel full of energy when I arrived home, so I decided to walk instead. It turns out that was the best decision I could have made. I got a good hours worth of fast walking in, stopping every so often to snap a picture. And 10 minutes after I got home, the skies absolutely opened up. It was hard to believe how hard the rain was falling, and it was even harder to believe it when I could look outside and see patches of blue in the very gray sky. If I had ridden, I would still have been out, and my bike & I would have been soaked. I was very glad I decided not to ride...

Saturday and Sunday were both gray and cool days, although after I got home from riding Sunday afternoon the clouds finally cleared, and the sun and blue sky appeared. My rides were slightly shorter than I had planned - in the 30-mile range instead of the 40-mile range - but I think that's OK. I feel like I'm ready for my upcoming wander in Maine. I may ride tomorrow, but I'm going to try take a couple of rest days in preparation for close to a week of riding days.

This is a glimpse of the sky Friday evening just 5 minutes before I finished my walk, and 15 minutes before that absolute deluge.

A wake-up surprise

I woke up this morning to find that my brain was trying to skip a day. For some reason, I thought it was Saturday. My first question was "why is my alarm going off at its early weekday time?". My second question came up when I checked the National Weather Service forecast for today. "Hey, why is it still showing the forecast for Friday? What's wrong with this picture?"

What was wrong with the picture was a not-so-obvious brain cramp. "No Denise, it's not Saturday. You have one more work day in the week, so you'd better get moving!"

I certainly hope that this weekday / workday that feels like an extra day goes by quickly...

My bike says... it's getting closer

Only one week to go before I head out with my bike for a wander in Maine...

The general vicinity for my tour? Ellsworth, Acadia National Park, and north. I've published the start of my journal. Right now it contains my thoughts (and plans) leading up to the tour.

I'm still busy sending wishes to the weather wizard for dry weather with relatively warm temperatures for my (close to a week) of wandering. I doubt that my wishes have anything to do with it, but I'm really hoping for temperatures in between the extreme heat of last week and the 40 degree drop in temperature to the 40s and low 50s in the last couple of days!

Walking in the mist

It's either been a bad weather week for biking or I've just been a total baby. I prefer to think it's the weather...

Let's see, 80 & 90 degree weather over the weekend and into Monday quickly degraded during the day on Tuesday as the temperature reached the 50s. What a change! I heard a weather forecaster Monday morning saying that by the middle of the week he expected people to be complaining that it's been cold since March, forget about that hot, hot weather we had last week. And no, it hasn't been cold since March, but it's truly cold now! It was in the high 40s when I got home from work today, and very gray. I had been contemplating taking a bike ride, but I quickly switched to walking mode. Luckily I have the right clothes for playing outside in this kind of weather!

To be honest, I had a really hard time getting myself out of the house, but I was glad once I started. I wasn't over-dressed, so the first few minutes were a bit chilly - but that's not too bad a sacrifice for a comfortable hour outside. It wasn't really raining, but the mist was so heavy it almost seemed like there were raindrops. And you could see the mist...

I was a bit wet when I got home, but not soaked through. I'd have to say it was a successful wander in the mist. I'm still hoping to get some biking in before the weekend, but I have a feeling that this is going to be a walking week!

Unbelievably bad drivers

Boston drivers definitely have a bad reputation. And some of the drivers deserve it, including the driver who passed me this morning. I was on a typical narrow New England road, and the light up ahead turned yellow. I was far enough from the intersection that it was time to stop; racing through that light wasn't the right thing to do.

And then... I have to admit I haven't seen this bad behavior before. The driver behind me was turning right, and he was obviously in a hurry. Right turn on red was allowed, but there wasn't enough room to the right of me to pull through (narrow road, remember?). So this idiot pulled to the left of me to turn right in front of me. He had no idea whether there was traffic coming from the left or if there was traffic from the left that was turning into the lane he had driven into in the wrong direction. Unbelievable. Luckily there was no oncoming traffic...

Hot and humid, but a bikeable weekend

My late June vacation is planned; now all I have to do is make sure I'm in good biking shape. I'll be heading to Maine for (almost) 6 days of cycling. The almost day is the day I'm scheduled to take a boat ride out to Machias Seal Island to visit the puffins that live there. Knowing me, I'll probably manage a short ride in the afternoon - after the puffin visit.

The weekend was hot, hot, hot, and humid too, but I still managed 3 good rides. I had hoped to ride to work on Friday, but the forecast called for afternoon thunderstorms so I chickened out. The forecast was a bit off. The gray morning sky gave way to sunshine, and I was able to get a ride in after work. Saturday and Sunday were both riding days, so I was able to finish the week with 162 miles under my wheels. Not bad at all!

I'm afraid that the upcoming week has a bit of an iffy forecast calling for rain and thunderstorms every day. I suspect that it's not going to be a great riding week, but I also think I could use a rest day or two.

Happily wandering down the road in sunlight on a hot, hot day!

Home before the storm

Talk about luck! Yesterday was a sunny day. There were some clouds in the sky, but overall I'd classify the day as belonging to the sun. And it was a commute to work by bike day too...

As I got closer to home, I noticed that the sky was getting darker. No problem though, I arrived home perfectly dry, put my bike in its non-moving home (OK, it lives in the garage!), and showered off the sweat. Hmmm... why is it so dark in here? It was about quarter after 7, which at this time of year is still pretty much daylight, but the sky had just turned totally black. I walked outside to the initial spattering of raindrops, and in spite of the black I could still see clouds and some very small patches of blue. Then, the sky lightened up a little, and the rain absolutely started pouring down.

Wild rain, amazing lightening, and loud cracks of thunder... I have to say it was very good to be home and under a roof!

1000 miles!

A goal reached, 1000 miles on my bike so far in 2005!

I've been keeping track of my bicycling mileage - all of my exercise, actually - for a number of years. And somehow, reaching the first 1000 miles in the year has become a good milestone and a good indication of my fitness for my bicycling endeavors. The first 1000 each year seems to go by slowly, while the rest seem to build quite nicely. That's probably because the early months of the year contain only short occasional rides, but it's turned into a sort of a challenge for me to reach that first 1000 at the same time (or earlier) than in previous years. You're right, that's not always possible in years that I am slowed by our wacky weather here in the northeast.

But I feel pretty good today. My first morning ride was with friends. We had planned a 20 to 25 mile ride, which I knew wouldn't quite get me to my goal. Our planned ride turned out to be 22 miles in heat and humidity. I needed another 19 to hit my 1000-mile goal, and I was determined not to wait until later in the week. After we finished our ride (my first ride) and stood around chatting for a while, everyone else headed home. I took a quick nourishment and sunscreen break, and then I headed out to get the remaining 19 miles under my wheels. Today was a good day to reach that initial 1000-mile goal!

Happy feet clad in red shoes, cycling down the road in the sunshine.

A good case of helmet head, in between my two Sunday rides. Two? I was too close to 1000 miles to stop after one!

It's about time!

...I rode my bike to work today, and now I feel like I'm really back in riding shape!

Wow, that really felt good. I've been trying to find the right day - really the right weather - to start commuting to work by bike again. I'm a fair weather commuter in that I require plenty of daylight, reasonable temperatures, and preferably dry conditions. It was just barely 50 degrees and foggy gray this morning, but the forecast is for sunshine and temperatures in the 70s by the end of the day. I had intended to leave the house by 6, but I didn't quite have my act together and my bike and I rode through the door at 6:30. A good ride, a quick shower at the Marriott across the street from my office, and I was ready for the day. And - a huge plus is that I get to ride home again this afternoon.

I had a good laugh with my colleagues when I got to the office - they suggested that I call someone before I leave the house on the mornings when I am biking in so that they know to get worried if I don't show up. No, we're not going there - but I am wearing my Road ID. That will help prevent anything bad from happening, won't it?

I'm happy...

Confirmation of my suspicions

May this year seemed to be a never-ending month. I feel like I spent the month complaining about the weather. At first I thought it was just me - and the other crazy cyclists I know who also wanted to be out on the road - but by the end of the month I was hearing complaints from (seemingly) everyone.

The National Weather Service just published a summary of the month's weather, and no, I wasn't imagining things. Here's some of what they had to say:

MAY 2005 WAS AN UNUSUALLY COOL AND GLOOMY MONTH FOR MUCH OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND. MOST CLIMATOLOGICAL STATIONS RANKED MAY 2005 WITHIN THE TOP 5 COOLEST IN AT LEAST 100 YEARS OF OFFICIAL RECORDS. IN ADDITION THE BLUE HILLS OBSERVATORY IN MILTON MA ONLY RECORDED APPROXIMATELY 34 PERCENT SUNSHINE FOR MAY 2005...THE SECOND LEAST SUNNIEST MAY SINCE 1888.

MAY 2005 - COLDEST MAY SINCE 1967 IN BOSTON, 4TH COLDEST ON RECORD ...IN ADDITION THERE WERE ONLY THREE DAYS DURING THE MONTH WITH ABOVE AVERAGE DAILY MEAN TEMPERATURES.

TOTAL PRECIPITATION WAS 3.98 INCHES...JUST 0.74 INCH ABOVE NORMAL ...MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION OF 0.01 INCH OR GREATER OCCURRED DURING 19 OUT OF 31 DAYS OR SEVEN DAYS MORE THAN NORMAL. MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION WAS ALSO RECORDED ON EVERY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY/HOLIDAY DURING THE MONTH EXCEPT SATURDAY MAY 14TH.

No wonder it was such a depressing month. Here's hoping that June turns out to be a bit more spring-like.

Success! 3 days, 3 bikes, 4 rides

Four rides? Well if you count Friday afternoon, yup, 4 rides! And all of my crazy bikes got a chance to ride with me over the weekend - one at a time, of course.

I've been trying to plan a biking vacation (or two), but it's been difficult without knowing whether I'm back in prime biking condition. My goal for this nice long weekend was to do three reasonable length rides and to see how I felt at the end of the weekend. And - I think I'm back!

My weekend started a little early when I decided to take advantage of what turned out to be a beautiful Friday afternoon. I left work at 3 - a bit early, but it felt like the right thing to do - and headed home to join forces with one of my bicycles. My bike & I managed a nice 22-mile late afternoon ride. It definitely felt good to be back out on the road, my first ride since last Saturday's jaunt with Robyn & Jean. (Weather wizard, please listen - you're not supposed to keep us off of our bikes at this time of year!) It was amazing how messy some of the roads were - lots of leaves and small twigs scattered across the road surface. And it was scary that I saw several trees down not too far from my house. The roads were mainly dry, although there were enough spots where the road was totally covered with water that my bike requested (and received) a nice wash when we returned home. Clean, and ready to hit the road again!

Saturday? It was an absolutely beautiful day. I headed out to Robyn's in the morning, and we did a really nice 27-mile ride. Both of us had afternoon (non-biking) plans, so that was the length ride that we'd planned. I thought that was fine, but apparently my bike decided she wasn't done! I drove home, did a few weekend errands, and then my bike jumped out of the car and we were on the road again - 15 more miles.

Sunday started with wet roads, so I started my ride later than expected - waiting for the roads to dry out! It was cloudy, but it was still a pretty good riding day. I was rewarded for riding by coming around a corner to see a blue heron standing in the middle of a pond. Later in the afternoon, I saw the sun reflected in a pond. Still a nice day. Not too much later I started to see very gray clouds. And more gray clouds, dark and threatening. At that point rider passed heading in the opposite direction. He looked up and said "you know we are both going to get very wet, don't you?" He was absolutely right, and when I was about 4 miles from home a steady rain started. Too bad I didn't have my rain gear with me! Oh well, it was still a good ride - 45 miles worth of good.

It was just amazing to see this heron standing quietly in the middle of this pond (although it's also possible that it is standing in a field that just happens to be covered with water). I wish I'd been able to get a little closer, but I suppose I should be happy with the posing bird!

This reflection shows clouds, but blue sky too... The blue disappeared not long after I stopped to take the picture.

Monday dawned with clear blue skies. The weather forecast called for a high probability of rain and afternoon thunderstorms. Do you think I listened? Nope. Out we headed (my bike and I)... It probably would have been smart to combine some shorter loops near home, just in case - but I didn't do that. I was afraid that if I started on a shorter loop that I would get bored and head home without completing my target mileage. I headed to Beverly (on the coast) and then up to Ipswich before turning towards home again. My goal was a 50 mile ride, and when I got home I'd done 54. The first time I got caught in the rain was just outside of Ipswich, a good 20 miles from home. I was able to share a road-side shelter - actually probably a place that a local farmer uses to sell produce in the fall - with 2 motorcycle riders. We stood and talked during the heavy part of the rain. I kept looking up and wondering how the water was falling on us since there was blue sky immediately above us! That little break lasted only about 10 minutes. The road was a bit wet, but it dried out fairly quickly. The second time the rain started I was in North Andover, but still 3 or 4 miles from home. That stopped fairly quickly. I was really lucky though, considering the downpour with loud cracks of thunder and visible cloud to ground lightening strikes that greeted me as I pulled up to my house at the end of the ride. Talk about dumb luck and good timing!

I'm so glad that I've developed a habit of taking my camera with me. When I saw this donkey standing next to the fence in his very large field, I just had to stop to chat with him and to take a few pictures.

I'm definitely happy with my biking mileage this weekend, a total of 165 miles. I think I've proved to myself that I'm ready to start touring again - so now I should be able to put some plans into place. I think I'm going to start with something relatively short - a 5 or 6 day tour in Maine in late June. My initial thought is Bar Harbor and north, but that could change. Since late June is not very far off, I think I'd better try to firm up some plans this week!

Is this the face of a happy cyclist? I think so!

More pictures? The photos from this weekend are on the last two pages of my It's spring! 2005 picture gallery.

Gray & gloomy - but I saw a patch of blue this morning

Really! To bad it's gone again...

When I woke up this morning and peeked out the window, I actually saw blue skies. Finally! Unfortunately by the time I took my morning shower and headed downstairs for breakfast, the sky was once again covered in gray - lighter than the gray of the last few days, but still gray. We've had a lot of rain this week - based on reports on the National Weather Service site, towns close to mine are reporting that there was over 3 inches of rain. I really wish that the weather wizards would listen when all of us say "enough!".

I started the week in the gym, but I quickly switched back to walking outside. My bicycling rain jacket turns out to be good garb for wet walks - the only part of me that got totally soaked was my feet. I just bought a new pair of running shoes to support my walking habits, but I've been sticking with my old shoes this week. My feet want the cushioning of the new shoes, but I'd hate to start out by trashing the new shoes this early! So far this week has had one day of exercising indoors followed by 3 days of very wet but decent length (fast) walks. I'm still hoping for things to dry out by this afternoon - my bikes are screaming to go out and ride.

Still hoping for dry weather... I'd like some sunshine too, but I'll settle for dry.

Gray, gray, and wet too

The weather forecast for this week is only good for folks who really like cool, gray, and wet weather. Today's weather forecast was for a 20% chance of rain, with pretty solid rain forecasts for much of the week. I was hoping to get at least one weekday ride in by heading out on my bike after work today - but the rain started in the middle of the afternoon. Rain and cold, what a combination! Guess it's time to head back to the gym...

I was listening to the news while I was working out, and the weather forecaster said that all but 2 days in May were below normal temperature levels, and that much of the month was gray and wet. No wonder the weather is getting to me! I'm just hoping that the scattered showers that are predicted for the upcoming holiday weekend are just that - scattered - and not more solid water.

An anniversary that deserves notice

Yes, this is it - the anniversay of my stellar impact with the pavement, of flipping my bike over and landing on my head, of my crash. I had hoped to celebrate the day with my first bike commute to work of the season (and since the crash), but I woke up to cool weather - temps in the low 40s - and a forecast of possible rain later in the day. Hoping that the rain wouldn't come until very late but being scared off by the temperature, I drove in to work, arriving early enough to put in a full day and leave at 3:30 - plenty of time to pull off a decent after-work ride. Of course the forecast of rain wasn't right; it was beautiful by late afternoon with some sun, and temperatures in the mid 60s. I had a good end-of-the-day celebration ride, which I think was the best way to celebrate surviving that accident.

Truth be told, I don't think I'm quite back to my pre-accident cycling shape. I honestly don't know if that is due to the accident or if it is due to our very wet and cool spring. Putting in two decent (but not really long, 30+ mile) days of riding still leaves me feeling tired on the third day, and my goal is to be able to ride 50+ miles day after day. For my work commutes, I need to be able to put in a 30+ mile day plus a full day's work in between my rides to and from work. I think I'd be happy with commuting 2 or 3 days a week by bike, although 4 would be ideal. And for touring? Well, that's the 50 mile a day goal, and I'm not there yet. Soon, I hope!

And I hope that the weather wizard is listening to my goals, because I think I need the wizard's help. The last week of May is ahead, and it sounds like it will be a continuation of wet and cool. So weather wizard, please, please, please put in a change for June. I need to be back to the normal Denise.

What better way to celebrate than by getting out and riding my bike? That red spot surrounded by black & blue on my face? Yup, you're right - it's still left from the crash.

Hide & seek with mother goose

I've been trying to escape from the office for a short walk in the early afternoons. A little bit of light exercise as a work break always helps, and some days I get a good laugh out of it too.

Today was the day for playing hide & seek with some Canada Geese. Yesterday I saw what appeared to be a whole flock of geese, quite a few adults surrounded by their young - so today I brought my camera with me in the hopes of getting some pictures. I have to say it was hard finding shots where the birds were standing still. The geese today appeared to be in family groups; that is, I would see a pair of adult geese (I assume mother & father goose) along with a bunch of "children". The funniest were a pair who were separated from me by some bushes. One of the adult geese would scrunch down behind the bush, then pop his (or her) head up to see if I was still there, then scrunch down again, then... Well you get the pictures. I was definitely laughing, but the silly bird was moving too fast for me to capture the scene with my camera!

If I walk fast do you think I can get away from that camera?

Babies happily eating surrounded by the safety net of mom & dad!

A rest day?!

What? A day without exercise? I came home from work thinking it was a day for walking, but then I faced up to how I was feeling. Tired! I have to keep telling myself that it's OK to have a day without exercise. Somehow I was substituting walking days for riding on those semi-tired days, and I don't really think that walking at a fairly fast pace for 60 to 90 minutes qualifies as resting. OK, I'll rest...

I looked back at my exercise log for last week and discovered that I had actually put in a week with decent riding mileage. My total for the week was 135 miles. (Uh oh, watch out - she's complaining again!) So why am I complaining? I had two decent 33 - 35 mile rides, and the other 4 day's rides were between 14 and 18 miles. Overall the mileage sounds decent, but my body's reaction to the miles isn't what I'd hoped for by now. A decent but chilly 35 mile ride on Monday felt good, but the 14 miles on Tuesday felt pretty bad. My rides on Thursday & Friday were good too - in the 18 mile range. Saturday was another decent ride of 33 miles. Sunday? I only pulled off 18 miles, and again I was pretty tired. I'm having a hard time accepting not being able to pull off multiple days in a row of semi-decent mileage. Again, I'm trying to plan a touring vacation, and I haven't yet come up with a tour that eases up on the mileage. I think I'm trying, but then I somehow go back to what I really want to do - and that is to once again pull off multiple days of riding with the daily miles under my wheels of around 50 miles.

OK, OK, today is a rest day - and it should also be an ease up on myself day! Tomorrow...

Popping leaves

It's amazing - the leaves seem to have popped out overnight. I noticed that the tree in my front yard that had leaves and tightly closed (barely visible) buds on it Friday morning was fully in bloom when I got home in the evening. And on my commute this morning, the heavily tree'ed Route 125 through Andover has changed once again to have a ceiling of green. On Friday, there were still a lot of seemingly bare branches. Obviously they couldn't have been bare, but must have had small rolled (early versions of) leaves on the branches. This morning? Fully formed leaves, and very green!

Is it too much for the weather wizard to help greet all of these leaves with a touch of warm weather?

Gray sky, cool temps, but a dry weekend

Luckily the very wet weather that was forecast for the weekend didn't happen. It was gray, and it was cool, but for the most part it was dry.

I had planned to ride on Saturday with some women I "met" through the Team Estrogen forum, and we ended up canceling because of very gray skies and some short-lived rain in the area where we planned to ride. As it turns out, we could have ridden and stayed dry, but that wasn't obvious early in the morning. Robyn & I have already planned a replacement ride for next Saturday. I did manage to get in a decent 33 mile ride yesterday, doing several loops so that I was never a long distance from home. It was cool enough out that I didn't want to be very far from home if it started raining - I figured I'd get wet but not frozen... Today was even cooler and the skies were more threatening. I waited until mid-afternoon to go out, hoping that the temperature would rise. It didn't, but I rode anyway. A shorter ride today, and a ride in which I was again fighting a lower than desired energy level. I've got to get rid of that feeling... Oh well, I'll just have to keep fighting, training, and striving to improve. And I clearly need to do some more talking to the weather wizard too.

Grumble, grumble...

It's supposed to be spring, and I'm supposed to be back in prime cycling shape, but... OK, maybe it's my time for complaints. And maybe you want to skip this blog entry - but I figure if I get it out then maybe I won't feel the need to bore you with this in person!

I can't do anything about the weather except to accept what dawns every day. Or give in to my desire to escape the northeast and figure out where I really want to live... I'm not quite ready for that, so I guess I just need to figure out how to work with this non-ideal weather - especially on the weekends!

While I'd like to believe I'm in control of my own fitness, I'm not sure that I have total control over that either. It's been almost a full year since my crash, and my expectations (and hope) are that I should be back to my normal self and ready to ride. But am I there? I've looked at and compared my exercise logs from last year and this year, and I'm almost exactly in the same place as far as bicycling mileage goes. Unfortunately my energy levels aren't the same as the levels in my memory. My biggest riding weekend this year was 4 weeks ago. It consisted of 32 miles on Saturday and 38 on Sunday - and was followed by a very tired Monday. Unfortunately the weather has conspired against me since then and the rainy weekends haven't allowed me to repeat that mileage and attempt to extend it. I took last Monday off with the hopes of getting in three consecutive decent days of riding. The weather conspired against me, and the only rideable day of my 3-day weekend was Monday. I had a good but chilly ride along the New Hampshire coast, but Tuesday was a tired day. I am managing to get some riding in during the week though, and I'm sure that is helping. I'm not quite ready to commute to work by bike and be capable of putting in a full days work too, but attempting to get in 15 to 18 mile rides 2 or 3 days during the week has to be helping.

My sister and my mom have both told me I'm being too hard on myself, and it's quite possible that they are right. I just don't want to accept that. And I really want to get back to vacations on my bike. The problem? I need to be able to pull off consecutive days of riding a decent distance, and I don't seem to be quite there yet. I'd like to be able to ride between 50 and 60 miles each day, but maybe I could settle for 40 to 50 to start. I've thought out a tentative long weekend trip to Nova Scotia for the end of June, but I haven't made any reservations for places to stay - or for the ferry - because I'd like to be a little more confident that I am ready for the distances I'll need to bike. Not only ready, but ready to happily get back on the bike the next morning. Maybe I need to check the maps again and see if there is a slightly shorter option. I have a feeling that the problem with my early plans are that they involve 5 days of riding, and the middle 3 days are all about 50 miles. It's a good goal, and it's a good dream, but is it too much? I'd like to plan a longer trip for later in the year too. I'm hoping that late summer or early fall is a realistic goal for that.

It looks like this weekend won't be ideal for riding since rain is forecast yet again. Hopefully I can get some riding in though, and there's a 3-day weekend coming up in just 2 weeks. Hopefully I can use that weekend as my slightly delayed test of whether I can pull off 3 decent riding days in a row. I hate to wait that long to finalize plans for a June long weekend, but I also don't want to make plans that I feel I need to cancel. Last minute travel isn't my usual style, but maybe it will work for me this time...

OK, it that enough of a complaint for today?

I'll keep working, and I'll keep dreaming, and hopefully my dreams and goals of traveling with my bike will be met this year...

Weekend plans must be made to be changed...

Three days, three states, and three rides... those were my unfulfilled plans for the weekend. A springtime nor'easter quashed my riding plans for Saturday and Sunday, but Monday was another story. I had intended to ride near home - in Massachusetts - on Saturday, and I had planned two rides along the coast - in New Hampshire & Maine - for Sunday & Monday. Obviously I didn't take the weather into account! I guess I thought that we'd already had enough wet weather, especially since this was the third weekend in a row of solid rain.

Saturday and Sunday were pretty much wash-out days. I had arranged to take the day off today, and I woke early fully thinking it would be raining and I'd trade today for a dry day later. No rain, although the sky was gray and the ground was wet. I decided to take a chance with the forecasted 20% chance of drizzle...

I headed to the New Hampshire coast to do an out and back ride. Luckily my cycling started by heading north, and finished by heading south. There was still quite a bit of wind left from the weekend storm, and it was blowing to the south. My ride out was definitely slowed. I was lucky and the wind direction held so on the ride back I had a bit of a wind assist. It was a cool day, starting in the high 40s and warming to the mid-50s. A bit of a chilly start, but once I got moving it was warm enough for riding. 35 miles in an out and back ride along the coast - and I felt good when I finished. That's a good sign.

Yes, the flags are really standing striaght out in the wind. Luckily the wind direction didn't switch on me, so the ride back was much easier than the ride out.

The sea gulls didn't seem to be bothered by the wind...

And the waves were pretty wild!

A cool walking week

Not much biking this week - it was a cool week that continually threatened rain, which somehow sent me back to walking as my primary form of exercise. As it turns out, I could have ridden - and stayed dry - on 2 of my walking days. And now that it's about to turn into a weekend, a nor'easter is promising to visit. It sounds like we're in for at least 2 if not 3 days of very wet weather. That certainly doesn't do much for my plans for riding this weekend. Oh well...

I did manage to get some nice photos on my walks though. I've included a couple below, or you can go directly to my It's spring! 2005 smugmug gallery.

It's fascinating watching the changes as new leaves start to make their presence visible.

All different types of daffodils - this one with a very shallow center. Beautiful!

And tulips in a wonderful shade of pink...

Wet again... weather wizard, you aren't listening!

The sun has finally reappeared after another very wet weekend. The week wasn't too bad - I managed 3 after-work bike rides - but the weekend was another story. Yesterday's ride was too short, and wet from the beginning. It was just starting to spit at the start of the ride, but it wasn't enough to cancel. But the rain got steadier, and a shorter ride than planned seemed like a good idea. Then it managed to rain on and off until late this afternoon. The sun finally came out a little after 5... too late for my riding plans.

I did spend some time pouring over maps of Nova Scotia, in an attempt to plan a long weekend get-away at the tail end of June. I was originally thinking of using last year's canceled plans, but then I realized that I had a 70 mile riding day in there. That's really too far right now. I'd like to think that by the end of June I can pull off a loaded day of that length, but I don't think that's smart planning. Right now I'm leaning toward heading from Yarmouth to the north, which keeps me on the Bay of Fundy side rather than the Atlantic side of Nova Scotia. I think I can pull off a slightly shorter day - like around 50 miles. Well, that doesn't feel short to me right now with my non-riding weekends, but hopefully it's a realistic goal. So I've gone from considering doing the entire long weekend in Maine to again thinking I'm going to Nova Scotia. I suppose I'll need to make up my mind soon...

I did a fair amount of wandering with a camera too, and I was rewarded with seeing some amazing flowers. It really is spring, even though the weather isn't cooperating nicely from a riding standpoint.

The sun peers out at the end of a very wet weekend!

As predicted, it was definitely a weekend filled with rainy, dreary days. I kept trying to head out for a walk this morning, and every time I opened the door it seems like the rain faucet was turned on again. I finally got out at a little before 1, and surprise, surprise! While I was out walking, the sun finally made an appearance. It was more than a peek through the clouds - by the time I returned home it was to a beautiful blue sky. After a short rest, I changed into biking clothes and headed out on two wheels instead of two feet. It was a late start for a ride, but I figured a short ride was better than no ride.

I wish, I wish, that some of the warm weather that we had last week would repeat itself. Based on the weather forecast, it appears that the upcoming week will be a more typical spring week with cooler but reasonable temperatures, and with more of that wet stuff. I'm still hoping for the chance to get in one or two rides after work, but I have my doubts about whether the bikes & I will get out again before the weekend!

Th e good side of all of that water coming down from the sky is that (baby) leaves are starting to make an appearance. Green is good!

And flowers in bloom always cause smiles...

Ending the week walking...

...but wait, shouldn't it have been riding?

I headed home at 4:30 (after a full day of work, another 7:30 arrival...) with the thought that I would get a ride in tonight. It was a little cool, but the sun was still shining, and today was the last we were supposed to see of the sun this weekend. Somehow I arrived home with very little energy. My options: a ride, or a brisk walk. I felt like I would be riding through molasses, and the energy I need for a decent walk is somewhat less than I need for what I would consider a decent ride. The decision - a walk! It's funny, even at my low level of energy I managed a walk in a reasonable amount of time. At least I was outside...

I still need to figure out how to boost my energy levels. I suspect that not getting the amount of sleep that my body seems to want may play into this. The questions is how to get the right amount of sleep. I'm working on it!

A good thing about my walk is that I had my camera with me - just to capture the funny creatures like this that I met along the way!

Bare legs?

Hmmm... 3 days of (false) summer this week led me to change my work attire for my legs & feet. I wear tights in the cold months, and bare legs in the warm months. Last fall my bare legs and sport sandals (Chaco Z1s, what else!) lasted until late October when I headed off to Hawaii for a week and then returned to noticeably colder weather. This season? After 3 days of summer-like weather, comfortably heading to work wearing my normal skirt - but with bare legs - I don't think I can go back to wearing tights. I wonder how long this will last...

A peek at a season yet to come

All I can say is wow! What a nice couple of days from a weather standpoint...

Monday was beautiful, in the 70s but a bit windy. Unfortunately, I really did myself in over the weekend, so I ended my work day in a state of exhaustion. I headed home at 4:30 anyway hoping that with a quick snack I might regain enough energy to hop on my bike, but it just wasn't to be. I think I would have been very unhappy with a ride in that state; it would have felt like I was pushing through molasses. It was too nice to sit at home though, so I headed out on a walk, pushing myself to walk at a good clip and stopping every so often to snap pictures of the daffodils. Smart? Probably not, but I was much happier when I got home after the walk. You didn't really think I was going to rest, did you?

Today was much better in terms of energy, in spite of the fact that I got very little sleep last night. I really have to figure out my ongoing sleep problem - my body seems to need 8 hours of sleep, but it very rarely allows me to get it! Anyway, I again headed home at 4:30 and was able to get in a (respectable) 20 mile ride. I'm hoping to repeat that tomorrow before our early glimpse of summer (with predicted temperatures in the 80's!) turns back into cool, wet spring days.

A sunscreen weekend...

...means two days on the bike!

After our April snow on Tuesday, the weather started to behave a little better. It stayed cool until the weekend, so my exercise during the week was limited to walking. The weekend dawned sunny and warmer though, and my bikes were crying out for a ride. Saturday was in the 50s, but today the temperature got up over 70! What a treat! Even yesterday's ride, which required knee warmers and a long underwear tank under my biking jersey, was a pleasure. It is so nice to be riding unencumbered by extra clothing.

My ride distances? 32 miles on Saturday, topped off by 38 miles today. I have to admit that today my body wanted to stop a lot earlier than my mind did; 38 miles was a bit of a compromise. That was quite a jump from my previous high mileage day for the season at 26 miles, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful, and I'm really tempted to ride to work, but I know that wouldn't be smart at this point in time. I have to admit I was pretty tired after my ride today. I still need to work to increase my endurance. While I am capable of pulling off the round trip bike ride, I believe that doing the ride and sandwiching a full day's work in the middle would be hard. Soon, I hope...

In the meantime, I've been trying to get to the office by 7:30. That allows me to leave - without feeling guilty - by 4:30. That's just before the traffic builds, so I can get home quickly and get a ride in at the end of the day. Do you get the feeling that I think springtime = riding?

How many states have you visited?

I don't know why, but today I started thinking about how (when?) I am going to get to the 5 states that I have not yet visited. I've been stuck at 45 states for a few years now - and it's funny, when I look back at my cross-country ride the only state that I entered for the first time was Kansas!

Tha missing states? South Dakota, Nebraska, Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia. As far as I can tell it's going to take a minimum of 3 trips to get to these 5 states. What I'm thinking right now is long weekends...

The first is likely to be South Dakota and Nebraska. I really want to visit Badlands National Park, which is in the southwest corner of South Dakota. I figure that I'll take the time on that trip to drive into the corner of Nebraska. Maybe I'll even find something interesting to see while I'm there!

The other 3? Well, I've got a bit of reading to do to find something that interests me in those states. I really regret not getting to Mississippi & Arkansas on a business trip several years back. I had to go to a meeting in Memphis, and I wanted to eat dinner on the run and loop through Mississippi & Arkansas. That would have been an easy way to get to those states, but the colleague I was traveling with insisted on going out to dinner. Hindsight? I should have dropped him off at a restaurant and headed out wandering on my own!

One of these days...

An April walk --- in the snow!

I walked out of work this afternoon to wet - what I thought was a cold rain. But wait, what's that blob? Yes, it really was snowing! I headed home, determined to get in my planned exercise of a fast walk outside. The snow continued for the entire time I was out, but at least it didn't stick! In the midst of the snow, I saw bright yellow daffodils and robins hopping and flying around.

Weather wizard, are you even there? We've really had enough for the season; it snowed in early to mid-November, and here it is snowing again in mid-April. Can we skip forward to summer? OK, I understand no summer yet - how about a real spring, at least for a couple of weeks?

A sure sign of the (finally) changing season

Ah, the first ride of the season in shorts and a jersey. No tights, no knee warmers, no jacket...

I spent most of this beautiful spring weekend out of town, visiting my folks and meeting their new dog Bailey, but my first activity on arriving home this afternoon was to get out on my bike. It was actually 70 degrees out - very hard to believe! And what a wonderful feeling it was to be riding in (close to) summer cycling clothes. When it really turns into summer I usually ride sleeveless jerseys, but a short-sleeved jersey felt just right today. And I have to admit that I feel for all my fellow cyclists who live in Colorado - I'd prefer not to experience that late-season snowstorm that cropped up out there today!

Bailey, posing for the camera, and in the true dachshund spirit - asking for more food! More pictures of Bailey can be found in his photo gallery at denise.smugmug.com/gallery/476289

It's the week for funny photos...

I guess this is just my week for noticing funny photos. I participate in a discussion group on the Team Estrogen web site, and one of the women posted the photo below of two people on a tandem. I loved that the front rider appears to be cycling hard, and the woman on the back is along for the ride with her arms and legs thrown high in the air! I actually saw something similar when I was riding between Telluride & Frisco, Colorado on my cross-country trip back in 2002 - a man and a child on a tandem. The little girl had her feet thrown over the handlebars while her dad continued pedaling. I guess she'd had enough of cycling for the day!

Image courtesy of the web site www.eurocycle.at

Smiles from photos

I just realized how much the April photo on the calendar (at my desk) makes me smile - and I think it's a photo worth sharing!

These 3 bears were caught on camera in Katmai National Park in Alaska by Val Dutter of Carson City, NV - winning 3rd place in the National Parks Pass Photo Contest for 2003

Loops within loops...

Another beautiful spring day meant another day to escape the office at 4:30 (after a full day's work and an early start!) to head home for another quick bike ride. I wanted a slightly shorter ride than yesterday, but I couldn't wrap my head around a reasonable loop. So today's ride was a right-hand-turn-only loop on roads with relatively heavy traffic with more loops within my big loop through neighborhood streets. That was a good choice for an early evening ride - it gave me the biking mileage I wanted along with really not having to deal with traffic.

I have to admit I'm tired - working all day and putting in 2 hours worth of exercise (walking + biking) each day so far this week has put a dent in my energy levels. I think I have a ways to go yet to get back into what I consider to be stellar biking shape, but (I really think that) I'm on my way.

A taste of spring...

...is it finally here to stay?

I got home yesterday to find my new Sidi Dominator rose-colored biking shoes waiting for me at my front door - definitely a nice greeting, and a sure sign of a new biking season to add to the very reasonable weather. (And no, I don't replace my biking shoes every year!)

I made sure to be at work early this morning so I could head home at 4:30, giving me enough time for a reasonable length ride. The first week of daylight savings time provides daylight for a safe and visible ride even at that hour of the day. It was a pleasure to end my work day with a 22 mile ride. My goal is to repeat that slightly early work departure tomorrow so I can do it again!

Last weekend? Saturday was definitely a rainout, but Sunday was better than expected. The sun would peek out, then dark gray clouds would roll in. The sun would... Well, you get the picture. After thinking it was going to rain at any time, I decided to play chicken with the weather and headed out for a short ride. Luck was with me, and my bike and I stayed dry. Here's hoping for more dry weather. I'm putting in my request for rain during the week rather than on the weekend (not that the weather wizard is listening).

My nice new rose-colored Sidi Dom biking shoes. Red isn't my usual color choice, but for some reason these jumped out at me!

The calm before the storm

The weather forecast for the weekend is wet, wet, wet - so I snuck out of the office at 3 this afternoon to head home and to wander off on my bike. It was a good biking day with sunshine and temperatures that were in the low 50s when I started, probably in the high 40s by the time I returned home. It felt good to be out on the bike in relatively light clothing, although I have to say that my choice of a wearing a wind-proof vest rather than a jacket was a little questionable. It was OK at the beginning of the ride, but by the end I was a little chilly. It worked, but I am really looking forward to riding in shorts and a light jersey. It appears I'll have to wait a little longer for that though.

I'm hoping to be able to ride again on Sunday, but I have a feeling that I'll be limited to walking again. The current forecast calls for serious rain Saturday and Saturday night, with an 80% chance of rain on Sunday too. Guess I'll have to wait and see.

A definite sign of spring - clumps of crocus in bloom.

These ducks were happily paddling through what looks like a lake but what is really a very large puddle on someone's lawn!

No, this picture is not upside down! I thought this was an awesome view of a still ice-clogged pond with trees reflected in the portion of the pond that was clear of ice.

This week's signs of spring...

A dreary, very rainy Monday, a gray and somewhat wet Tuesday...

Sunshine Wednesday, and it looks like a repeat for Thursday before the rain comes back, forecasted for a couple of days...

Crocus in bloom! Robins prancing around a field that contained snow yesterday but shows signs of green today... Frost turning to water droplets highlighted by the morning sun... A cardinal perched high in a tree, serenading all who pass by...

Better - sun, blue skies, still cool

Ah, a sunny weekend, with temperatures rising into the high 40s...

I was a bit better at staying on track this week - the exercise track, that is. Somehow, on the middle of the week days, it's been hard for me to keep up my exercise focus. It's getting better though, I only had one day this week with a mere half hour of aerobic exercise. I know it will be much easier a month from now when I have more daylight and (hopefully) warmer temperatures, especially in the morning.

It was a decent biking weekend, although I waited until the afternoon to venture out, preferring the warmer temperatures to those still cold mornings. Today I actually rode out a bit further from home, on a route I haven't attempted since last fall. Most of my recent rides have been tight loops near home so that if I was caught by bad weather - or by simply getting chilled - it wouldn't take to long to get home. Today? I wandered east and north, hitting Haverhill and Boxford. Pretty roads...

Hey Bailey - welcome to the family!

The Goldberg household in upstate New York has been a quiet place since Brandy joined his brother Caesar in leaving this world. My folks have had dogs in the house for many years, and Brandy & Caesar had lived a long happy life - but there was definitely a hole there since Brandy said goodbye back on Februrary 4th. Suze did a search for breeders of dachshunds, and found Littleland Kennels, a couple hours drive from my folks. While I think my dad would have preferred a puppy, puppies are a lot of work - and Suze found Bailey, a 5-year old mini who needed a new home. He came home with Mom & Suze yesterday, and when I talked to them he was just getting used to the Goldberg household. Hey Bailey - you found yourself a great place to live! I hope you like it there, and I hope your adjustment to your sometimes wacky new family goes quickly and makes you happy!

Here's Bailey in a photo from the Littleland Kennels web site. I believe this picture is a bit old, but Bailey managed to capture the hearts & imagination of Mom & Suze - enough to adopt him, that is!

An open letter to the weather wizard

OK, don't you think we've had enough of winter? It started well before the calendar first day of winter with snow in November, and while I know that the seasons typically lag the first day of the season as marked on calendars, late March is too late for a snow storm!

I suppose I shouldn't complain, since we only had a couple of inches of that white stuff last night. (Of course it is still coming down in those big, irregular-shaped, and wet flakes...) And it is pretty. But - I'm done. I want a return to clean, dry roads, and I want a return to temperatures where I can exercise outside without wearing layers. I can accept a couple more weeks in the 40s, but don't you think this is enough for this year?

A riding weekend...

...with temperatures edging up, and sunshine!

It's the first day of spring, and I managed two good rides this weekend - 22 miles on Saturday, and 20 miles today. The temperatures were nicely hovering in the mid-40's, and the sun managed to be my companion on both rides. It's clouding over now, with a possibility of rain and snow(!) predicted for tonight into tomorrow. I'm hoping for the season to really turn into spring; while I'd like to believe it's here, I think we may be in for a few more surprises. I hope not...

Exercise... back on track!

...at least I think I'm heading in the right direction.

It's been a rough month from an exercise standpoint. That cold to sinus infection fun I had, plus cold and nasty slippery weather interrupted my winter training schedule. My goal for this week is to get back on track, and I think I'm on my way. Yesterday and today were good walking days - 95 minutes yesterday, and 80 today. My goal is to attempt to get some form of exercise at least twice a day. That can be two good walks, or it can be a walk and a session at the gym. And when I say walk, I mean fast walk, not a stroll. Of course what I really want to be doing is riding my bike, but the daylight on the edges of the workday just isn't there yet. Soon...

It looks like this tree attempted to greet spring a bit too early. It has what looks like flowers, but they are brown & dry. It will be interesting to watch it as the warm weather appears.

Yup, there's still snow out here - but at least this little stream isn't totally frozen. Hey weather wizard - that's enough!

No, the weather wizard didn't satisfy my wishes!

I'd love to be able to say that I was able to repeat last weekend's two days of cycling, but the weather wizard apparently wasn't listening to my wishes. Instead, I managed 2 days of good walks - although yesterday's was a bit more difficult given the snowy conditions. And today's was very wet. I wore my running shoes today, and both the shoes and my wool socks were totally soaked by the time I returned home.

It's the middle of March. Although I know that spring typically follows the equinox by a few weeks, which puts it well into April - I was really, really hoping for an early break to this very long winter. I guess I'll just have to move my hopes into the next weeks!

Can you see those big blobs above the snow-covered tree branches? The snowflakes yesterday weren't typical flakes - instead they were big chunks!

There was quite a change in the sky today, a return to sunshine and blue. The white things in the tree branches? Yup, you're right - those are chunks of snow. As I walked, I could hear them hitting the ground; how nice of the sun to bring some melting power today.

The wind!

Wow - that was quite a storm yesterday. As predicted, the morning temperature of 43 was the high, and by the end of the day it was in the low teens. The rain changed to snow by 3 in the afternoon, but it was the wind that made the storm memorable. I think we got 5 or 6 inches of snow, but I couldn't open my front screen door late last night because the pile of snow in front of it was probably a good 2 feet deep!

I was comfortably home last night when I heard a big clap of thunder. Who's confused now? Me? Or the weather wizard? The wind continued its scary activity all night long, made even more interesting for me by the fact that my power went out at about 9 o'clock. It was going to be very cold outside, so I set myself up with not one but two down comforters on my bed. Snuggled in my down nest, I read by flashlight - one of those wonderful head lamps - for a bit, then attempted to sleep. It was a bit early for that though, so I think it took a good hour for me to fall asleep.I woke up when the lights came back on at 2:30 in the morning. Since I didn't know which lights were on and which were off, I expected to have a bit of a surprise when they popped back on again. I have to say I was very happy that the house had a chance to warm up to a normal temperature before I hopped in the shower this morning.

It's a beautiful sunny morning, but still very cold and very windy. Here's hoping for some moderating weather to support my outdoor walking (and biking!) habits... But I have a feeling that my exercise today will be in the gym and not outside!

A sign of spring, and the threat of winter

Our predicted Sunday into Monday storm just didn't happen. Instead, we had a day with temps in the 40s, and this morning started out at the same temperature. I was lucky enough to get a walk in before the rain started, and I was greeted by my first robins of the season. A sign of spring, right? I wish...

The forecast for today is for the temperatures to drop from our current 42 degrees down to 13 tonight - and there is a prediction for rain changing to heavy snow. It's funny though, the National Weather Service forecast doesn't say anything about snow accumulation. Heavy snow, but how much of it?

Weather wizard, you're still not listening, are you?

A biking weekend, but snow is on the way

Somehow the weather wizards haven't figured out that it's time for a change. Or perhaps the change is more of that white stuff rather than less!

I was able to get back on track this week with some more regular exercise, something that disappeared from my daily routine while I was fighting a nasty cold and sinus infection. My outside walks suffered though - Thursday evening I headed out with the intention of getting in a good solid hours worth of (fast) walking. I was home again in just 30 minutes though. I checked the temperature before I left, but I neglected to check the wind speed. The air temperature was 25, and that's the temperature I was dressed to handle. But the wind! The wind made it much much colder, and I was fighting a frozen face and very cold fingers before too long. Rather than risk frostbite, I cut my walk short and headed home.

Luckily, the weekend brought a bit of moderation, with temperatures starting in the very cold 20s but warming up into the high 30s. I managed to fit in a bike ride each day, letting the state of the roads dictate my direction. That is, I ended up doing two out and back rides, essentially doing circles up and down route 125. I was determined to stay on dry surfaces so I'd be able to return home with a relatively clean bike. And my bike was happy that I succeeded, too!

But what now? The National Weather Service forecast for the week calls for rain and snow almost every day. Hey, I'm done with this season. Weather wizards, are you listening at all?

I really, really, really don't want to believe this weather forecast!

They're kidding right? It's just shampoo!

I don't know why I read the directions on my replacement bottle of shampoo; that's just not something I normally do. But for some reason...

Maybe it was because the label looked different. I've been using Clairol's Herbal Essences Rainforest Flowers shampoo since last summer. After my trick of flipping by bicycle over, the smell and feel of my old shampoo no longer agreed with me. I can't imagine why, but for some reason this one seemed to be a good replacement. And of course after my reading of the new label caused me to think I was reading something very odd, I pulled out the old bottle.

The old directions were what I would expect to see on a shampoo bottle: "Massage into wet hair, lather and rinse thoroughly." Makes sense, right? The new directions make me think that someone in Clairol's marketing department has way too much time on his (or her) hands. Here are the new directions: "Massage your hair under a waterfall and get lost in the sensuous lather. Linger in the lush fragrance and exotic pleasure. Rinse when ready."

What's your reaction?

Eyes dry? Are you sure they are closed?

I discovered something interesting during my eye exam earlier this week. One of my complaints was that my eyes feel very dry - both during the day and when I wake up in the middle of the night. But it's worse at night...

The eye doctor had me close my eyes, and then told me that part of the problem is that my eyes are not totally closed! The solution? For now, just heavier eye drops than I had been using. I've been using Refresh Tears for years, but he recommended Refresh LiquiGel. Actually his first suggestion was GenTeal Gel; but after I told him that I was willing to use that at night but not during the day because it takes too long after I use it to be able to see clearly again, he switched to the Refresh drops. I may try using the GenTeal gel at night though.

You're right, this photo isn't totally clear, but it's the best I could do - a self-portrait with my eyes closed. I had to see for myself, so I closed my eyes (really!) and snapped this picture.

I'm seeing stars!

It's really too bad that it's not possible to take a picture of things that I see but that are not really there. I had an eye exam today, including the usual process of dilating my pupils. That was at about 2 in the afternoon. I experienced the usual "light overload" as I drove back to the office with my eyes sporting pupils that were much bigger than normal. Then as I headed for home at a little after 5, I noticed something unusual. Bright lights - headlights, brake lights (but not tail lights), and turn signals - all had lines radiating from them as if they were stars. I don't remember ever experiencing that before. It was definitely an interesting way to experience bright lights, and I really wish I could have captured it with a picture...

If the month name begins with "M"...

...doesn't that mean it's the beginning of spring?

What do you mean I'm thinking of May and not March? Oh, that's right, the official first day of spring is this month, but the real spring doesn't follow for a few weeks.

That predicted storm? Yup, it really did snow last night. The snow was nicely slotted into an overnight timeframe - between 10pm and 4am - so the roads were all plowed well before my departure for the office, but we did get a good 9 or 10 inches of that white fluffy stuff. According to the paper, Boston has had 78 inches of snow so far this year, a huge increase from last year's total snowfall. OK weather wizards - I'm done!

Here's my wish: no more snow, no more snow, no more snow... and send some warmer weather our way too!

A February exit

and a predicted harsh entry to March...

I know it is still winter - really! - but don't you think this is enough. I'm ready to seriously start biking again, but there is yet again another winter storm predicted for tonight. Let's see, does that mean that the old "in like a lion, out like a lamb" prediction about the month of March will be true this year? I can always hope...

...and again - that bright pink color is an indication of yet another winter storm warning!

If anything, the weather forecast continued to degrade throughout the day. At 6pm, the weather map is even more heavily colored in the bright pink of the winter storm warning. I'd be really happy if I wake up Tuesday morning to find it was all a big joke, but I don't think that's going to happen!

Cold outside, and a cold...

Wow - I just realized that I haven't written any blog entries in the last two weeks. The reason? I feel like I've actually lost the time while I've been fighting with a really nasty winter cold. And if you don't want to hear about my battle, you'd better stop reading right now!

It started 2 1/2 weeks ago as a head cold. I loaded up on zinc and echinecea, and it disappeared within a day. That is - it tricked me into thinking that it disappeared. I headed to New York for the weekend to see my folks, and over the weekend the damn thing came back as a minor sore throat. Still not too bad. Unfortunately it just never went away, and by the middle of the week I was fighting a full-blown cold. After spending 5 days at home - 2 work days where I slept half the day and worked the other half, 2 weekend days, and 1 holiday (Presidents' Day, the one weird holiday my company is closed) - I headed back to work. But I also headed to the doctor because I just wasn't getting better. My own doctor was out, so I saw someone else in her office. And this woman turned out to be a real gem. She gave me cough syrup with coedeine, which definitely helped me get closer to a normal night's sleep, but on Tuesday it still seemed like just a cold. She made sure I knew the symptoms of a sinus infection, and told me to call if one developed. Back to work...

Wednesday I was still feeling the same, no improvement. It wasn't really worse, so I figured I'd just wait it out. In the middle of the afternoon, I got what for me was a surprise phone call - it was the doc I saw on Tuesday, calling to see if I could feel any improvement. After our conversation, she decided that my little cold had taken the next step and morphed into a sinus infection, time for antibiotics. It's Sunday now, and while I'm not totally back to what I consider normal, I feel much, much better.

What is it with winter and colds anyway? Last year I managed to get through the winter without one, but for some reason I wasn't able to avoid it this time. Do you think there is some kind of magic spell I can use to prevent the next one?

A sea of orange

... on another New York visit weekend

Dad's second surgery to remove the spot of cancer from his second lung was last Monday (the 7th). Suze was there for the surgery and again for a bit on Thursday, Neal visited on Thursday, the weekend was my planned visit - and of course Mom was with him the entire time. This second surgery was rougher than the first, at least partly because it was scheduled a short 3 weeks after the first. There's nothing like having a second major surgery before full recovery from the first... It was hard seeing him in pain, although there was visible improvement before I left on Sunday. I'm still sending lots of good wishes his way, and I'm sure your wishes will help too.

New York isn't a place that I voluntarily visit - if you haven't figured this out yet, I'm really not much of a city gal! As cities go, Boston is about my size - and New York is the home of too many people and too many cars. But this was a good weekend for a vist to New York, and I owe my dad thanks for that. Saturday was the opening day of Christo & Jeanne-Claude's exhibit "The Gates" in Central Park. I carved out the time for a couple of hour-long walks, and of course my target destination was Central Park. I arrived there Saturday morning in time to see the unfurling of some of the orange gates, and I absolutely enjoyed the spectacle.

A sea of orange marching forward.

A nice contrast - blue sky, trees in their winter state of undress, and a bright orange banner.

Interested in more photos? You can find them in my New York, February 2005 --- Christo's The Gates, plus..." photo gallery.

Thunder snow - and I missed it!

How can that be? How could I miss a weather phenomenon that comes once in a blue moon? There was snow forecast for last night and today, but the weather apparently didn't believe the forecast since our weather was steady rain. That is, it was rain until late in the afternoon when that white stuff started falling. I just checked the National Weather Service site, and saw the statement "Thunder snow occurring across Bostons western suburbs". Hmmm... I've never experienced thunder snow - and it doesn't seem to want to visit my house tonight. Hey - if it has to snow anyhow, it might as well surprise us by throwing in some thunder too!

Did I really hear that?

Listening to the radio on my way in to work... subject: the weather!

After going through the winter storm warning that is posted for tonight and tomorrow, the announcer went on to describe the forecast for the weekend. He said "the weekend will be sunny, except at night".

Did we really need that clarification? I have to admit, it did make me smile, so I'm glad his statement was a little over the edge!

A peek at spring on a midwinter's weekend

What a nice surprise - sunny days with temperatures approaching warmth! It was a good 10 degrees warmer on Saturday, 52 degrees as opposed to this afternoon's 42 degrees. But hey - it's early February and I'll happily accept either.

The weekend was forecast to be beautiful, but Friday night I decided that since the roads would likely be very messy that I wouldn't bike this weekend. At noon on Saturday with the temperature reaching for the 50's that decision just disappeared, and I headed out on my bike. Route 125 was clear, but the other roads were not. After a very short distance my bike was covered in salt and sand kicked up from the puddles I was riding through. It felt great to be riding, but by the end of the ride I felt like my bike was screaming at me! Needless to say, my first activity after returning home was to clean and re-lube the bike. My own shower waited until the bikes was done.

I was a happy cyclist, but I went to bed again thinking that I wouldn't ride on Sunday, too messy... You know what happened this morning though, don't you? Right! It was once more too nice of a day to not get on a bicycle. This time I was a bit smarter though, and I stayed on route 125. I did a couple of sections more that once - nothing like doing out and back loops on one road - so when I returned home it was with a (mostly) clean bike. This time I could just wipe the bike down before putting it away. I managed a decent early-season ride, and I didn't trash the bike once again.

I had to take a picture of my very dirty bike. This bike is purple, really! And would you want to drink from this water bottle? What a mess - but luckily I make sure that I always have a good supply of Finish Line Bike Wash, so the cleanup doesn't take too long.

It’s time to say goodbye…

...thoughts of Brandy...

Brandy has finally decided it’s time to say goodbye to all of us and to join his brother Caesar in that other world where pain and sickness is gone, and where he can have whatever treats he wants whenever he wants them. Caesar left us in early March 2004, but Brandy decided to stay with our mom and dad for a while longer. He knew that they were sad, and that they needed him to stay. For those of you not familiar with the dachshund part of the Goldberg family, Brandy and Caesar joined the family just over 14 years ago, and they’ve managed to bring smiles to all of our faces since then.

While people often thought Brandy was the quieter of the two, he actually thought that he was in charge. He would let Caesar do all of the “I want a snack, where’s the food” begging, but of course he joined in enjoying the prize. And once Caesar left us, Brandy took over that role. Brandy has been ill for a while, and he needed to eat small meals more often. He probably thought that he was really in charge because every time he asked for food he was given another small meal. In fact, the total quantity of food was very similar to what he was getting before. Because of his problems, the vet requested that he be limited to dog food, and that he not get any of his favorite people food. But permission was given for a little bit of banana every so often. Brandy did love his bananas! Toward the end he really rejected his dog food, and his vet gave Mom permission to feed Brandy some of his cherished people food – and he loved that she was cooking for him. It’s funny though – even when he was offered his mom-prepared people food during his stay at the vet’s, he really preferred his dog food there. Do you think he had his people wrapped around his tail? (No really, he doesn’t have a little finger, so he used his tail instead!)

When it came time to eat, Brandy had his own way of expressing his “hurry up and feed me” thoughts. While his human was fixing his food – and that human was usually our mom – he jumped at her legs. Jump, jump, jump… It’s a good thing he was a little dog so that he didn’t knock her over. After all, having a dog knock into the back of your legs could cause a fall, but luckily that never happened.

Bringing toys for the guys? Since there were two of them, people usually brought two toys. Of course they were shared, but somehow (after a while) Brandy would grab both – one to guard, one to chew. And he loved licking toys. His favorite was a teddy bear that by the end of Brandy’s stay with us had much of the “fur” licked off. He would lick it and lick it until he fell asleep...

And speaking of licking, he loved to lick people’s skin too. I remember when I visited during my cross-country bike trip – he greeted me with a gleam in his eyes wanted to clean the salty sweat off of my legs! Lick, lick lick...

Walking on a leash was sometimes OK with Brandy – but only if you went at the pace he was interested in at the time. There were many occasions when he walked on the outbound leg, but he convinced his walker that he needed a ride home. Being carried in someone’s arms somehow came out ahead of walking himself. He had his people well-trained, didn’t he?

Brandy spent a month at the vet’s while his Mom was in Boston with me after I had a bit of a mishap with my bike last spring. Leaving him home alone in his crate while his dad (our dad!) was at work was just too long a day for him, and the folks at the animal hospital love him too. So he didn’t spend that month alone in a cage. He came out to play with the folks that worked there, and they made sure that he had an opportunity to meet and play with some of the other (animal) residents. I sent my apologies to him for borrowing his favorite person for that length of time – and I’ve been told that he forgave me. I certainly hope so!

For the last few years he was afraid of the steps. But on one morning he forgot and managed to make it downstairs on his own. Apparently he would go down 1 or 2 stairs, then realize what he was doing and stop for a bit. One or two more...

Toward the end he spent a lot of time sleeping. He woke up often and would go looking for Mom. Once he found her, he would happily go back to sleep. And in the evenings he would happily crawl into the space next to Dad on his favorite chair in the living room. He was definitely attached to the family he lived with! In fact I remember one time when I was the only human home with Brandy and Caesar (we were all staying with Suze in King of Prussia). They were beside themselves – where were their “normal” humans? They managed to calm down as long as I stayed in the room with them. Do you think they were spoiled?

It's a sad day today; it's hard to say goodbye to someone (somedog?) who brought so much love into our lives. I'm sure that Brandy sends thanks to our mom & dad for loving him for all of these years. He loved living with them, and I'd like to believe he is still watching over both of them. (And he asked me to tell them that he is hanging out with Caesar again...)

Brandy, enjoying the sun on a shiny morning in May 2004

Memories of Caesar can be found in my March 9, 2004 River of tears… blog entry.

More pictures of Brandy & Caesar can be seen in my photo gallery titled The ‘guys’ - hey, are we really dogs? We think we're people...

No walking for me on this icy morning!

The past couple of weeks haven't been great for reaching my walking and exercising goals. Somehow the weather hasn't been cooperating, and there have also been days when I never managed to get away from my desk (or my computer). That's got to stop...

My goal for these winter months is to get in at least an hour's worth of aerobic exercise each day. Somehow I haven't been able to get myself to ride my bike on a trainer this year - I just can't stay on it long enough to get much benefit from it. I started this week by promising myself to get back to walking either before work or as an afternoon break, plus getting to the gym right after work. I'm really not a runner, but I walk at a pretty good clip so I believe I really am getting some benefit from it. It's not the same as biking outside, but there just isn't enough daylight (or warmth) for me to pull that off right now. A combination of walking and using an elliptical trainer seems to be working. But I'm still fighting to manage an hour's worth of exercise every day during the week. I'm not having any problems with adding another 1 and a half to 2 hours on each weekend day, but the weekdays are more of a battle than I'd like. This week was better than the last couple - and I'm determined that next week will be even better...

There were many beautiful snow-covered and icy branches this morning - but it was a bit too icy to support my walking habit.

A sunny February 2nd...

...the halfway point of winter

I thought today was only Groundhog's Day - which probably wasn't good since the crazy animal definitely saw shadows today, more winter to come... But then Rich pointed out that this day also marks the halfway point of winter. While I'd really like it to be spring, I guess I will have to be happy with the thought that what's left of winter will be shorter each day. The difference in the daylight is starting to be noticeable...

Today I shared my walking in the sun with the neighborhood Canada Goose. (Or is that Canada Geese?) It almost looked as if these birds were swimming through the snow. When I first saw the prints in the snow (sans birds, of course), I wondered how they were made. Wonder no more - it was many geese plodding through the snow!