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!