While I may be down in miles from last January, I’m not going to cry over it. My outdoor miles are considerably higher (only one outdoor ride last January against five this year) and I’ve stepped the quality up considerably. I’ve also started working my upper body a bit as well so I can reverse the process that had my pecs turning into man-boobs… and that’s going very well.

I’m on the trainer most days, now and the CycleOps trainer tire I bought a few weeks ago has vastly exceeded my expectations. It’s still as silent as the day I put it on my trainer wheel. The Garmin speed sensor I bought still has me fairly pissed off because it’s killing my weekly mileage, but I’m not unlike one of Pavlov’s dogs in that the low speed has me working harder than I ever have on my trainer in previous years. Ever. I’m doing interval sets, tempo rides, moderate and easy jaunts and mixing them all together. I’m hoping a couple months of spring headwind will have me better off than last year. One thing will be certain, I’ll be ready.

I also cleaned and brightened a bike for a friend of my wife’s so it can be sold this spring. It’s a ’74 Raleigh Professional with a full, beautiful set of Campagnolo Nuovo Record components. It’s surprisingly light for a steel bike and the detail in the components is super cool.

We’re also in the middle of remodeling the kitchen. Oh, what a mess. Last night one of the cats managed to open a cabinet door to walk on a freshly painted shelf (don’t ask me why my wife wants the shelves painted, my job is to advise and consent… emphasis on consent). The hilarity that ensued was priceless. As the cat exited the cabinet, tracking cream-colored paint in her wake, she reflexively shook each foot as she lifted it… the tracks extended through the kitchen into the living room (thankfully, no carpet – we have laminate floors). Watching my wife try to clean the feet of her pissed off cat was comedy gold.

And so here we are, two-thirds of the way through winter and I’m excited for spring, but thankfully not quite tired of the convenience of the trainer. In fact, I’m still quite thankful for the time savings… I get home between 4 & 4:30 and can be done with my ride and showered by 6 if I try. Riding outdoors, I’m lucky if I’m out of the shower by 7. This will change in the coming weeks as I start longing for Venge Day. In the meantime, there’s plenty to do around the house before spring gets here. That kitchen won’t remodel itself.

Work is challenging but going well. The home life is… erm… challenging at the moment, but it’ll get ironed out sooner or later. The kids are fantastic and recovery is cooking right along as it should. So that’s where things sit for the time being.