Yesterday’s drive wasn’t too awful. It took about 9 1/2 hours to do the 700 miles. There were hardly any traffic slowdowns in DFW which was a pleasant surprise. I like the scenery on that drive. Oklahoma is a pretty nice state really. I bet most people haven’t put much thought into that, but it is true. Tulsa and Oklahoma City are both booming still. Lots of construction going on in the downtowns. Pretty progressive.

On Erik Tonkin’s suggestion, I’m reading the book, “What’s the Matter with Kansas”, by Thomas Frank. I’m not far into it yet, but it is hard to believe that the Midwest was a hotbed of liberal thinking not that long ago. It seems like the surrounding states are more progressive in their forward thinking than Kansas is right now.

My Vet, Bryan Stancliffe, got me sort of hooked on the websites, Steep and Cheap and Chainlove, Bonktown, etc. All this did was cost me money. Thanks.

But, I signed up for this new website, Groupon. I got interested in Groupon when I heard on NPR that Google had made a big offer to buy them and they turned it down. Groupon sends you emails that give you huge discounts on local stores. A couple days ago I bought $10 worth of JuiceStop drinks for $5. Today there is a 50% off coupon for a great restaurant in Lawrence we eat at sometimes. Here is the link to Groupon. If you sign up and buy something through this link, I get $10, so I really think you should do it. If you want.

Okay. Enough of this silly indoor stuff. It isn’t super nice out yet, but it is nearly 60 degrees out already. I’m going to ride South to meet up with my friend, George McDiarmid, ride with him and then head back. It should be around 70 miles I’d guess. I’m just going to ride for a couple days, just to see how I’m going before I start training. It seems like a good idea, but in reality, it’s just being lazy.

Pretty good book so far, but it takes a lot of concentration.

I like this small mountain range just North of the Texas line on I 35.

Pretty great Texas sunset last night.

Ann's new bicycle pulley, storage, decluttering system, thing.

Best Vets in the world. Dr. Tom, Dana, Dr.Bryan with Schnickle and Fritz.

Yesterday I rode 50 miles. And 2 hours of that was in the rain. I hadn’t trained in the rain for a long time. It kind of made me feel tough. I was enjoying it for the first hour or so, but it got pretty old after that. I was riding West of town, where it is pretty hilly. The problem was that I wasn’t getting warm enough on the climbs to offset how cold I was getting on the descents. When I got back to Austin, I pretty much couldn’t feel my hands. I think I must have nerve damage from all the times I’ve frozen my hands recently. My right hand was going numb just training in San Diego in the warm weather. It took 1/2 an hour in the bathtub to feel normal. That’s not good.

I’m getting a bunch of new parts for my bikes. Today sometime, I’m getting some TRP CX 9 Cross Brakes. They are mini V-brakes that work with road levers. They are supposed to get rid of any chatter you have in your fork. I was descending some pretty crazy stuff today coming back into Austin and I can categorically state that cantilever brakes suck in the rain. They suck in general, for stopping. I have Swiss Stop yellow pads on and they would barely slow me down enough to corner on a descent. It was nearly scary. Hopefully these brakes will have more power along with eradicating the fork chatter.

Today I’m meeting up with a friend to ride 5 hours at noon. I got a text saying, “I need to get in 5 hours.” I can hardly wait to ask him why he needs 5 hours. I want to ride 5 hours, but I’m not sure I need to. If he has the form to ride 5 hours at pace, I’m going to be hurt. I’m hurt just walking up and down the stairs right not. Tomorrow is gonna be worse.

Does anyone out there know why scars turn purple when they get cold and wet?

I saw this license plate down the street while dog walking Bromont and Stanley. Lance can't be too thrilled with the position here.

Stanley is being the ultimate host, allowing Bromont to have his dog bed and toy while he just lays on the floor.