I don’t think it got over 40 degrees here yesterday. And it was drizzly. This 40 degree weather is when the Austinites pull their down coats out.

I waited until later in the afternoon to go ride. I’m still feeling achy and out of sorts. I don’t know if it’s allergies or what. I did an hour neighborhood loop and then went over to Zilker Park and rode in the sand. Man, does that take a lot of energy. I watched the Belgium Nationals last Sunday and it was amazing how easy Albert and Co. made the sand look. But, they still had to run. I can’t keep my front wheel straight when my hands are on the shifters. I go much faster and stay straighter when I have my hands on the top of the bars by my stem.

I still don’t have a ticket to Europe yet. I don’t even know where I’m flying from. Austin or Kansas City. Better decide that today.

As you might have noticed above, today is one of those 4 days this year with a lot of 1’s. I’m not sure if that is good luck or bad luck or no luck.

I thought I might have a chance to go on a MTB ride today, but that doesn’t look promising. It should be a little warmer today than yesterday. Maybe I can get motivated to ride further on the road. It snowed 9 inches in Topeka yesterday, so this ain’t so bad.

Trudi at the Austin Airport.

I wasn't cold after riding a few passes through this.

Another one of the shacks here in Austin. That is a glass roof on the new construction on the left.

I saw this buck in the neighborhoods on my town ride this afternoon. Pretty cool.

These little Smart Cars are all over Austin. They are rental/borrow cars owed by Car2Go. Kind of a cool concept. I wonder if it’s working out?

Today was cold for Austin. Barely 40 degrees. I can’t believe how easy it is to get used to warmth and then 40 seems cold. I rode 50 miles today. Out West of town with Robbie for a couple hours. His computer programs must be pretty good. He doesn’t seem to have to be around that much. Maybe the other 90 computer guys working for him take up the slack. I don’t know.

Today I’m riding MTB, with Robbie once again. 40 something is pretty great temperatures for riding off road. I’m a little worried about my thumb working. It isn’t that great still from Jingle Cross. I’m borrowing one of Robbie’s bikes. He’s a big (tall) boy, so it might be just a tad large. That is fine. Beggers can’t be choosers.

The Verizon iPhone announcement today didn’t go all that well for AAPL (Apple stock) or VZ (Verizon). Both the stocks were down, on a generally up day for the market. But, I am relieved that AT&T isn’t going to be the sole provider of service for the iPhone pretty soon. I can’t say that I’m even close to pleased with the AT&T service. I thought it was bad in Topeka or Cable. Man, in Austin, it is horrendous sometimes. The data doesn’t hardly seem to work anywhere and the calling is hit or miss. More miss in my case it seems. Guess it is just the population density.

I’m going to have some Active Release Technique done at 11 am. I’m not really sure what it is, but I do have some issues. Maybe it will help. I’ll let you know on that. I hope it clears up some of my problems.

I need to get the other TRP CX 9 brake on my bike. The front brake is working great. So much more stopping power than a normal cantilever brakes. The adjustment is kind of tricky, but you don’t need a travel agent to get the levers to work good. Just a true wheel.

Okay. I’m getting real close to getting a ticket to Europe. I do have 4 days.

I went by Mellow Johnny's today and this guy was shopping too.

I caught up with him outside. This is his ride.

I heard that half the sales at Mellow Johnny's were jerseys, etc. Doesn't surprise me after going there.

Bromont and Stanley out on the path behind the shop.

This is the first electric car plug-in I've ever seen. It's in back of the bike shop. I'd forgotten that Lance is a spokesperson for Nissan and the Leaf.

This house is on our nightly dog walk. It is one of the most wonderful houses I've ever seen at night. Super simple. Elegant. The lights beside the front door are gas. The picture doesn't do it justice.