Other than the post about my hair and the 100 foodstuffs meme, I haven’t really been writing a lot here. Sure, I’ve been updating my Twitter feed regularly, but not this blog.

So…. where to begin?

I’ve been riding since the epic Mt. Shasta adventure, though not in the same quantity. Where I used to ride 250-plus miles per week, I’m now riding 150 or so – a bit of dialing back that is necessary to keep healthy, both mentally and physically.

Not that the rides I’ve done haven’t been great. I’ve been out on the C&O Canal Towpath with sprite, where we saw lots of fish and birds. I went on a 67 mile ride in the Virginia hills that was a fast and fun ride with plenty if challenge (including a lovely stretch of dirt/gravel road). I did a solo, 102 mile ride on Sunday, which was a fun challenge.

I went swimming after work on Monday, taking advantage of the last couple of weeks of operation for the local outdoor pool (I’m not a fan of working out indoors, even in mid-winter). The typical PPTC Tuesday ride went off without problems, too, and I found that my riding is still strong, even with the scaling back of my training regimen. Tonight I rode 22.5 miles of laps at Hains Point and saw a most beautiful sunset.

I still need to make a permanent repair on my rear dérailleur on the Pedal Force. That will happen sometime soon, I’m sure. The main issue is that Campagnolo components, while completely rebuild-ready with spare parts, aren’t cheap – and the dollar-to-euro exchange rate isn’t helping matters. Furthermore, their 2009 gear is now in the stores, the 2008 supply having been out-of-production for a while with the resulting retail channel shortages in full force (Campy is saying “you really want the new bling!”). So I’m trying my luck at Mr. Edward Bay’s Auction House to try and save a few shekels.

So… there you go!