I think I need to go back and read over last fall's blogs because I'm really struggling to get out on the bike right now. I want to, but it seems easier to not. In fact, there were several weeks that I had some very legitimate and not so legitimate reasons to not go out on it, including the death of my grandmother then getting sick, but the more I put it off, the more difficult it was to just get back on. I think I was afraid of how challenging it was going to be, though I also fear losing the muscle tone in my legs, which is unlike I've ever had before.
Ultimately, my wife had to practically force me out the door last week, and it ended up being a lot of fun, though I barely made it to 14 miles. Today, I hurried home and got out and made it 19.5 miles, so now I'm getting into the mindset of outdoing what I did last to work up toward 40 miles again. The catch is that the weather is changing, which I am finding difficult to deal with. Tonight, it was about 63 degrees when I left with bib knickers and a short sleeved shirt but taking my skull cap, long-fingered gloves, and arm warmers, all of which ended up on by the time I got home. I also ended up getting home in the dark at 5pm, which I didn't really care for but did okay with. It was 52 when I got home, and what I had on was certainly at the point of not being quite enough but okay to that point.
So, despite the challenges of weather, I do plan and hope to keep getting out, but I'm finding it way harder to do so this year. It may be the weather but also getting overwhelmed at how many other things that I need to get done. But I must get out on the bike, so I just need to buck up and not be a wuss...
