Well…there used to be five of the “DeVol boys” but in the next couple of weeks there will only be two of us left…my oldest brother is in hospice care and deteriorating rapidly so I have to start preparing myself for it…we’ve always had this special bond with being born on the same day 13 years apart and he used to call me his twin when he introduced me…he’s the one who got me started on riding a bike and I have two of his downstairs that I bought from him over the years….when I was on the downstairs bike yesterday, I got a weird feeling that something had changed…and it has…damn…

Well…damn, I’m sore this morning and I’m not sure of the reason for it…only did 30 miles yesterday and the wind wasn’t bad on the outside ride so I guess it’s just getting old so I should prepare myself for it to get worse….okay, that’s enough of that…had a good day yesterday but need to get moving soon to get two rides in before ManU plays City at 11:30…it’s a little disappointing that U is going to lose and it could be a bloodbath…they just haven’t looked good this season and I really think it’s time to change the manager….it’s going to be in the 60’s today and I am going to try to get outside on the bike twice to go with the inside ride that I need to do soon…I am getting bored with the leftovers I’ve been eating all week and just remembered I got a couple of crowns of broccoli at aldis that I need to have but will probably wait til tomorrow for that…going to grill some brats this aft that will last me a few days and I should work on the lawn a bit to get the holes filled and seeded before the rain that is coming in tomorrow but that needs to be done before the race comes on at 3…not much to do today…need to get on the bike in 15 minutes to get the day started but I sure don’t have the energy for it….more later…

Well…I think I may have figured out the swelling I have been having in my legs…this morning when I was riding the indoor bike, I looked down at my hands and they looked puffy, too, which was a little weird but it put the light bulb on over my head…I have had a taste for the little stick pretzels that aldis makes and have been eating a lot of them over the past couple of weeks…and it dawned on me that they have a lot of salt on them and that always makes me retain water like crazy…so no salt at all today and my hands are starting to look normal and I hope the same thing happens everywhere…just have to drink a lot of water over the next few days and watch…I did get an outdoor ride in along with two indoors for about 30 miles today…and it looks like I’ll reverse that tomorrow…do an indoor ride early and then an outdoor one in the morning and then one in the afternoon when it will be in the 60’s…glad I repaired my riding gloves yesterday…

Well…damn, how the heck can I be running late after getting out of bed a little after 6? But I am with having to get on the bike in 19 minutes and I haven’t even started the coffee yet…I did sleep okay last night with going to bed early from boredom so I got enough sleep but sure don’t feel like it right now…need to get two rides in before 10 when the F1 race comes on but I’m not sure why I watch that anymore with red bull winning every race….I’ll be able to get out on the outdoor bike as soon as the race is over and I really hope the wind is a little lighter today…I’ve done so much damage to my legs in the high wind that I had to put biofreeze on my right knee last night it hurt so much to walk…and that started on the big day Tuesday…I think I may need to manage how much I damage myself riding as I get older and I don’t like that one bit…just sitting here sore everywhere and remembering that there are times that you need to let the body heal and riding 30 miles every day doesn’t let that happen…oh, well…not much to do today…just races and rides and leftovers…have some breaded chicken tenderloins I got two weeks ago that I haven’t even opened and I am looking forward to that and some onion rings I got at the same time…and brats that I will grill probably Monday…who knows? More later…

Well…had a pretty good day today and got three rides in so the miles keep going…started the day with doing the first ride early…around 7 and then out to Menards for more dirt and another pair of the ski gloves for 3 bucks along with a pair of nitrile padded work gloves for working in the yard for 3 bucks…I tried the new gloves on the bike and I really like them…it was 44 degrees and my hands stayed toasty and now I have an extra pair for when I wear these out and for 3 bucks, you can’t beat it…and I have topsoil to fill some spots in the yard that need it and I’ll probably get that done Sunday when it’s going to be in the 60’s…I did keep the compression socks on when I rode both indoors and outdoors today and the swelling stayed down so I think I’ll do that again tomorrow…but now I need to wind down for the night…

Well…crap just lost the post and don’t have time right now to re write it…I spoke too soon about my leg being better since it’s still swollen and bigger than my right one…probably will need to call my doctor next week…crap…feel really worn out today but I have a busy day that needs to start with a ride right now and then a run out to Menards to get more topsoil to fill some low spots in the yard and get them seeded…I probably should get some lawn food but I think that can wait a bit….I think I’ll be able to get an outdoor ride in today after F1 qualifying at 11 but I need to do two indoor rides before that…so I’ll be working my butt off all morning…it looks like a lot of outdoor rides starting Sunday and continuing until Thursday and I really hope winter is over…it hasn’t been a bad one this year…okay, it’s 7:03 and I need to get on the bike….more later…

Well…after wearing a pair of compression socks since yesterday morning, my left leg is much better and the swelling has come down to almost normal…I must have hurt it on the rides Tuesday and I can remember doing the same thing to my right thigh a few years back but then I could barely walk on it…I do have some pain when I rub my leg but it’s not bad enough to take anything for it…the final tally for miles at the end of Feb stands at 1,225 so I really need to get off my butt and get to riding a lot every day…going to test out the new gloves tomorrow since the highs are only going to be in the 40’s so I’ll be out in full thermasuit…oh, that reminds me…I have to go out and lube the bike to get it ready to ride tomorrow…glad I remembered to bring the lube and wd inside since it hasn’t even gotten to 30 and it’s 1 pm…;need to buy some more wd at Menards tomorrow since I’m stopping there to get another pair of 2.99 ski gloves…the ones I got are even insulated with 3M thinsulate which worked really well in the 45 year old gloves I still have…so I need to get moving and get that done…

Well…it’s an extra day today! So, how should I spend it? Not sure yet but it may be that elusive easy day that I have been needing for some time now…woke up this morning to the silvery moonlight flooding into my bedroom window and I just laid there looking at it for a bit trying to figure out what to do today…I think it will be just the rides and then I’m going to allow myself to wing it for the rest of the day…don’t even have to cook with the fridge full of leftovers…the compression socks did their thing overnight and the swelling is down in my left leg and it appears back to normal…that was one of the strangest things to happen to me in a while and i wonder if I should keep the socks on today, too? Would probably be a good idea since it’s helping with the normal swelling in my right foot…it’s cold out here right now at 22 degrees and we are going to get lots of wind out here again today…pretty glad I got to the library yesterday and I’ll be alternating between the three books this afternoon…I got a pair of thinsulate insulated ski gloves from Menards Tuesday for only 3 bucks and I may go back there tomorrow to get another pair so I’ll have a spare pair for riding the bike and shoveling snow next winter…going to try them out on the bike tomorrow since it will be in the 40’s and it will be a good test of how good they are…not much to do today…the rides are the only thing planned for the day so I don’t need to hurry to get started…I may wait til 8 to get moving and have more coffee…more later…

Well…after the tree outdoor rides in the high wind yesterday, today was supposed to be easier but the day got away from me and I was busy most of the day…started out with getting the two rides where I did hit my 1,200 mile goal and didn’t even have to use the leap day tomorrow….after that I went out in the cold and ice to go to the library to get 3 more books, then over to DD to get some smoked turkey and then back here for some cleaning…didn’t make the soup for lunch but had pizza instead as I did a load of laundry and then made the potato soup for dinner and finally got two books started that I’m going back to soon…I did some damage to my left leg during the ride yesterday and my shin was really puffy all day but I just put the heating pad on it and it seems to have helped…doesn’t hurt at all so I’m not sure what is going on…think I’ll dig out some of the compression socks my daughter bought me and see if that helps…it only got to 23 out here today and it’s going down to 16 tonight but then it starts to warm up Friday with 60’s Sunday and then 40’s and 50’s next week…I have been really tired all day today and I hope I feel better tomorrow….

Well…damn, I’m worn out today…two days in a row of over 40 miles on the bike and this old body is sure feeling it…sore everywhere and have no energy at all…and it’s only 31 degrees out there and that is 30 degrees colder than it was yesterday…didn’t stay up for the storms last night and I kind of regret that…okay, the little weather widget says it’s only 26 and I can hear the wind howling but I do need to go out this morning to get more books from the library…and make a run to DD for some stuff…I am going to make some potato soup for lunch today and I just took some bratwurst out of the freezer to put in it…then I won’t have to cook for the rest of the week with the leftover pizza in the fridge…it was a way too busy day yesterday but I’m going to take it easy today I feel so exhausted…and yesterday was such a rush that I was running all day and that’s a bit much…I will get to 1,200 miles today with just the first ride but I will do the second one before I get on with the day….it’s going to snow here in a minute so I may move the errands to tomorrow…I think I may have a book or two on the shelf here I can read and have plenty of food so I think I’ll just relax for today and take it easy….more later…