Well…it looks like I’m back to the 3-5-7 pattern again…up at 3:03, up again at 5:37 and out of bed before 7:30….but getting up that late make me run late for getting on the bike by 8 so it looks like I’ll not get to that until 8:30 since I do want to have some coffee in me before I get on the bike…it’s always a struggle when I ride without a jolt of caffeine…..it looks like we’re going to get a lot of snow melt over the next week or so with temps in the upper 30’s into the 50’s and I’m okay with that….cripes it’s 44 right now and getting to almost 50 today….watching a show on British tv right now that has Motown music from the BBC and I’m transported back to when I was 11…and I’m still here at 69…what does that say? Nothing I guess….didn’t get much done yesterday with the plan to take the day off but I’m not planning to do much today…not a day off since I’m going to ride the bike twice…Marvin Gaye is on from 1965….strange….not much to do today…my back hurts for some reason and I’ll probably heat it between rides to keep it from seizing up…this has gone on way too long…..still have leftovers so I don’t have to cook anything today but I probably should plan meals for later in the weekend but I don’t want to…I have 18 minutes to get on the bike and that is too soon….more later….

Well…as you know from my earlier post, the plan was to take the day of the bike as a little reward for getting to the goal this year…but at about 2 I just couldn’t take it anymore and my guilt got the best of me so I suited up and went down to at least get one ride in today and put in a burner, averaging over 16mph and I was drenched when I got done…but I feel much better both physically an mentally for doing it…and now I can sit here and watch soccer without feeling guilty…and I’ll get back to the routine tomorrow to try to get to 6,100 for the year…

Well…I was able to get out this morning to do an abbreviated grocery run and I even got gas for the car for 2.90 a gallon so I won’t need to do that again until the end of January…and I am sitting here right now without having ridden the bike today and I am wondering if I’m taking the day off? Have already had the heating pad on my sore back and I really could use some rest…and I did make my mileage goals on the bike yesterday so maybe I’ve earned it? A nap on the couch would be so luxurious but I’ll probably get on the bike after lunch…man, that’s sick…what do I have to do to have one day off? Okay, I know…I’m taking Sunday off as normal so I probably shouldn’t be so damn lazy….we’ll see….

Well..damn, can I just sit here instead of getting on the bike this morning? I am so damn tired today that I could go back to bed…but you know I won’t….so, I need to get on the bike in 21 minutes and I just started my first cup of coffee….had an okay day yesterday but didn’t get anything done but ride the bike and today will be the same other than the grocery run…don’t really have much to get today but I do need bird food since I am out of it and have been for a couple of days…it is going to be warm for a week or so and I think a lot of the snow will melt with the rain that is coming in…haven’t been out in the car since last Thursday and I hope I can get out of the alley today…it would be a pain to bury the car in the slush since it’s already 31 out there….have been having problems with my eyes lately and I think it’s from stopping the allergy meds that have been suppressing my immune system…I wake up every morning with my eyes full of crap and a stuffed up head that is putting pressure on them that  is distorting their shape…have had a headache since I stopped the meds and that is miserable….not much to do today…I just need a day off to do nothing but I can’t do that….I wonder if there is a control alt delete for my brain? I sure could use a reset right now…not getting on the bike…just can’t do it with how I feel….more later….

Well…damn, it was a busy morning around here with being on the go from the time I got up until just now at 1pm…started out with getting on the bike and getting the first ride in, then on to making the ham soup that I had all the ingredients for and that meant doing all the veggie chopping that took over a half hour…before then I got the ham bones in the instant pot so it could cook as I did the first ride…then the veggies went in the pot and cooked for 12 minutes and then added the beans and tomatoes to let them get warm…after that I got back on the bike for ride two and then had a bowl of soup for lunch…then it was clean up time and I just finished that and came here to do two of these…so, I think I’ve earned some soccer time with the first game and then Man U comes on at 3…and once that happens, I’m done for the day….oh darn, I do have to do the grocery list this aft, too…so I should get at that right now…

Well…running a bit late this morning with getting up at 3:04 and getting out of bed at 6:23 but it took more than a half hour to come here and get started…just worn out and feel like I didn’t sleep at all…again….not sure if it was my messages to the city but they did come out and plow the streets up here last night so I should be able to get out for the grocery run tomorrow…they still haven’t plowed the alley but it appears it is packed down enough for me to give it a try….didn’t get a lot done yesterday but the bike rides and today looks the same but I do need to make ham soup today to make room for the turkey carcass to go in the freezer but I’m not feeling it right now…probably won’t get to that til the afternoon but need to get that done before Man U plays at 3….I did start watching “Tulsa King” last night and it’s a pretty good show but I am going to get to the end of “Yellowstone” soon and that is too bad…it is going to warm up starting tomorrow so I think a lot of the snow will melt and I’m okay with that….I do have to remember to get some bird food tomorrow since I am out of it and the bird feeder is looking a little low…not much to do today….just the rides and soup but I am wondering what would happen if I took a day off the bike after getting to the goal for the year…I mean 6,051 miles is a lot for an old guy to ride and I am sore from it…or from shoveling the snow…not sure which but my side hurts like crazy…I still feel fat as hell so I probably should get going but I need coffee first….more later…

Well…damn, I made it…got to my goal for miles on the bike for a year today…6,051 miles as of today beats my previous record of 6,043 from a few years back…and that includes 4,823 miles outside and 1,228 on the inside bike…it feels kind of good to have made it when I really didn’t think I was going to be able to do it when the snow came in and iced over the trails and I went from 30 miles a day outside to 16 miles a day inside…so I may try to do 49 more miles and get to even 6,100 and I have 5 days to do that…then I zero out the computers and it starts all over again…won’t beat that next year with having 6 weeks that I won’t be able to ride with the PSA test coming up the first week of Feb and then the 19 days in the UK in the fall…but that’s okay…it will just make ’24 the year I ride 7,000 miles…that’s the goal anyway…yee ha!

Well…with the lack of snow removal up here, I just sent an e-mail to my city commissioner to see if she can light a fire under the public works department to get them to do their jobs…and it is especially galling when I sit here and see my tax bill of a thousand bucks sitting on the table in front of me…so I guess we’ll see if that will do anything…it is such a pain to have to bitch about everything to get anything done up here…grrr….

Well…when I used to celebrate christmas, this was my favorite day of the year….after all of the present wrapping, traveling, and family, it was the day that it was all over and I could finally relax…and I normally had the week off….but now, it’s just a day I have to get off my butt and get on the bike here in a minute….had the day off yesterday but I don’t feel like it…had to put heat on my right hip last night since it hurt so much and while that pain is not new it is surprising at the intensity….slept okay last night but was up at 3:04 and out of bed at 7:22…and no, it doesn’t feel like I slept in at all….just want to sit on the couch for a second day but I won’t….the EPL starts back up today and I have soccer on right now and that is a good thing to have running in the background….I did discover a new show to watch yesterday when a writer that I follow mentioned it…it’s called Station 17 and it may be a good one….it’s already all the way up to 22 out there right now and it didn’t snow last night so I guess that’s a plus….but I am going to call the city today to get them to plow the damn streets and alley up here…they haven’t plowed since the snow started in November and that’s bullshit with the taxes I pay….not much to do today…got laundry done yesterday so I really don’t have much to do today…and with no snow last night I don’t have that to do so I guess I’ll just clean a bit after the bike rides….more later….

Well…I think this almost qualifies as a sleep in day with getting up at 3;04 and not out of bed til 7:45….and I’m taking the day off today other than cooking and that is a luxury that I am going to revel in…no bike rides but I am going to have to do the snow again since it is still snowing out there…but the wind is much lower and it’s 17 already so that is going to feel balmy compared to the past two days…I am pretty damn stiff today from shoveling through all the drifts yesterday so it will take some time to get moving this morning…going to get the turkey in the oven around 10 so I can have it for lunch at by 1 or so and the just fall into a turkey coma and veg the rest of the day…I did take a look at my gas bill and it is up over a hundred bucks but I planned for that so no big deal…the next one could be 150 or so with how cold it’s been….but my power stayed on through this storm so I guess that’s something….didn’t get much done yesterday but shoveling and the bike rides and that was enough and with taking the day off, cooking will be enough for today….not much to do today….just going to watch Doctor Who christmas specials for now and have more coffee…I will need to fill the bird feeder one last time and they still haven’t plowed the streets up here so I’m going to be in for the next few days…oh, well…more later….