FAT TUESDAY

     OK, so it's not REALLY fat Tuesday, but with me traveling the past couple of weeks, and the dumping of another 8 inches of snow on Saturday, I have managed to gain 2 pounds. Not a big deal, I am not in crisis mode... we are going to Ruby Tuesdays as planned. It just means that I need to ride a little harder and longer and faster when the snow melts enough to get back on the bike.

      It is never easy to maintain a healthy eating routine when traveling. I spent last weekend in our New York office doing scheduled maintenance and reconfiguring the firewall. It was nice to work alone in the office, not because I don't enjoy the company of the guys that work there, it's just that I find I get a whole lot more done. The drive up to New York on Friday evening was very long and very slow. I was on the New Jersey Turnpike on a Friday at rush hour. I did not plan that very well.

     What is nice about New York is that I am able to drive to the hotel and the office, which means that I can schlep around all the food I need to stay on track. I brought some salmon, and pork chops, already baked sweet potatoes, plenty of salad ingredients. I brought along fruit and snacks for work... so I was pretty well set. The problem was that I did not bring my bike. Sure I rode the stationary bike at the hotel, but it just isn't the same. It tells you when to increase the tempo or pedal harder, as opposed to being on the bicycle and YOU deciding how fast you want to go up that hill, or how long you want to keep the cadence above 100. You actually 'move' on a real bicycle too. The stationary bike just wasn't cutting it. I did an hour each day, and didn't have that good work out feeling that I get from riding a real bike.

     From New York I headed north to see my Mom and Dad. That was another day sitting in the car. Only this trip was during monsoon weather. It was raining buckets and the wind was blowing 40 - 50 mph gusts. Going over the Tapanzee Bridge in New york, I felt like I was going to be blown over the side. There were 2 spots along the trip where I was detoured from the highway because of high standing water. What was happening was the water was eroding the embankments along the highway, loosening the dirt around the roots of the trees, and the wind was blowing the trees over into the road. The drive that normally takes me 4 hours took me the better part of 6 hours. No working out at my parents house. Not that I couldn't have... I just didn't.

     Tuesday I did some visiting with a former teacher and a former sister in law. These visits were preparations for the New England Classic ride in July. My former teacher said that having me in his office was like an episode of "Cold Case". He was picturing me like I was 27 years ago when I was in high school. It was sort of surreal to walk through the high school again. The kids look so young...I was not that young when I went to high school.

      Wednesday I was off again, headed home. I snuck out of my parents house at 3:45 a.m. and headed to the New York office. I had a computer that I needed to drop off there, and then I was on my way back to Maryland. Another day in the car, with no exercise... and what is there to do in the car. Driving on long trips is SO boring. It's no wonder I fell asleep at the wheel when I was younger. There is nothing to do when you are driving. Bite your nails and pick your nose... that's about it. The radio is OK for about 15 minutes, then all the songs start sounding the same. This is a perfect scenario for mindless nibbling. Twizzlers are my favorite, but pretzels work just as well, which is what I had with me.

      So there you have it. Traveling, coupled with lack of bicycle riding and you gain 2 pounds in 2 weeks. I am scheduled to travel to Chicago the week of the 21st of February. I am looking for a place that rents bicycles in Chicago. I figure I can get a pretty good rate to rent a bicycle in Chicago in the middle of February.

      That pretty much gets you up to date. I am very busy at work, getting ready to make the trip to Chicago. I am finishing the flyers and the web site for the New England Classic fundraising, and Emily will be here this weekend. I will post again when before I go to Chicago.

Thanks for reading.