February Warm

Is it February already? Metro Mountain Bikers monthly meeting will be a special, most of the day event on Sunday February 12th; a mega meeting. It will begin with a ride, 1-4 pm, before the meeting and then movies and hopefully an open grill from 6 pm. And with the recent high temperatures in what has usually been the coldest time of the year it looks like it will not just be for the fool hardy. Yes, Winter weather riding can be very risky but if things stay warm it may be Spring all of February. I most likely will not be attending. It will be in the middle of a long hard week of work and I may have some other commitments.

My exercise routine is picking up, finally. And as I exercise more I want to exercise more. The WORS season is quickly approaching. I got out for six days of vigorous exercise last month, including a quick ride yesterday at over 10mph on my mountain bike. Not great but it gets the heart moving. I took this photo on a ride before our January cold snap and had hoped to get a contrasting photo of a frozen river by the end of January, but when I was there yesterday it looked nearly the same.

With the new roof my stomach problems went away. I put it to environmental conditions where as my parents, who helped pay for the roof, chalked it up to reduced stress. A good roof is very important and a bad roof is quite a lot of stress. Then I did some work in a crawl space as the roof work had knocked down old insulation and made a general mess under the old rafters. I had my ventilator, long sleeves, hat and goggles, all highly recommended for anyone working in a crawl space, yet after I finished I got a bit sick and my stomach problems returned.

So, …I say it was more environmental than stress. I am not as hungry as I used to be either since the new roof was put on. I am not sure if I am losing weight too as the fancy scale we have needs a new battery. Getting in shape and getting healthy is a multifaceted effort. I also need some long overdue expensive dental work to be done. Bad teeth can also cause health problems. Misao and I also need to get on a regiment of some good supplements. The talk these days is krill oil. I also believe in what is labeled ‘HA’ for your joints.

Ike and clearing out the basement have been a formidable pair of tasks. Got all my tools and such out to clean and organize. Have some major projects to get to in the basement and am rearranging everything in preparation. Ike needs constant attention whenever he is not sleeping. My brother is recommending a trainer this spring as it was my opinion that he is very smart, though he acts stupid, and has some great hunting skills. He responds poorly to raised voices but after an initial start he goes towards sudden loud noises, suggesting he shouldn’t be gun shy.

Will definitely get my bike in to be overhauled, but don’t think I have enough money to swing a trainer. But if the weather keeps up like this a trainer may be a poor investment considering our current finances. Besides I’d rather get the high end stuff than the cheap simple trainers and those are out of reach for this year. Looking also to repair a beach bike I got from my brother or pick up some thing simple to ride around town with to do errands and get to the gym. Of course then I need a place to lock it up.

Started this first day of February with writing. This is my third blog post of the day. I will also write on my books today. I may write all day and stay away from Facebook completely. And for Kindle device owners you can read “Chuck Hammer and the Invisible Squadron, A Vendetta’s Wage” for free. Simple download it from your ‘Kindle Owner’s Lending Library’ on your Kindle device or click on the “Prime” badge on the sales page. I should post this on Facebook.