Lazy Days

On the drive to work this morning, the sixth day of April, the 18th day of spring, the car themometer read a blistering 35 degrees and the sky was spitting snow onto the windshield. How is it that I ended up settling in a place where I hate the weather so much? I wonder what it's like to live in a place where one doesn't have to consult the weather forecast hourly in order to make outdoor activity plans properly.

Sue has been battling a sinus virus/infection for the past few days, and fearing what it means for our vacation next week riding in the mountains of North Carolina. Meanwhile, I've spent the past few days on the razor's edge of catching whatever she has, and fearing what that means for our vacation. With my asthma, a simple head cold can put me out of action for about a week. So while I've tried to be supportive of my loving wife, I've also tried to keep her at arms length. Yesterday, midday, I had a headache coming on, and my head and throat were starting to feel full. I never get headaches unless I'm dehydrated or getting sick, so warning bells and big red flashers were going off. I wrapped up a couple things at work early, and after lunch, sprinted home, stopping by the grocery long enough to grab handfuls of zinc lozenges, megadoses of antioxidant vitamins, and several other snake-oil products that promised quick cold cures and/or immune system boosters. I got home, turned the furnace thermostat up to "broil", stuffed appropriate orifices with tablets and sprays, and headed off to bed for a two hour midday nap.

When I woke up, all systems checked in normal, so at least for one day, I'd beat back those little nasties. Sue's feeling slightly better, so hopefully we'll both be ship-shape by Saturday afternoon when we swing our legs over our bikes for the first leg-loosening spin before we hit the big climbs on Sunday.

So this week has unexpectedly turned into a recovery week for us both. We put in a lot of miles during warm weather last week, but with the return of cold weather, battling illness, and packing and equipment checks in preparation for next week, we haven't been in the saddle once. Hopefully it'll work out okay, and we'll be super fresh for the long miles in the sun and warmth next week.

See you on the road.