Snow

The character building season is upon us again.

Here in Chicago we got 6 inches of snow in the last two days. I now have a visible excuse for not going out and doing an easy 20 miles of training. It hasn't, however, stopped me from honoring my commitment of riding to work everyday. So far the score is: Ice and Snow 0, Me and my Bike 1. I almost prefer the areas that haven't been plowed. I nearly wiped out going around Soldier Field today because the plows left a fraction of an inch of snow on the ground that melted at midday and froze into ice once the sun went down. I am very thankful for my mountain bike on days like these.

My training for the tour starts January 1. Initially I was going to start at the beginning of November but extra hours at work made that impossible to keep. I have also realized that my diet needs an overhaul if I am going to successfully train and participate in crossing the continent. This is no ordinary change in diet either, I need to gain some weight. My coworkers who have done a coast to coast ride told me about how thin they got over the course of their trip despite never refusing an opportunity to eat. My metabolism has always been really high. I am 6'6" and weigh somewhere around 200 lbs. Any weight I lose would start to make my mother question if I am capable of feeding myself. I am going to try to incorporate as many additional carbs as I can into my current eating habits.

This Christmas I hope that I get a spare tire, because I know it will come in handy on the trip.