a week of riding

the end of the first week back on my commuter bike has arrived bringing with it a rekindling of my appreciation for what truly happens during the winter. no matter what i did on the trainer, there is little connection to the realities of fighting into a headwind, dealing with cars, trucks, schoolbuses, the piles of sand and salt that spread in some places more than a metre from the side of the road and the simple fact of rolling resistance. which also explains the tidy little muffin top that has emerged tumbling gently

up and over the waist line of my shorts!

i thought i was working hard, but i fooled myself!

not to worry. i'm thrilled - yes i'll use that word in its richest sense - to be back on a bicycle after finishing last season on december 12th with the snow coming down almost as heavily as my mood. the road - literal and metaphoric has opened up once more and my preparations for a season of riding culminating in the africycle ride around lake ontario are gently underway.

my commute each day is very brief - eight km each way - but it's got a couple of good climbs and depending on the lights, the opportunity to push the speed envelope and to really challenge my body to return to where i left it last december in terms of fitness. but what's truly exhilarating is the freedom in knowing that i can leave whenever i want. go wherever i need. stop when i want. it's so simple. it's that magical!