Several years ago a fairly competitive friend of mine was urging me to get into Strava. I was less than enthusiastic about the idea. I was perfectly happy with my miles being tracked for me on Garmin Connect. I didn't need the world to know where/when I ride or how much slower I'm getting with age. But I'm starting to use Strava regularly now. There is a [faint] social aspect to it, which I guess is healthy and potentially [mildly] entertaining. But more importantly—as my drive to tackle long and challenging rides fades with age—I find that Strava is a good little whip to make me do the miles I should be doing. With others seeing WHETHER I'm riding or not, it's almost like having a coach egg me on to get some miles in.

I say "should be doing" because I've signed up to complete (not race) the Belgian Waffle Ride's "Wafer" this year after hearing for years how "fun" the BWR is. Just to complete this all-terrain ride, I need to ramp up my game a good bit. One way of doing that is to have a modest circle of other cyclists observe what I'm up to on the bike. The Strava segments that get posted by the time my bike's Garmin GPS gets within range of our home's Wi-Fi network fortunately don't include the sound of my whining for the last 24 miles of my 54-mile ride yesterday. The segment just shows that I did it. For a 60+ rider who's way out of shape...that's a START. 

From this start I need to keep going. If I do a 50-60 mile ride three times a week, my cycling fitness should improve dramatically. But I need some patting on my fat, sweaty head to keep me going, and that's where Strava's KUDOS come in. Just a few kudos go a long way. Maybe I should get my non-cycling wife a Strava account so she can give me kudos for every ride. She does politely ask how my ride was every time. When I say, "cold, long, painful," her sympathy and conversation doesn't add one thumbs-up to my kudos...but I do appreciate it. 

As I start to get to know Strava better I'll tinker around with its features and maybe even upgrade to Premium someday. This morning I discovered that I can post pictures from my PC, so I've added a couple here. 
https://www.strava.com/athletes/61596/posts/1293829
I don't know why these don't show up on by profile background, but I can't quite pretend to care about that yet. I'm on Strava. I'm trying to ride more. One mile at a time. 

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! To show some respect for the centuries of endurance against oppression, harassment and abuse by people of color in America and elsewhere, I'm NOT going to whine about this rotten cold bringing me down. Instead—in addition to saying THANK YOU DOCTOR KING—I'm going to briefly celebrate the escape from winter I made to Borrego Springs with SDBC's racing team this past weekend. 

Writing two blog entries in the span of a week is VERY rare for me, so there must be a big reason for this follow-up to my "whining about winter" entry just last week. Indeed. I found summer again in Borrego Springs! No base layer. No chilly wet jersey. Just great summer riding with a bunch of younger and stronger SDBC racers. I was there to provide "SAG" support and take some photos, but I got to ride on Friday, which was good fun. I used a few cameras and only got the pictures off of my own camera. You can see those photos here. 

Everyone I met during the camp was really nice. The men & women all seem to have a good time together, and this camp is meant to help them practice working together on and off the road. I suspect they'll be a formidable force on the racing circuit this year. I'd like to thank them for letting me be part of the camp, and I'd like to wish them all a fun, safe and very successful racing season. 
​         www.CyclingSalvation.com

Riding a bike is cheaper than a therapist and more fun than a gym. As all serious cyclists know, riding a bike is a great mood-lifter, especially during rides lasting 2 hours or more, where the endorphins really kick in. This cool gray winter day, I am in serious need of endorphin therapy. 

I like snow. I enjoy snow skiing. But when there's not any snow around, I really don't have any use for gray skies and cold weather. I moved from Chicago to San Diego over 30 years ago to bask in the legendary SoCal sunshine. That's what makes days like today a little disappointing. That's what makes winter in San Diego a little disappointing. I guess I didn't do my homework on the weather before moving here.

Subtropical ≠ Tropical. Apparently I prefer tropical. Tropical lifts my mood. Subtropical summers are awesome but I don't like subtropical winters, where—like today—the high temperature of the day might creep slightly above the 50s (F), or above 15°C for those who live in countries that have adopted modern measurement systems. Our  visit to South Africa brought us a brief exposure to SUMMER (and a near-death elephant encounter) last month, but we're all back home in the northern hemisphere now...thankful for the rain (FINALLY), but not loving the mudslides or the cold. 

I know, anyone living in sub-freezing weather right now would think, "Jeez, what a weenie. Such a wimp." (Or worse.) I deserve it. I know I should appreciate what we have, but EVERY winter I automatically start thinking of warmer places to move to. My wife won't hear of it, so here I must remain. 

Too bad, big baby. Time to bundle up and ride. Yes, I have cycling clothing that makes riding in 60°F weather perfectly bearable, but I'd still rather be riding in short sleeves with no base layer and sweating in some HEAT & SUNSHINE. Too bad. Suck it up. I'm riding right after lunch. And I'm going to LOVE  it, right? Right!