In Idaho Falls

I've been in Idaho Falls, Idaho since Thursday, April 24th. I drove here with a co-worker to attend the Idaho Association of Letter Carriers convention and we return home today in about 6 hours from now... which means I need to stop messing with the computer and hit the sack. Still I wanted to get in some kind of post, rather than miss my usual Sunday installment.

The picture included for today was taken from our motel balcony, and shows the Mormon Temple on the east side of the Snake River.

Heading Back Toward Winter...

Happy Sunday everybody! After last weekend's teaser that warm weather was here at last, the Boise area finds itself looking at a projected high of 45 degrees and 30% chance of precipitation. Yippee. Can you feel my elation?

This coming week will throw a change into my routine; on Thursday I'll drive to Idaho Falls (on the east side of the state) where I'll be attending the state convention for the National Association of Letter Carriers. I'll drive back on Sunday, and rejoin life's normal programming. The weather, of course, calls for highs in the 30's to 40's along the route traveled with at least a 30% chance of snow. I'll be stuck inside a meeting room at a hotel for most of the time so I guess it doesn't really matter what the weather is like outside as I won't be out in it anyway!

Valerie found a bicycle helmet she liked last week; it didn't mess with her hair (which she keeps in a pony tail when riding) and was far more comfortable (and less hassle to put on because of the pony tail). Of course they didn't have the color she wanted... but we managed to find one on-line through Bike Nashbar that was on a close-out price. What a deal! We can never find stuff for me on close-out because my sizes are much too common and are always sold out! But she found the same helmet locally in my size (and matching color) and then asked the store personnel if they could do better on the price... and they gave her a discount! Good for her!

Now we're awaiting the arrival of her helmet through the mail and the return of some decent weather once again. I'm betting that the helmet gets here first!

On the Bike at Last!

It certainly took longer that usual to get us out for the first bike ride of the year, but today we finally had all our ducks in a row and the weather was "go"! Boise was expecting temperatures between 75 and 80 today and we drove down there to take advantage of it. (I imagine that the weather in Garden Valley was pretty nice too, but the route options are severely limited.)

We had a breeze to contend with, but fortunately for us it was blowing "the wrong way" today, so we rode into the wind for the first half of the ride (at a slow pace in an easy gear) and then screamed back toward where we parked the truck, with the wind pushing us all of the way.

We rode 17.5 miles... which doesn't sound like much, but for the first time out it's not too bad either. There's a lot of muscles that need to be awakened and worked back into shape, and then there's the matter of being able to sit on the bike seat for any extended amount of time! Hopefully, if the weather stays decent we'll start to be able to do a little riding with a little more consistency. (We're going to have to ride regularly if there's any hope of getting back into shape like we were back in "the olden days"!)

We stopped at a couple of bike shops along the route and checked out some of the new helmets for Valerie, and then after the ride we made the BIG mistake of stopping off and grabbing some Mexican food for dinner. We wound up with chicken fajitas and both ate more than either one of us should have. We probably negated all of the good work we accomplished by riding, but what the hey -- it tasted great at the time!

Where's the Good Weather?

7:30 AM: This has been one of those weeks where the weather started out filling us with hope that when our day off came (today) that we would be able to get the tandem out and take our first ride of the year. But the sunny hope week's beginning has given way to the cloudy gloom of week's end.

Here's what today's forecast for Boise says, courtesy of the "Weather Underground": Cloudy with scattered rain showers. Chance of precipitation 30 percent. Highs 50 to 55. Southeast winds up to 10 mph in the morning...shifting to northwest around 10 mph in the afternoon.

At first glance, one would tend to think that 50 - 55 degrees at this time of year would be great riding weather. And, if the sun were out, you'd be right. And there are others who would say that all we need to do is dress for the weather and get out there and do it anyway. You would also have an arguement that would be hard to beat. Enter the "I don't want to" factor.

I don't want to ride in chilly weather. We both have to work outside for a good portion of the day delivering mail. We get to experience the sun, the rain, the wind and the snow whether we want to or not. This week was breezy, and the breeze was nothing like the ambient temperature -- it was bitter at times and cut right through the clothes we were wearing. We were hoping that the weather was on the upswing, rather that the direction it took.

I don't want to ride in the rain. Again, refer to the first few sentences in the paragraph above. Combine "wet" with the chilly wind, and you have even less of a chance for an enjoyable ride. It's not like we were stuck with an office job all week and are dying to get outside, no matter what.

I don't want to catch the flu. I know this sounds silly, but I've managed NOT to come down with a cold or flu this season while Valerie has. And it's cycled back around for her, so she's enjoying it a second time. This is the variety that hangs around for a couple of weeks, and then slowly backs away... but some of the symptoms seem to take a month or more to disappear completely. I've been fortunate this season in that I haven't come down with anything, and Valerie doesn't need to be out begging for pneumonia to come and visit.

I don't want to grow old. But it's happened. If I were young in age and/or spirit, I'd ignore all of the excuses in the above paragraphs and get off of my ever-expanding arse and just go do it. Instead I'll sit here at the computer, with the heater cranked up and a warm mocha in hand and wait until summer arrives. (Which, by the way, is always much too hot to engage in any kind of physical activity when one doesn't absolutely have to!)

10:30 AM: It's been snowing since about 8:30, so the bike ride seems like an even sillier idea to me now! But you know that there's always next weekend!