Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - back in the saddle (literally and figuratively)

Well, life issued conspired against me the past couple months, and I used them as a convenient excuse not to bike as much, and then not at all. Well, you get what you pay for, I guess, as I reverted a ways back from the progress I made last year bike commuting and weekend riding....and eating right. The damage was not too bad, about 18 lbs, but damage nonetheless. I went for a quick ride a couple weeks ago, 6.5 miles in the cold, and survived. Yesterday, I got back on the horse and went out for a vigorous 10 mile ride in 24*F overcast, and had a blast. This ride was the first prep ride for when my lights show up next week, and I have no real excuse to start commuting to/fro work again. I am really looking forward to it, and to getting a good jump on what I hope is to be a year filled with miles and rides, and back to lurking on BF.net.

that is all.

Sometimes a slide backward can be a good motivation to get after it even more. Glad to hear you are back at it. Keep going!

Set backs are part the journey. The important thing is getting back out there.

Good luck with the commuting. I'm still stuggling to overcome my fear of certain death on part of my commute. It's bit more than psychological, since everyone I know says don't ride that road, and there's not much of a choice to get there and back, lol.

the initial fear is replaced by caution usually. I commuted 10 miles each way from June until the end of August last year. There were parts that were/are a bit tricky, but after a couple times through, it was no big thing, as long as you are paying attention. My concern for the rest of the winter is just the narrowing roads due to snow, and the sand. There was some lingering ice on my ride yesterday, but not that bad, and the old ice is ok since it is normally filled with sand and provides some traction. My hope is to sneak in at least a commute or 2 per week, as that will put me in good form for the spring.

I ride all kinds of roads, from urban to rural, all with varying traffic and speeds. The road I have to do around 3 miles each way on is divided and four lane. Unfortunately, the lanes are so narrow that there is not room for a car to pass in the lane with a cyclyst present, and it is bumper to bumper 40 mph traffic on my return trip.

I work deep nights and the ride in is no big deal since there is never heavy traffic. The other 12 miles each way of my commute a great ride.

I may have found an alternative route, and it only adds a few miles to the ride. There are some more hil;ls, but that isn't exactly bad.

well, that is a bit more complicated than what I have. I have a stretch like that, but only for about .5 miles, and there is a sidewalk on the left side, which is where I come into it. since there is also a light, and a highway offramp, I must say that I use the SW. the difference is that there are no driveways on the stretch that I use-it is just for peds et al to get around the hairy junction.