Just because I didn't do any exercise for five years while I went through all these back issues, and wound up taking massive doses of oxycontin under a doctor's 'care', such as it was. In the end I should have figured that the medical route wasn't working two years earlier, but I was pretty afraid of trying to cope with my back pain holistically (i.e. without pain meds). The hard part was kicking oxycontin without knowing if I wouldn't wind up back on pain pills because I couldn't handle the pain. Happily I have been able to do that, and I've essentially accepted the fact that i'll be in some pain for life from my back. But that's OK. The cycling helps my body and mind so much that it has worked out. That's really why I ride so much.

Since I've been back on my bike my weight has ranged between 165 and 183 or so. 170 this AM. Hopefully after 12 days of climbing Greek mountains in 90º dry Mediterranean heat I'll be down to 165. I can't be too skinny. Like I keep saying, I drive by a Domino's Pizza in January and I gain 3 lbs.