Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2264:

This was my first commute of the new year. I had taken the last two weeks off so we could travel to visit my wife's family in Ohio. On Monday we drove home to South Dakota. My wife was sick and didn't want to make any meal stops, so we only stopped three times for gas/food to go. Made it home in 14.5 hours, which is pretty good time. Normally I expect about a 16 hour drive.

Knowing we would be driving all day on Monday, I took Tuesday off as well. So today was my first day back to work. The temp was a balmy 28°F, although the humidity was very high making it feel a little chillier. Still, that's very warm for South Dakota in January. November and early December came in with lots of snow and subzero temps, and now the last three weeks have been extremely mild.

There is still a bit of snow lingering here and there, but most of it has melted. There is also plenty of ice, but nothing I can't ride around with a little care. I took the road bike.

I had a dentist appointment scheduled this morning at 8 AM, so I rode there first. I had scheduled the appointment long before we made travel plans. Then an hour later I rode to a client's office where I discovered that somehow they didn't realize I was going to be gone for two weeks, even though I had been stating that fact since Thanksgiving in my weekly status updates. That tells me they don't read them.

Felt pretty strong during my ride to work, which I attribute to the two weeks of rest. Oddly enough, the fit of the bike felt weird, like the seat was too low and the reach to the handlebars was too short. Nothing changed on the bike, so I'm not sure why it felt that way.