Ohhhh! Had I only known what I was in for, I might never have participated.

It was here on the first lap [that's me in the very middle at the back] when I realized I was in trouble.

We had just finished the neutral lap, and the speed started picking up. I managed to stay with the pack for about a lap and a half (2.5 miles), but 30 mph for any length of time was just too fast for me. (Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem, but being the first race of the season, there weren’t the usual number of racers, and I couldn’t seem to find any protection from the strong head wind, on the back stretch, in the group.)

I did make an attempt to latch on to the “big guns” (that’s me, back left), but that was really fruitless. I later learned there were a number of olympic hopefuls racing that night, so I wasn’t too upset, as those guys race at another level.

I eventually got in with my group again, and managed to stay with them another lap, but it just wasn’t my day. So I headed home dejected, hoping for better days in the future.

When I awoke this AM, the roads were surprising wet, and when I checked the weather forecast there was a 38% chance of rain by 8 AM and a 50% chance of rain by 9 AM. There goes the bike ride, so I decided I wouldn’t ride, and went and made myself a leisurely breakfast, and started getting prepared to go to the gym.

But what was really surprising is when I checked the weather forecast, a half hour later, there forecast had changed completely to partly cloudy, and no significant chance of rain until 1 AM tomorrow morning.

Jeez! Now I can understand the forecast changing from day to day, but from hour to hour, and by that much!

But you know what, the forecast was right the first time. It rained about the time I got to the gym. Unbelievable!

Not much is going on. I did manage to finally get out on the road this past weekend, riding 30 miles on Friday, and another 50 on Saturday, but I didn’t want to over do it, so I took Sunday off, and ran 4 miles on the treadmill instead.

My hand, while the cuts are healing, is still swollen, and it doesn’t seem to be improving, at least not so much as I can see. It’s not overly uncomfortable, but it is a hindrance to my bike riding. Plus I can’t stop picking at all the dead skin as the hands heals.

In the mean time, I will be back out on the bike this Wednesday, hoping to see improvement some time soon.

This is very frustrating! Now I am really starting to doubt my decision to have this operation.

Well tomorrow I get the stitches out, and I’ll see what the doctor has to say. In the mean time, I guess I’ll just sit here and mope!

So despite the fact I am still a little concerned about my operation today, I am feeling a lot better than I have for the last couple of days.

My biggest concern right now is the fact I can’t have anything to eat or drink, until after the operation, and I’m already getting hungry.

I’m not sure why I didn’t go for a bike ride, except that I was expecting it to be much like the first 3 days of the year, and I just didn’t want to deal with another dreary day on the road.

Instead I swam a 1000 yards and ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill at the gym.

Not only was I mistaken about the weather, but now I’m having trouble staying awake long enough to watch the football games on TV, and I think I’m getting sick again as well.

I’d forgotten I had this picture of that evening, but as I was reviewing some old emails I came across it, and decided to post it.

Outside of the usual Garry, Jim and myself, are two old timers who haven’t been on the bike in a while, Nelson and Greg. They’re the two on the far left. Plus there’s Mike in the middle, between Jim and me, who is the boy friend of Naomi, who used to ride with us, so we let him in.

Oh, and if anyone’s interested, Garry (far right) is the oldest, I’m (left of Garry) the second oldest and Greg is the youngest.

BTW, you can click on the picture for a bigger view.

I’m just hoping the forecast for the next 10 days holds true, although right now I’d be happy if it lasts for the next 3 days.

Lows of 35°F in the morning are just not acceptable anytime in Southern California, even if it is winter.

The developer of Alpha Inventions explains it, but it’s a little over my head. Hopefully someone smarter than me can explain how it works, and if I have to do anything to be a part of it.

I did this, only because I was hitting the ball pretty good at the range.  My tempo was good, and I was hitting the ball pretty much where I was aiming.

But once I got on the course, all that changed.  Not only were my tempo and rhythm way off, but half the time I couldn’t even make good contact on the ball, and when I did, it sure didn’t go where I planned.

I just don’t know anymore.  I used to like to play golf.  Last year I was playing 2 or 3 times a week.  Now, I’ve only played about 4 times this year, and I really have no more desire to play.

Plus it was freakin’ hot, so I quit after 9 holes.

I can’t even imagine how anyone can play golf in Florida, or anywhere else in the East or Midwest.  As a matter of fact, I can’t even imagine how people can live in those areas.

They must all be daffy!