belated celebrations

It's kind of an unstated goal of mine to ride at least once every calendar month each year. In 2011, I missed January. For 2012, I've made 100% of my goal so far for the year; OLPH & the Hill Slugs got out for a slow, backwards ride (mostly new roads, but some of them were roads with which I was vaguely familiar, in the other direction). Eight of us went, and the same eight completed, which is a rarity on the rides I've done in the past few months.

Laura OLPH bills her rides as "B" pace (rated by the Princeton Freewheelers as 15-16mph average), and she called this one a "slow B", but I really maintained a slowish "C+" pace, possibly because I was sweeping, as usual, and some of the riders were slow. I think that riders who can maintain a certain pace on the flats don't realize that we are all generally slower on the hills; while you can pick up the pace on the downhills, you spend many more minutes struggling your way up than gliding your way down.

That said, it was, as always for Laura, a beautiful ride on what became a beautiful day: chilly when we departed, but several of us (including your correspondent) shed layers during the ride (and I wished I could have shed another; as I write, my bike clothes for today are enjoying a much-needed laundering).

This is one of the things I wish I could have been doing last week, instead of what I was doing.

For this evening, the excellent wife and I are having our belated New Year's celebration. We always go out to an early dinner, often at McCormick & Schmick's. We'll do that tonight (as we couldn't a week ago). Then, we'll probably drop by the Sports Authority, where she has cast the eye of desire upon a new treadmill. The one she's been using is old, and was never ideal. The authors of Younger Next Year say that you should get good gear for athletic pursuits, and her current treadmill just isn't that good. Here's hoping the new one will be. (Plus, I get to do they assembly. Building toys! An excuse to use tools! WOO-HOO!)