“No appreciable change in our surroundings…we can only attempt to go south in our crippled state…still, there is a sporting chance and luck may be with us!”  Shackleton.  Ship’s log.  South.  The Endurance Expedition.  1917.

I have a barometer on my desk at the house.  It’s the 1800’s equivalent of today’s weather app for your smart phone.  The barometer indicates the change in pressure in millibars over a given time and has a dial that suggests states of weather; Fair, Change, Rain, Stormy.  Since I last set it, the dial was moving from Fair to Change as the pressure was dropping.    So was the weather despite the sunny day today. 

I was a little SAD today.  As in Seasonal Affect Disorder.  I was ready to get out in the cold, overcast day, even if it meant bundling up and driving over to 446 to find more road than snow and ice.  I had earlier texted a couple of teammates who had some interest, but some poorly timed family plans derailed the notion of a small group.  I was on my own.  Once we arrived back home I went directly to the basement, pulled gently by the cycling videos in the bookcase.  A well worn edition of a Sunday in Hell selected me.  Most of you have seen this, and probably many times.

The commitment that we make to cycling is as auspicious as it is self-fulfilling.  I am fortunate on both accounts and more.  As for miracles, well, they are where you look for them.  Today there was no epic challenges, no battle royales, no halfwheeling hell.  Just a strong, steady effort on a holiday weekend with some superb athletes either at the peak of their fitness, ramping up for the season, or leveling off.