Warmer this afternoon had to ride in shorts. Bored at work. Monotonous. Been listening to OFF! on my commutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ9dyfQt7k4

Stupid irritated skin patch by my nose flared up again last week. Started happening once a month or so last summer. Lasts 7-10 days. Probably seborrheic dermatitis. Awesome, a new chronic incurable condition to look forward to.

Looking forward to vacation but not all the driving.

Woke up Sunday morning after being sick for a week, hacked up a bunch of dry bloody phlegm and biked to work for the first time since Tuesday. It was severely foggy and kind of cold. It was nice to be on the bike again.

I've been sick since Sunday. Decided at the last minute to bike in to work anyway. Got rained on coming and going. Pants were soaked but dried fast. Small kid with huge back pack (SKHB)had some rain tarp covering his enormous pack. V offered to drive me home but it wasn't too bad. Plus once you're wet you can't really get much wetter.

I was going to do a sick ass ride tomorrow to get some more Power data. Probably won't happen since my throat still hurts etc.

Thursday is going to blow. I have to drive to Ocala in the morning for a training seminar and then drive back up to work 2-10. It's going to be a long ass day with no bikes.

V and I rode to Leonardo's Sunday morning to meet my mom for brunch. The ride took hardly any time at all. Maybe 15 minutes. Mom's rode her bike to Dee-lites ice cream shop the other day. That's 6 miles round trip from her house so not too shabby for someone who was too embarrassed to ride in front of people a month ago.

Went to B&M later to cancel my order for a speed sensor. I had ordered it because I thought the power meter alone would not keep accurate speed. It turns out the meter is pretty right on. Luckily Paul was there. I hung out while he spoke to a couple about biking apparel. He even asked my opinion on arm warmers at one point (for 'em!). They had a mountain bike sitting there with the insane monster truck tires which was pretty awesome. I stared at the Bianchi Pista fixie which is marked down to $560. I part of me wants one, but it would be impractical for just about all of my riding.

Anyway Paul said he would send back the sensor. I've made a mess of things with bike computers lately, but Paul has been totally cool. I know if someone came in to the pharmacy and caused me that much headache I'd be pissed.

Later I did something called a functional power threshold test on the Sempre. I went out to an uninterrupted stretch of 441 and rode hard for about 20 minutes. The idea is to get your average watts riding all out for 20 minutes and then use that figure to base how hard you should be riding for different types of work outs. I came in at 197 watts. I was biking fairly hard. Not being chased by wild animals hard, but it's as good a place to start as any.

Lot of biking Friday. Did the Millhopper route close to all out effort. I rode slightly slower but my watts were a little higher compared to last time. Maybe it was windier or I was less aerodynamic. Then I rode to work that afternoon. Later that night I met Virginia at the Atlantic to see some bands. Rode through UF on the way. I like riding through UF late at night. Reminds me of my old college running route. Took a chance on the way over that the cupcake place was still open. Made my way through the Main street construction dirt and bought the last cupcake they had left.

Locked the bike up and met V inside the Atlantic. The bands were ok. Kind of boring at times plus I was getting tired of standing since I had been at work. Total Recall was playing soundlessly on the TV over the bar so I leaned on the wall and watched it while listening to the band. I'm surprised the band wasn't watching it too.

During your next show you should announce "We have some CD's on the table over there. They're not of us and they're not for sale." I don't know why I find that amusing.

V and I biked home. She had brought me a scarf, gloves and hat. Very thoughtful. It was cold and raining a little. My legs were feeling tired just biking 11mph.

Rode the Sempre to work today to experiment some more with the power meter computer. Returned Mower Steve's trainer. Rode the Millhopper route Wednesday. It was pretty cool. I turned in one of my fastest times. Still 30 seconds off my best.

Wednesday night V and I rode to the downtown Farmers Market. Farmers Markets attract the lamest live musicians. This old guy was up on the stage doing House of the Rising Sun with just a guitar. He was there at last summer's Farmers Market doing what had to have been a 30 minute version of All Along the Watchtower. I swear he added lyrics. There was a dude at the 441 Farmers Market last year that stood on a pickup truck with an acoustic guitar playing Creedence. Are these people invited. I think they're scaring the rutabagas.

The middle of my arm has been tingling off and on for the past day and not in a good way.

Still figuring out the new power meter. This book I'm reading recommends doing a couple of all out 8 minute rides to have an idea of what power to shoot for during rides.

I dutifully went out to Millhopper road to perform this test last Saturday. As I was getting set up some old guy on a bike was looping around and riding off in front of me. So now I'm ready and I take off. I really don't know how to pace myself because I've never ridden 8 minutes all out. I start approaching the old guy but it's taking longer to pass him than I anticipated. I speed up to get by him and keep cranking. I have a couple of minutes to go and I'm tiring. I keep hearing this noise behind me. With about 40 seconds left the old guy passes me. This guy had to have been in his sixties.

Hats off to him. I don't know if I just angered a hornets nest by passing him or if he's just a badass.

Saw the small kid with huge backpack (SKHB) yesterday. That kid is going to have scoliosis by the age of 14.

Other than that I've had some pretty good rides downtown with V. We saw No Age at Common Grounds last Sunday which was cool. Drank my first Scotch at the Top that night. The cupcake place had a "soft opening" last weekend but we didn't make it.

Thursday morning ride wasn't too cold. My hands started to freeze up halfway through.

When I'm at stoplights I time it so I take off right before the turn arrow comes on to avoid waiting an extra 15 seconds. Thursday I was barreling through yellow lights as they were turning red as well. Just wanted to get there. The ride home that afternoon was more relaxed. Stopped off at Radio Shack to deal with a gift card fiasco. Rocked out to Local Natives on the ride home.

Later I dropped off the Sempre and V's Cortina to get new bike computers. V wanted one with a backlight since most of her riding is at night. Her main thing is knowing her speed and what time it is. My new power meter computer came in for the Sempre. This is the one that I thought I was getting originally.

I normally do the Racetrack loop on Wednesday but it was too cold and getting too dark by the time I was ready to ride. Instead I did my 13.5 mile Millhopper ride. I wore my arm sleeves that make me feel like I'm knocking down 3 pointers like this dude

http://www.celticsblog.com/2008/5/29/644558/behold-the-power-of-the-sl

Anyway I clocked in at 42:20. My course record is 40:27. One day I will go under 40 minutes and we'll have a celebratory dinner.

Thursday AM ride to work is supposed to be cold as shit.

Monday I biked the Millhopper route. I really like that course. Just 13.5 miles. Hit it and quit it. Did a decent time despite not having my bike computer. In a way it was nice to not have it to look at it. There was a crosswind blowing and I was a little distracted contemplating force vectors. The last mile I went pretty hardcore.

Rode into work that afternoon. I instantly realized I forgot my jacket. That night I met V at Boca Fiesta to see Averkiou, etc at the Atlantic. I thought about you as I cut through UF on my way. The show was good but the ride home was ice cold. It was windy, foggy and wet. It went right through my paper thin dress shirt.

I didn't get to sleep until 3:30am. I forgot to set my alarm. I woke up just in time to make it to work at 8AM but I had to drive. Tonight we rode back downtown to the Top for Taco Tuesday. I had a bowl of tomato soup, quesadilla and we split a chocolate torte.

Rode downtown with V to the Top and the Atlantic Saturday night. It was cold. Dinner with Erica and her fiance Richard was cool. I was a little drunk from my one Rum Runner. The Atlantic was a little tedious. I didn't want to dance and risk reflaring up my leg. My Rum Runner had long since worn off so I was totally aware of standing there like a tool in a cloud of Carlos D-like nicotine smoke.

I went by Bikes and More Sunday to exchange the power bike computer for one that displays more info. Paul was cool as always. Got a little more back story on Brian. Chandler was as aimless as always. Supervising him must be exhausting.

Now I'm lying in bed eating a Kozy Shack tapioca pudding and reading Sandman comics online.

Going to try to ride Millhopper tomorrow morning.

It's been a few days since my last post. I've had computer problems (virus and hardware), my leg problem flared up and I had a few turnaround shifts. All of which makes posting difficult. Also I've been partying with V.

Mechanical problems of late. Got another flat on the Sempre riding the Millhopper loop. Changed the tire and just aborted the rest of the ride. Had trouble getting the wheel back on the bike. It kept rubbing on the brake. Man was I pissed. Same day I noticed the Cortina tire was also rubbing on the brake. Took them both to B&M Sunday. The Cortina had a broken spoke. It seems to get a lot of those. Sometimes I wish I still had my sickass 1979 red Schwinn Scrambler with the dope yellow mag wheels. Those fuckers never broke. I had all the pointless BMX pads. I was always popping wheelies and doing curb jumps. I broke my wrist on that bike trying to touch my wheel to another kid's wheel while riding. The day I got my cast off I slipped in mud looking for arrow heads and broke it again.

The students are back in town (think of how less rocking that Thin Lizzy song would be with that title). I made some pretty loco swerves on Glenn Springs road and 34th ave Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning to get around kids and traffic.

I rode Millhopper on the Sempre again Monday but my time was slow as hell. Plus there was a leaf stuck in the frame that the front tire keep rubbing on and the noise annoyed the shit out of me.

So the prostate problem has died down, but now the leg problem has flared up. It's the spinal nerve problem where I have pain, numbness and zapping referred into my lower right leg. Awesome! I'm debating whether to try to schedule an appointment to have another nerve block. Maybe it will ease off on it's own. I go on vacation next month (up north to NYC etc- Church tour) and I don't want to be miserable. Anyway it's just a reminder that I can't go too nuts riding on the bike (or virtually any other activity) or it will flare up the leg problem.

My most enjoyable rides of late have been with V. We've been riding downtown to the Top and Boca Fiesta. She pedals like a demon going up hills. It's cool to look over and see her smiling while cruising down the road. Plus she is really conscientious about hand signals which I know you'd appreciate.

My mom rode on the Hawthorne trail with her boyfriend (Brian) last Monday. She had a good time. She told me she needs to work on her shifting to get up the hills. Brian ordered a fixed gear Felt from B&M the other day.

I went to B&M yesterday to get my Power Tap installed. Unfortunately they didn't get all the parts they needed so they put on the new wheel only to have to take it off again and put the old one back on. It's no big deal. Between having my esophagus dilated this morning and the rain this afternoon riding is not really an option. While at B&M I was talking to Keith. Just shooting the breeze. It was kind of awkward. It was then that it hit me. There is a key difference between hanging out at the bike shop and how I used to hang out at the record store. I don't really know dick all about bikes and don't really care to. However at the record store I had strong opinions and could launch into a 20 minute diatribe about say the key differences between black metal and death metal.

Speaking of which on the way to the doctor's office this morning Virginia was singing along to a Magnetic Fields song. It reminded me that she sang chorus in high school. When I was in high school I just jumped around in my room playing air guitar to Iron Maiden tapes.