Jan 30 - crocodile tears

I don't expect that anyone is going to be shedding a tear for me when I tell them that it rained yesterday and that today is only getting up to 59F. No one, that is, who's shoveling snow ...

Anyway, we went into Orlando yesterday, hitting Batteries Plus so that I could get the battery for the M5, Costco for a few food items and Whole Foods for a few more food items. We were back in time for lunch -- late for me -- at 1:30.

Costco had a very good selection of fish, including fresh ahi tuna, so we picked up some because our local fish store has not had fresh tuna since we arrived. I also picked up some smoked salmon for my lunch sandwiches. Publix used to have good-priced one pound packages but they're dropped those in favor of quarter pound packages which are a lot more expensive.

Sandy picked up some olives at Whole Foods for her tapenade and we also found a couple of cheeses for our late afternoon snacks.

Abby came along for the ride. If dogs wonder ... then she must wonder about these several-hour trips where we end up at the starting point. The rest of the afternoon, after returning, I did some shopping in the den -- online -- for some spare bike parts and a bread maker. I also ordered a couple of music CD's from Amazon.

Sandy ... ahem ... had a snooze. Then we watched some Stargate SG1. There are two seasons that I watched up north that she hasn't seen. We both like the characters so it's good pre-dinner relaxation. We had the tuna for dinner, along with rice and a salad.

This morning I've been doing some bike maintenance. I rerouted some of the cables for the new lights; changed the brake pads; checked the brake and derailleur cables. All of the cables look like they've just been installed, i.e. no rust, which is great considering that they were installed in March 2007 before heading off for the ride across the country. The brake pads were equally old and needed replacing.

Back to the weather -- it is sunny, albeit cool right now at 52F. I intend to get out for a ride soon. I need to put many miles on this weighty bike setup before going out on the longer brevet rides. I mentioned that I'm planning on doing a 300km ride on January 7th. It starts in Melbourne, beachside, at 5am. Yes, I checked the start point and time this morning. It's about an hour and a half away so I'll have to leave around 3am. Well ... at least I won't have to worry about traffic at 3am on Saturday morning ! I'll need the lights from the get-go though and my obligatory Sam Browne reflective sash and reflective ankle bands.

Sandy went out for a walk with Abby a short time ago. I'll be heading out shortly.

That's it ...