On the road again. Really!

Here he comes,
riding down the street,
hairy legs like a monkey,
smilin' at everyone he meets!

OK guys and gals, I am officially back on the road.  Nobody wanted me to do it, but I simply couldn't handle the that trainer any longer.  I missed the road, the sun, and the camaraderie.  This is not to say I have recovered though.  Right now, I am concentrating on riding without crashing.  Not that I particularly wanted to crash before, but now I really, really do not want to go down.  I figure I have two more weeks of healing until my bones can handle it.  Until then, big group rides are off-limits.

During my 5 weeks off the road, I lost about 20 watts and gained 5 pounds.  Not too bad, all things considered. I also made some other significant changes.  If you didn't catch the monkey reference, it is true: I am going fully fuzzy.  That's right; I haven't shaved my legs in 5 weeks.  Yet, I am OK with it.  My wife tells me it’s perfectly normal for a man to have hairy legs.  Besides, when I get my butt kicked by other furry guys like Aaron, Dominic, and Tracy C., I figure if they can do it, then I can too.   

I haven't yet made any other real changes, but I figure along with the hairy legs, I was thinking of

• mounting a rear-view mirror on my helmet
• carrying a camelback, and
• getting a kick-stand (really convenient for those coffee shop stops)