The weather really sucked today. Heavy rain, light rain, t-storms. Grey and dreary. Totally unmotivating. Add to that the depression of not racing today and the fact that it's the end of a rest week (which means sore throat and runny nose as a general rule) and, well, I was anything but productive today.

I changed the wheels out on the TT bike for training purposes. New adventure that horizontal drop out and the extreme slack in 39x12 to make it all work right. Better that than the alternative, which could lead to blowing the derailleur off the bike if I were to lose track of where I was on the 53. Not like I'll ever use 39x12 as a riding gear. Seems to shift fine, so no worries about adjustments other than opening up the brakes a bit to accommodate the thicker brake pads. Now that I have the Mavic Aksiums that came with the Ordu, I can have the Ascents checked over and worked on as needed. Put an old Terry saddle on the Ruby and consigned it to the trainer for now so I don't have to keep swapping wheels around. Cleaned up a little bit around my bike area. Sorted through some stuff and bagged up stuff that needs to go out in the trash.

Finally got on the trainer for a little while. It's so hard to get on the trainer once consistent outside riding starts, even on a bad weather day. After spending so many hours on the trainer all winter, the last thing I want to do is get on it now! But I did it for a little while, figured something was better than nothing. Nice to know that I can sit on more watts now and still be in Zone 2. Not what Susan wanted me to do, but I just didn't have it in me to simulate a 20k TT. If I'd been able to ride outside, it would have happened. But not inside. Just couldn't go there. Spin stupid zone 2 for a bit and call it good enough.

Jeff emailed - they finished first in the tandems at the TT and it didn't rain but was very windy. I still believe that it all happened for a reason. Just like listening to your body and learning when to say 'enough' and when to push through, I had to make a judgement call with the car and firmly believe that I made the right call.

I'm debating getting up early tomorrow and going to the gym for a change. Haven't been in a few weeks and I miss it. It's not far, shouldn't be a problem with the car. Just have to check the coolant level before I go. I'll take the car in tomorrow and tell them where the leak seemed to be and see if they can fix it. The car is so old that hoses are starting to fail from dry rot. It's starting to cost too much to keep the car going, time to start shopping for a new car, it'll be a summer filled with driving and I don't want to have a problem on the way to Nationals or something like that.

Listening to Mahler 8 right now, getting it back into my head in detail for the concert on May 3. Maybe I should be focusing on Bruckner 6 for Saturday night. It's not a Bruckner I know well. Sunday I'll drive back and pick up mom then head into the city to hear Choral Arts do an a capella concert at National Presbyterian Church. Joe Holt is conducting. Hope I get a chance to say 'hi' to him. Haven't seen him since the series at the Holocaust Museum.

Cape May is flat and fast so I think I'll put the 11-23 on the disc for Saturday morning. Tempting to do Carlisle instead because it's a 40k where Cape May is only 12km, but Cape May is better so far as all the driving goes. And the short TT will let me really crank it out. Never done one so short so it'll be an interesting challenge. What do I ramp it up to and try to hold? Betty Tyrell did it in 18:43, so that's about 24 mph. I will have to try to hold 25 or better, if there isn't a brutal headwind. If I have a headwind/tailwind situation, I'll play it by ear, try to really crank it up with the tailwind to compensate for headwind.

Part of me wishes I was racing more in May and the rest of me likes the fact that it's a gradual build up to racing both days every weekend in June except the last one. Couple of TTs, couple of crits... no RRs in May. Even though there have been some headaches, I'm enjoying being Chief Ref for the RR at the end of May. That'll be a busy weekend as I'm also working CSC - I'm totally stoked (and totally terrified) about that. I know I'll learn tons from Judy Miller. And I'm looking forward to being Chief Judge at the Ft Ritchie Crit in Cascade. I know I won't race forever but I don't want to lose my connection to the sport and officiating and coaching will keep me connected for ever.

Already heard from the Rt 1 Velo folks about what I can do to help out as a CR for the Greenbelt Series. I know I can cover them after Nationals. But June is up in the air. May isn't an option. I'm not going to take off from work early to officiate up there. But after that I have Wednesdays off so it's easier. But if Susan wants me out on Skyline or something like that to prep for Nats in June enough driving is enough! We'll see how it comes together.