I really didn’t want to write an update this week. I mean, I wanted to write one, but I didn’t have a topic and I really had to do some laundry. And some cleaning. A lot of cleaning actually. I think I had to come up with a bunch of reasons not to write the update to force me to sit down and write something. Anything. I didn’t want to go to the gym today either. I had missed a few days and my back was sore. And I was busy. And I was fighting a cold. I had to clean and write a blog update and do some shopping for the family. I was sensing a theme by the early afternoon.

My wife broke the stalemate with the idea of skipping the gym today. My back really was bothering me and I really was tired from fighting a cold. When she got dressed to go to the gym and got my son in the car I didn’t really have a choice but to follow them. I was dreading this run after four straight days of not running or riding. I knew it was going to hurt and I was going to regret going. I was completely wrong. Oh, it did hurt and I am sore, but I don’t regret going at all. I actually used all of the energy in my rested legs and managed to pound out a personal best distance for an hour on the treadmill. Not too shabby and totally worth the trip to the gym.

The rest of the day has been spent cleaning and doing laundry, so those excuses weren’t made up. The cleaning and washing got me thinking about my post for the week. I think my mind needs a little spring cleaning today as well. I have been struggling with inspiration for a little while now, mostly because I haven’t been able to ride outside. Long training rides help clear my head and help me to focus on what I want to talk about. The other problem that I have been struggling with is that there are things that I want to talk about but can’t right now. I don’t want to write about projects and plans that I don’t have confirmed due to the superstition that if I write about future plans something will happen to alter them. Even if it isn’t true, I don’t want to chance anything.

So, with those two issues looming over my head I have decided to do a little cleaning out of what is happening between my ears without getting too involved in future plans and risking a curse. The first thing I wanted to talk about was the 30 Days of Biking. This is an annual event where cyclists pledge to ride every day in April. I was extremely torn about trying to complete this challenge again this year. Last year it was very easy to do, I was just getting back to work and I was home early most nights. That and no real social commitments left me plenty of time to get a ride in. This year I am training for a 5K road race in the evenings. That race is in the end of April. I know I wouldn’t be able to ride that day. I also have commitments on Tuesdays that make it nearly impossible for me to ride four more days out of the 30. The part that was pushing me to try is this year the folks at 30 Days of Biking have teamed up with Free Bikes for Kidz and pledged one new bike for every 30 riders who take the pledge. I had to decide to skip this year but I have made a promise to myself to support my friends who have made the pledge and to try to promote the charity when I can for the month of April.

The next thing rattling around in my mind is the 5 Boro Bike Tour. I have joined team Some Nerve and will ride with them in the tour. Patty Chang Anker wrote a wonderful book, Some Nerve, about facing your fears and opening up your life. One of her fears was biking in New York with all of the traffic and other riders. She set out to overcome this fear and is riding in the 5 Boro Tour. This is a huge step for her as you can’t find a group ride bigger than 30000 plus riders. To help support her she created team Some Nerve. We are 39 riders strong and will all be wearing bright yellow shirts and jerseys as we tackle the course together. Brian from IWearSpandex.com and I will be with her. I am really looking forward to this ride and I am training hard to be able to enjoy it as much as I did last year.

The last thing that I have been thinking about is what to do in New York the night before the 5 Boro Tour. I am thinking about trying to set up a meet up somewhere in the city. I was thinking that a bunch of us were going to go out to eat and then we could head out to a local bar or other low key place to meet anyone from the New York City area or anyone else in town for the Tour. It would be an early night as we all would have a 42 mile ride the next morning, but I thought it might be a fun way to meet some new people. Would anyone be interested in something like that? The Tour is 34 days away, so I am probably thinking about this too late, but I would love to know if there is any interest in meeting up. If there is, we can set something up and post it on the blog.