I Saw A Ray Of Light

So this morning I woke up feeling old and creaky and stiff. I am not that old I know, but 37 is different than 27 for sure! It was raining (again) and I just couldn't make myself go out and run (again) so I rationalized it by telling myself that I really needed to get some work done... and then I really needed to clean the house (it is a complete pit)... and then I needed to get some more work done... and then lo and behold a ray of light came through my living room window.

Light?!? Was that sunlight?? 

Here on the dark Windward side on Oahu we go days without seeing the sun in the winter... maybe a bit like the Pacific Northwest, but warmer.  I can't remember the last day we had here that it did not rain (I have not had a bike ride since Kona that didn't involve water falling from the sky) and since I am solar powered, seeing bright light coming in from my window today instantly changed my mood. I jumped up and looked outside and <GASP> blue sky OMG! Within 5' I was wearing bike shorts and pumping up my tires. No way I was going to waste this opportunity to ride when the sky was BLUE!

It was all super for about an hour and then it went back to being winter and the front rolled in and the sky opened up and I got wet. Not a huge deal I know but it does get a bit sketchy b/c those white painted lines are as slippery as ice and in places they are thickly painted and like a foot wide... I am careful b/c I prefer staying upright when I am riding my bike.

I'll keep trying because one of these days I'm going to get to ride when it's not wet. I just know it.

I'm perfecting the art of changing flat tires too. I didn't succeed in keeping such a positive attitude about my flat today- primarily b/c it was the second one in 2 rides on that bike and the tires I'm running are fairly new (less than 300 miles on them) and I replaced them specifically b/c the old ones I was using were totally worn down with too many miles to count. I figured I'd prob start flatting more often on them soon so I bought new Gatorskin Hardshells (which supposedly are more flat resistant but after my last 2 rides I beg to differ). I was only ~7 miles from home and I hated to spend a co2 cartridge to spin myself home... thought about trying to hitch a ride but then I knew if I did that I would lose my mojo to run so I gritted my teeth and fixed my flat. And now I need to make a trip to the bike shop for some tire sealant because flatting every week is a pain in the ass.

In good news, Moana learned how to patch a tire tonight. She got a kick out of that! :)