In B Town, Finally With A Bike

Loren and I returned from Europe and are now back home in Boulder.  Being in Europe this last month was a good experience for me.  A big part of why I went was to test myself in new situations and new places, speaking French and Spanish, and see if any mental deficits came about, like finding the right word, not understanding spoken language or just feeling a little slow.  Fortunately everything felt really normal.  I even totally forgot while I was over there that it was almost expected I may run into troubles in that area.  My doctor said that if there were any issues hidden they would surely show themselves being in new places with new people and speaking a 2nd or 3rd language, so it was very encouraging.  Its good to see Karli, our dog, again.  When we got back she was tired and muddy from spending the month with our parents playing with other dogs, hiking, or hanging out at the construction site.  She welcomed us back so she could rest a little bit I think.  I’m glad to be back in Boulder and now I will attempt to ease into some structured training and a regular routine.  It was an adjustment for Karli too…the first day I rode from home and returned, she was barking at me as I walked into the door, unsure who this argyle-clad clown was clomping up the stairs with a bike.  She hadn’t seen me with my cycling gear on since February and wasnt sure what to make of it!  Anyways, hopefully Ill be walking in my door with my bike every day with a giant grin on my face because I’m so happy to be riding again!  I did some testing intervals a couple days ago to see how I would react to higher power output and heart rate.  At the end of the last interval I punched it for a couple minutes and got my heart rate to 190, feeling no ill effects, no dizziness, no headaches, nothing, so that was a little confidence booster for sure.  I will continue to slowly push myself with caution to be ready for the National Championships Time Trial at the end of August in Greenville, SC.  Thanks for checking in