Why, Yes, That IS Sweat Pooling in my Underwear

WEATHER THERE: clear, -7C (-11C with windchill), 9 km/hr cross/tailwinds

WEATHER BACK: clear, 3C, 6 km/hr cross/headwinds

Ahh, it's good to be back indeed! It's relatively mild out, so all I have to wear is a hoodie over a thermal turtleneck, some thin running gloves, and a scarf covering my ears. The days are already getting noticeably longer, inspiring sweet hope in my heart that the long, dark days of winter are over.

The downside to the mildness is that the epic dumping of snow we had earlier in the month is getting mushy. Not slushy, which squishes away as cars go over it and quickly melts into nothing. No, it's mushy - the kind of "brown sugar" (a far too kind euphenism, in my humble opinion) that cars sink through to the ice sheets underneath, and that packs into even the knobbiest of tire treads and turns everything heavy and slick. My tires turn into heavy fluffy caterpillars when I bike through that stuff, and it's often difficult to maintain control because as I sink through the snow it tends to push me this way and that. Cars fare no better, really - just last night, I saw a City of Edmonton 1/2-ton truck spinning its tires and sliding around on the road right in front of my house. That big truck was stuck - in the middle of the road, where it's the easiest to get around - for several minutes before it finally got out and made haste to a busier, clearer road. I haven't tried moving my car out of the parking spot in front of my house since Saturday, and I suspect that when I try to go to a movie tonight with a friend I won't be able to get my car out at all. This should be interesting.

The good news - I guess - of this mushy terrain is that it's one hell of a workout to try to bike through, especially for someone who hasn't exercised in three months. These first two days of getting back on the bike have been killer! My muscles ache, I pant until I can taste iron in my mouth, sweat runs in rivulets down my back (hence the title of this post), and by about 8:00 pm I'm ready for bed - though, by the time I actually try to go to bet at 10:30 I'm wide awake! At least I can take comfort in knowing that if I keep this up, I'll be back to my bike-riding fitness heyday in no time. Goooo cardio!!