very glad to be of assistance, Kate!

As for the lackadazical cycling impairment, not sure I can be much help there. For me, sometimes I can get bored if I do the same old same old for too long, and I generally need a real goal to work towards.

As for a change of scenery - you're up around Portland, right? There must be a lot of nice places to ride around there (granted this probably isn't a great time of year for biking up there if you're not keen on wet and cold!). Maybe look a bit farther away - I'm kind of familiar with Astoria, maybe there are some nice rides from there going down the coast or along the Columbia River, or up the Long Beach peninsula? I suggest getting a big cup of coffee or tea and spending a nice rainy afternoon on Google hunting down new places to ride, you might be surprised.

Sometimes a real goal to shoot for can help get the a** in gear - maybe there's a big ride you can train for? There's the Seattle-to-Portland this summer, that sounds epic! (Hubby and I are hoping to move up to Washington State or Oregon "someday" so I like to browse cycling sites up there). Or, maybe just a wimpy (heh!) metric century like I'm doing.

hope this helps,
- Jo.