So the weather was not great but the ride went well, Crankin -- often it is worth it to force yourself to get out there despite what you see and feel when you first step outside.

I rode almost 19 miles last night. As I've mentioned before my weekly hill ride is easy to alter based on how long I want to ride and how steep I want the hills to be. Normally at this time of year I'd be doing the shortest, least steep route, but I've got to get in shape fast and besides these outdoor rides are helping me get rid of the winter blahs once and for all. So last night I incorporated a couple of steeper climbs that I didn't do last week or the week before. My legs were tired at the end and still tired this morning, but I still felt better than I did a couple of weeks ago. So, continued progress. I got a late start due to stuff at work and needing to deal with some health insurance/flexible spending claims that must be filed this month. As a result I didn't finish the ride until 10 pm. I'm pretty sure it was my latest night ride ever. The weather was cooler than I thought -- temps in the 60s but I guess since we had several days where it was cold enough for winter coats, the ground was still pretty cool. No problems though since I remembered to bring my Big Bright Orange Tote Bag of Extra Layers, and all I needed was a wind vest.

The only issue last night was the pollen -- either it is sky high or the antihistamine eye drops I'm using are not working. I think there must have been a bunch of trees that I'm very allergic to near the ride start because I was miserable for the first few miles. After that things calmed down but still not great. I've been wearing glasses instead of contact lenses for night rides lately. But if this is how my eyes are going to be reacting to pollen this spring I won't be able to wear contact lenses with regular sunglasses for daytime rides. Which means I'll have to wear my prescription sunglasses, a pair of giant heavy Wayfarer IIs that I got back in the early '90s. I think it might finally be time to look getting prescription Oakley sunglasses...