I fell asleep after my alarm went off and it took me a while to gather my things. I had to carry a full set of clothes, towel, and shoes along with my usual stuff. That's what happens when I don't ride to work for a while. I was finally rolling at 7a--about thirty minutes later than I should have been.

I had thrown in an old pair of yellow gardening gloves in case my hands got cold and that turned out to be a good call. I put those on before I left Arlington. It was downright cold this morning. I saw only a handful of riders out this morning and even fewer were headed in my direction. It seems the weather is slowly but surely thinning everyone out.

At about the halfway mark, I was pretty uncomfortable. My cotton long sleeve shirt wasn't doing an adequate job of keeping me warm and neither were my shoes. My toes were freezing and I lost feeling in them after a few more miles. The last two miles weren't all that fun and when I did get to work, it was really odd to walk without being able to move my toes. But boy did the shower feel good. I stayed in there a bit too long enjoying the hot water on my frozen toes.

The solution, according to Pat, is to get some booties. I had thought those were for time trialers obsessed with aero, but upon further review it seems they have a higher function: warmth! I can add a pair of those to my list of needed equipment.

The ride home wasn't too bad. I was able to leave early enough that I wasn't in total darkness until I was near Arlington and even then the street lights helped out a lot. My light really doesn't do much. It's old and even with new batteries it doesn't shine enough except to alert people that you're coming. I think a new and more powerful light is another addition to my shopping list.

I rode most all of the off road gravel sections and felt pretty solid. My chain needs some lube so it was annoying listening to the derailleur squeak all the way home. I was meeting up for Bible Study, so I rode the Custis Trail to Military Rd. and tackled a massive hill. It's good to be back on the bike.