All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Remember that line from The Shining?  Stuck in that big, snowed in hotel with not much to do, but go crazy and talk to ghosts.  I'm starting to feel that way myself.  As Homer said in The Shinning, "Don't mind if I do!" 

The cold is getting to me.  The wind isn't helping and skies that seem to not vary much out of the grey color scheme are doing me in.  I feel like the whole world is in a funk.  Sure, the economy is bad and getting worse, but having a dull, leaden sky crushing down on you day after day with temperatures that make it too cold to do anything outside are just exacerbating the situation.

There are some bright spots.  Tomorrow will be another day for a shop trainer ride.  Although riding outside is best, riding indoors with other people is at least better than slogging away in the basement by yourself.  Sunday, the temps are supposed to go up a good bit and some of the Luna crew from Charlotte are going to come up and join us for a base mile ride of the Cycle To Serve loop at 9:30 am.  Remember that base pace means slow and steady, convivial conversation, that sort of thing.  Come discover how smart your riding partners are by engaging in actual conversation!  Past group ride conversation topics have included: "Dogs: a critical analysis of the predatory response with respect to breed" and "The dos and don'ts of on-the-bike action photography".  If 9:30 isn't a workable time for you, there will be another group taking off in the opposite direction to meet up with us at 1pm.  I'll post more details later.

Other good news in our little world this week: although one of his classmates had them, Owen managed to not get lice this week.  All of his stuff was in a bag for us to, I guess disinfect or burn or something and he was pretty surly at me looking through his hair for like the 50th time that day, but he was louse free!  And then, he turned around and got something called Fifth's Disease which resembles the 72 hour Leprosy, but adds a kind of cold/cough action to the mix for added fun.  At least it wasn't Monkey Pox.

If you ever get bored and are looking for something to do on a Friday afternoon, drop by the shop and join in the fun of the Luna Cycles Ninja Challenge World Cup of Upper Body Strength.  There are several categories to choose from, but the competition is stiff!  Only in a bike shop would the winning mark of 7 pullups be an unbroken record for the 4th straight week.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we cyclists are gifted with the upper body strength of a T. Rex, but that doesn't stop us from trying to unleash our inner power lifter!