How was your weekend?

I got out for my longest ride of the season Saturday afternoon, and it felt really good. I did 49.7 miles on my cyclocross bike; and aside from a few icy stretches, the roads are pretty clear (if you're able to ignore the salt, rocks, and sand). I did a fairly flat ride with only 1600 ft. of climbing, but I kept up what I expect to be a good Cohutta pace and even carried my Wingnut hydration pack. It was a bit of an adjustment wearing the pack again, but I figured I should probably start using it now rather than trying to get used to it on race day. The legs felt good enough at the end of the ride to do a little extension up Wasson’s grade for the finale instead of the usual route. Yesterday, I got out for a little hard hill training. I did a 17.6 mile hilly figure eight loop around the neighborhood at a pretty brisk pace, and I was definitely feeling some discomfort by the end. I’ve got pretty easy rides on the calendar for this week, so I should get a chance to recover a little and get things situated for the trip. It's hard to imagine that in less than two weeks I may be able to ride in shorts as opposed to the three pairs of tights that have been accompanying me on rides so far this season. Hopefully by the time I get home the singletrack will be open for business. I'm heading down to pick up the new bike either Tuesday or Thursday, and I can't wait. I heard birds chirping this morning, and it was above freezing when I left the house around seven. Surely this is a good sign. Take care and think spring.