I rode my bike to work yesterday. It was windy in the morning, but I didn’t really bother about it much. It didn’t slow me down. But, on the way home, the wind had picked up significantly, and I had to fight it all the way home. Despite my heavy fatbike, I was struggling to keep myself upright in addition to fighting against the wind. It was a rough trip home. Thankfully once home and showered I really didn’t have much else planned other than regular chores. No more commuting to work this week, it’s supposed to be 34F the morning that I could ride due to the forecast being dry. No thanks, I’ll save it for another day. Needless to say, I am exhausted.

I remember this feeling from when I was training hard for RAGBRAI a few years ago. (520 miles in 7 days). I’d train and train and train and then I’d just hit a wall where I almost couldn’t pedal my bike. I worried, that entire spring, that the wall I hit would happen on the week long ride. Then, I realized that’s why all the experienced riders took the week before off. Or at least seriously cut back on their rides. They rode for fun during that week, gently, and spent a lot of time packing rather than riding. And it was true, it worked!

So, tonight is my night “off.” I’ll do a ride around the block to get my 30 days of biking ride in, but I can feel that I need time off the bike now. Actually, I’ll probably do a ride around the block 2 days in a row. By Thursday, things should be looking up.

I got a photo of the 3 braid combo spin. I am working on the yarn wench braid, as of this morning I am halfway through it.

Somehow those colors are a lot more muted in real life. But, if we put it next to the dyeing arts braid:

Well, already I think this will be fun!

I also grabbed a photo of my huge mulching project. A before picture of a small section, and the after photo.

I still have a small but complicated section to work on to the left of that mulched garden photo. And sorry about all the drooping plants, Miss Butterfly and I actually sat on them in order to access other areas of that garden.

And now on to the front banks. Over the winter, Mr. Ink chopped back the spirea on the front bank. He decided that the older dead wood had to go. He spent an amazing amount of time on it, and it surely paid off.

The rock alyssum is blooming nicely now, the sedum look great, and the spirea on the front bank give it a burst of different greens that looks really nice. Still a ton of work to be done on the front bank, but it sure is different from when we moved in.

Check this mess out!

It’s good to look back at what we started with from time to time. In fact, I need to do it regularly.