Sleep...

Something I've not been getting much of lately.

I'm usually up early. It's not uncommon for me to be swerving towards the coffee maker in the dark at 6:00am for my daily fix of bean juice followed by a little interweb surfing and preparing for the day. I'm usually in bed by 10:00-ish, so I still get my "recommended 8 hours" of shut eye which keeps me alert and feeling "normal" throughout most days.

For the past week, however, the digital readout on little Ben has been spewing numbers more like 4:00, 4:13, 4:11... way before 6:00. After tossing and turning for the better part of an hour I give in and get up. Although weird, this didn't prove too much of a problem.... until yesterday. I think the lack of sleep finally caught up with me and yesterday was like walking around in a fuzzy cloud of funk making even the most common tasks seem like huge projects.

Meh.

This morning was better. Damn near 7:00. Let's hope this is a continuing trend.

Still remembering this is a bike related site, I'll tell you that although we've had some enormous amounts of precipitation here in Tahoe the snow levels have been high and the bulk of the moisture hasn't punched through too far to the east. This being the case, there's still some good riding to be had in the Galena area of Reno/Mt Rose. Info: here ya go. There's also Keystone Canyon, but CAREFUL!! The mud down there can be bike destroying.

As for riding in the foothills, I'm not too sure. Rain totals in the Auburn and Nevada City areas were somewhere in the "shit-ton" to "ass-load" categories and I'm sure the trails felt the effects. I'll head down there next week and see how things are. Stay tuned.

More: I've been way into the bike commuting thing for my days of working at the ski shop. There's something about 30 minutes on the bike that just make the rest of the day better. The therapeutic sound of the chain snaking through derailleur pulleys as I turn the pedals makes an already bitchin'  sunrise seem more epic. Cold? You betcha'. But it's not like I'm commuting in Antarctica. I'm somewhat fortunate that my commute starts with a small climb which gets the blood pumping and my body temperature up to a more comfortable level. Within' reason, cold is just a state of mind. As is being happy, so I do what I do.