I took inventory yesterday, instead of riding to the salvage store to buy yet another load of canned goods.

I missed getting the ride; but the weather was gloomy, gray, and chilly. Mid-afternoon I set up the trainer and did some indoor pedaling. Boring, but better than nothing.

Back to the inventory. I hadn\’t truly realized how much stuff I\’ve got! Just for starters, I have 15 cans of tuna fish (4.5-5 oz sizes; different brands); plenty of refried beans; and lots of whole beans.

The canned whole beans will be handy if I want to make a Hoppin\’ John variation, and forget to soak the dried beans in time; or if I run out of dried beans.

Now I\’ve got lists of what I have, and how much of it, for three locations: the back room; the front room; and (yes) under the bed. I\’ve organized the cans according to food type: tomatoes, refried beans, and so on.

Canned goods aren\’t the only thing. I have several types of dried pasta on hand, too. Thanks to my carb-watching, I haven\’t cooked pasta in nearly a year; and I think I better use some of it before it starts to deteriorate.

My stock of spices warrants inventory as well. Some are years old, and probably ought to be discarded. All they\’re doing is taking up space.

I\’ve made a start on the stock of refried beans. Lunch was a cupful of refried black beans, heated with two cups of lightly sautéd chopped cabbage. It was pretty good; and it got some vegetables into me!

Next Saturday I hope to get to the salvage store. I don\’t need more canned stuff; but I want to raid the grab-bag bins!

And Today

And today again it was overcast and gloomy. At 7 am, it was about 50 degrees; slightly warmer than I expected, but certainly not warm. And today, like yesterday, I didn\’t really feel like riding. It took some self-prodding to get myself to get dressed and out there on the bike.

The wind was 12 mph; and I knew that that would only make me feel colder. I think I actually overdressed a little; but to me that\’s better than being too cold. If I knew that I could cruise at 20 mph for hours, slightly underdressed would make sense; but at my sometimes plodding pace, no.

Thank heaven for warm packs. My heaviest gloves are oversized, which easily leaves room for them. Those heavy gloves made on-bike fueling awkward, though.

The wind made bike control difficult at times; and I probably didn\’t take in as much electrolyte drink as I should have. At least once I had to grip the bottle\’s nozzle in my teeth while I stopped, so that I could put the bottle back into its cage.

The sun stayed behind the clouds for most of my ride. It almost shone through for a moment now and then; and here and there I saw a small patch of blue sky. I\’m glad it didn\’t rain!

I hope for more agreeable weather next Sunday. It\’s time to start pushing for a few more miles; and that will be easier if it\’s not cold!