Shall I go for an afternoon ride? My foot feels better today; and I’m tired of taking it easy.

Of course I’ll have to haul out some cold-weather gear. Certainly the helmet liner! Not that the weather is actually so very cold, but 53 degrees is chilly for me; and my head has become very sensitive to cold in recent years.

I’ll want vest and jacket, too. The wind isn’t strong; but I won’t be riding hard, so wind will feel colder than when I’m pushing for speed. And of course, gloves. My hands get cold easily. Incidentally, so do my feet.

My foot still hasn’t completely recovered from the surgical swelling, so I’ll need to wear sneakers; and that means riding the hybrid. The hybrid is OK; but it’ll be great to be able to get back on the road bike!

An afternoon ride always feels sort of weird. I’m very accustomed to morning rides; but today I wanted to go to the supermarket for a few things. After that, I had to do some laundry. But soon I can get outside!

I think a casual ride of 1-3 miles is a good way to ease back into my usual cycling; but I’ll have to see how my foot takes it. I still have to be careful how I set that foot down when stopping; and also how I get it into the toe clip when starting! The foot probably isn’t ready yet for hard riding, even though toe clips mean I can use my quads to pedal; and need to push down on the pedals less.

I’ll see how it goes; and then I can plan rides for later this week.