Major changes, they say, should not be made abruptly. Take it in stages; and don\’t expect big progress overnight.

Somebody should tell that to our weather. We were getting high temperatures of 80 (or close to it) every day; and last night it plunged down to just above freezing! That\’s major changes, for sure.

I\’m glad to see our weather get clear, even if it\’s very cold. I was tired of worrying about T-storms, and whether I\’d be able to ride. It\’s lucky, though, that Monday is off-bikes day. The chill factor now, at 10:00 am, is still below freezing; and that makes for rough riding.

I did take a short ride to the closest grocery store; and even that got me plenty cold. Yesterday I got a hankering after cucumbers; and despite the low temperatures, I wanted a Diet Coke.

That brings me to another point: don\’t make major changes to your diet all at once. It\’s over a year since I began to work at a prediabetes diet; and I still fall off the wagon often. My lifelong love of sweets is a major stumbling block; but then, if it weren\’t candy that\’s my downfall, it would be something else. I might have a similar love of steak; and as a result have big-time cholesterol problems!

Also, it\’s unwise to make big, sudden changes in your cycling. Yesterday I made four 30-second hard pushes into a headwind; and maybe it was a bit much. In the evening, my lower back felt sore.

My goal for this year is 5000 miles, but I can\’t do it all at once; and of course there will be times when I can\’t ride. Remember, \”How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.\” It\’s like that.