Dave In Dixie

Howdy, y'all!

I guess you could say I have settled into a new—albeit temporary—way of life here in Georgia.  I arrived early Sunday afternoon and quickly unpacked before heading out for an hour-long ride around the beautiful residential neighborhoods near my company’s remarkable business campus.  One could, I suppose, be reasonably content just to ride laps around the campus itself.  There’s a pretty decent little hill to climb as the main service drive winds through tall pine trees.  I’m staying in a company-operated hotel that features a large workout room, basketball and racquetball courts, a two-lane bowling alley, a game room with table tennis and billiards and a cafeteria where I eat breakfast and lunch every day.  The quality and variety of the food is very good, the showers are hot and the bed is comfortable.  Glad I’m not paying for any of this!

My only real complaint about the accommodations is the TV in my room.  It’s small, the channel selection is poor and what channels I do have vary greatly in video and audio quality.  And there’s no NBC Sports Network, which means no daily highlights from the Tour Down Under.  (History shows that nearly every stage is a lifeless slog through a flat, arid wasteland, finishing with a bunch sprint.  Maybe I’m not missing anything.)

I suppose dinner would be nice, too.  But the cafeteria closes after lunchtime and I’m on my own.  Because I have a microwave and a refrigerator in my room, I bought some groceries and so far have contented myself with very simple evening meals.  Simple and healthy.  I have been very disciplined with my diet since this adventure began and I’m determined to shed weight and build fitness while I’m here.

There’s little sunlight at the end of my workdays, so I’m counting on the weekends for long rides outside.  Right now it looks like this Saturday could be a washout.  I had planned to take on both the Arabia Mountain Trail and the Silver Comet Trail this weekend, but I may have to save one of them for next weekend.  So far, Sunday looks great: partly cloudy and 67 degrees.  Between now and then I will continue to avail myself of the weight room and of my indoor trainer.  (I wonder what the housekeepers thought when they saw that thing sitting in the corner of my room.)

During working hours I have been fully engaged by the project that brought me here.  It’s big and complicated and something I need to understand completely.  But back in my room I’ve got cycling on my mind.  Today I did a little online shopping at Performance Bike: disposing of a gift card I received for Christmas, taking advantage of sale prices on the items I wanted, and sealing the deal with free shipping.  And today I learned that it’s time to order my Team Pedal Moraine kit for the 2012 season.

I wanted this business trip to function as a training camp for me.  So far, so good.