Philadelphia Freedom

My pessimistic side looks at my employee benefits package and laments the paucity of vacation days. Having only 6 vacation days each year is discouraging. I’ve been in the workforce since January 1982 … not always with the same employer, of course, but I still think I should have more “fringe” benefits than I currently enjoy. And my complaint isn’t just about the number of vacation days; it’s also about how I have to use them. My vacation days are tied to my anniversary of employment and I can’t use any days that I haven’t earned yet. I can’t take off an entire work week until the beginning of October, and I must use all of my vacation time before the end of November. That’s a narrow window at a time of year during which I would prefer not to travel. I still associate vacation with summer. That’s what it was when I was a schoolboy, and that’s what it remains in my mental image of a perfect vacation.

My optimistic side looks at the fact that I work remotely, 100 percent of the time. And because I literally never have to go to the office, I am free to work anywhere that has a reliable Internet connection and a router with an open Ethernet port for my Voice-over-IP desk phone. Such conditions exist in my house, of course, but they also exist at Mom’s house.

Greetings from suburban Philadelphia! After working overnight on Tuesday, I packed up my home office and drove to Pennsylvania. I burned a vacation day by taking Wednesday night off, but the rest of my time here will be a working “vacation” during which I use no additional hours. Yesterday and today were my “weekend” and the new work week doesn’t begin until 12 midnight Eastern tomorrow night. I will be here at least until next Thursday, and perhaps until April 13. The exact date depends on the weather and on Mom’s willingness to put up with me.

The latter seems more secure than the former. We had a big family gathering today in celebration of my mother’s 90th birthday, the most important reason for me to be here right now. But I don’t deny that Philadelphia’s weather has its own appeal. During the next week, the average afternoon high will be about 63° here and only about 49° in West Bend. That’s a big difference. Today I rode outside in shorts for the first time this year. Next week I might be riding with bare arms. There will be ups and downs in the weather while I’m here—rain might cost me a couple of opportunities—but there shouldn’t be any snow or days that are so cold that I can’t ride. If there’s an unexpected return to winter conditions here, then I will head back to Wisconsin where such weather is more of an expectation than a disappointment.

I don’t have any big rides planned for this trip. I will be happy with a steady diet of 25-30 miles on every day with fair weather. And if this trip ends successfully, then it will serve as a model for future trips. Time with Mom is precious, and I simply do not accept that it should be confined to a handful of days each autumn.

Garmin Connect Level 5

Today I picked up the last 3 points I needed to reach Level 5 on Garmin Connect. I thought I was going to finish Level 5 before the end of 2022, but that goal evaporated when I injured my left calf in August. Garmin Connect levels are hard to complete when you’re relying on just one type of activity. In the second half of 2022, I missed out on several points because I was no longer walking for fitness.

I’m back to full strength now and I had better stay that way. Being injury-free is good not just for its own sake, but also for the pursuit of additional fitness goals. I reached Garmin Connect Level 5 with 300 points. I will need another 320 to reach Level 6! Most Garmin Connect challenges are worth only 1-2 points. Getting to Level 6 could take years. Luckily, fitness is a lifelong goal.

Flowers And Bunnies And Sunshine? Not Quite!

Officially, spring arrived today at 4:24 p.m. CDT. I was literally on my bike at that moment, but I didn’t notice any change. Today was a statistically average March 20 in West Bend: chilly, breezy, overcast. The romantic ideal of springtime is many weeks away. It’s best not to get too excited. Fresh in my mind is the -6° wind chill that West Bend felt before sunrise on Saturday morning. I rode outside today and it was good, but we’re not going to have an unbroken path to summer. Tomorrow looks like a nearly identical day, and that will pull me outside again. Wednesday may be even warmer and I’ll look for another chance to ride if we don’t have an all-day rain. I haven’t ridden outside on consecutive days since October 29 through November 3, so I’m eager to see what I can accomplish this week. I had a horrible spring last year and it won’t be hard to beat. There’s a real opportunity for me to finish March with more miles, year-to-date, than I had last year before May 1. And on top of that goal, I have a couple of Garmin Connect badges to pursue. Every little bit of motivation helps. That’s especially true when experience tells me that there’s at least one more blast of cold air and at least one more accumulating snowfall before spring really arrives.

The Absa Cape Epic is running this week and I am enjoying the live YouTube coverage from South Africa. My overnight work schedule gives me a chance to stay tuned to the race without losing any sleep. As our spring begins, autumn is starting in the southern hemisphere. There were plenty of jackets and hoodies at the finish line of today’s Cape Epic stage. It was 66° at the time. West Benders would have been complaining of the heat!

Welcome, March 2023

Today's ride was typical of my winter rides: short, slow, and close to home.

February is gone and I won’t miss it. I spent only 8 hours on Zwift and that’s simply not getting the job done. I did spend 4 hours riding outdoors in February and that’s OK in this climate, but overall I was unhappy with my training volume. Until this afternoon, I had not been on any kind of bike ride since last Friday due to a bit of a cold, the first time I felt sick since June 2016! It was only a little congestion and pain in the sinuses. I spent a lot of time in bed and kept myself extra warm to ensure things didn’t get worse.

Assuming I stay healthy, it won’t be hard for March to beat February in every category that matters. With generally warmer temperatures and the return of Daylight Saving Time, March should offer more opportunities to ride outside. But it is still winter, so I won’t forget about Zwift. And I expect to get back into a more regular schedule of walking and hiking. Today’s 21-mile outdoor ride was a good start to what I hope will be a busy month.

In February I kept my promise and abstained from Coca-Cola. Eliminating thousands of empty calories helped me to lose 1 pound in February despite a lower level of activity. It’s the first time since 2019 that I lost weight in February, and I’m 5 pounds lighter than I was on March 1, 2022. So, I’m going to abstain from Coca-Cola for another month. Let’s see what happens.