I meant to clean my bike over the Christmas break but didn't.  Needless to say it was filthy!  I don't think I had cleaned it since the rain really started. I put a fender in the back this year but don't have one in the front.  This is mainly because my fork is bent and it makes it hard to find fenders that fit properly.   I'm pretty sure the fork was bent in my accident over a year ago.  

When I was riding home on Thursday I got a flat tire.  So it was easy to fix it since I already was taking my bike apart.  Apparently I rode over some broken glass because there was a piece of brown  glass about a quarter of on inch long wedged in my tire. 

I spent a lot of the day getting all kinds of dirt and grime off my bike.  My rear derailleur was full of gunk.  I spent a long time on it getting all of it out.  It probably hasn't been this clean since just after I bought it.

It will be dirty again on Tuesday but at least I remove all the layers of dirt that had built up.  Definitely should not go this long without cleaning it.  It won't be to long before I buy and nice bike and will be cleaning it more often.

So I decided to start a blog.  I really don't know why.  I thought my family and some friends might find it interesting to read about something that has become a big part of life the last year or so.  When I started grad school I decided it was a good time to get into cycling (which I had want to do for some time) and I could justify spending a little money on a bike (it really was just a little, I bought the cheapest road bike I could find.)  

I biked five miles to campus most days my first year but since around June I have biked to campus everyday I went to classes.  No bus.  No car.  It's fun.

I spent Christmas break and my parents house in Arizona.  Two weeks of sitting around eating cookies.  Monday was my first day back on my bike for three weeks.  When I rode up to campus Monday morning it was 25 degrees. That and the excess of cookies my ride a little more difficult than usual.  Luckily over the break I picked up a thermal bike jersey from my father-in-law Rick who got some used cycling clothes with a bike he bought.

That, along with the rest of my winter bike gear makes for a comfortable ride despite the cold.  I'm ready for the rain to come back so I can test it all in the rain.  I'm not sure why but I enjoy riding in the rain.

After riding the last few days I think I finally work of the effects of all those cookies.  Riding home today I felt the usual spring in my peddling that had been absent.  It didn't stay with me the ride but that might be because I've been feeling a little sick this week.  Next week I should be back to normal and get to campus in around 17 minutes.