old feeling back

After five days of riding in Florida, I get the old feeling of my fitness returning. When you're in peak form, after about an hour of riding, you get a feeling of power that is difficult to describe. You're tooling along, putting out 200 watts, then the power comes on, and you're putting out 25% more watts and it feels totally effortless.

In peak form, this is a common occurence. While commuting on the cannondale to work, it never happens. The bike is heavy, the traffic is stop and go, the ride is only 1.5 hours.

But while tooling along A1A, at the two-hour mark, the power returns. Like a heroine addict back on the junk, I took in the high and just went. For 45 minutes, I was back in the familiar place, in the zone, feeling good. The roads here are flat, so the extra 7 pounds I'm carrying over my training weight, almost twenty over my Tour weight didn't hurt none.

Everything in Florida is for sale. Some have said this is a place where the weather is sunny and the dealings are shady. Could be. Hope springs eternal up A1A, where there are more places to retire than retirees. Every now and again, an escapee from New England in a Lincoln Grand Marquis blows by with the right directional on, hugging the right side of the road.

If Hollywood is the land of screenwriters, southern Florida is the home of the realtor. In the free, 4-color magazines you get for free at the supermarket, each offers a little something special. Margo says all over her properties come with, "Ooh-la-la."

So far, no one has made a claim that their properties come with, "Oh geesh!" That would be the feeling you get after you buy a condominium and are whacked with a big assessment.

Hope all is well with you.

Special thanks to Dr. Epstein with the good hands for lab work and the keen eyesight for shifts downwind.