Happy New Year, my devoted readers!  😉  I hope that you all enjoyed the magic of the Christmas season with food, folks, and fun.  As outlined in my last blog post, I have been riding more with other people and that has made my suffering, er, training, more bearable and even enjoyable.  I did my first group ride in Death Valley on the weekend – without my SAT! – and it was a lovely day getting to know new people and seeing scenery from a different perspective (I’ve been to Death Valley before, but only by car).  We started cycling from Furnace Creek and that ride was the first time my Garmin cycle computer registered a negative elevation:

Here is a pic of the desert in Death Valley between Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells:

Another variable I introduced into my training regime was the podcast.  Amazing!  I downloaded a whole bunch of podcasts onto my phone and have been enjoying various shows and stories on topics ranging from current events, the history of cinnamon, and pop culture quizzes.  One trivia gem I learned whilst listening to a podcast: when pooping, dogs align their bodies so that their head faces north and their bottoms face south.  Moral: when hiking or going into the woods, always take a dog with you!  I’ve found that the miles fly by when I listen to interesting facts and anecdotes, which is both encouraging (“I’ve already biked 20 miles!”) and entertaining (“I wonder if humans align themselves in the same way as dogs when relieving themselves outdoors….”).  Ah yes, the lofty and philosophical questions of life with which I occupy myself during a bike ride!