36 degrees...feels like 24!

Brrrrrr! NW winds blowing @25-35 MPH with wind gusts over 40 MPH! It started doing this last night. It's so strange as the sun is shining bright and beautiful. That's another thing I need to get used to. Usually when the weather is less than desirable, I'm used to it looking dreary outside. But here the sun is out and it's bright and crisp and lovely---as long as you are looking "outside" from "inside" your warm and cozy home, drinking a cup of Peet's while paying bills and watching the "Morning Show" crew reporting from Innsbruck Austria.

"Hey Sweetie! Come quick! They're in Innsbruck!" Before they told us even where they were and the question was brought to the viewers, "Where in the world is Matt Lauer?", Mike knew. He guessed Innsbruck right before they told us. Impressive. But you forget the time we spent there touring around on our bicycles, riding in the heavenly Austrian Alps and into Italy's Dolomites. We didn't even have a car that year...just our bikes, a change of clothes, a small amount of dough, and a large amount of love from good friends---oh, and time!

"Boy---those mountains sure look inviting, huh Joni? Specially when all you're used to seeing is these flat farmlands! " That they do, Mr. Taylor!! As the news crew toured many of the sites that we did, we got a little homesick for Austria. We need to go back there soon.

I'm debating on a ride today, but with this wind...I dunno. Given that I enjoyed two lovely days in the saddle, it's less of a panic though. Monday was one of the best riding days I've had all year, and that ride-buzz is still glowing for me. It was that good. Perhaps it was due to the fact that it was such an unexpected gift?

It's only gonna warm up to about 46 degrees today though---so an inside ride is sounding like my plan. This wind is unreal. It feels like the Wizard of Oz or something. San Francisco is windy---or I used to think so. But it isn't steadily blowing. It's like someone turned on a fan and then added a bunch of gusts on top of that steady 30MPH. I've never seen anything like it in my life...and I've lived through tornado's, (many) earthquakes, floods, etc. It's wild! Happy Wednesday!