Things didn’t come together this morning quite like I had in mind. First, last night I failed to gather my gear for cycling. This usually helps me in the morning so that I’m not searching through drawers in the dark. But…nope…didn’t do it. So this morning I’m running up and down the stairs trying to find the right undershirt to wear. And then I checked the weather and realized it was about ten degrees cooler than I thought it was, and I needed a little more gear…long fingered gloves for one.

After finally finding all the right clothing, I then started to put my saddle bag back on the bike and discovered the strap was broken. I unpacked the spare tube and tools and shoved them into one of my back pockets. It was at this time I discovered I didn’t have my spoke wrench. With all the problems I’ve been having with my rear wheel I kind of wanted to have that wrench along. I looked for ten minutes and never did find it. It’ll turn up eventually, but it was time lost this morning.

Then, I finally hit the road and was about four miles into the ride when I realized I didn’t put my phone in my back pocket. Crap, if I did have a breakdown I couldn’t call Marcella. I decided to keep riding, but not to roam too far out of town. I did some loops that kept me within what I felt was a reasonable distance from the house.

I only did 23 miles and averaged about 16.2 mph. Even so, my toes were a little chilly when I got back to the house. Now I’m drinking coffee and watching the CBS morning show. But I need to remember to get my act together prior to the morning I’m intending to ride. Especially as we head into the colder months and there’s more to carry and wear.