Leave it to people being jerks to put a screeching halt to my re-start into the training schedule.

When I was teaching at U of M, I had a very strict “NO COMING TO CLASS IF YOU’RE SICK” policy. When a student walked through the door coughing up a lung or toting around a roll of TP/box of tissues, I’d send them out of the classroom, no questions asked. Unfortunately, the desire to keep other people from contracting various infectious illnesses is lost in the world of cubicles and desk jockeys where Poolboy Matt works. One of his co-workers missed a day of work because of “a little bronchitis,” and came back while she was still really sick. Through the magic of COUGHING ALL OVER EVERYTHING, Matt and half of the people in his office caught the bug… which means, he brought it to the house, and myself, being unable to see someone sick and not care for them at least a little, have now caught the cough/mild fever whatever-the-hell-it-is sickness.
Now, I’m faced with the pressure to go to Grandma’s house on X-mas day, though I’m of the mind to keep myself quarantined from others (especially the elderly) until I’m feeling 100% better. No one wants to be the carrier of the germs that put granny in the hospital with pneumonia.

On a more positive note, the Cysco road bike is more and more fun each time I ride it. I christened it (along with my I9 carbon wheels) by riding on a wet gravel road yesterday before I started to feel extra run-down. Even for as stiff as it is, the ride is steel-frame smooth. (For video, check out my Instagram account)

Also filed under “fun as hell”- Thursday evening, we did some sparring during MMA class… very basic, legs only, and (as John put it), “keeping the volume turned down.” So, we donned shin/instep guards and proceeded to kick each other for three 3 min rounds. Take home message? 1) I’d get my ass kicked if we were actually fighting, but that’s OK, because it’s only my 3rd week or so of classes, and 2) the best way to get someone to stop hitting you is for you to start hitting them.

Right now, with my desk-jockey funk, the future of my holiday travel plans is unknown. We were thinking about leaving Thursday for Syllamo for a few days… a couple with the guys, and a couple solo. I need a little bit of a vacation, and I was hoping to get some hard rides in, wellness permitting.