The only thing that got me on the bike tonight was knowing there was a race Saturday. Not riding last week because of the cold was actually kind of nice. Not that I didn't want to ride when the weekend came. With my health back to a reasonable level, the sense of obligation to train returned as well. I still like to ride/train once I get on the bike but the motivation to actually change clothes and get on the bike can be tough at times.

I didn't feel as good tonight as I did at Spinning but I did okay. After warming up I did a series of 30-second intervals, followed by a series of 1-minute intervals and finished up with a couple 5-minute intervals. Total ride time was only an hour but it had some good quality and was good prep two days before a race.

Afterward I hopped in the shower and shaved my winter neglected and hirsute legs just in case it's warm enough to race without leg warmers.

News Item of the Day: The 6-time Tour winner is never out of the news for long. According to Hein Verbruggen, had it not been for the legal issues relating to Lance’s spat with Simeoni in last year’s Tour, he would have participated in this years Giro d’Italia. However, it appears that the Discovery rider has not completely ruled out the race. Speaking with Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, the UCI President stated “It’s true that he gives everything to the Tour, but you need to understand: he’s American, he earns an awful lot, so why should be change? But just you wait and see: he will come to the Giro.”

Viewpoint: I'm assuming ol' Hein is talking about Lance going to the Giro in '06.