My rest week is over and I have to say I'm excited to get back to regular training. I do appreciate the break, but I wouldn't be a bike racer if I didn't love it.

Man, it's so freakin' cold outside. I walked 4 blocks yesterday as the sun went down and just about died. A gentle breeze came up and immediately gave me an ice cream headache . . . that progressed into a throat-tearing, skull splitting, finger-freezing, face-dissolving death march. And I was wearing many layers of wool and down. It's just crazy cold. I saw two brave souls out there on bikes and they did not look happy in any way.

Got some new tattoos yesterday. As they are places where I can see them, I think of them as tattoos for me. I'm not sure who I got the back piece for. My massage guy, maybe. Other than Jackie, no one ever sees it. I sorta got the ice cream cones for racing -- think they'll distract my opponents? I actually forget that I have tattoos a lot of the time. When it gets warm out and I wear a tank top for the first time in 7 months . . . I wonder why everyone is giving me these LOOKS.