Cooking with Gas

I decided to treat myself to an early birthday present - a gas range. Seems a shame that as much as I cook, and enjoy cooking, that I have been using an electric range. My current range is a nice one - smooth ceramic top, convection oven, with all the bells and whistles, and only 7 years old. But... it just does not cook like gas. Really looking forward to the precise control that comes with gas cooking. Also, using a wok works so much better over a gas flame.

On the cycling front, last Sunday came the favorite holiday of cyclists in the USA - the start of daylight savings time! Had plans for seven days of training over an eight day period, but got stuck late at the office two days. Still managed to get in a little over 200 miles over the week; a decent base to build upon. By the end of the week, the heart rate was responding nicely to increases and decreases in power output; a sign that a little bit of fitness is beginning to creep back in. And most importantly, the unseasonably warm late winter weather allowed for the establishment of...... tan lines! A busy stretch on the bike coming up the next three weekends, three metrics in a row; 3/26 is the Lexington Medical Center Colon Cancer Challenge ride in Irmo, 4/3 is the After the Bridge Run ride down in Charleston, then 4/9 is the tough early season Assault on the Carolinas up in Brevard, NC. The Assault includes about 6,000 feet of climbing, including the ascent of Caesar's Head (a 7.1 mile, ~8% climb with 2,000+ feet of vertical gain.) Caesar's Head is a nice climb, but the fact that it comes at mile 45 of the 67 mile ride makes it a little tougher this early in the season.