The morning was unusually cold. There’s fresh snow on Vitosha, the kind that seems to freeze the whole city. It was so cold even the Devil stayed indoors. His horns get brittle from the wind.

It was my last chance to set a monthly pull-up PR. I’ve been taking it easy lately, working around a few aches and pains. But this was my last chance for the quarter. I sucked it up, stripped off the frost protection – no hat, gloves, and removed the contents of my pockets, like if the car keys mattered, and gave it a go. What followed could generously be called three reps.