Outstanding

This weekend, the crocuses bloomed.

The red wing blackbirds arrived.

These guys are regulars since the wetland restoration in our neighborhood was completed.

That can mean only one thing:

And so, with a hearty breakfast

Hell yeah!

we set out for a day of mountain biking. Our plan was to start at the Overmountain Victory Trail, riding to the end of it and then ride the road to the Warrior Creek Trail, ride a lap or two there and then ride back on the Overmountain Victory Trail. We headed out on the OVT, taking it easy and warming up well. The temperature was around 75 degrees according to my new-to-me Specialized Speedzone computer (thanks, Jeff!). The sky was that strange mix of sunny with dark rain clouds mixed in. The trail was perfect - fast and flowy. We didn't see anyone on the OVT on the way out.

We hit the road and covered the roughly two miles of pavement pretty quickly and went flying through the Warrior Creek parking area and up to the trail head. We downed some food, mixing espresso Hammer gel and Perpetuem solids and washing it all down with Endurolytes Fizz and then headed out for a lap at Warrior Creek.

Warrior Creek was in perfect condition. We flew, riding faster than I ever have there. It is difficult to describe how well I got into the flow of the trail. It felt amazing to get out in the woods and ride fast.

We saw the great folks from the Brushy Mountain Cycling Club building a new bridge to replace the one damaged by one of our numerous winter storms.

These guys work hard. Thanks!

We ran into a group of riders from Boone Bike and Touring (Shaw Brown, Donovan Carroll, and Chuck Luddeke among them), but other than that, it felt like we had the trail to ourselves. Warrior Creek really swallows up riders and makes you feel like you have the place all to yourself.

We finished up a lap of Warrior Creek, took the road back to the end of OVT and rode the trail back toward the car. We took a detour to include Shiner's Run on the way back in. We passed a few people, but not many. The amazing thing was that it rained several times on the ride, but we really felt anything since we were in the woods during the rainy spells. We got back to the car and took off for home. We were eager to get back to Owen. It was fun riding long and fast, but I missed pulling him on the tag-a-long.

Owen and I shot stomp rockets into the sky as Golden got cleaned up and then it was our turn. We headed out for dinner with my parents and filled up on salad and pasta. It was a beautiful, wonderful, fantastic day filled with so many things that I am still giddy with happiness, but the absolute best part was Owen's steady stream of hugs, kisses and "I love you, daddy"'s.

Thank you, Spring. You were worth the wait.

The buried winter

Every mile is two in winter. - George Herbert (1593-1633) Jacula Prudentum

Ray's Weather has officially buried their mild winter forecast having realized that we are experiencing one of the coldest winters in quite a while.  Their previous seasonal forecast said we would have a very mild winter with no snow and warmer than average temperatures.  As I write this, it is 14 degrees celsius, the roads still have patches of ice on them from last Sunday's snowfall, students have been out of school all week and are on a 3 hour delay today.  So much for a mild winter.  It is little comfort to have your hopes dashed and then receive an apology for having them built up in the first place.  But such is the nature of weather forecasting.  Despite our best, most advanced attempts at quantifying data and observation into prediction, Nature just does not neatly fit into a data table and behave as it should.

Winter for a cyclist can be a grim and lonely affair.  The warm group rides of spring and summer are like hazy mirages seen in the distance.  When group rides do occur, they provide relief from the loneliness of riding the trainer, locked up with your thoughts on a solitary hamster wheel in your basement, but the quest to remain warm, to keep blood flowing through your extremities can put a damper on the camaraderie of the group.  

Few cyclists are solitary creatures.  Sure, there are the time trial specialists who prefer to suffer alone in the quest for perfection in the balance of power and aerodynamics and there are the triathletes whose complex multisport workouts don't lend themselves to more than a training partner or two at best.  For most of us though, cycling is as much social interaction as it is athleticism.  The bonding ritual of shared effort that comes from group rides is of great importance to all but the most elite cyclist.

This is what is missed most by me in the winter.  Seeing friends.  Riding with friends.  Meeting new people out on the bike.  Having new people come visit the shop and ride with us. So how do we capture the magic of the balmier times while suffering through the bitter doldrums of winter?  Rather than putting off riding until it is warm, or grinding away on the dreaded trainer in solitary penance for your misdeeds, the answer is to ride indoors together.  

In our ongoing effort to eradicate SCAD (Seasonal Cyclist Affective Disorder) from the world, we will be holding group trainer classes beginning Wednesday, Jan. 26th and then every Tuesday/Thursday after that.  Classes will be from 6:15 to 7:30 (please try to arrive by 6:00). Classes will be $10 per session or 8 classes for $60 paid in advance.  These will be structured workouts featuring loud music, lots of motivational yelling and anything else that can be done to help you through this bleakest of winters.  You will need to bring your trainer/rollers (we have a couple of loaners), a towel and water.  We need to have 5 people prepaid by Monday, January 24th in order for the class to take place.  No matter what level of cyclist you are or hope to be, a solid winter base will help you achieve your riding goals for the coming season.           

Hell sNOw

Cottrell Hill descent on Sat. 1/8/11

Don't get me wrong, I like snow.  There are a lot of very cool things you can do in the snow.  Fun, active things that make steady, predictable amounts of snowfall enjoyable, even something to look forward to.  But that isn't the case here.  Sure, every now and then it snows enough to make me wish I hadn't gotten rid of my cross country skis when I moved here, but that is only a couple of times every few years.  That isn't exactly a record that would indicate this place is a winter wonderland of snow sports and activities, now is it?

No, snow sends most people here into an apoplectic tizzy that results in everyone stocking up on batteries, generators, and as Charlie Frye is fond of saying, French Toast ingredients (eggs, milk, bread).  There are those who react with an opposing level of indifference as indicated by their false belief that a 4 wheel drive vehicle can be driven the same way regardless of weather and road conditions.

We find ourselves blanketed with snow once again today.  The 2 to 3 inches of unplowed snow currently on my street makes everything feel isolated and remote.  There is no rejoicing with such a snow event here (other than students being happy that school is canceled).  You get a sense that now everyone will hunker in to their bunker-like houses, cautiously optimistic that everything will be ok, but also keeping an eye on the family pets just in case the isolation runs longer than anticipated and protein is required for survival.

I must also confess that all of this bad weather is probably my fault.  Resolving to ride 1 mile outdoors every day for a year seems to alter weather patterns pretty dramatically.  In the past month, we've had snow, winds that threatened to lift me and my bike off the ground, a week of sunshine and temperatures approaching the mid-50's and now more snow.  Consistency we ain't got.

Warmth?

With temperatures forecast in the 50's this weekend, it is looking like great conditions for getting outside and on a bike.  The traditional New Year's Day rides are popping up all over the place and there will be a lot to choose from.

The Ya Ya Hula Cycling and Social Club will be having an 18 mile ride at hangover pace leaving from the Lake James Fire Dept. at 11 am on Saturday for anyone who is interested.  They are a great group to ride with and always have fun on their bikes.

The Boone crew is going to do a ride in our territory leaving from Setzer's Creek Church at noon.  Since they could use an escort of locals, I think we should leave from the shop at 11:30 and ride out to meet them and join their ride.  Meet at the shop around 11:15 and we'll leave promptly at 11:30.

Saturday will be the first day of the MS 365 Project.  I'm working on an introduction, a facebook page and a blog that will be specifically devoted to the project.  It will be a celebration of my 20th year with Multiple Sclerosis and I hope you'll join me for 365 days of riding.

I've been thinking about my MS more in the past few days than I have in the past few years.  It is a little sobering to contemplate what my life might be like or what the future holds for me, but that is really true for anyone.  None of us knows what the future holds, but only a few of us aspire to live our lives to the fullest.  I want to crack open the bones of life and suck out the marrow!  As we move into this New Year, we all contemplate the new beginning it affords us (no matter how metaphorical that new beginning may be).  Let your resolutions be important and take hold of the opportunity to turn them into something real.

from Surviving the World - check it out, it's great!