After working all day at the shop on Thursday, my plan for Friday was to get in some miles on the Boone. Sadly, that didn’t happen. Instead it pissed down Old Testament-esque rains all morning and the rest of the day was filled with FINALLY getting a permanent crown put on one of my teeth and dealing with a backed up main drain which resulted in plumbers in the house to snake it. The only highlight was celebrating Wifey’s 44th birthday.
I was back in the shop on Saturday, which was no big deal since it was an ugly ass, wet day and any riding I would have done would have been on pavement–which is sub par in my book. So, I worked until 3 and then stopped off and did some fishing for a couple of hours before heading home to meet up with Wifey and head over to a cookout that some friends of our were hosting.
I went to bed late that night filled with various amounts of grilled meats and several liters of the social lubricant that I like to call gin and tonic. As I dozed off I had the crazy idea that I would be up Saturday morning to meet some folks up at MMCC for a singletrack group ride. Instead I woke up to the sound of MORE freaking rain. So I rolled over and went back to sleep.
A couple of hours later, once I had some coffee, I headed to Deerfield park to hike a few miles with Wifey. Things were wet and muggy in the woods, but it was nice to get outside. I took my camera along with me to help prevent myself from dwelling on the fact that I was hiking, not riding and to take my mind of my back which would surely start to ache after walking.
***
***
That worked out well: I got a few nice shots and we had a good time stomping around the wet woods before heading home to get ready for B’s friendly match down in Alma.
The weekend was wet, humid and void of riding, but it was still pretty darn, not bad. Still, my nuggets were itching to ride and I was stoked for Monday morning and the chance to get out for a quick 32 mile multi-surface loop north of town.
An aching back continues to be an issue when I am standing, squatting, leaning, walking, farting or mountain biking. Luckily one of the few places it feels good is when I am atop the Boone.
As per usual, after a few days off the bike, it felt great to be outside getting some miles in. Not a ton of miles but miles. The dirt roads were a bit soft due to all the recent rain, but not too sloppy. There were more than a few farm vehicles out and about today, which is pretty normal for this time of year. One thing I thing I have learned in the past five years is that when you are on a twenty-foot wide dirt road with a soft shoulder and there is a fifteen foot wide tractor hauling a manure spreader behind it coming at you, it is wise to just pull over and let it pass. That little action is just common courtesy and creates good karma with the farmers. It also helps ensure that the farmer won’t hit the on button as he passes and fling heaps of shit in your fat face.
More miles would have been nice of course, but I am not going to complain, because it’s pretty awesome that B-Man is now at the age that he can stay a couple of hours or so on his own while I get in some “me time” in on the bike; something that I haven’t been able to do in past summers without the aid of a babysitter or Wifey working at home.
Hoping to squeeze in couple more rides this week in between working at the shop and our weekend in Petoskey, Michigan for B’s soccer tournament and general chilling out and mischief.
Later.