Some might call it boring, but I call it the best New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day combo I’ve in a long time. Let me share (or not, no one is forcing you to read this dross)…
New Year’s Eve
Around Four of Five in the afternoon, B-Man headed over to his friend’s house for their annual New Year’s Eve sleepover. Around this time I crack a beer and commence making dinner for six (Baked Ziti & Meatballs). The only thing was there would be–by design–only be two of us; me and Wifey. Well, me, Wifey and Jake (the Dog).
We enjoyed a night of cheese, adult beverages, good food and continuing our binge watch of Fargo (season one). We really had a great time and there wasn’t one time that I wished we were out at some overpriced dinner or party. There were idle threats about staying up until midnight to ring in the new year (which doubles as the anniversary of the first time I ever met Wifey twenty-one years ago), but we managed to convince each other that going to bed just before eleven was just fine. So we did.
New Year’s Day
I slept in a bit and then got up, made some pancakes and got my gear ready for a planned New Year’s Day fat bike ride with some friends at noon. I headed down to Alma and met up with my friends at the shop and then rode over to the Alma mountain bike trail to meet a few more folks before we all headed off for four laps of cold and snowy fun.
LC of Terry’s Cycle begrudgingly riding a fat bike (pictures prove it happened!).
Given the frozen slush and chunks of snow that litter the MP area, I was shocked at how much snow was in the woods of Alma and how good the trail was. This was no an accident. Well, the snow was, that’s the doing of Ma Nature, but the trail was by the hand, er I should say the “feet” of Alma area trail gnomes Randy and Sally. They take great care of the short and sweet Alma Trail all year round, and pay special attention to it in the winter by logging miles and miles on snow shoes to help groom it. Their work was apparent today as a group of twelve rolled the through the snowy woods on the first day of 2016 with wide grins on their faces, frozen in place by the 25˚temps.
Keeper of the Trail
It took me a while to get my snow legs back as there were some patches of ice and me and my blood thinned body don’t get along too well with ice. But after a while I learned to just relax and let the combined (under inflated) 10 PSI fat tires do their thing.
First frozen bottle of the year, er, I should say of the winter.
The Alma trail is not all that long, clocking in at 3.3 miles per loop, but I have to say after four laps and a frozen bottle I was spent. I pumped out a shit ton of sweat, burned some of that baked ziti from the night before off, and had more than a few laughs with friends on the first day of the year. Truly a great way to start off the new year!
I’m the fat guy in red. Photo by The Godfather.
New Year’s Day Part II
After four loops most of us parted ways and headed back to the shop to pack up. I headed home to attend to the split chicken that I had brining in the fridge. It took me more than a couple of hours, and more than a couple of beverages, to warm up before I commenced to make Wifey and I a dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing as we continued our Fargo binge watch.
Very happy to have spent the day with some good friends, doing the thing that I love to do, before heading home to spend time with my two favorite people: Wifey and B-Man.
Hoping to get our for some more snowy miles tomorrow, but not before a morning of coffee, pancakes and footy on the TV.
Later.