The past two days seem more like one long, soggy day. Both days featured pretty OK temperatures (for December in Michigan), gray skies and a fog so heavy that it coated all of Michiganderburgh like cold, stank, three-day old, dirty dishwater. In fact, after two days of riding through the fog on muddy, dank, dirt roads, I feel pretty much the way the photo above looks. Everything is cold and wet and we’ve not had actual rain or snow since Monday! What the stink?
Yesterday was my typical and not-so typical Monday. Typically, I was super busy with stuff through the day but oddly enough, in the evening I found myself out at a local watering hole with a couple of friends. Believe me, that is NOT a typical Monday evening for me, but Wifey was throwing a “welcome party” (I had to Google that) for a woman she works with that just adopted a little boy and wanted me out of house, as was going to be overrun with lady folk, and she was pretty sure I would just sit around farting and burping while they were here. As luck would have it, a couple of my college teaching friends were up for going out since their students are doing nothing but taking finals right now and they can goof off a bit.
So, I was able to waste a couple of hours, catch up with some friends and drink a few good beers on Monday night. An unusual Monday night for me, but fun nonetheless.
After my second flab flailing run of the week atop the treadmill yesterday (in which I somehow hurt my foot), I was anxious to get back on the bike today. I wasn’t so anxious to get out in the 20˚ temps, but the sun was out, things are bone dry and even if the winter turns pear-shaped tomorrow and shits down an ass ton of snow, this winter is already better than last winter, so I will embrace it and ride (or at least do my interpretation of riding, which these days seems to be rolling along snapping photos whilst I train for nothing in particular except not to move up another pants size).
After 5 days away I am finally back and “doing stuff.” Sadly, today, my “doing stuff” did not involved time on the bike. Instead it involved running shoes and 4.5 miles on the treadmill squeezed in between a variety of duties that were about as fun a lancing a boil with a dull knitting needle. BUT, in that hodgepodge of boil lancing I was able to drop off and pick up the first roll of film in my winter 2014/15 Holga experiment; it was a sub par success.
First we had snow, then we didn’t have snow, then we ALMOST had snow again, then I didn’t have time to ride (but time to run) and NOW we’re on the cusp of winter’s first mental demolition (within the Trifecta of Annual Holiday Evil): Thanksgiving.
Make no mistake about it, I hate winter. I hate the grey skies, the ice, slush, snow and cold, damn I hate the cold! And don’t even get me started on the ball suck holidays like Christmas and New Years that are thrown into the winter mix; I hate it all. BUT, winter is indeed here and the snow that has been coming down the past couple of days was a sure indication of that. When I woke up this morning and saw that snow that was covering the roads and ground I thought today just might be perfect for getting out on the dirt roads for a ride. I was only half right, which is only slightly better than being half wrong.
As I mentioned the other day, I would not be joining my friends, and 2.5 million other riders, to race in the cold and mud of the Iceman on Saturday up in Traverse City, but I did get another couple hours of gobsmacking dirt road riding in on Friday.
The dictionary dictators amongst others define the word gobsmacked the following way…
1 ˈɡäbˌsmakt/
adjective BRITISH informal
adjective: gobsmacked
utterly astonished; astounded.
With reference to being shocked by a blow to the mouth, or to clapping a hand to one’s mouth in astonishment.
Not me, while I have no doubt that is the correct definition, I would amend it to include a second:
Some days time restraints, responsibilities and real life issues demand that a ride be short and to the point. And some days it’s just an overwhelming desire to be out in the chilly, depressing, gray, misty fall air for as little time as possible. Today was a mixture of both those things.
After Friday’s sandy slug-fest aboard the Farley, I spent Saturday being a soccer dad and then later hanging out with Wifey watching bad TV and drinking a few beers. On Sunday I did the whole soccer dad thing all over again, but afterwards headed up to MMCC for a lap on the Superfly.
There is nothing quite like spending a week riding a fat bike then switching to a carbon, full suspension race bike. It felt really, darn OK and it was great to get out and enjoy a semi-warm and sunny fall Michigan day, especially since I think it’s supposed to be nasty all this week. Great.
The only downfall to the ride was seeing one section of trail done up with ghosts, gravestones and other Halloween type accoutrements as the college readies for the “haunted trail” thing they do every fall for kids. Nothing against Halloween, I just hate seeing the stuff ’cause it reminds me that the Tri-Fecta of Misery that is Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years will soon be here, followed by four to six months of cold, dark, Hoth-like weather (depending on what Ma Nature decides for Michigan in Winter 2014/15). Sigh.
Hoping, praying, and crying into my pillow that having a worth-while fat bike to ride and race will help ease the pain of the coming winter… well, that booze, antidepressants and if I can get my hands on some; horse tranquilizers.
Speaking of racing and the coming winter, the Northern Michigan Fat Bike Series Festival of Lights race at Timber Ridge on December 21st will MOST likely be my first fat race of the season. Still have to see what races Fun Promotions does this year and weigh the options (distance, price, etc.,). Not matter the event, after a season of little riding and racing I sure to put on one hell of a frozen shit show. Stay tuned for all that.
Riding may be sparse this week, so blogging will be too [collective groans now heard internet-wide].
Later.
