Spring - officially!

After all the snow and ice we deserve a little warmth and color in our lives and we sure got it this weekend. The first day of spring was officially observed yesterday - I heard two different times for the vernal equinox about five hours apart so who knew when to stand the eggs on their ends - and I got my bike out to bookmark The Day. We have had temperatures in the low seventies, gentle breezes and blue skies - it really doesn't get much better than that.

Friday was the first day in shorts and one simple jersey - no layers. I really love going out on a work day, it is one of the true "perks" of retirement. Much as I enjoy riding with someone or a group it really is nice to have all the scenic backroads all to myself. I went to the covered bridge and rode upstream from the highway to the bridge. I saw a lone hiker and a photographer but otherwise the noisy, burbling stream was there just for my enjoyment. And with the rain from last week and the runoff from all the snow the stream and creeks are all flowing and at their prettiest. Today I went into the sourlands and again rode upstream (and up hill) by another healthy little stream. I even scared up a red tail hawk from alongside the road and watched him spread his wings and hover above me until he decided to peal off to the right and go looking for a tall tree to sit in. And it turned out that there were lots of people more interested in being outdoors than staying to watch the NCAAs - lots of cyclists and even more motorcyclists. I think of the latter with mixed feelings but those I saw today were courteous and careful, I probably could have held a civil conversation if we had stopped at the same deli.

I have lived in New Jersey long enough to know that summer is not starting tomorrow but am also enough of a Pollyanna that I'm planning on nothing less than more spring weather from here on out. If the daffodils are out today can the forsysthia be far behind?

Almost gone...

And with just a little luck even this last lingering bit of snow will disappear with the rains that are coming in over the weekend. I've been out three of the last six days and the temperature has been in the fifties and even into the low sixties - almost seems like spring might be here in a day or so. Monday I actually should have put on a sunscreen - Susan's first comment was over the little bit of color I picked up on my nose. And yesterday it was overcast but warm enough and no wind...almost perfect. Anybody who has lived in the East for more than a couple of years knows how often we have had snowstorms into April but I'm putting my bets down on no more snow....we shall see.

One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was a new Garmin bike computer and I have been breaking it in the last few days. It collects and displays data on just about everything that a cyclist wants - and then some. I have always had the basic speed and mileage computer, of course, and have seen the Garmin GPS on others' bikes but I guess maybe I was just too cheap to get one for myself. So now I am tracking cadence in addition to MPH, hill gradient and heart beat (and they are related), and then downloading it all to the computer when I come home. Yesterday I took one of my favorite routes (to Sergeantsville and home via Lindbergh Road) and checked out the grade of some of my favorite hills, watched my heartbeat go up and down and did my best to keep a consistent cadence...and also kept reminding myself to keep my eyes on the road and traffic. So I am now looking for a worthy recipient for my almost-new "old" bike computer. And wondering why I didn't have this fun thing for the cross country last summer. Thank you Susan.

Where did all the snow go????

Today was one of those days that gives hope that spring is really coming. The last few days have seen temps in the forties and either sun or rain to help get rid of all that snow. It is not completely gone but the roads are clear and for the most part pretty dry. I checked my log before I went out today and discovered it has actually been six weeks since I have been on the road. And I felt it very soon into the ride...The first hill, the first sustained run with no traffic lights - what happened to my legs and lungs? Wasn't I faithfully riding the indoor bike? Doesn't all that snow shoveling count for something? I ended up doing 46 miles but it truly felt like the first ride of the year. Or maybe after doing the XC last year I think that all that fitness should be a permanent part of my physiology - ha, reality strikes again. In any case it was a truly beautiful day - blue sky and sunshine and temps that reached 54 by the time I rolled back into my driveway. And the number of cyclists out on the roads of Mercer County was like a summer day - great to see a few kindred souls bundled up and moving. Riding solo I also had plenty of time for the thinking of great thoughts. And while I cannot lay claim to any truly profound conclusions I did come up with a couple of more mundane and practical conclusions. I've been going under the assumption that I would be completing the cross country trip at the first opportunity - actually my plan was to go back and join the Crossroads gang in Champaign. They are terrific people and offer the advantage of taking care of all the logistics and providing a great bunch of people to ride with (although, honestly, I cannot imagine finding another group anything like XC09). But life has a way of interfering with our best laid plans. In my case we have a couple of family weddings that cannot be missed in June and July. And to complicate matters we are seriously considering putting our house up for sale...We found a perfect house in an over 55 community a couple of weeks ago and it killed me that I could not make an offer without some reasonable certainty of selling our house....So, tough call but maybe I just need to get my world in order so that I can do it next year...Maybe in 2011 Barbie and Darrell will also be doing that last leg and we can have a reunion.