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.

Post script...

After posting the photos of our most recent storm there are signs of hope today. The temperature hit 47 with a bright sun this afternoon. Everywhere you look there are huge mounds of snow - probably 4 to 5 feet at the street and up to maybe 15 feet where the plows have been in the shopping mall parking lots. However, the snow was melting today and with luck we may see the grass again before April. And maybe even get the bike back on the road soon? On another note our local papers have been running a story of a cyclist killed on the road in one of our neighboring towns. It turns out he had cerebral palsy,had given up his driver's license, and has been dependant on his bike for years. The original story was a bit slanted and implied that with all the snow on the sides of the road he probably shouldn't have been there. From a cyclist's point of view this is, of course, ridiculous - the law is quite clear in giving the cyclist the right to the same space on the road as an automobile (and he was on a side road, not a major thoroughfare). In broad daylight the driver hit the cyclist from the rear and apparently he died before they even got him to the hospital. It goes without saying I suppose that I am just a bit sensitive and probably biased in interpreting this story - however, it did give me a measure of satisfaction to learn today that the driver has now been charged with vehicular homicide. Apparently she was driving under the influence of a prescription drug. No good answers here: a tragedy for both parties.

Waiting for the sun to come out....

What a difference a year can make. I went to my log today and at 17 February last year I had 9 days of riding and about 350 miles. Through today I have not had a day on the bike in February and I cannot remember the last time I was on the road...The photos tell the tale: first is the scene from our front porch taken yesterday. And second is our backyard, also taken yesterday. Mother nature was dumping another 2 or three inches on top of the 2-3 feet we already have on the ground from last week. It is beautiful, of course, but as I have said throughout this winter there is a very fine line between " wow, isn't it gorgeous" and " enough of this white s**t already." So in the meantime, the Olympics are on TV and I try to time my indoor bike time with something reasonably energetic and inspiring - curling does not do it for me but watching the cross-country skiers sprints are almost as good as a fast break in a good basketball game. And here's to a little sun in the long term forecast and back to the roads.

First ride of '10

It was unseasonably cold the last five/six days we were in Florida - and by unseasonably I mean really, really cold: temps down to the 20s at night and highs of 45 during the day. I, of course, had planned on Florida weather and packed nothing but shorts and short sleeved jerseys. Susan and I went to Epcot one day in the winter coats we wore when we left New Jersey. And the first morning back home it was 11 when I went out to get the paper - "serves you right for complaining about Florida" said an acquaintance. So this morning it was 25 at 8 but the sun was out. I came home from the grocery store about noon and spotted two cyclists. My winter threshold is 4o degrees and minimal wind - when I got home it was 41. With that kind of overage there was nothing to do but get the layers out and get moving. Actually it was a day of bright sun and the requisite no wind and so was not bad at all, especially with 4 layers, winter hiking socks and the hood for the head. I got reacquainted with the rolling terrain of NJ after the "flat" of Florida and fortunately all the ice and snow is off the roads. So, first ride of the new year: 30 miles done, 4,971 to go. Maybe tomorrow again....

Happy New Year

We woke up this morning and put one of the morning talk/news shows on the TV. The reporter was standing in Times Square and the snow and sleet was flying and it looked absolutely frigid. Susan and I opened our slider to the balcony and, after watching the sun come up, took our coffee and tea out to our chairs and sat and simply luxuriated in the warmth of the morning sun and its reflection on the ocean. I cannot remember a more auspicious start to new year's eve. Breakfast out of the way I headed out for another ride on A1A, the coastal route in Southern Florida. It is the height of tourist season and so this two-lane highway has been crowded with heavy traffic the last couple of times I've been out but the road also has real bike lanes on most of it so it is bearable. However, for some reason, maybe because it was cloudy and overcast when I started, the highway traffic was light this morning. I don't think that I have ever in my life been on a bike on New Year's eve - too cold, too snowy where I come from - and so I find myself heading for Palm Beach in 70 degree weather (the sun soon came out and it was 82 when I finished) and pinching myself all the way - this can't be real. A few days ago I also hit the 5,000 mile mark for this year. To be honest, my original goal was 10,000 miles but a motorcycle in Ohio forced a couple of revisions. Actually I'm really pretty pleased with the 5K - I have done that only once before and for awhile this year I thought that even that would be out of reach. More to the point I think is that I had a great ride today - about 50 miles and felt like doing more when I finished. I might not have predicted that a few months ago. Much as the accident in June consumed time and energy and attention it was not the real point. I had the adventure of my life with XC09 even if it was shortened a bit. I rode with some really great cyclists and, probably not entirely by coincidence, some really great people. We saw deserts, mountains, the "amber waves of grain", the backroads and small towns of America - and I wouldn't trade that for anything. And on that note I wish all (or both of you) who may read this a very happy and prosperous 2010.

Florida Cycling

When we were doing the XC ride we had a couple of folks from Florida and we all wondered how they could train for the mountains and the climbing we had to do through the Western states especially. So I finally managed to get out on the roads here in Florida today and I think that it may just be irrelevant. The day was so nice - sunny and temps somewhere around 75 - that I think the hills just don't matter. When you can ride all winter and also go as far as you want then I think maybe the frequency and distances more than makes up for the lack of hills. Which I did notice on the ride by the way: think of Nancy who conquered everything with style and grace. Anyway I took off on Highway A1A on the Eastern coast this morning and felt like I was joinging a bicycle parade. There were literally hundreds of riders on the road flying both north and south with the Atlantic on one side and the Intercoastal on the other. I started in Hillsboro Beach and headed north - there was a headwind and I wanted it on a my back for the return trip. The road is flat, the traffic horrendous (lots of "cue tips" pulling out of condominium driveways) but they have decent bike lanes most of the time and there are so many other bikes on the road that drivers are at least aware. Thanks to the weather in New Jersey I haven't been on the bike in a couple of weeks and so my plan was to do maybe 30 miles and come back another day. However my computer kept quitting on me and I lost track of how far I went. When I got to the city limits of Palm Beach I decided it might be time to turn around. So I ended up doing a nice little fifty mile hike and was actually ready for more...Nice day, nice ride - I could get used to this.

24 and 24...

I've titled this little entry 24 and 24 because first it is about 24 degrees - without the wind chill factor - and because we have officially 24 inches of snow. And it snowed almost around the clock, 24 hours.

The lower photo is a bit of our back yard and deck - you need snowshoes to navigate. The second photo Susan took on my return from the morning ride - other than dodging snowplows it wasn't too bad...

I hoped to do a century but wanted to get back and shovel snow...gotta be tough to be cyclist in New Jersey....

No cycling today....

This is the scene from the bottom of our driveway as of a few minutes ago. And the weather folks are telling us this is just the beginning, that with just a little luck we could see up to 15 inches of this stuff by tomorrow morning. This is the path that I normally take to get out my neighborhood and out to the country - I don't think I would make it to the next driveway. Although I must say that returning from a "milk and bread run" an hour ago I did see someone on a mountain bike who appeared to be successfully navigating one of our unplowed streets. Maybe he had studded tires?

One of the last reminders of my encounter with the motorcycle is my back so I'm wielding the shovel with great care. We have a little electric snow blower that I usually bypass in favor of the exercise but I think it may get pressed into service today. So to all of you Californians, Texans, and Floridians enjoy your tropical temps and sunshine today and think of us cold easterners perched on our indoor bikes spinning away with the blizzard outside.