EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING



Since the weather has been so windy, chilly and wet like it usually is this time of year, I busted out the rollers for an hour on Tuesday. Every once in a while it's nice to jump on them to remind myself how monotonous it is to ride the trainer. In addition, the session motivated me to commute to work the past couple of days in pretty unfavorable late March conditions (see above pic). The thing I enjoy most about commuting is that I don't have to get into a cold car and Skyline Road is so rough very few drivers are willing to navigate the pothole filled/patched boulevard.

On the ride in one morning I saw a guy jogging in a big ol' Ski-Doo snowmobile jacket - impressive. Someone is also building a house right on a cliff off the edge of the road - not impressive.

On the ride home some dude in a green minivan with a prominent Pro Life sticker gave me about about a foot of room on this desolate road. He obviously isn't concerned about life once out of the womb...

Here are a couple of more pictures of last week's storm:
















Tomorrow, Sara and I are going to get in some single track riding since it's supposed to be -1 tonight!

MORE SNOW!

Even though I've been sick all week - and had conferences - I thought it would be a good idea to commute by bike to work today. I've been battling a serious cold/sore throat/sinus headeache for the past six days, so the lack of riding has been grating on me. My first mistake was thinking the local forecasters would be correct about the form of precip we'd receive (rain instead of snow)so I rode Sara's 'cross bike to work with road tires on it. My second mistake was underestimating my illness and thinking I could ride it out of me. Needless to say, now the throat is worse and my ears are even more plugged than before.

In a couple of weeks, everything will be better because we'll be back here!

MARCH 13?????????????????????

Sara and I did the baby swap today so each of us could get out for a ski. I cannot believe how good the skiing is for March 13! I had to drive to Fergus Falls yesterday for the State spelling bee, and on my way up the car thermometer hit -24 just north of Floodwood... I had to look a couple of times to make sure I was reading the thing correctly because that's the lowest I've seen all year and it's almost the middle of March. All of us have been battling sore throats and general malaise over the past week, so hopefully we can kick it for good over the next couple of days.

I rode the Superfly last weekend with little Narum for about six hours and that didn't help my sore throat much; however, it did wonders for my attitude and for getting my rear end in shape for Grand Junction/Fruita/Moab. We rode a bunch of stuff walkers were on, and once that stuff sets up after a warming spell, it's as rough as any boulder field the West has to offer.

Charlie Farrow left his indelible mark on some of the stuff we rode - a six inch swath the runs from one edge of the trail to the other. I kept expecting to see an imprint of the old boy in the dearth of snow, but no luck. That guy has the uncanny knack of being able to get 10 miles of riding in out of a five mile trail.

Kiera's sleeping, Sara's in the process of making bread, and I'm going to see who's playing in the State hockey tourney.

Scott, Kiera, and I were in Houghton, MI this past weekend. Scott coaching and waxing for the CSS Nordic Ski Team (regional meet and final NCAA qualifier). We had one athlete make NCAAs. Very exciting! Kiera and I hung out a bit as it was below zero saturday morning until it warmed up enough to ski. I pulled her in the chariot for 2 hrs on saturday and just over 1 hr on sunday with Scott and I finally getting to ski another hr while he pulled the chariot. My legs were torched yesterday and achy at night. All three of us are fighting a cold. Off to bed......