Blue Water

A perfect blue water day. The morning wasn't rushed, 4.30 am, milk for B, full wake up a little later and out the door at 5.15. Town was more quiet than it's been, I only saw one car and one repair truck the whole way. I managed to slide the studs on a turn, pretty cool drift. I can't wait for my mitts to show up, they shipped them wrong so maybe by the end of next week I'll have warmer hands. I'm waiting to get the mac back from apple to past the pics of Tuesday's skin up. They may be a little late but worth it. Early to bed tonight to hit the skis at 6 tomorrow to get in a little effort before work at 7.30 on New Years Day. The one good about this silly holiday, I get to start a little later but work is looooong, not off until 6 p.m. I'll get in a ski session as a lot of folks go to bed, hah!

Drown

I finished reading Arthur Nersesian's Chinese Takeout. In it the narrator/main character swims the East River, which to anyone who has been to Manhattan will agree is a nasty proposition. Bad days follow Orloff, he tries in vain to get out from under them. Productive as an artist but flawed. When he tries to swim the river he nearly drowns and feels that subtle relaxation that comes just before the lights go out, no struggle. As he swims the river he's naked no actual weight on him, but the weight of his mistakes and misgivings. A few inches of new today, making for my favorite commute, the quiet glide in darkness over untracked snow. No music, I wanted to hear the bike roll through. So peaceful, the snow still falling, no noise other than Goblin cutting through the snow. I had a full messenger bag of food for the day, my own cereal and soy milk, good stuff to start the day. Great veggie fajitas, good dinner last night, mellow night at home without the bullshit distractions.

Old

I saw an old guy driving yesterday with an oxygen mask on. Alone in his car. I got to thinking if you need an O2 mask that bad should you really be driving? This is a rare site up here, not uncommon in Florida, one of the reasons I don't bring a roadbike when we go to see my grandfather in the land of recounts. As a road user on various levels I hope the DMV can fight the AARP and instill a policy of more frequent driving tests later in life. I don't want the elderly to lose priviledges as much as I want to make sure they are getting ones that they deserve and that their motor skills can handle.

Skin

I know that I'm ready for my break to be over when I stop sleeping. I try going to bed, even after a moderate day of a little exercise and I just can't fall asleep. Monday night was just that, I read until 1 a.m. and then finally fell asleep. I woke at 5 with B and loaded up the car to skin up Peak 8 with some friends. My first time doing a ski town staple, pretty cool to see the thirty or so others out there, going up at dawn to "earn your turns" was a cool feeling. If you don't know what skins are here is a brief description:

climbing skins are artificial animal hide that allow sliding one way very efficiently and prevent backsliding when you engage the skin to kick. The skins attach with a glue that doesn't remain on the ski after you remove them and a buckle that clamps onto the ski to hold it in place near the front.

It was about an hour of uphill work, I stopped a few times to shoot some pics. The ski down wasn't great, without Scott to instruct, I got lazy a few times and stopped to think about technique. Little tricks he taught me the other day really help if I remember them. I think next time I'll keep more of the tricks in mind and not get lazy.

11

Eleven years ago today I blew my knee, trying to be better than I was, trying to do things I wasn't yet ready to do. Being a snowboarder and not a smart rider. Odd how random events and dates stick. I have a lot of other weird thoughts I can place to exact dates...valuable disk space being taken up. I have a problem with the motorists who by being out on the roads feel a sense of priority over the rest of us. Not that they aren't paying attention as much as the fact that they expect the seas to part so their fat ass can get through. Sense of entitlement, the feeling that they deserve what they want because of the simple fact that they think they deserve it.

Good one

Some days just stick out as good ones, mid-break but not sitting around. Shaubie got me out again on skis for a different loop up in Siberia. It was a bit colder and cloudy, the light was pretty secret, making the views and terrain different from Saturday's visit. Just the 4 of us today, Shaubie and Me, B in the sled and the dog on point. I'm happy to have the peace of mind to not care about a race until October. I'm motivated to do the winter rides, the idea of getting in 200k around Denver/Boulder is beautiful. Getting off the bike after 5 or 6 hours feels like little else.

The special olympics (or is it Special Olympics?) were in town recently, not really knowing how long a special olympiad is they still may be in town. Looking around the past few days has me confused, are they still here? The toungue-wagging blank stares are all out there, except some of them are driving and not passengers. Slow going as I weave my way around them on my way home from work, a singlespeed mtb is way more maneuverable than any SUV when the driver is seemingly narcoleptic. I try to stay out of the way and be loose on the bike as I know their bumper will find me soon enough. I hope that when the bumper finds me I can avoid the tires and just deal with body meeting ground. I like the trip to work it makes me happy, no one else out there. The peacefulness of the predawn ride is my time to listen to new musicand make my way to work without hassle. The trip home is a minefield of gaping Texans and lost Midwesterners. I stay out of the busy roads and aim for the snowy bike path or the less crowded streets. I wonder how many people are borderline retarded, are they really that clueless? Can it be that difficult to navigate a new place without acting like your five and it's your first trip to Disneyland? We're not all on vacation...

Bear

I saw a bear in a ski jacket and a backpack walking down the street on my way to work. It was pretty early maybe I was hallucinating. I'm going to try and erase the crappy foods from my diet, maybe I'll stop seeing bears in ski jackets around dawn. Because I thought it was a bear I had to get a bearclaw. One of my last for a long while. I should get up early enough to eat a decent breakfast and resist the urge to fill up on sugar. It's not a big deal to eat right, I just need to get good food around me so I don't eat more crap. I'm not trying to reinvent my diet, just put the good stuff in and not the bad. I'm feeling comfy on the single, the studs hook up just fine up front, maybe I'll look around for one for the rear. Simplicity is the best, when it's cold and early shifting is far from my mind.

ski

The really cold weather finally subsided, leaving us with good snow and sun. We got out for a little ski on Siberia Loop with the kid in the sled, we accidently met up with friends out on the trail and had a good group for our tour. The weather was perfect, sunny but cold and clear. The snow was perfect for the three-pin touring gear, good kick and a bit of glide (the 40 pound sled added drag). The cross bikes are all broken down and ready for shipping back to IF. New team colors, clean new rebuilds and slightly different set up, I can't wait! One will be a single until September, maybe longer...

Town

After skiing yesterday we walked off the hill and over to a new French bakery in town, how cool it was to ski and then walk over and have a croissant and coffee. I imagine it to be like that in Europe when skiing from town to town in the alpine regions and having a snack at little stops along the way. The coffee was unreal, thick, proper French coffee, I put in a splash of cream and it just sat on top, good stuff. Last night the snow we were supposed to get was held off by a cold front, we got maybe an inch not the 6 we were promised, it was too cold to snow really well. Coming in today I stopped to get mail and rolling through town (a longer ride than normal) I got to appreciate how pretty winter is after it snows even just a bit. The lights that decorate the lamp posts and the stores all done up for the holidays made me almost forget my quickly numbing fingers. Next week I'm ordering a set of snowmobile mitts and maybe continue looking for my balaclava.