hot chocolate and whiskey

After the best winter riding season ever, I find myself struggling to find the legs I had back in mid march. I have the base from Jan-March to help ease the process but l feel weak... Between turbulent weather and several other life factors distracting me from two wheels, I have been riding much less than I would like. But, as the dark Colonel Kurtz like scenes I have played a part in this past month are now fading with the grey cold, I find myself clawing my way out of the mire and back into the saddle.

Riding became intermittent about 4 wks ago but not before a nice long day in the saddle with Dan and Kurt. We rode a tour de foothills and put in some quality miles. Dan had even raced the day before and Kurt had run 30 miles or some crazy milage, and I believe I had made easter eggs.

then i ate a spinach salad...

fast forward a couple weeks and dos lobos, Tim and Mark, crossed the CO border for a weekend of sampling local brew, checking some great music, and riding one of the many ranches.

we took the long way up

and up

and

Mark fading into the cloud that was cold

tt takes it to the streets

as does maka

It was good to have some New Mexicans up in b-town and hopefully we share many more miles this season. White Ranch was prime that week and I was happy we hit it. I may try to get in another one down there before the heat and looseness sets in.

Since then, I have been what I can including a mad afternoon dash I made last weekend into the hills between storms. It started normal enough with plenty of climbing and I even stopped to clear the road of a recently tossed bottle.

why had someone smashed a non-alcoholic beer bottle into the middle of the road? who knows, but I figured I would do my part. Much to my chagrin, I quickly learned that good deeds sometimes go punished up high.

I picked a questionable route and went hard. as the storms started coming over the ridge like choppers over a jungle canopy, I began looking for a direction on the dirt roads that would help me miss the frigid rain storms at 7k+ ft elevation. Of course my evasive action was in vain and I soon found myself taking what cover I could as the rain got heavy. It grew dark and my thoughts strayed as I shivered uncontrollably in the icy rain, sometimes chuckling.

staring at a puddle on the edge of hypothermia, mother nature made it clear that I was nothing but an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect the bill and she obviously had no intention of ever paying it. 6pm, cold rain falling steady on the verge of turning to snow, temps plummeting, close to an hr of mostly downhill home=pure suffering. Needless to say, it was a hot cocoa and maker's mark type evening after that...