Winter Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice. The official start of winter. Bleah. And we even got our first 'real' snowfall of the year last night. Nothing outlandish, but enough to plow and shovel (and for the towns to put salt down). I shouldn't complain; we've had great snow-free weather for much longer than usual. But it still doesn't mean I gotta like it!

One thing about today that I do like, though...it's also the shortest day of the year. From here on out, the days start getting longer again. And that means that as of tomorrow, the sun will begin it's inexorable return trip northward. And we, who enjoy its warmth (and the clear roads that come with it), cannot wait to embrace it's golden rays once again.

Last Miles for 2010?

The temps were hovering around the low 20's yesterday morning when I rolled the bike out. The weather had been calling for a major snowstorm hitting us Sunday night. I hadn't really been paying attention to the forecasts...but that changed when they started using the term "feet" to describe how much we were going to get. Feet? Oh man, that's not good...

Only one thing to do; get some miles on before the crapola hits the fan!! Let's Ride!!

Here's a shot of the temp guage on the bike as I rolled it out of the garage...

The guage itself actually started dropping a bit, once I got moving. Rolling through the center of town, the main bank's temp display read a balmy 23 degrees. Frikkin' Awesome! :-D

I put a number of miles on and I was having fun. I especially enjoyed the odd looks from people as I rode by. One guy in particular took one look at me, pulled his jacket tighter about himself, and shouted to me "You're making me cold!!!" Ha! Love it!

So of course I figured I should get someone else out here to share in the fun. Texting with Zig, he replied that he was doing laundry. Laundry? Laundry can wait, there's snow on the way. Let's ride! He couldn't deny that logic and said ok. With that, I was back on the road, and rocketing to his house...

Chrissy even geared up and joined us. We were soon on our way, hitting some side roads, easing through some corners here and there, and generally enjoying the day. We pulled up at a bar...er...restaurant for some grub, watched some football, and then made plans with other buds to meet up for the 4 o'clock games, followed by the PATS!!

The Picadilly Pub in Mansfield wound up being our chosen destination, and we soon had 10 individuals of questionable character, all lined up and having fun. A few beers, some popcorn thrown into each other's beers, and an occasional strangling now and then. Good times!

I kept wandering out to the parking lot to see how the storm was progressing, but there was nothing to be found. Checking the weather, it seems we'd dodged another bullet; the storm was going to miss us to the south. And while we were still possibly going to see a little bit of white stuff, the weather geeks had called off the alerts and the state was closing down the emergency shelters.

Back inside, the Pats eked out another close victory, but it was a victory none-the-less. Next week? The dreaded Bills from Buffalo! They've been looking good lately, should be a good game (and of course, King and I will have a beer riding on the outcome).

Another day full of Miles and Smiles. I like these days.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Catharsis

Took the bike out for a putt this morning. The temp guage was hovering around the 20-something mark but I'd bundled up and was looking forward to rolling out. Without asking for anything in return, the bike offers me a clear head and a welcome chance to reflect on things. I've got great friends all around, (plus new/interesting friends from last night!), there are road trips to warmer climes in the making, and on top of all this, I've got two wheels below, a (mostly) clear sky above, and an open road in front. There really isn't much that's better than this.

And with that realization, life is good once again.