the Way of the Turtle

A RELAXING THANKSGIVING BREAK
12 Mile Mountain Bike Ride
Thursday, November 24, 2005

This morning I woke up to a light snowfall - very pretty. So I pottered around for a while, prepped a turkey, and popped it in the oven for a slow cooking. Then I packed the bike on the car and headed over to the Pine Bush. There was only about an inch of snow - enough to make the ride interesting, but not enough to make it difficult. Again, no one in sight (despite the two other cars parked at the trailhead) as I zipped around on the trails. About halfway through the ride, the sky got very dark, the temperature started dropping, and the wind picked up... so I stopped and started unpacking my wind jacket, hat, and heavier gloves. Just in time, too... as I was putting them on the snow started coming down with a vengeance and then BOOM! one heck of a loud thunderclap hit overhead. So I rode through the snowstorm - very cool, and I once again wished I had my camera. (Admittedly, my glasses and brakes icing up made the ride a bit more challenging, but not impossible.) After about 20 minutes the storm blew through and I rode for a while longer, until I started getting tired and I ran into a large group of walkers - both signs it was time to head home. So off I went, to warm up and chow down on far too much turkey.

I miss Ann and will be glad when she gets back - but all things considered, I think this was a pretty good way to spend the holiday.

JMH