This Ain't Spring!

Spring arrived at 12:15 pm on March 20th as the sun crossed the celestial equator. Usually this means warmer temperatures as the flowers start to push through the soil and the trees start to bud and bloom.  Not this year though, the coming of spring was just the eve of yet another nor'easter. The fourth of the month. March came in like a lion and kicked our ass all month. Warm weather is no where in sight. The blooming trees have been broken by the wet heavy snow that fell over the last few weeks. My dogwood tree is decimated with half its branches gone.The flowers that were pushing up hoping for warm sunshine have been crush by over a foot of heavy snow.

This is the time of year where I can usually start building some more miles in and even start riding after work. The only thing I'm building up is my upper body as I have literally shoveled tons of snow off my driveway (heavy snow is approximately 20 pounds per cubic foot so a 10'x10' driveway with a foot of snow is a ton and my driveway is 40 feet long!). Of course a snowblower would make the job easier but the snow has been too heavy and wet for me to use one. Then after the shoveling there is the clean up of the fallen branches and we are not talking about a bunch of small sticks I'm talking 4-5 inch thick limbs of pine and oak tress.

You would think that all this snow would prevent me from riding but it really didn't because the storms happened in the middle of the week and with the higher sun angle that spring brings there was enough melting to make the roads almost safe. I did spend one weekend riding in Tyler State Park but then I was out on Jim''s ride by the canal and Laura's ride out of MCP. Jim's ride was ball numbingly cold and Laura's was just a little warmer. With the right cloths you can ride in these conditions and get some miles in but it is not very enjoyable riding. The snow can make for some nice scenery but...

 I will be happy when this shit is behind us and I can loose the tights and heavy jacket and feel the sun on my skin.

Tough Week

It started with elevated liver enzymes which were high enough to do an ultrasound. The ultrasound found stones and "sludge"in the gall bladder. They weren't causing any issues but if one of the stones blocked the duct in the gall bladder it would rupture and that would be bad and possible terminal. So the operation was scheduled and performed on Wednesday. Everything went well and now my dog is recovering. It was a tough week for her. Having a operation is bad but what is worst for a dog is that there is no way to tell them that they are going to get an operation or even prepare them for the trauma. All they know is that they go to the vet, get and IV put in, go to sleep and them wake up and feel like total shit.

When we got Frisket back from the vet on Thursday the pain killers and other drugs in her system had not entirely worn off so she was loopy and in pain and didn't know what to do with herself. She wanted to lay down and go to sleep but when she sat down or tried to lay down it was painful so she leaned against the wall or my leg and tried to fall asleep. She has to wear a cone around her neck so she doesn't try and remove the stitches. The vet tried to give us a plastic cone but we found a cloth doughnut that is a lot easier for the dog to wear and is easier for them to move around in. 

There is nothing more sad than a dog in pain. My wife and I did what we could to comfort the dog but there really wasn't much we could do to help her.

Friday she was a little better and started eating more. Everyday will be a little better and the vet said she should be back to normal in a couple of weeks. Today is Sunday and she is finally able to rest comfortably

I'm sure now that she can rest and is not in as much pain she will be back to her old self soon. 

This is Going to Suck

February was not as cold as usual but it was the 5th wettest February on record so it was a challenge to get any rides in. As Laura pointed out in her blog last week we have been expanding the conditions that we will ride in but that leads to riding in some non ideal situations. Last week with rain threatening we did a ride out of Mercer Park. The radar was clear when we started and when I checked it half way through the ride but a small cell popped up and as we climbed out of Walnford. It started as some light rain. I knew it would get worst so I shorten the ride and headed back towards the park but the rain got heavy as we went through Allentown. Someone mentioned that it was probably foolish to try to ride with the forecast we had to day. But I think it is better to ride and get a little wet than to sit at home and be pissed off you weren't riding when you see it didn't rain. The rain let up to a mild drizzle by the time I broke off for home and it was warm enough that getting wet didn't give me a chill.

This week we had a nor'easter sideways snow storm all day on Friday. It was warm enough that the snow didn't really stick to the roads but it left a coating of ice and snow on the trees and grass. Although this weekends weather was dry there would be high winds. Most of the Saturday rides got canceled. I decided to do a one way ride to Avon and meet my wife there for lunch. I knew the ride was going to suck but even a bad ride is better than siting inside all day.

At 9am the sun was out and the temperature was just over 40. It didn't feel that bad as I started towards the shore. Because of the sun the roads were mostly dry except some puddles and run off from the melting snow. I planned my route to try and keep me on wooded roads when possible to block the wind. It was coming mostly from the north so it would be a cross wind. Keeping in the woods was a good idea and a bad idea at the same time.

The woods did block some of the wind which was roaring at over 20 mph. However the sun was melting the ice and snow from the trees overhead causing it to fall on the road all around me. I'm not talking about small little pieces of ice and snow I'm talking about large chunks of snow which you could actually feel hit the road. On the way up Stillhouse Rd a 1x2 FOOT piece of snow came off a large branch and broke across my front wheel. If I had be just a little faster it would have hit me on the shoulder, head or back and probably left a bruise.

I managed to dodge most of the big chunks although I had little ones hitting my helmet. A few little pieces actually made it through the holes in the helmet so that I had a few ice cubes on my head. This while fighting a crosswind that was trying to push the bike out from under me. The wind was swirling so even when I occasionally had it at my back pushing me it was still hard to keep the bike straight.

When I got to the shore I had a 4 mile ride up Ocean ave directly into a 25 mph wind. I didn't really enjoy the scenery as I rode with my hands in the drops to get as aerodynamic as I could.

Even spinning it a low gear it was painful. I stopped half way at the bottom of Belmar to take a picture of the monster waves crashing on the beach. I was happy when I finally made it to Avon and could get off the bike. It was definitely one of my harder rides to the beach. The pay off was a good lunch and some even better ice cream at Hoffman's which is probably one of the best home made ice cream shops in NJ. Yes the ride sucked but I got some great ice cream so it was as good as I could do for a cold and windy Saturday.