Riding with RUSA 25

February 28, 2015

Just minutes into the 200K, I was already second guessing my decision to ride studded tires.The vibration of studs on asphalt buzzed through the handlebars into my hands and arms even as the sound of those little metal spikes grinding into the road droned into my ears and brain. Riding studded tires felt like riding on a gravel road - noisy with extra resistance.

The temperature warranted it - maybe. We were starting the ride at around 10 degrees Fahrenheit after a recent snowfall, so ice was a valid concern. But the roads were mostly clear and the four other riders were all riding normal tires. At 130 miles, with a few bonus miles in a detour, this was already a long 200K. Riding studded tires on winter legs in subfreezing temperatures promised to make it feel even longer. But home was an hour's drive behind me so there was no turning back now - not on the last day of February - not if I wanted to complete an R-12 ride for the month. So, what's done is done, this is my here and now, I would just have to deal with it.

Challenge accepted!

"No one has the authority to limit you". Ben Saunders, North Pole skier, 2005.

The Ides of March Cycling Challenge - A 30 day cycling challenge:

In the spirit of sharing the transition to the riding season, I thought I'd throw out a little challenge:

January 2015 - A moment of warmth and light.

January 30, 2015.

Soft afternoon sunlight fills her clean spacious bedroom. Drawn-back white gauze curtains barely stir as a warm Florida breeze carries in a floral note that mingles with the purple orchid on her dresser, flows across the black and white photos of her son's wedding and around the framed printed messages of Christian hope and faith. The breeze, the warmth and the light nestle into the blankets and pillows that fill the space between my aunt's now frail body and the oversize recliner that supports her. The breeze, the warmth, and the light are relaxing, soothing and almost enough to completely erase the tiny occasional odor that arises from her colostomy bag like a nagging reminder of her painful inoperable cancer.

First Friday Writing for Randos: Write it on your heart.

{First Friday Writings for Randos - A monthly post that features pieces from other writers that touch some facet of the Randonneuring experience, even if that was not the author's intent. It's stuff that's best read out loud - slowly.} This month it's a poem from 

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Collected Poems and Translations

Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

December 2014. R1 Redux: Leave the lights on.

Can a ride report be a music video?

The back story: 

My streak of 200k or longer rides died in November. That was the first month to go by without my riding one since I rode my very first 200k in April 2010. Fifty-five months of consistency ended quietly, without drama, succumbing to inertia and a lingering lack of motivation. 

December was passing too, easily slipping past in the flow of year end parties, arrangements, wrapping up at work. 100K rides kept me in the loop, but the 200K is the benchmark of this sport and it was getting farther away while the distance was growing more daunting.

New Jersey holiday ride: On the last day of fall

Come 
ride with me
on the last day of fall 
under a cold grey sky 
when the days have withered
in the presence of growing  night.