The beginning of spring fever

Its been a long fun winter, but I decided it was time to get my bike out of storage and see what king of shape both of us were in. I had to replace a tube that refused to hold air for more than ten minutes. I was able to cycle through all the gears easily. Then after taking a rag and removing a winters worth of dust the bike was looking pretty darn good. I lubed the chain and she was ready to go.

On the other hand it was a little harder to discern what kind of shape I was in. Since I stopped riding last October I have gained 5 or 10 lbs and was unable to find a proper winter substitute for my most difficult summer hobby. I decided I would go on a few bike rides around the neighborhood prior to my first off-road excursion of the year. After a week or so of neighborhood riding I would be ready to test my might. (an old mortal combat reference)

I was sitting at my desk at work unable to ignore the beautiful rays of sunshine that demanded my attention. I felt like a kid at school waiting for the end of the school day on a sunny Friday afternoon. I couldn't concentrate, for the better part of the last two hours of the work day I stared at my work unable to make sense of the numbers and graphs I was trying to analyze. It was useless, I was powerless with five minutes left work I ducked out a little early, feeling confident no one would notice. A side note, my boss was taking a sick day and I couldn't help but think of him basking in the sun with a smirk on his face knowing I was working while he was lounging.

I walked home quicker than usual and arrived home about ten minutes ahead of schedule. Upon entering the house I noticed my newly tuned bike, and I knew, I had to go for a ride, but a day suck as this required I go off the street and hit a dirt trail. Fearing my lack, or abundance, of shape may hinder the experience I opted for a shorter trail that was guaranteed to be free of snow.

I hit the trail and rode 3 miles in and 3 miles out. I fared better than expected and was giddy about being speckled with mud from head to toe as there were a couple of puddles that spanned the width of the trail. Upon completion a bit of the mud fell off the bike but if you look close you can see the remainder of the mud that was.

Currently in the area there are only a couple of ridable trails until the snow melts but I'll take what I can get.