March cycling: In like the Lion of Flanders, out like...?

[khg]

A persistent ridge of high pressure has had sunny skies overhead since Friday, and staying that way for the foreseeable future--astonishing considering that this time of year usually has constant damp and moss growth behind the ears...

On Sunday, my dad, husband, and I rode around on Vashon Island. It's beautiful riding, mostly quiet roads (some so little trafficked that they are green with moss. I was kinda only sorta kidding about the moss growth behind the ears...) where you're watching for deer as much as for cars. It's also challenging riding, as the island is approximately a 450 foot high plateau, and as the road goes toward and away from the water, you can lose or gain those 450 feet pretty quickly. Though my dad had never ridden on Vashon before, last summer he plotted a challenging route around the island and sent it to me as a "check this out!"--I then went and actually rode his route, and thought many dark thoughts towards him along the way. So on Sunday I made sure to detour to a couple of the *really* special hills that I had encountered on his route. And I made sure to point out that they were his idea.

We had a really fun time!

It also makes me really happy to be able to get out and ride with my dad (and my husband) like this. About three years ago, the arthritis in his knee was getting bad enough that he was having to walk with a cane--which really put a crimp in his lifestyle, since he loves hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, etc. His doctor said that exercise would actually help his kind of arthritis, so he got a little bike machine that he could pedal while sitting in his easy chair. Then he started feeling a little better, so started doing short rides on his bike. And felt better, and started doing longer rides on his bike. Fast forward to last year, and he did a hilly century with us, which was the longest he had ridden his bike since I was a kid. He also rode up some mountain passes with us, and has spent the winter emailing with me about what mountains and other challenging rides are the ones he has to be sure to get done this year. And so I ignore him when we're out riding together and he complains about an upcoming hill "I'm 66 years old, you know!"

And I'm not sure he knows where his cane is. He's also talked about training his hiking up to summit Mt. Rainier (another thing he did when I was a kid). He's said before that when he did that, he was in the best shape of his life--and watching him on the bike the last couple years, I can well believe he's getting there again.

Anyway, it was a beautiful and fun day of cycling, made more special by being out with my dad. And my husband--he's pretty awesome too.

[rebeccaC]

khg....that post made a huge smile spread across my face

Hoping your father feels the happiness in your spirit when you’re riding with him!!!

[lauraelmore1033]

KHG, What a lovely ride report. Thanks for sharing that. I've been struggling with extreme allergies to alder pollen and the wonderful little virus Dh brought home from work,so I've actually been cursing our fine weather. Did manage a short ride on the Centennial trail yesterday, and was gasping like a fish out of water, even after using the array of inhalers at my disposal.

[Crankin]

Temperatures are finally getting out of the Arctic zone here, but there is so much snow/melting, that for the first time since I started riding, I am wondering if I will be able to start in March.

[khg]

Thanks rebeccaC!

Lauraelmore, though I don't have allergies, even I have had a few days where I'm thinking "stupid #*^%ing flowers and growing things!"--especially when I'm wearing my contacts and an entire tree's worth of pollen flies into my eyes... Matthew Inman, who does The Oatmeal comic (and lives in the PNW), put it best with his comic captioned "Winter is when an ocean of miserable water gushes out of the sky. Spring is when an ocean of miserable water gushes out of my face."

[zoom-zoom]

Here in MI we just exited our coldest Feb. ever -- average temp for the month was a whopping 13. And the snow banks are still as tall as our mailbox with a good 2' cover on our lawn. Still too cold to ride without wearing an unreasonable amount of gear...but next week we're supposed to have a few days in the low 40s, so we're going to hopefully manage our first trek out. Hoping some of the gravel roads will not be too icy, since we have a really brutal gravel road race in ~3 weeks and haven't been on our tandem in a whole lotta months. My training has taken a back burner to weight loss and DH has only recently been cleared to ride again after a lengthy bunionectomy surgery recovery.

[lauraelmore1033]

Khg, I love The Oatmeal. I've seen the comic you mentioned and totally relate!