Snowmelt and the O-Hill Meltdown

Bike parking - 26ers only

9 inches of snow fell here just north of Earallysville yesterday morning.  Today, scarcely an inch remains.  The nature of spring snowstorms, I suppose, is their transience.  Not that we get a lot of them around here, but in my time in Colorado, it became normal in my perception of weather that a foot of spring snow might melt in a day. 

Which is all great news if you want to rally, Sally.  I tucked the dragon under the horsetree at lunch, tried not to pee on my fingers while wearing neoprene gloves, and took in the moment.  It all really does go by pretty fast.  My kids will be 6 months old in a couple of weeks.  What's it all about, really?  And could I ride the horsetree with a proper transition? 

C-Ham's summary "It's a safety thing." 

I think I might get this every year - this feeling of nostalgia brought on by mud season, however brief it might be in Virginia, is probably linked for me to my time in Colorado, where entire months in the high country are wasted every year because you can't ski mud and you can't ride mud either.  So you hang out a bit more, ponder it all a little.  There is always thought in stillness, and conveniently for those crazy kids that live in, say, Minturn, time to heal those ski-broken bones. 

But not here.  Private land, for one, dictates that mud is primo, and the melting itself, which happens so fast you barely have time to take pictures or make memories, can become how life feels sometimes if you let it. 

Don't let it.  That's my motto for this week anyway.  Take the time to make yourself a moment, folks.  Carve it out of the snow if you can catch it while it's still firm, push your knobbies deep into the turn, and hold on.  It will all slide out from under you before you know it. 

And speaking of making a moment, especially if you're referring to long, drawn out, painful moments, Ohill registration is up and riding. 

I'll even paste that in here for the HTML challenged.
https://www.bikereg.com/Net/15821











I'm not going to Danville this weekend, lacking the funds, stamina, fitness, and determination necessary to trek almost all the way to Raleigh to get my clock cleaned by aggressive, well-prepared, up-and-comers who spent the winter on the trainer.  Instead, I'll make them come kick my ass on my own turf, which is convenient for me.  But don't panic, I've got plenty of ass to go around these days.  There will be extra.  So form a nice, orderly line, and wait your turn.  March 18th. 


Keep looking forward. 
Keep looking up.