Fourteen degrees with a 12-mph wind out of the south and maybe a half inch of fluffy white powder on the deck — just three of the reasons that February sucks.
Weather like this makes me want to eat grease, drink whiskey and buy things, not necessarily in that order. I just looked back through a few old training logs and the February entries are full of low mileage and foul language. The month is bad for the legs and worse for the mind.
It doesn’t help that colleagues are taunting me from Tucson, where they have spent a few days test-riding bikes under sunny skies in 70-degree temps. There’s nothing a journalist likes better than seeing an open wound and the salt shaker within easy reach. Oh, the humanity.
Me, I did an hour of cyclo-cross in a bitter north wind on Thursday and about 90 minutes of unimpressive riding in a surprisingly snowy and wet Palmer Park yesterday. Who knew that last little poot of a snowstorm would linger as it did? Not me, and now I have a bike that needs a wash and brush-up.
Today I’m trying to nudge myself into the first trainer ride of 2012, but the pep talk is not going well. Cycling indoors is right up there with daytime TV, cybersex and listening to Republicans speak.
Mad Blog Media 
Jeez OG…..seems to me it’s perfect weather for slowly simmering up a steaming stew w/some chiles thrown in for color and character; enjoying a light white wine if it’s a chicken stew or a robust red if beef; and contemplating how much you increased your lactate threshold on the trainer today.
Two out of three isn’t bad! More than a half full glass!
JD
John, I actually have a medium-heavy red pasta sauce simmering on the stove — fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped onion, garlic, carrots, green bell pepper and celery, a half cup of red wine, a couple cups of water, basil, parsley, oregano, black pepper and salt, plus a half pound of hot Italian sausage. So it ain’t all bad. But it sure is cold.
Did I detect a hint of yellow in the lettering?
I actually got out for a thirty miler today! (Well, it as a 2-1/2 hour thirty miler…) I got back just as the rain started.
I’m surprised and a little disappointed that you haven’t made the Annual Arizona Pilgrimage….
Youse guys hoist a glass for me.
Y’know, I haven’t done the Arizona trip since … 2008? Jeebus, has it been that long? Yep — it’s been one thing after another: hassles with Management, the Shit Monsoon of 2009, you name it. Shit happens, as they say, and sometimes it ain’t metaphorical.
I have the time for Arizona this year, but not the money, alas. Two part-time jobs do not provide for a great deal of globe-trotting. My bolt hole this year may be the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Sacramento, if I can find a sucker … er, benefactor … to help underwrite the trip. Your call is important to us; operators are standing by.
I’ve heard that this year’s show may be leaning more toward function than form, so naturally I’m interested. But then, who wouldn’t be?
You mean to tell me that those nice people at AC haven’t thrown down for your trip out here next month? You would be perfect for our fine little cycling ‘mecca.’ If not for our Dutch-like topography, there is always the wonderful City of Davis to ride around in, become one with the co-eds (so to speak), and maybe even check out the US Cycling Hall of Fame. All wonderful things to do for someone who likes to use his bike as a means of recreation AND transportation.
This weather (lack of snow and bitter cold) is kind of strange for here in northern Minnesota, but I don’t think it’s a trend for the future as many climate change experts predict. Just ask most of Europe, where it’s freezing ass and large dumpings of snow way beyond normal. We’ve been below zero two nights in a row, which has been rarer than a common sense spouting Repug candidate. These morons keep stepping on their dicks for no reason, like on the birth control and planned parenthood crap that the Obam’s baited them with. “Hey Mitt, pull my finger”. That one never gets old. Can’t wait for flavor of the week #11, Rick Sanitarium to get in the spot light, so he can show his unique brand of stupidity. Whoops, he already did with his sex is only for making babies statements. The jokes, as they say, write themselves!
builds character(don’t you just hate comments like that)
Hey, PO’G, I don’t know if I should even mention this, but here in GJ, just five or six hours away as the Subaru goes, it was 50 today with light winds and ice-free roads. Come to think of it, snow and ice free pretty much everywhere in the valley. Anyway, got in 49 miles on Thursday and another 45 miles today. Thanks to the hoax that is climate change, my February riding log hasn’t looked this good since I moved here from smoggy Sandy Eggo.
Rain in the forecast for tomorrow. Rain. In February. I could get to like this mythical climate change.
John, rain I could dig. We’re watering the friggin’ trees here. What we have going on is Cold To No Particular Purpose, which I find tedious. Shoot, a guy has to put on his winter duds to roast chiles on the grill.
Weather here like yours. Too cold and icy to ride, not enough snow for XC skis.
Instead got to spent a hour at a job interview. An hour to hire a library director? Weirdest interview process ever, it usually a half to full day round of presentations and interrogation. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Did have a nice solid beef stew the wife cooked up. Very uplifting.
Hey, Ben … keep us posted. Especially me, as I could use a few pointers re: the interview process. It’s been quite a while since I had to talk to anyone I didn’t already know about getting paid to annoy people.
Herman Cain’s got it right “stupid people are ruining America” he just doesn’t know which ones they are I guess. Over here on the side of the planet getting the cold end of climate change (can we ditch the global warming term since the results are far from only warming in the weather?) it’s supposed to be 50 F today here in Sicily. For Sicilians that is COLD, but we’ll try to get out there while a chicken roasts in the oven for Sunday dinner.
OG – if that sauce with the sausage is medium-heavy, what’s the next level got in it? Make sure you drink plenty of vino rosso with that – ya gotta keep those arteries unclogged my friend!
Buona Domenica to all.
Aw, Larry, I went light on the pigmeat … only a half pound of hot Italian sausage, spread over five meals’ worth of sauce. Last night it went over spaghetti, tonight a dollop will get added to a pizza, and the rest went into the freezer for the rare day when I don’t feel like cooking.
Do you have a basic tomato sauce recipe you’d like to share with the gang? I have a couple standbys I’ve gleaned from various cookbooks, but I’m always looking for fresh challenges.
Basic tomato sauce recipe? Heather calls it “quick red sauce” and we’d be happy to share, just let me how to do it, send to you via email, type it into the comments box?
Aw, quitcher’bitchin’ as my dad would say. I managed an hour and a half on a trainer his morning while watching big fat flakes fall out of the New Mexico sky and myriads of little birds at our feeders.
I am headed to Tucson on my annual PAC Tour pilgrimage the third week of March. Can’t wait.
Quit my bitchin’, MD? Y’want me to starve? Bitchin’ is what puts pigmeat in the pasta sauce around these parts.
I just took a look at your itinerary. Judas Priest, you folks are gonna be doing some serious mileage. You must possess the Thighs of Thunder. Remind me to find your wheel should we ever wind up in the same peloton.
Well, it is called Century Week. Which doesn’t mean a week to do a century. I am hoping for somewhere between 550 and 700 miles for the week. It depends on how well the “butt/saddle interface” holds up. Should make for a nice little jump start for the season.
Quick safety note. Never use “thighs” and “thunder” in the same sentence around a woman. OK?
And yes, we love your bitchin.
Hey O’G,
Sounds like it might be time for a snow bike. Can’t you get AC or someone to have you test one? Down here in Durango, we are also low on snow, but there’s just enough to make the trails unrideable… unless you happen to have 4″ tires, that is. Great fun!
I haven’t been in touch via comment much lately, but just to bring you up to speed, I just bought, remodeled, renamed, and am running a bike shop in Durango. Viva la Velorution here at Velorution Cycles! You might want to update my link on the right sidebar to velorutioncycles.com, as Wheels of Change hasn’t been in existence for quite some time.
Although I’ve been silent, I still enjoy your commentary as much as ever! Keep up the good work and say hi to the Old Town folks for me.
So Joey, I see you are now officially the owner of the bike shop. Cool. See you next time we get up there!
Patrick, February isn’t always so bad over here. A friend and I set out to hit a 100 today and had to settle for 80. Bummer…
Oh yeah…it was sunny and around 60 for a high. Get some!
I’ll take 50 inches of snow, sub zero temperatures, ANYTHING as long as the sun would come out. The sun has not shown here at all this month, making it mind-numbingly depressing. Mid-Michigan leads the nation in cloudy days–again. YUK!