A few signs of Spring

Today, I ate lunch outside. When I came back in to my desk, a tick -- a freakin' bloodsucking terror -- fell out of my hair, down my arm and onto my desk. The first thing I grabbed from my office environment was a pair of scissors, and I cut its head off. Just another reason they call me Grindcore.

The time change has come, and conditions for riding after work have been excellent. Grab some friends, head out and ride!

 

Then come home, make a quick dinner accompanied by beer, and enjoy your porch.

Rice, homemade vegan "sausage" from theppk.com, collards, and Dig by New Belgium Brewing

 The sunsets have been beautiful, with the added treat of enjoying the planets and the moon in the early evening.

Nothing beats crushing gravel with a couple of rad ladies. So happy they could make it for the ride!

 All in pursuit of this T-Rex.

 

And then following it with bike camping with two of your nearest and dearest, well, that's about a perfect weekend right there.

One of my non-race bike goals for 2012 was to be able to carry all my own gear for a camping trip -- Mission Accomplished. Another was learning to ride rollers, checked off in February, and tonight I unwittingly checked off a third. While taking a mellow ride through Wilderness, I successfully bunny hopped a gap in the ground under the Warlick Bridge. I've practiced bunnyhopping without obstacles, never actually applied it successfully in a situation where it was useful. Looks like it's time to come up with a few more goals...it's only March!

Oh yeah, and I finished that 10k trail run in an hour and eight minutes, 11:02 pace. Not bad for a non-runner -- I'm pretty sure that's the farthest I'd ever run in my life -- and I even had fun!

Photo: Nathan Swanson

Yep, that's me, sporting the "bike dork in a running race" look. All leg and goofy tan lines, Sheclismo pride blazing.