An overly spicy pasta dinner led to a restless night, and by the time I dragged ass out of the sack this morning temps in the teens plus a biting wind out of the north had done a Pythonesque “Meaning of Life” number on our trees.
Herself’s mantra is “We can do anything for 30 minutes.” But she wasn’t here, so I gave myself a day off from the usual outdoorsy pasatiempos. Took some pix, downloaded some software, entertained the cat, fed the birds (no, not to the cat), collected the mail (all bullshit), perused the news (likewise), drank tea.
In short, stayed warm.
There’s something deep in the heart of me that remembers those bitter wintry mornings of yesteryear, which saw me hammering barrier stakes into frozen turf at stupid-thirty and wondering if this would finally be the day when nobody but me turned up to race cyclocross.
Mad Blog Media 
I won a time trial once in Hawaii when most of the competition stayed home.
I could win now and then, but only when the fast dudes stayed home. I needed several of them to call in sick and/or some real ugly weather.
The one I remember was one year of the Makaha time trial on Oahu. Driving wind and heavy rain. Probably a strong Kona storm. Anyone sane stayed home. I raced the goddamn thing. Of course, I won.
Trying again PO’G: Haven’t replied in a while, but decided not to “leaf you alone”.
High of 26F here in Black Forest/Bibleburg today; 5″ of snow.
Your comments on cyclocross and the cold/mud/etc. reminded me of the book by Jon Krakauer “Into Thin Air” about the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. Wanna feel cold? Wanna feel insignificant? Wanna feel hypoxic, totally frostbitten, likely to die, etc.? Then DON’T read it or any of the other highly acclaimed books about mountaineering! Or do it in the comfort of your home, with a down comforter, a hot beverage of your choice, and a sense of either your good judgment or lack of life-threatening risk taking. 🙂
Which brings me back to cyclocross: Masochism? Yet another market/marketing differentiation? Type 2/Type 3 fun? Nothing better to do? Parkinson’s Law?: Work expands to fill the time available? Other? 🙂
I mean what’s next? A debate over whether Type 1/2/3 e-bikes are “motorized”? (Going on here.) Do “Hill Blocks View” signs make us safer? Why do we call ourselves homo SAPIENS? (egocentricity or arrogance or hubris?)
Maybe Plato nailed it?
“Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.”
― Plato
Stay warm …. get outside …. Rule #1 is FUN!
“Minus 148 Degrees” is an enjoyable book to read about the cold. There’s nothing like being way far North, and then way high up there to appreciate a little cold. I’m sure Kraukauer had (has) a copy on his bookshelf when he was putting pen to paper writing Into thin Air. Of course there’s also Pierre Berton’s Arctic Grail about Franklin’s lost expedition and the search for the Northwest Passage. Pushing several hundred pounds of rowboat across the frozen tundra of Northern Canada while running out of food and relishing Alfred Packer thoughts sounds wonderful.
Regarding lining up in the cold for a one hour race, that’s not too bad. But to promote one which requires many hours before, during and after the event of hanging out in that cold weather, that doesn’t sound very appealing.
“Minus 148 Degrees?” That’s what we called “A January Monday in Custer County.” It goes without saying that the woodpile was mostly shavings, the propane truck late, and the beans running low.
The older I get, the colder I get, even with the world coming to a slow boil.
So POB you wouldn’t be willing to walk your dog here this morning (-4 with windchill) ? C’mon…I’ll loan you some mittens. You already have that nice new cap.
Good morning Herb ole buddy! For a dog, whatever they need. Wore my new cap this morning. How can you go wrong with herringbone tweed? Did your new lid keep your ears warm this morning? Ain’t they nice?
On subzero mornings I’m grateful that cats don’t require walking. The Boo was a cold-weather fella, and Dog help you if you dropped the leash. It was off to the races then.
Interesting about Mr. Boo. Our little Chin was a wonderfully accommodating soul. He didn’t really like the cold so he took care of outside business quickly and was back in the house where it was toasty. Damn I miss him. Now we have a new canine critter that enjoys mucking about in the outdoors in all weather. I sure wish I hadn’t driven by the place that had the sign for puppies. But he’s a loving chum even though he likes to bring in all of the outdoors with him. Ahh for the days of only needing to clean out the cat box.
The Boo loved Herself, snow, and a good poop. Dropping a proper deuce would make his day, and he’d want a good fast run to celebrate it. What you wanted was a good tight grip on the leash, ’cause he was going, whether you came along or not.
Lining up at a freezing cold cyclocross I called failing the IQ test.
Especially for a promoter. I wound up about $999,999 short of that first million.