Monday, February 15, 2010

Snow Bunnies

This past weekend was one we were looking forward to for quite some time. Vmac and Tiff were coming up and bringing the bikes for some trail riding, and we were really ready to hit the trails. The weather has not been kind to cyclists, so we were hoping for a break. Vonnie foreshadowed the weekend in an email several weeks ago claiming there would probably be a "weather event" this weekend, but he was bringing his bike anyway. It was an epic weather weekend for sure - there was snow on the ground in 49 out of 50 states. I'm not sure when that has occured before, I certainly can't remember it happening in my lifetime.

After a leisurely morning and lunch on Saturday that saw snows melting in our neck of the woods, I told Suzy to get kitted up - we were headed to Jack Rabbit to give the trails a try. I figured there would still be snow on the ground there, and before the thaw and slop got too bad to ride in, we were off for an adventure.



As you can see, there was LOTS of snow on the trails. It's very different riding in snow - you can't see hidden obstacles, or know for sure exactly where the trail bed is. Luckily, there were 2 other crazy guys that were just finishing a loop as we were starting, and I prayed they picked good lines, as I used their tire tracks as a guide. In the spots where the trail was protected under trees, or that was exposed to the sunshine, it was extremely wet, so we got covered in mud, but had a great ride.

I hate that Vonnie and Tiffanie couldn't meet up with us for the ride, but it wasn't in the cards. Their plans were all jacked up from the weather, and we just couldn't connect. If we had waited until Sunday to try and ride, the trails would have been a huge sloppy mess and we probably would have done some damage to the trails by riding them. As it was, I don't think we hurt them at all, and we had a blast. Not very often that we in the South get a chance to do something like this, so it was a lot of fun, and we got to ride our bikes finally!

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Anna Ruby Falls

Saturday we had cabin fever from all the rain, so we bundled up in the afternoon and headed over to hike around Unicoi. Betsy had not been to Anna Ruby Falls yet, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to see them with all the recent rains. It was lightly snowing when we left the house, and was snowing pretty decently by the time we got to the parking lot at the base of the falls trail. The water flow was spectacular, and the trees provided some shelter from the wind and falling snow.




After we finished Anna Ruby, we stopped at the parking lot for Lake Unicoi and hiked that trail as well. Byt the time we were done it was 3:15pm and we hadn't had lunch, so we headed over to Nacoochee Tavern for some late lunch/early dinner pizza. Not a bad day to be outside if you were dressed for it!

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

TallBoy at Sunset

The weather outside has been frightful, and with more rain/sleet/snow in the immediate forecast, I nutted up, suited up, and tackled the neighborhood climb after work. We've been walking it and partially jogging it, but I needed some saddle time in a BIG way. Not a long ride, but a ride none the less! Cheers!






-- Post From My iPhone

Location:Starlight Dr,Cleveland,United States

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

I want to ride my bicycle!

OK, so it's no secret that the weather has sucked for bike riding this winter. Beautiful during the work week, raining or sleeting or snowing on the weekends. Apparently, I am not the only one who feels this way. Apparently, Hitler wants to ride his mountain bike as well!



This hilarious video was posted on the SORBA forums by a member. Too funny!