What We Did This Weekend

1 February

Part One: Saturday

When even Chris says it's too icy to go mountain biking, it's too icy to go mountain biking. So that was yesterday morning at the gym for me. In the evening was John's 50th birthday party. Our mountain biking crew went in together for John's present.

It was Chris' idea. When we were in the Pinelands three weeks ago Chris said he saw a pattern at Running Funky that matches the taxi cab pattern on John's fixie: black and yellow checks. Chris suggested that John needed those tights.

John, who was riding in front of us and no doubt heard every word, remained silent. I said, "No, that's too much for him. It would be better if we could just get the checks running down the side of his legs."

So I looked into it. Julie Rock, who does the sewing for Running Funky, and I traded emails. Hilda rifled through John's bike clothes when he wasn't around and reported back with a size. The tights were done in mere days.

They were the center of attention when John opened his presents:




"Put them on!" a bunch of us called out, so he did:





He wore them for most of the rest of the night.

After some of the crowd had left, Hilda brought out Phinneas. His eyes aren't blue anymore and he isn't as yappy, but he's still a cute little fella:



That's Jack holding him.



"Devil Eyes!" Hilda said when she saw this picture:



Hilda says she's going to try to find Phinneas a permanent home, but the rest of us think he's already there.

Part Two: Sunday

Noon had the temperature in the 40's and a group of us in Bordentown for an off-the-book ride led by the Joes. I think it was October when I last rode with these two. Today was only the third time this year I'd been out on my road bike, and boy, did 30 miles feel like 50. I guess I can blame some of that on the wind, but sheesh, four months ago what we did today wouldn't have even counted as a warm-up. And today's ride was flat, too.

I stopped for pictures twice. Only Mike stopped with me, and then we had to chase everyone else down.

This first picture is of a barn somewhere in Burlington County near Columbus. Little did I know that we'd be riding right by it minutes later. I didn't stop again, though. It looks better in real life.






We stopped in Columbus, at a deli in the center of town. I don't remember the name of the place but we need to remember that they'll make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat if you ask them to. The sandwich was perfect. The coffee was like water. I didn't even finish it.

On the way home I stopped to get a shot of this tree:



So, six more weeks, according to the groundhog. Then the prelude to Crazy Season begins.