Maiden Voyage

Finally, after several months of missed opportunities and calm days, I was able to get my kite out for the first time and test my mettle against Mother Nature’s breezes. After doing some work around the house on Saturday, I loaded my kite into the car and headed to the park. It was a slightly overcast day with a few sprinkles here and there but nothing that was serious enough to discourage my attempt at flying the largest kite I’ve ever owned.

After some awkward time spent getting everything laid out and connecting all the cables, I gave the control bar a tug. In the blink of an eye the three meters worth of material was racing to the sky and I was pretending that I had a clue as to what I was doing. My plan was to try and fly the kite around and get a feel for how strong it would pull at certain points in the wind window.

I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to fly the kite; pull a little on the left and it goes left. Pull a little on the right and it goes right. The part that was a touch tricky was keeping the kite in certain areas of the sky without it trying to return to a more neutral position. One thing that amazed me the most was how strong the kite pulled. I expected it to have some force but there were several occasions when I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold on and I could feel myself starting to get dragged across the field. Fortunately, I was able to keep it under control enough to take some of the power out of the kite and recover.

I spent about an hour getting acquainted with the beginning stages of my new hobby and it was all kinds of fun. I realize there is a significant learning curve and I’m looking forward to moving up to bigger and better kites. Of course, Mother Nature decided to bring about eight inches of snow on Sunday so I might not get another opportunity to practice anytime soon.

Passing Time

This past weekend marked the anniversary of my arrival on this earth. As has been the case for the past several years, my birthday included a casual evening spent with friends. I had a nice dinner (thanks Cathy) and a few drinks with some truly wonderful people and yet, even though it wasn’t a wild night, I managed to have a ridiculous headache the next day. I hate to admit it, but I think it means I’m getting old.

See, in my twenties, I could rage all night long, get about an hour of sleep (if I was lucky), and function like a normal human being. Now that I’ve added a few years to my resume of life, I have a much harder time bouncing back, even after just a few pops. While I would have preferred to spend the weekend lounging around the house sipping coffee and recuperating, I didn’t have that luxury. I had to shake the cobwebs out and head to the mountain for some fresh air and early spring mashed potatoes.

I’d like to say digging trenches in the unseasonably soft snow was the highlight of my weekend but that wouldn’t be true. It was really nice to receive phone calls from my nieces and nephews (including you Josie), and the ginger cookies were better than ever. What really put the icing on the proverbial cake though, were the humorous messages and birthday wishes I got from Jeremy who was in Missouri celebrating in his own special way.

Training Weekend

As the saying goes, sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug. This past weekend I’m pretty certain I was the bug. See Jerry and Colin came into town for a weekend of bike riding in the hills around State College. I, being a fool, decided I would try and tag along for as much as I could and maybe learn a thing or two from them. That, as it turns out, was a bad idea.

Jerry and Colin rolled into town on Friday afternoon. Since it was an unseasonably warm day I decided to leave work early and join them for an “easy” afternoon ride to loosen the legs. It was a bit windy but overall it was a decent day. We were out for about two hours which was plenty for my first outdoor ride of the year. Saturday, however, was a different story. Not only was it cold, there were gale force winds and snow. It was brutal to say the least. Jerry, Colin, and I started out riding together but I quickly realized that I wouldn’t be able to hang on with them and decided to cut my ride short.

The winds were swirling every which way and I almost got knocked off my bike on several occasions. It was like being punched in the face over and over. Then, I hit the wall. I don’t know if it was a serious bonk or just the weather conditions but I had to throw in the towel and call for a ride. It’s the first time I’ve ever given up on a ride but for some reason I didn’t think I was going to finish in one piece. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but while I was riding home in the warmth of Cathy’s car I realized I made the right choice.

Yinz Get Outta Here N’at

Since I’ve been living in the SC, there has always been one event that occurs every winter. Sometime in late January or early February we get a wicked crazy heat wave for about sixteen hours. While this warming trend really sucks for digging trenches on the slopes (at least in the days after), it’s kind of nice because it’s a minor blip on the radar of spring (not you; the season. It’s a lower case ess) that, for some reason, gets my subconscious thinking about the impending warmth. Of course this can only mean that the trails will soon be ready to open up and reveal their sweet sweet goodness once again.

For some reason, we didn’t get that warm spell this year. In fact, it’s been the exact opposite where the temperatures have been extremely low. Needless to say it’s been rather cold. While I’m not complaining, the chilly temperatures have kept this gilded lily (yeah that’s me) on his indoor trainer for any type of cycling experience. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, however this year it’s caused me to consider drastic measures.

Typically, I like to end my season of snowy goodness with a trip out west to enjoy some steeps, powder, and back country summits. This year, however, I’m considering the conclusion of my snowboarding season will be a trip down south, to ride a bike. That’s right; I’m trying to get an excursion together and visit some very good friends that have recently relocated to the Atlanta area. While I won’t hold their geographical location against them, I will allow Lucy to make at least one of the items that have been showcased here.

Unadvantageous Plugs

So this past weekend, my father, who has been retired for many years and enjoys his time without doing manual labor, decided to visit the SC for some good ole fashioned elbow-grease laden work on the house of his youngest child; me. While ridiculously fit, my father can only handle so much strenuous lifting and heavy-duty work, so the fact that he spent two days with me revamping my basement is a testament to his resolve. I love my father very much and appreciate everything he did for me over this past weekend and the multiple years this work took off his life. Unfortunately, I’m not going to tell you about all the sacrifices my aged father made to spend time with me.

Instead, I’m going to talk about my “friend” Jeremy. So Jeremy has this little business that he likes to think is awesome. I suppose it has a certain cache if you’re into that whole mountain biking or trail running or outdoor lifestyle that the limited few odd-ball, wacko, hippie types like to enjoy. If that’s you, then by all means, be sure to check out his wicked awesome website about all kinds of trail goodness. It’s actually super stylin’ but not nearly as cool as my dad. Of course, we’re not talking about my pop anymore. Jerome gets the goods now, so please check out his site, and if you see my father, tell him he was bonzer this weekend. I was planning to do that in this post, but I don’t want Jeremy to think I wasn’t listening to him.

Good Pain

So last week I mentioned that I have some significant pains in my back. Over the past week I’ve deliberated to myself, to friends, to co-workers, and to anyone who would listen as to what I should do. The choices came down to going to the doctor, having a massage, or doing nothing and waiting for the pain to go away on it’s own (or until I was so accustom to it that I didn’t notice it anymore). After enough discussion to annoy everyone (myself included) I decided to have a massage. As luck would have it, a friend of mine that lives in the neighborhood is a certified massage therapist. I gave her a call and scheduled an hour of what I intended to be an intense relaxing of my muscles.

At this point I need to mention that I’ve never had a real massage. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but I figured it would involve me on a table getting karate chopped across my back. Lucky for me, that’s not what happened. What actually happened was an hour of pain in areas that I didn’t know could have pain, and it was incredible.

It’s only been about an hour and a half since things wrapped up and it’s safe to say that I feel like pudding. My head is dizzy, I’m having trouble walking, and I can barely keep my eyes open. My muscles are kind of twitchy and it seems like I might fall over at any moment. It’s like I’m disconnected from my body. I guess I’ll need to wait a little while before I know if it did any good but at this point I don’t really care. It was so worth it and I’m fairly certain I’ll be scheduling another beating soon.

Death by Wood Stove

This has been an interesting week for me with many epiphanies occurring. Some have been personal, some professional, but the most significant one is about me and my future plans for greatness. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve thought about being a lumberjack (of sorts) where I go out into the forest every year and cut wood to be used as fuel to heat my house. Well, this past week may have slightly altered those plans.

First, I have to say, I really do enjoy my wood stove. It provides a ridiculous amount of heat and does a decent job keeping my house relatively warm (at least by my standards). The big drawback, however, is getting wood from the backyard into the basement where the stove is located. My current method of lumber delivery is to load up my arms with timber, walk down the outside steps, and stack everything next to the stove. It’s not the most convenient method but it’s the best I have right now. Well, this past week I realized a significant flaw in my system.

The day after transporting the requisite load of oak to get me through the week, I noticed a bit of discomfort in my lower back. In this instance, when I say discomfort, I really mean excruciating pain the causes me to lose the ability to bend at the waist. To make matters worse, a giant knot decided to form in the middle of my back as well. It’s like someone is beating me about the back with a broomstick only this broomstick is made out of pointy rocks and sized for a twenty foot tall person. Apparently my method of wood delivery may not be the most forgiving on my joints and muscles.

You would think I’d take this as a sign and do something about it. Well, you’d be wrong. I continue to use my current and foolish method to bring firewood into the house. I know I’m not doing myself any favors but I don’t want my house to freeze. It’s a vicious cycle and the outdoor temperatures aren’t getting north of about twenty. My new plan for heating the house is to hope for an early spring (not you Spring, the season).