Melancholy

I have now officially declared I am ready for this weather from the far reaches of the north to end! I am no longer content to laze (yes it is an actual word) around the house in sweat pants. What I want now more than almost anything else is to ride. Not just to throw my leg over one of my bikes and pedal a few miles but a REAL ride. Mile and mile of gorgeous single track with nary a care or a distraction. The only thing that is stopping me is the cold. The average daytime temperature for the last week has averaged less than 32 degrees and now there is snow falling outside! It has been reported that the cause for this weather is air currents in the upper atmosphere are failing to contain the arctic wind north were it belongs. Whatever the cause is, this is one of the worse cold snaps in recent memory, at least mine anyway. Random thought, is it just a coincidence that Seasonal Affective Disorder has the acronym SAD?

After telling some of the people I know that I want to sell my OCR 2 and getting no interest I finally decided to post it on Craigslist. I almost don't want to get rid of it but it is just taking room up in the garage and it doesn't get used much. With someone else it will be able to fulfill it's true bike destiny and will be much happier. BAPT (Bikes are People Too)

In my last post I wrote about how most people fail in their resolutions after only months or even weeks, brace yourselves for I am about to join their unenviable ranks. The last time I rode was last Friday afternoon and the week is almost up with no rides on the horizon. Unless I can't get to work tomorrow because of snow it looks like I am doomed to fail.

I have set another goal for the coming year and that is to do at least a one, if not two night, bikepacking trip. Bikepacking, as the name implies, is backpacking but with a bike. There are three major hurdles to clear before I can attempt a bikepacking trip, money, a good route, and LOTS OF MONEY! Everything you need, from the tent over your head, to the socks on your feet, cost way more than it seems they should. The next issue to address is the route. For a 2-3 day trip you need at least a 50-60 mile trail that is preferably mostly singletrack. I could stick together a bunch of the trails that I have already ridden in the GWNF but the essence of bikepacking is adventure and exploring, how can you really experience that when you are essentially in your own back yard? I'm sure I will be able to find a route within a few hours driving time, I just need to get out some maps. The one local trails that look promising are the ones on top of Massanutten from New Market to the Strausburg area. Now if I could just solve that money problem I will be ready to go!

Later