Wings

This adventure girl is no fair weather rider

I woke up early this morning and decided to reach out to some friends in England. One of them, probably my closest friend the year I lived there, wrote back with some words of encouragement:

"Don't worry, the ones that run deep are the same ones that give us wings."

And I believe her. I do.

As my ipod reminded me this morning, so does Josh Ritter:

Yeah
It's my home—last night I dreamt that I grew wings
I found a place where they could hear me when I sing.

And today, even though the forecast included snow, rain, temperatures in the 30s and 40s, and strong winds, I decided to use my wings (with a little help from my Volvo) to head to Reedsburg for Fermentation Fest.

I was determined to "bike the Dtour" -- but decided to do half (approximately 25 miles) instead of all of it (50 miles) so that I could leave a few hours later and hopefully miss the rain.

My photos didn't manage to capture the beauty.

I set off about 1pm. This was my first long road ride on country roads -- and what a place to do it. It was hilly, and it was chilly, but man, was it beautiful.

Believe it or not -- and I guess you just might believe it since I've already described the weather -- I was the only cyclist I saw all day. Lots of people were driving the Farm/Art tour, but I was the only one on my bike this afternoon, at least that I saw. Which, I'm not gonna lie, just made me feel like more of a badass.

It also gave me plenty of time to just be in the present moment experiencing the day. Here were my big takeaways:


*Exceeding the speed limit on my road bike (in places where it was 25) was an awesome feeling.

*When it's really cold and windy, the downhills (although they allow you to go super fast) are super cold!

*Especially on those long climbs, I felt very grateful for both my fitness level and my fiery constitution.

*Cows are more interested in cyclists than one might think (or maybe I was just a little lonely).

*Wisconsin brat and beer cheese soup never tasted better than when I came in from the cold and my chicken and biscuit special included the soup bar for $7. Can't beat that!

*One cool thing about a long bike ride as opposed to a long run is that you can stop in the middle of burning tons of calories to eat a whole bunch, drink a beer, and then get right back on your bike without suffering for it.

*Spending four hours alone on a bike is good for the soul!

Watching the Wheels

Ahhhh! Sunshine, 70 degrees, & a day in nature with my boy

What a perfect Saturday! My son and I slept in -- I got 10 hours, he got close to 12 -- and then headed out on a little adventure together.

It's my daughter's birthday today, but it's her Dad's year to do her party, which is how I ended up with the whole day to hang with my son. We decided to head to Parfrey's Glen, near Merrimac. The weather was gorgeous, we were both glad to be out in nature, he was feeling chatty -- it was really perfect.

I've had several years now to get used to the fact that I won't always get to be with my kids on their birthday, so that didn't really get me down. But I haven't had as long to get used to not having a man around to share in adventures, and that was hard at times, especially when we visited places my last man and I'd happily visited together.

On the way home, we heard this song in the car:

People say I'm crazy doing what I'm doing,
Well they give me all kinds of warnings to save me from ruin,
When I say that I'm o.k. they look at me kind of strange,
Surely your not happy now you no longer play the game,

People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away,
Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me,
When I tell that I'm doing Fine watching shadows on the wall,
Don't you miss the big time boy you're no longer on the ball?

Still a little ice tucked in some crevices...

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,
I really love to watch them roll,
No longer riding on the merry-go-round,
I just had to let it go,

People asking questions lost in confusion,
Well I tell them there's no problem,
Only solutions,
Well they shake their heads and they look at me as if I've lost my mind,
I tell them there's no hurry...
I'm just sitting here doing time,

I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,
I really love to watch them roll,
No longer riding on the merry-go-round,
I just had to let it go.

And it was that last line in particular that struck me today. Yep, I just had to let it go...