Cappuccino for 1, and oh by the way did you notice the FEET of snow out there?
"Is the ride still on?"
"How are the road conditions?"
"Will there be any parking at your house since your yard is snowed in?"
"Do you have any back up plans?"
No one panic. Let's take those one deep, existential question at a time.
Is the ride still on?:
Yes. Sort of. I mean, if there were a director sportif here, or any officiating body for that matter, then Dear God no, the ride would definitely be off. I rode up to the top of Fox mtn and back this afternoon, and road conditions range from mudslide to dogsled trail.
Of course, being that the Pantani ride isn't official in any way, anyway, we are certainly lacking an officiant to make that kind of call for our collective safety. So yes, the ride is still on as long as you acknowledge you are taking your life into your own frozen, white-knuckled hands. And those of any nutjob on a bike who might be riding near you at any given moment. And the countless rednecks out there drink-driving their pickups like toboggans on Fox Mountain.
How are the Road Conditions:
Look, I'll be honest, they're miserable. It took me 2 hours to get to the top of Fox and back - a trip that usually takes about an hour. The pavement connectors are a little narrow but OK, but all the dirt roads are a disaster. Presumably, this is statewide - Iron Mike checked in from Ridge Road - "If it is representative of other dirt roads in the county things will be quite difficult tomorrow. Road was either muddy or packed ice. The icy bits were very difficult to run on, don't think they were rideable unless you were running seriously studded tires." Ignore, for a moment, Iron Mike's questionable grammar (likely induced by sustained hypoxia and many, many high speed crashes), and acknowledge that the roads are bad today, perhaps worse tomorrow after they freeze tonight, and let's be honest - if Iron Mike says they might be a little squirrelly, they are probably impassable.
"Will there be any parking at your house since your yard is snowed in?"
A valid question, and something I hadn't really considered given that I get to wake up here with my car already safely parked. My yard is, indeed, snowed in, and all but the most remarkable 4wd systems will probably get out there and stay a while. But there are a few spots here and there along the driveway, and people have always been pretty creative with their parking out here anyway. If you get stuck, you'll be joining a long, proud list of drivers who have narrowly escaped the Tevenyard with their lives. But we'll figure something out*.
*anyone with a winch, bring it.
"Do you have any back up plans?"
Yes. I've got backup plans out the wazoo. Regrettably, all of them involve cold feet, lung busting pain, and lots of snow and ice, and you could argue the safety of any one against any of the others until you forgot to look where you were going and got hit by an out-of-control snowplow. So let's not do that. I will say this - we'll gather around the start line in the morning and discuss some options. I don't anticipate anyone in their right mind being on that start line anyway, so really the sky's the limit.
Let's recap:
If you're not put off by
A) Lack of safety
B) Icy, dangerously steep roadways
C) An epic parking disaster just waiting to happen
D) backup plans that will require a buddy system and a compass
Then I'll see you out here at 10.
Otherwise, I recommend the trainer.
Just don't forget what separates the breakaway from the peloton.
1 comment:
Good ride, everybody. We had 8 riders including 3 traveling up from Richmond.
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