Travelling Light

From here...

...to  here.

I flew to Western PA, on the 17th, to have an after-the-fact Christmas visit with my family, out there. I simply didn't feel like flying during the heavy Christmas flying season, and just delayed it for a few weeks.

Even without the holiday madness at the airport, I still wasn't particularly looking forward to flying. Last year, at the Pittsburgh airport, I had waited for almost an hour at the baggage claim before my bag finally appeared, and I didn't want a repeat of that.

So, I decided to skip the baggage pickup altogether, and I shipped my clothes and Christmas gifts to my sister's house, via FedEx. I didn't even take a carry-on bag with me.  It was great!

It was very liberating to just walk onto the plane and sit down, fly, and walk directly out of the airport to get picked up, without wresting a bag around in the plane or standing around waiting on bags at the end.

I believe this will be my method for air travel, from now on...

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Nice, Chilly Commute

Wintertime commuting can be an adventure. Breath freezes in my mustache and beard, eyelashes freeze together, and icy roads present some hazards, as well (mostly dodging cars whose drivers forget that ice can be slick, sometimes).

Today was a good winter commute day.

As I rode home, the temperature was hovering around 5 degrees F, with a windchill in the neighborhood of 24 below, according to the TV news. It was a bit chilly, but I was well-dressed for it (one of the few times I am ever well-dressed), with the exception of my socks. I could have used just a little more warmth on the toes.

The snow was coming down as fine little flakes, and I actually had a tailwind, so the ride was actually pretty pleasant. It's supposed to get colder, overnight, so tomorrow's ride promises to be a little more of an adventure.
 
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Another solo NYD Ride

For quite a few years I have made a habit of ringing in the New Year by taking a bicycle ride, if possible. I've missed a few because of travel or illness, but I have made a ride on most Jan.-1's since the mid 90s.

For many years, I would invite people to join me, first by personally asking friends and bike shop customers, later by email. In the early years, I would have quite a few people (8-15) show up, and we would take a nice long ride around town.

In 2008, Danny Mac, Rich and Brian showed up for a snowy, sub-10-degree ride.

In 2009, Mark, Brian and Carl (of the blog getinlost) rode with me in mid-50s temps.

Carl showed up again, in 2010, along with Mark and a fellow named Tom (who worked at a local bike co-op), and while the temps were in the 40s, the roads around town were snow-packed.

Tom joined my nephew, Kyle, and me in 2011 for another snow-pack ride.

In 2012, I simply rode to the coffee shop and back. Temps were mild, roads were dry, but nobody was interested in a ride. I spent the warmest part of the day changing shocks out on the Scrambler.

In 2013, I didn't even ride on NYD. I was still recovering from Achilles Tendonitis, and biking was not an easy or frequent thing for me, that winter.

In 2014, I took a solo ride on the Mongoose Beast fat tire bike which I had converted to multiple speeds, and disc brakes. I ended up calling Mark, while I was out, and hooked up for a short ride with him.

2015 was the infamous rib-breaker ride. Not my best day on a bike.

Last year ... I was out of town and I didn't get a ride in. Oh, well...

Today, the roads were clear, and the sun was out, so I took a short 10-mile ride which took me to Kaladi, on the final leg, where I had coffee and a scone. It was a nice ride, though it seemed a little more difficult than it should have. Since I had the flu, a couple of weeks ago, I haven't ridden the bike enough to mention.

I stopped on the low-water bridge over Cherry Creek, behind the mall, to say hello to a few mallards.

Another NYD tradition...

Here's hoping that a nice ride, today, bodes well for the coming year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

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