Spring Break: This Is Not The Vacation You Were Looking For

That's about as close to the mountain as I got all week.

You long time readers here know that from time to time I go with my family to El Paso, Texas to visit family and ride in the desert mountain State Park there known as Franklin Mountain State Park. Well, I went there last week to El Paso with every intention of doing that riding again. This time I took the Blackborow DS.

I have wanted to ride a fat bike in the area ever since I have had one and this was to be the time. I was very excited to do this too. However; it just did not go the way I intended. Sometimes, as my friend Jason says, "Things happen for a reason", and you know, I think this past week was a great example of that.

When we left to come down to the border city, we found out that my father-in-law had been laid up in hospital, so we were quite concerned, as this was very unexpected. He was in intensive care, and when we arrived in the city, we took every opportunity to visit him and try to lift his spirits. Bicycle riding was not even a thought then. However; he was making great progress and by Tuesday afternoon last week he was able to be released to convalesce at home. So, I was hopeful that within the two remaining days to us that I could get out.

Of course, that didn't pan out because my wife, my daughter, and I all came down with something Tuesday night late and I got the worst of it. Vomiting and diarrhea for 24 hours straight? Yep......really. I'm not making that up. It was an entire 24 hours of visiting the bathroom at least once every one of those 24 hours. Quite frankly, I didn't know it was possible to have that sort of output with no input of fluids and not actually die. Although, it felt like I was doing just that. 

Obviously on Thursday I was in no shape to do much of anything but work on a hasty recovery so I could start traveling on Friday to get back here. So, other than Wednesday, which I am chalking up as a lost day, I got to relax and spend a lot of quality time with family I don't get to see very often, and that is worth a lot more than a stupid bicycle ride any day.   I'm dead serious about that, and it is just fine with me.

But I will admit that it wasn't the vacation I was looking for!