Extended Play

The "long way" home from work.

Thanks El Nino. Or whatever/whomever you want to thank here. The bottom line is that the weather has been outstanding so far into Winter here. Yes......we did have that little dalliance with "real Winter" a while back, but you'd never know it now. Upper 40's have been the norm and cycling outdoors continues on an "extended play" basis. Call it "bonus time". Whatever you want to call it, it is one less day of real Winter weather and one more day closer to Spring.

This is so unusual that I have a hard time remembering the last time it happened. Oh yeah......we've had zero snow before, but it has been a long time since we've had no snow, and that coupled with this string of warm weather this late into December. I think '08 was similar, but the end of that deal came right after Election Day when it got really cold. Sometimes we go until Thanksgiving with warmer temperatures. I think it was '07 when it was 50° or so on that day, but again, it got really cold right afterward. Correct me if I am wrong here, you weather-heads out there, but I have to go back to maybe the last time we had a big El Nino year, back in '97/'98, and I recall cycling in a jersey and bibs right up into mid-December before it fell back into the 30's-40's and I had to wear a jacket again!

I'm making the best of it, and it couldn't have come at a better time, since I have a bunch of review stuff I can continue to check out now. Usually that part of what I do is shut down by now and I am riding fat bikes and having fun. Not that this isn't fun, because it really is fun, but it is weird. You know........weird as in "not right", and waiting for the hammer to come down any day now. There is definitely a tension that way. Folks know we're playing with house money, and pretty soon, (likely), it is going to come to a screeching halt.

Until then, I ride........