SNOW!

Dare I say I’m actually looking forward to a little snow fall tomorrow. The shoveling should be easy since we won’t have to throw it up over any high banks in the yard because they have all melted. Perhaps it will be enough to even warrant a little snow shoeing next weekend.

Snow Predictions

Last night I looked at the snow predictions for Portland. 3 to 6 inches. I hoped we’d be on the 3 side of that prediction.

I woke up to my alarm at 5:30. Since I hadn’t heard the snow plow during my in-and-out of sleep over the past 1 1/2 hours I figured we might only have received a dusting of snow. So I got out of bed to peer out the window. No such luck! We had at LEAST 6 inches and it was still snowing.

So out the door we went to start shoveling. We started shoveling as we went out the door and worked out way down the driveway, which is about 2 car lengths long an just over one car width wide. Just as we reached the end of the driveway the snow plow came by to pile what was left to about 50% higher than it was. I hate when that happens but it’s MUCH worse when they come through when you have finished shoveling.

With the storm that continued for a good part of the day, accumulating to 13+ inches, my friend decided to bag the yoga debut for the evening with a goal to make it to a class next week. So my day turned into the complete rest day that it should have been.

Good thing too, because my body hurt from my shoulders to my knees from yesterday’s yoga. Not to mention that my back was a little tight and my last chiropractic visit was scheduled today. (Again, I’m not one to go the chiropractic route but he’s made all the difference in the world for me and my back – no more pain on the bike. He also worked some active release on my adductor muscles which tend to give me fits with some intense cramps during and after rides. Turns out I have some pretty massive adhesions built up in there so hopefully with the AR therapy and some stretching I’ll get them back to somewhat normal before some of the intense activities to come.)

But back to the snow…. and my wish of 3 inches of snow. Fat chance!

(That’s a lot of snow from one storm!)

(Note the height of the snow on the sides of the path. Most of the previous snow had melted so this is all from this storm.)

There is also more snow on the way for tomorrow night. How much is still to be predicted. I hope they predict this one a little more accurately.

My outside rides just came to a screeching halt. It means many hours on the trainer in the near future. Perhaps we’ll have a chance to break in the snow shoes this weekend!

Christmas Wish List

What’s on your Christmas list this year? (Biking related or not.)

I didn’t have much of a list this year. My husband has done well in buying practically everything I could ever want/need for my cycling addiction. I did have fenders on that list for winter riding, and think Santa might be bringing those for me. He might also be giving me a time trial helmet, that I put on my list rather late.

One of the hot items this year is also an I am Not Ted King t-shirt. I have it on good authority from a very credible elf that one will be under the tree for me.

I think I have actually done better purchasing for my husband this year than in years past. Usually I’m at a loss for gifts for him. He falls into that “hard to buy for” category. Not because he’s difficult, but because he tends to buy what he needs throughout the year. And he’s a bit of a techy so I wouldn’t know where to begin in that department. This year is different. Thankfully I asked him for a list of things he might want and from that list I’ve been able to build on it. (I should have done this before!) I’ll elaborate on this after Christmas, that is if my gifts are well received.

The only thing really on my wish list is the lack of snow through most of January, or at least until after New Year’s. I want to have more road rides before we get too much snow and since I’m on vacation between Christmas and New Year’s, it would be a nice time to ride on snow-free roads. (I suppose I should be asking Mother Nature for this as opposed to Santa.) That said, we did just buy snow shoes for when it does finally snow. To that end, now that we are “prepared for winter” from a recreation standpoint, we probably won’t get much snow. Call it a jinx if you will. And if so, I’ll buy skis next year…

Happy Holidays! I hope you’ve been good enough for Santa to bring you at least one item on your list.

2 1/2 Hour Ride in the Snow

Well, sort of.

Okay, not really.

It was snowing outside (a classic Nor’Easter with 10-12 inches predicted to accumulate by storm’s end) but my workout was on the bike on the stationary trainer.

Wish you could really see how much it was snowing outside.

My view from the bike/trainer.

I was listening to the book on CD, Every Second Counts,and watching the Pats stomp all over the Cardinals.

I was hoping for a 3-hour ride but my legs had had enough at 2-1/2 hours. I could have kept going but my cadence would have dropped. I’m happy that the average cadence was 99 – not quite the triple diget mark but still okay.

My long session was makeup for not doing anything yesterday. I spent all day, literally,  in the kitchen making lovely holiday treats for friends and family.