all clear

What the heck have I been doing as of late? Not really riding and I hate to say this but it's kind of been a nice break. What? Yeah I know, I guess it's why I haven't blogged much. I haven't been lying around on the couch drinking beer, I've been shocking my muscles in other ways. Melinda has been off for Christmas and it's been nice having her to work out with. The dogs are good company on the trail but she can actually talk back to me with words instead of noises or motion which makes her much easier to understand. We've been running, hiking, lifting weights & trying out P90X, one of her Christmas presents.
P90X will hurt you, 30 minutes into the 1st DVD & I pulled a hamstring and had to call it quits but a little ice and ibuprofen and I was back at it the next day. Whoever says stretching is not necessary is an idiot.

Why no riding? The last winter storm that blew through our area wreaked havoc on every trail system within a 2 hour drive leaving us with really no place to ride and it's been too cold for me to ride on the road. Luckily NTMBA and the Tri-Cities have one of the best trail crews around. While much larger cities like Asheville are still looking at their trails wondering what to do with all the trees that fell, we are looking at ours which are now clear of debris thanks to a few hardy folks who know what it takes to keep riding all year round. Melinda's uncle, Joe is the one who did most of the work and organization of the work days so hats off to him and everyone who helped him.
Bays Mountain is still closed with the same issues but we're not allowed to go in and help clear trees yet because of a wolf problem. Before the snow hit, strong winds blew a tree down crushing the fence of the wolf den allowing them to escape. Most have been caught but 2 remain on the prowl and the park will remain closed until they are found.
So with all this time off the bike I have taken it upon myself to try new things and stay motivated. Hopefully this weekend will see some singletrack goodness but with rain in the forecast who knows. I'll just keep looking at the new shiny bits on the dirty Mamasita and continue to wonder how they will feel once they get dirty like the rest of the bike.