Gimme Shelter ... in the Trees and Hills

With what feels like a broken(?)finger, but is most likely a hyperextended knuckle/partly torn finger tendon, windsurfing was out of the question.

Poor timing since it was windy and sunny as you'll get for mid-January.

A clearing cold front swept in while I got the bike prepped and the dog walked. And by 2:30, the afternoon wind was blasting bark off the trees with 40 mph-plus gusts, so a standard roadbike ride was not a great or even safe idea for playing in traffic. Let alone anyone's idea of fun.

For sure today was the day to take a ride in the shelter of the hills and trees. If I was going to be slow, it might as well be where I'm going to be slow anyway: Uphill. A perfect bike hill climbing day. And with limited time available, I'll use the hills and wooded section near home.

This particular hill had been calling for a while. It's a good mile of Cat 5 and it always a fitness challenge. And it leads to yet more hills, and a repeatable off-road section of singletrack and fireroad that's perfect for an MTB.

A small piece of what is a long and winding climb

The spin up definitely got the lungs filled and the heart pumping. And a few odd aches and pains surfaced, but by the time the ride was well underway, those pains receded and the final grind up Irma came more easily than ever.

The trail was firm and dry — except where Matt and his scout troop laid new wood chips, turning it into a purgatorial mushy fireroad climb. But the climb back up might as well be difficult or what's the point?

Some of the technical tree root sections were rearranged courtesy of Hurricane Sandy, but there are still some interesting details in there. It ends with a real fast outlet, and a steep sledding hill where, today, the wind was so strong in my face, it held me up on what is normally a somewhat hairy drop.

Well put that one in the books as a viable option for a blustery day, and a good excuse to go up hills at one's own pace. The slow speed — it was the wind, I tell ya!