Turning Winter's Blues into Diamonds

Took la perrita to the new Shoreline Trail about an hour and a half before sunset.

Lightly falling snow from before we arrived had dusted the path like confectioner's sugar on a christmas cookie.

Not a breath of wind on the water. Paul and Otto, two old-timers were down the end of the pier, fishing for small herring, and that was about it for human company. 

This was magical, like when I grew up, winter afternoons spent playing along the trails by the gravel pit lakes.

Serenity and intrigue.

View across Hempstead Harbor into the Glen Head gloamin'

For a gloomy day, it was an unexpected surprise to be transported back in time, when cold and snow were irrelevant, all that mattered was the last hours and minutes of daylight that we kids had to play in, before dinner.

This day needed a little salvaging. MTB plans were canceled for various reasons, and folk were grumping around the house. 

Dog's delight ... even if we went for a 'walk'
running was inevitable.

New trail, fresh tracks.

For all intents and purposes, it was as gloomy a day as you could conjure up without rain, so to turn it into a new trail exploration/run with dog, was like striking a vein of diamonds in a day that was an ideal candidate to induce seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.) in even the jolliest winter aficionado. 

What I did not expect was the peace and quite here. The soft but crisp air and light snow cover conspired to hush almost all activity. The waters here are seldom this placid, as there's always some kind of breeze, if not outright gale force wind this time of year.

Even though close to the main shore road, the loudest sound seemed only to belong to a flock of birds about to migrate. beyond that nothing but serenity this evening. Even serenity while running, and we did careen down a few roller coaster sections.

If I'd been PO'd that a few too many obligations and distractions had made the MTB plans untimely, this seemed a far better outcome. 




  

An enormous flock of birds decided winter or spring had
 finally arrived — who knows which? —
and prepared themselves for the next trip.

A break in the running agenda.

"Dogs Are Welcome"

More Mild January Weather, More Hills

 For January 16, a clearing morning after the rain, but with spring-like temperatures in the high 40s, and a light breeze, a bike ride or surf was a must. But with only 45 minutes to play with Saturday morning a roadbike session was the call.

 A temperature of 47F is more the fare of mid-March, and even though a front or a low was passing, the breeze was toothless; no icy fangs, no wintry blast. Just a steady breeze from the west.

 A few hints of blue in the sky and but the dirt in the garden was very muddy in places, so I'd give the official trails a rest.

Blue water in the distance.
Great view of Hempstead Bay from here; not easy
to capture with a cellphone through the trees.

Fun descent, hold onto your hat.

 The road was still wet and sandy in places, so caution was part of the game plan: no fast corners, no extra speed on the hills in places where hard braking was required. Shaving off speed by braking ahead of need, etc etc. Even with those speed-killing measures in place I still managed a top speed of 32.9 descending. It just didn't feel like it, as the wind was holding me up on most of the descents, felt more like I had a drag parachute attached to my back.

Never mind. still some fun hard climbing with plenty of stops to remove gloves and take pics.

January MTB Hill Repeats -- in Shorts!!

For a few decades, I had mentally tagged this day on the calendar as the last "warm enough" surfing

Pick your poison. Windsurf buddies from the O-Bay crew
 take a break during a January "heatwave" lull.
Temps in the low 60s courtesy of El Nino.
PHOTO BY RICH SIMONS.

day of the year. And indeed, a few of my good buddies were out surfing yesterday enjoying the semi-balmy temps. For me it was a perfect opportunity to get a quick ride in between storms on yet another record warm El Nino day on Long Island.

View from the knobby. A favorite part of the  

"Baby Brickyard" section. Today it was 

wet tree roots on goat trail. FILE PHOTO.

Typically, the temps drop into the no-go zone from Jan 10 to Feb 26, and windsurfing and surfing take a backseat. With my van in construction-headquarters mode, windsurfing took a rear pew long ago, and surfing has been ruled out for two years no because of the spasms from neck disc herniations I get when using the left arm strenuously/lying in the prone position.

However, A storm kicked in overnight with strong onshore winds, so although this was very doable temperature wise — it probably would have been a sweat machine/washing machine of a surf day in a drysuit, with a large dose of "victory at sea."

TROLL FACE

But my neck is still not ready for surf, windsurf yes, but not surf-surf. And with a lot on the menu at home, an MTB ride among the trees was the way to stay out of the wind and get some good, almost muddy climbing and general pfaffing around on two wheels done. The MTB handles nicely in swooping turns.

Ye Olde Continental Vertical Pro.  FILE PHOTO

The "Baby Brickyard" section was a little more challenging today. Did not clean the right side climb -- no traction to speak of climbing over wet tree roots on the goat trail portion, but that's not to say it wasn't fun. If anything it was more fun with the extra challenge.

A few thorns came out to grab my bare legs on the ledge of a technical section just to remind me that MTB should sting a little to feel right.

OK a selfie by the Baby Brickyard for posterity.