First two/last two

Day by day, the snow is melting. The brown, matted grass remains as a promise of another spring soon to ... uh, spring.

Though the snow is fast disappearing, the snowmelt remains in the form of wet roads, morning ice and a generally messy state of affairs. Of course, the preceding description is limited to the in-town streets. Once out of town, the roads are clear, dry and clean.

I've been riding Orange Crush over the past few days, clad in fenders (thanks, Mike!) and heavy, heavy bits. If not for the first two miles and last two miles of each ride, it would probably still be pretty clean.

But those miles are dirty, dirty miles. And they're the barrier to getting out the SSL, a bike which is everything Orange Crush is not. Namely: light, stiff and fast as hell.

Crush and I will head out again later this morning for another three hours or so. I've put in some good work over the last few days and I can tell — I'm pretty tired. But the next two days' rides should be pretty steady stuff; nothing too crazy.

Before I wander off, I'll leave you with a semi-random observation:

Over the course of the last few weeks, Mod, Jeremy, Mike, Cornbread and probably a few others have fallen ill with some sort of nasty creeping death. It lasts for a few days in its worst form, then slowly goes away.

The common thread between them? Epic! Gravel! Ice beards! Really long, cold slogs in January. (Although maybe to a lesser extent with Jeremy.) You know, to prepare for those 15-degree, 75-mile winter gravel races?

Meanwhile, I've been outside when it's feasible and inside when it's a more efficient use of time and effort.

Haven't had a sniffle all winter. I haven't missed a day due to illness. I feel strong and fit.

Read into it if you want. Or don't. Just an observation.