Tell it on the Mountain

I went to the mountains to get me some wisdom. Like Moses, or like Laura Ingalls that time she climbed a mountain thinking she’d get closer to God up high. We rode the Big Levels loop near Sherando on Saturday and Reddish Knob loop (elevation 4397 feet) near Harrisonburg Sunday. After riding two days in the teens on ice, snow and grueling climbs, I expected to start Monday morning with something resembling revelation.

Nothing earth shattering, but I do have some new ideas about how to keep my head warm. Here are a few of the Superbowl Sunday head covering variations:

I also discovered some Kryptonite. For one, Gilmer (left image) needs significantly more sleep than the average cyclist. Cut off his couch time and I bet he slows down. Dan clearly has a weakness for sunrises (right top) and “abundant sunshine” so I bet he falters in overcast conditions. And contrary to popular belief, Kevin’s strength is not in his hair but in his shadow (right bottom). It’s self-image that empowers him which explains his preoccupation with self portraits.

With all that, I still got my butt kicked in a steamy indoor spin class today. I actually drank more Gatorade during the hour-long spin class than I had on either of the 3.5-hour mountain bike days since the bottles kept freezing. Where’s the wisdom in that?