Spring is standing on the corner, reading the weather forecast...

Riding in shorts again. Or at least for a coupla days....Two days last week we were treated with mid-day temps over 60F! Friday actually was 69.4F in the shade behind my house. I got to ride locally one day and at Duxbury -- 'Deluxe-bury'  affectionately named by it's regulars who delight in being able to ride there almost year-round. Partly due to the normally lesser amounts of snow the southern coast gets, mostly due to the fact that most of the trails are just proper, whether intentionally or not, they drain well, flow nicely, ever-undulating hardly-ever-flat, and are very smooth by New England standards. Sandy at times, mostly around the cranberry bogs, which are always a great place to stop and catch up on sun and conversation....we rode just over 2 hours and clocked about 14 miles. This was officially my first group ride of 2011. Was great to ride with op rather than the solo-riding I've been doing lately. And my fitness doesn't seem to be as lacking as I thought. Usually the companionship combined with alittle healthy competition brings it up a level too. Of course, three out of the five of us were over 60, with Bill E. at 70.5! They motor along on their full-sus Specialized 29ers with seemingly no uphill effort...As I stand up and mash my 1x9er they're sitting back on their 2-wheeled Lay-z-Boys spinning their grannies and giggling....

Anyways, just needed to share that report. Today it's 35F again, yesterday it snowed, but spring is right around the corner...