Another 11mi today, this time on Robbyn the fat bike. My thermometer claimed it was a balmy 59*, but I don't believe it. In places where the wind could catch me, it was downright chilly. Thanks to the wind, I recorded a new PR of 37mph on the fat bike. A fun but chilly descent. Later, I explored some neighborhood singletrack and found a local park I didn't know about. I continue to be amazed by how utterly right this bike feels on singletrack of about any kind.
Did you ride today?
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No ride today. Early this morning, Mrs. Newleaf and I headed headed out for a local ski area for a late season ski day with my younger brother and SIL.
The day was beautiful, weather near-perfect, and it snowed 9" there the previous night.
The resort has a separate newbie area with its own base, lifts, etc. The main resort is accessed from this via a shuttle. My brother and I are fairly accomplished for civilians. Mrs. Newleaf and the SIL, not so much. We split up, with Brother Newleaf and I heading to the main resort while the wives hung out in the bunny area.
What skiing! What a mountain 🥰. The views are mind boggling. Then Brother Newleaf got a text and relayed it to me. There was miscommunication. I thought I heard him say that his wife, my SIL, was taken off the mountain by the ski patrol. Sh!tty, but fine: I figured we'd ski down together to find her, but he kept telling me to just go and leave him behind.
I am a somewhat better skier than my brother, but don't feel the need to be an @$$ about it and show off. Then I finally realized that what he was telling me was that it was Mrs. Newleaf who had been taken off the mountain by the ski patrol. Oh.
. Wow . All at once, my brother's voice faded away as my skis abruptly pointed much closer to straight down the mountain than is my wont.
We had just exited a mid-mountain lift serving green and blue runs. The blues were the most direct path to the base. I hit a PR of 41mph getting back to the shuttle and the bunny area where Mrs. Newleaf had a pair of ski patrollers taking excellent care of her.
She winced when I later told her that, but the thing is that I could have gone much, much faster. The slope was good for it, but I knew better: I'm not that good on skis. A descent at full panic speed - the style for which my hear clamored, was nothing but a way to end up in a ski patrol treatment bed alongside my wife.
I was once a much better skier, but I was in my 20's then. I've flirted with 40mph several times this season and it's a comfortable max on the right snow. I wasn't trying to ski out of control. Nevertheless, I got down the mountain as fast as I felt I could without the prospect of giving more business to the ski patrol.
Back at the newbie area, I quickly found Mrs. Newleaf and my SIL kindly keeping her company. Long story short, I pulled the car around to the emergency parking spot where we loaded Mrs. Newleaf into the car and I drove her first home, then to the ER. There, tests revealed that she has actually succeeded in breaking her leg. It's called a "tibial plateau fracture" and can result in the need for surgery. Her Orthopedist feels good about this break not needing surgery, but of course more tests are needed.
Even under the original plan, I expected we'd be home in time for me to maybe get a ride in. Got that in spades, returning home just before noon. Conditions were awesome. Injury is what it is, and she needed the ER. She couldn't drive even if I'd been a big enough jerk to try to send her alone. As if. I drove her and then hung out and did the moral support thing.
When the time came to release her, they got her into a wheel chair, then turned the handles over to me. That's a first: while I've always known patients to leave the hospital by wheel chair, as recently as 2020-21 it was a nurse who wheeled me out of the hospital to the waiting car. In this case, I pushed Mrs. Newleaf to the lobby, locked the chair's brakes, than went out to get the car and drove it to the lobby-adjacent loading area before returning to push her outside to the now waiting car.
Whatever. We are fortunate in that she got the care she needed in a reasonable amount of time. The crash really sucks, but even more than in the cycling world, ski noobs are going to fall. A lot. I sure did. It's almost never a big deal, especially if you wear a helmet. You're landing on snow. When it is a big deal, boy does that suck. Been there myself. Still, you can't get hurt skiing without getting up off the couch and, well, skiing. She loves the sport, and will be back.
If I am particularly lucky, I'll figure a way to work some cycling miles into her recovery regimen.
For today, no cycling.
The day was beautiful, weather near-perfect, and it snowed 9" there the previous night.
The resort has a separate newbie area with its own base, lifts, etc. The main resort is accessed from this via a shuttle. My brother and I are fairly accomplished for civilians. Mrs. Newleaf and the SIL, not so much. We split up, with Brother Newleaf and I heading to the main resort while the wives hung out in the bunny area.
What skiing! What a mountain 🥰. The views are mind boggling. Then Brother Newleaf got a text and relayed it to me. There was miscommunication. I thought I heard him say that his wife, my SIL, was taken off the mountain by the ski patrol. Sh!tty, but fine: I figured we'd ski down together to find her, but he kept telling me to just go and leave him behind.
I am a somewhat better skier than my brother, but don't feel the need to be an @$$ about it and show off. Then I finally realized that what he was telling me was that it was Mrs. Newleaf who had been taken off the mountain by the ski patrol. Oh.
. Wow . All at once, my brother's voice faded away as my skis abruptly pointed much closer to straight down the mountain than is my wont.We had just exited a mid-mountain lift serving green and blue runs. The blues were the most direct path to the base. I hit a PR of 41mph getting back to the shuttle and the bunny area where Mrs. Newleaf had a pair of ski patrollers taking excellent care of her.
She winced when I later told her that, but the thing is that I could have gone much, much faster. The slope was good for it, but I knew better: I'm not that good on skis. A descent at full panic speed - the style for which my hear clamored, was nothing but a way to end up in a ski patrol treatment bed alongside my wife.
I was once a much better skier, but I was in my 20's then. I've flirted with 40mph several times this season and it's a comfortable max on the right snow. I wasn't trying to ski out of control. Nevertheless, I got down the mountain as fast as I felt I could without the prospect of giving more business to the ski patrol.
Back at the newbie area, I quickly found Mrs. Newleaf and my SIL kindly keeping her company. Long story short, I pulled the car around to the emergency parking spot where we loaded Mrs. Newleaf into the car and I drove her first home, then to the ER. There, tests revealed that she has actually succeeded in breaking her leg. It's called a "tibial plateau fracture" and can result in the need for surgery. Her Orthopedist feels good about this break not needing surgery, but of course more tests are needed.
Even under the original plan, I expected we'd be home in time for me to maybe get a ride in. Got that in spades, returning home just before noon. Conditions were awesome. Injury is what it is, and she needed the ER. She couldn't drive even if I'd been a big enough jerk to try to send her alone. As if. I drove her and then hung out and did the moral support thing.
When the time came to release her, they got her into a wheel chair, then turned the handles over to me. That's a first: while I've always known patients to leave the hospital by wheel chair, as recently as 2020-21 it was a nurse who wheeled me out of the hospital to the waiting car. In this case, I pushed Mrs. Newleaf to the lobby, locked the chair's brakes, than went out to get the car and drove it to the lobby-adjacent loading area before returning to push her outside to the now waiting car.
Whatever. We are fortunate in that she got the care she needed in a reasonable amount of time. The crash really sucks, but even more than in the cycling world, ski noobs are going to fall. A lot. I sure did. It's almost never a big deal, especially if you wear a helmet. You're landing on snow. When it is a big deal, boy does that suck. Been there myself. Still, you can't get hurt skiing without getting up off the couch and, well, skiing. She loves the sport, and will be back.
If I am particularly lucky, I'll figure a way to work some cycling miles into her recovery regimen.
For today, no cycling.
Another afternoon ride today. It was almost too hot.
Definitely too hot for this time of year.
I stuck to the flattest section around me, to try and build up some cardio, but toward the end i started feeling frisky and headed to a few little hills to make my legs suffer.
31 miles
1660 up
Tomorrow looks promising, but even more heat.
Definitely too hot for this time of year.
I stuck to the flattest section around me, to try and build up some cardio, but toward the end i started feeling frisky and headed to a few little hills to make my legs suffer.
31 miles
1660 up
Tomorrow looks promising, but even more heat.
I like how "flattest section" and "little hills" combine to produce that much ascent over so relatively few miles. I find I'm both intrigued and a little frightenedAnother afternoon ride today. It was almost too hot.
Definitely too hot for this time of year.
I stuck to the flattest section around me, to try and build up some cardio, but toward the end i started feeling frisky and headed to a few little hills to make my legs suffer.
31 miles
1660 up
Tomorrow looks promising, but even more heat.
. Way to go!
Heck Yeah longjohn!! 
😅😂🤣Heck Yeah longjohn!!
They’d still have divers searching for remnants of me leftover by the catfish.
Ditto
🤣
18481 - 18500 of 18548 Posts
