Relentless wind

Overnight, a blast of frigid air carried by a relentless and powerful wind brought snow to us and all the animals who have to live outside all the time. A couple of bucks walked across our property in the dead of night while the storm took over our world. I also saw tracks of a bobcat, a doe and fawn, a pair of coyotes, and a fox. It's amazing to imagine those animals enduring all that nature throws at them without houses or fireplaces!

This morning, when I read the outdoor thermometer and heard the house shake with each wind gust, I found myriad ways to procrastinate about going outside. Finally, K convinced me that it was time.

K is now taking no pain medication and is moving as if she feels great. I've been "de-leashing" her for photos but I need to be more careful now. Just after I took the photo shown below, she started to gallop up the trail, plonking her cast on the snowy ground with each bound. Fortunately, I yelled "wait", and she did. No harm done.

Then, on this evening's walk, she tugged relentlessly at the leash. She wanted to go faster, further, off-trail, and, did I mention, FASTER! She's my dog at heart... I can certainly understand how she feels because I've felt exactly the same way after each of my spine surgeries.

As soon as we arrived home, I called to make the big appointment to have her cast taken off for the last time by her surgeon and then to have her first physical therapy appointment immediately afterwards. K started tap-dancing in excitement! The big day is about 10 days from now.

Then, it was the moment of truth - would I be tough enough to go out in the 70 mph winds and 20°F temperatures for a mountain bike ride? My motivation always is that riding my bike makes my back feel better. Since my spine felt creaky, I headed out with the black Labradude.

For those of you new to this blog, biking is my pain reduction plan for my back. Consequently, I ride all year long. It's a very rare day when the weather keeps me inside on my indoor bike trainer. Soon, I'll put studded tires (360 studs per tire) on one bike to make it my ice bike. I also have my snow bike ready for deep snow. It has 4" wide tires and is the style of bike used by mountain bikers who race the Itidarod Trail every winter.

This morning, with less than an inch of fresh snow, I didn't need fancy gear except my extreme cold weather clothing and my orange. R and I headed out, and he spent a lot of time during our ride trying to figure out how to pick up sticks despite his muzzle. He finally succeeded but wasn't too happy about it. He came and stood in front of me to request a stick removal operation!

We visited Hug Hill, where I literally couldn't feel my fingers after 2 minutes. R's ears flapped in the wind so vigorously that I thought that he might take flight and visit friends in Kansas.

It wasn't snowing over top of us but the freight train of wind plummeting down off the Continental Divide blew snowflakes with it. Horizontal snow nearly obscured nearby hills.

After I dropped R at home, I headed east on my bike, with the thought that the wind might be gentler and the air warmer down lower. I was so wrong. The wind whipped a reservoir deep in a ravine up into a froth.

I did find a few quiet oases where the fingers of the wind currents hadn't reached. I didn't initially see the deer lying in the aspen grove below. I had stopped to enjoy a break from the wind that was ripping every ounce of my energy out of my body. Then, the deer moved, and I spotted him. I think that he was enjoying the oasis as well.

Shortly beyond the quiet aspen grove, I emerged onto an open slope leading to the spine of a ridge. The wind blew so hard that I repeatedly had to put a foot on the ground to avoid being blown over. Then, it happened. As I climbed up a steep hill, the wind grabbed my front wheel and twisted it hard to the left. I managed to stay upright as the wind whipped me through a 180 degree turn. Before I knew it, I was flying downhill at mach speed! Now, that's a powerful wind gust.

I made it home in one piece, without falling, but completely depleted of energy by the wind. I hope that the wind's fury burns itself out tonight. For now, I'm sitting next to a roaring fire, still trying to warm my toes.