Hood River Part Deux

So I've been in the Hood for 6 days now. The highlights? Work is pretty cool (learning = best thing ever), and the riding is awesome.

Lowlights? The Dupage Credit Union f***ed up, and my cell phone has one foot in the grave.

This is probably the shortest update ever, but I have some pretty rad pics to make up for it, so check them out. Please note that the one trail pictured is pretty uncharacteristic of the area; many (most?) are still under a bit/a lot of snow, but are filled with 20-60min climbs and wind through the timber of Mt. Hood National Forest. However, being a Midwestern boy, a 30min climb and 50 degree weather in March are both amazing, so I'm willing to get over the semi-drab surroundings until the other trails open up for business.

Hood River, OR.

Well, this has been a long time in materializing. Some time, in the middle of April, I will drive my champaign colored Subaru Impreza from Winfield, IL, to Hood River, OR, loaded down with as much junk as it can safely hold.

In the rare event that anyone ever reads this post, no, it has nothing to do with the town that I grew up in, or the people I've come to call my friends. Really, leaving Wheaton/Winfield and my friends will probably be the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm moving to a place I've never been, where I know one (1) person, and the only frame of reference I have comes from friends, Google image searches, GoogleEarth, and MapMyRide. After 5pm every day, I won't have anyone to talk to, to hang out with, or otherwise spend time.

Those of you that know me fairly well understand that I am a person who does just fine by myself; since I've been home from college, and aside from riding, I have maybe 15min of conversation/interaction a day with parents, friends, or people at the local coffee shop. So really, I don't foresee that part of my life taking a downward plunge. If anything, this will finally force me out of my shell a bit, and I'll actually make an effort to meet new people.

However, I'm hopeful, and confident, that I'll meet plenty of people who are into the same sort of crap I'm into. Campfires, nights skies, and laughter. Bikes an added bonus.

Why Hello There, Sun.

Like many of my fellow Midwesterners, I have been bitching for quite some time about the weather we've had this winter. And, like most of those who complain, I check the weather pretty regularly, looking for a day or two when I won't get dumped on from the heavens, or freeze to death should I stop riding for 30 seconds outside.

Well, turns out the tide is turning, so to speak. While I'm certain that we'll get another 3 inches of snow before spring is officially here, I'm please to see that we'll be getting several days in a row of 55 degree weather. Will I get rained on from the turnaround point, all the way home, on every ride? Most certainly. Will I flat both front and rear simultaneously, resulting in the cyclist's version of the walk of shame? Pretty bloody likely.

But, I've waited all winter for this, and I'm willing to take those risks. As long as it's not 40 and pouring, in the Biblical sense, I'll be outside for at least an hour a night, until next winter.