What you are COLD?

I have this bumper sticker on my fridge that says nice weather is for wimps - right next to my favorite picture in the entire world in my very favorite spot in the entire norther hemisphere that I have been to, also taken by one of my closest friends. This picture is a fixture in my life.

The picture represents everything healthy and positive in life.

CBS, my sister-in-law gave us the bumper sticker, it bears the county in which she lives. South Park County, CO. For real. A town in which I will probably never live in, they get snow in September, not that cool in  my book. The picture was taken on a birthday trip for my sweet friend B, we all went to Squamish, B.C. and spent they day playing on rocks. Back in the day when Squamish was still small enough, before the winter Olympics ravaged Whistler.

This is not a story about Squamish, I will save that rant.

This story's setting is east of the Cascades, a place where they hoard the sun from those west of the Cascades. For arguments sake, Washington is not the wettest state, I found the sunshine while still residing in the Evergreen State, needless to say, I gave up the whole evergreen tree thing.

I got up this morning with the greatest of intentions, a bike ride in the mentioned abundance of sunshine. If I am going to try and ride 200 miles in a day this summer I better get on my bike, according to my ubber athlete friend Steve, who has done it in a day and my squeeze (he would have to comfort the tears if I had to suffer two days). Well, this is what I thought as I peeled open a book and sipped on coffee this morning.

A bike ride, huh... sip sip sip.

*door bell*

Fully decked out in my riding clothes I received a package from the cute little UPS delivery man. I love packages and the UPS man. He shivered as I signed the little hand held something or other. I saw white pillows as he exhaled. I was going to go ride my bike, I had my proper attire on. He must just be a wimp.... I have a race to train for and there is blue sky - what is so bad!?!

I made it exactly 19 minutes.... total.  I turned around at 10 minutes - which means I was in a hurry to get home. I was freezing -it was the sunniest day I have seen in the last week, hence the urgency of a bike ride but I was cold, freezing, pulling out of our parking lot. What ever happened to my better judgement in dressing myself with the pile of winter weather clothes that I just hauled from Bellingham?

I pulled a huge U-turn, mid road, and pointed to home with the intent of putting on 15 more layers and making the most of the entire day. I got home and needed more clothes, hot tea with caffeine, then a snack, 19 minutes of riding on a flat desert road  might have burned all of 5 calories and I was hungry. Geez, I had breakfast like 1.5 hours ago. I had lunch, then polished off the bag of tortilla chips and fell asleep on the floor - in my bike clothes. I had a spare tube in my back pocket that made sleeping on my back a problem, so I laid on the floor face down. Thank goodness J didn't pop in, there I lay, asleep on the floor, face down, kitchen a mess, bike in the entrance. It happens every now and again.

I woke, rested and ready to - um - go experience the richness of the Tri Cities by wine tasting in warm little estate vineyard tasting rooms not ride my bike. I went to the kitchen for the 100th time that day for a little after nap snack. I might not need to ride my bike because I could consider the trips to my kitchen a work out in its self.

Then I saw it - that damn bumper sticker, reminding me that weather cannot run my life. Then I thought about a recent conversation about the total bliss of being outside and playing, that I had with a new friend, then I thought about an old friend and that at one time I decided to take another woman up on the offer to climb Mount Stewart in a day. I thought of sleeping with my feet in a back pack while laying on a climbing rope for insulation because a day was, well, a day.

I was afraid of a cold road bike ride - really?

I put on those extra layers and put my bike back on the pavement and rode off into the daylight.

For goodness sake, "nice weather is for hairspray and careful shoes."

May you always have blue skies in your minds eye.

Can you spot my open mouth breathing and big ears? B's squint? Bry's attentive glaze? Sam's easy attitude? J's amazing biceps?  I love these people.