Rare December Ride

Last week the high temperture in Oxford struggled to break over 20.
But this week started on a kinder note and Monday brought us a warm
57 degree afternoon.

Unwilling to pass up such a December gift, Jim, Mark, Steve, Bob and I
met at the park at 2:30 and headed out to Riley and points south and
west. We covered a good 20 miles through the winter landscape and
enjoyed the chance to play hooky and steal one more ride on the
waning year.

Hiking the Blue Ridge Wonderland

With the weather making the turn to winter, the chances to bicycle are
growing slim. But one can hike anytime, and this week Bill and I are
in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We did a seven mile hike today up the
east face of Grandfather Mountain.

As we got closer to the summit, the temperature dropped to the low
twenties and we found ourselves in an ice covered wonderland. We were
warm as long as we kept moving, but when we stopped to rest, the
strong winds quickly chilled us.

The beauty in all the ice covered branches was truly amazing.