The red efts are back and so am I.

I went for a quick spin tonight on the quiet back roads behind my house. The roads were so quiet, in fact, that I only saw one car in just over an hour of riding. I did see this little feller crossing the road, though, and he reminded me of all the subtle natural beauty I see while riding that people who spend their time in cars totally miss. Spring is a glorious time in the Hudson Valley. After a long period of monochromatic living, we are again blessed with the slow, but steady, reintroduction of color into our lives. Yellow forsythia, purple crocuses, pink magnolia all dot the greening landscape and remind me of the glory of rebirth.

Today was the first brevet of the season on my original 2011 event calendar. I had hoped to ride the beautiful Princeton 200K again this year as a season opener, but my post-surgery healing has taken a bit longer than I had naively expected back in December. While I made sure to ride today anyway, I am in no shape to complete a 200K at the moment. That said, every ride I take feels better than the one before and today was no exception. I feel increasingly steady and comfortable on the bike and find myself forgetting that I'm actually healing from a serous injury.

My revised first event of the season is coming right up, though. Next Sunday, my son and I will enjoy our third Five Boro Bike Tour together. I'm ready and can not wait to spend 42 miles pedaling at my son's side. Two years ago we endured monsoon rains and last year we both got sun burns. Maybe this year it'll snow.