Friday, December 19, 2008

The Fine Line


Today Andy Sokol had a brilliant idea.  "Since Chris has so accurately determined when the solstice occurs (7:04AM) we should be riding at that time [at Wissahickon]."  The thought of hitting the trail at the very instant that the sun hits the Tropic of Capricorn is incredibly alluring and a stroke of genius on Andy's part, and I am ashamed that I did not think of it first.  

Alas an early Saturday ride at Wiss is not in the cards for me personally.  But I can try to avoid such an embarassing scheduling snafu in the future so I started looking at the ride schedule for 2009.  And of course that little diversion snowballed into something a little more ambitious.  Here are the highlights:
  • Vernal Equinox - sun crosses the equator on it's way north - Friday 3/20 @ 7:44am - looks like an early happy hour ride, count me in
  • Summer Solstice - sun reaches northernmost point, the longest day - Sunday 6/21 @ 1:45am - ouch, might have to miss this one
  • Autumnal Equinox - sun crosses the equator again, this time heading south - Tuesday 9/22 @ 5:18am - maybe our last early morning ride before hunting season, count me in
  • Winter Solstice - already explained ad nauseum - Monday 12/21 @ 12:47pm - xmas week, traditionally slow at work - this is a no brainer
  • Full moons - Sun 1/11, Mon 2/9, Wed 3/11, Thr 4/9, Sat 5/9, Sun 6/7, Tue 7/7, Thr 8/6, Fri 9/4, Sun 10/4, Mon 11/2, Wed 12/2, Thr 12/31 - weather reports not available yet, but clear skies would make these strong night ride candidates.
  • Hibernia Duathlon - 5mi trail run + 11mi mt bike race at Hibernia Park - Sunday 4/19 - low-key event and traditional kickoff to our spring riding season, may be run as solo event or relay.  great mental goal to keep your head in the game through the winter.  I have a daughter who can run like the wind so I am ALL IN baby!  believe it or not, registration  is now open
  • Sunday Rides - well established and reliable - 52 +/-1 of these next year as well
  • Happy Hour Rides - late afternoon on Fridays, scheduled in ad hoc fashion - there are 52 +/-1 of these babies next year 
  • Roadies - at least 1 per month, would like to up that a little bit so let's call it 1.5 per month which means 18 of them in 2009
  • Weekday rides - ad hoc during the winter season, more reliable schedule during the summer months, but every weekday is a possibility so let's call this 261 opportunities next year
  • Chelsy's ride - let's make our new years resolutions to get back onto the 1x per month schedule
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 13 + 1 + 52 + 52 + 261 + 12 = 395 rides to fit into 365 days next year, so cinch up your chinstraps and get ready for a busy year in 2009!

Chris

"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever."
     -- David St. Hubbins (This is Spinal Tap)

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