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| 2023 SR39 Monte Cristo, Snow-gate closed late into the year. |
Changes and regrets
Yesterday marked the official closing of Monte Cristo. The snow-gate on the west side (Ogden Valley) is at MP 37, whereas the gate on the east side (Rich County) is between MP's 55 & 56. Who's to say what the winter and the spring (for that matter) will bring. It may be mid-June before that gate is opened again. Even if it is a mild winter, DOT won't open it again until sometime in May at the very earliest. It seems kind of silly as they put a ton of money into that road every year, only to have it open for half of the year. Not a lot can be done other than lament the lost opportunities and think of what can be....next time. And there is the phrase that really says it all - "next time". How many times have I personally thought what I would do if I had to do it all over again? Lets not dig up that garbage right now.
Snow to stay
This past week has seen the seasonal snow hit North Fork for the long haul. Temps going into the previous couple weeks we regularly into the low teens at night, meaning a frost was pushing into the soil. The foot of very wet and dense snow we had yesterday is here to stay until spring. I'm still not sure about that snow-bike, but I'm still not giving up on dragging a bike somewhere to get a little riding in before the lower valley is also out of commission for the season. The image above was from a warm summer's evening at the end of doing some hill repeats. Sweating my gut out, glad for the break out of the sun and punishing heat. That seems like a lifetime ago. Now the drill is getting up at 04:00 most mornings to see if snow needs to be moved before starting the day. We could have days where I have to move snow several times, or may not see a storm for months - you never really know how the winter will develop. Meanwhile, keeping atop the task is critical, if not impossible sometimes. Winter can be hard and they seem to get longer as I get older. Maybe I am getting older.....
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| An August Ride - Looking toward Randolph from Woodruff. |
Too Comfortable
There is this thing phycologists call "Stockholm Syndrome", where a captive takes to defending the captor to the point of even joining the perpetrator in the restraining effort. This was the defense some fifty-years ago when Patty Hurst joined her captors and became a "rebel" herself. I'm not sure I believe that particular case, but I do know it is real. The premise that when a person is a captive and sees their captor as the thing that is keeping them alive, maybe even being protected by said captor. At that point surviving becomes comfortable and survival instincts are reprogrammed. Such is the case for anyone that gets too comfortable, as we can become captive to something that is holding us back. So you have to ask yourself (as I seem to do all too often without an answer), what is that thing that is keeping us comfortable? Truth is, being comfortable is dangerous. Whether it is sleeping-in, eating to excess, clicking on the next video....what is it that keeps us from breaking out of captivity? The first step to any such situation is to fully recognize and accept that it is real. From there must follow a desire to break away. Far too often I personally find myself giving into a situation that in a previous consciousness, I would never have considered. But here I am again. Sound familiar? Eventually I loose my willingness to fight back - something I could never imagine. But I seem to allow myself to be positioned into a corner, back against a wall, having few if any options. This being comfortable thing is too enticing.
Wrapping up in the next couple of weeks....
Looking for a suitable off-ramp. Stick around. Still have some pulling to do.
Pulling for Reed! Stick around..
