I dare not say it aloud....

February is here... and in the last 48 hours, there has been some really odd weather. I don't know if we officially hit 70ºF here in town on Saturday, but we must have gotten close. Even today wasn't that bad. The end of this coming week shows more temperatures in the 50's and lower 60's. Could it be? Could... it.... BAH. Shut face, before you jinx it! Let's just say that even though February is only a few hours old, I've been enjoying it so far. This is usually the month where I dig a hole and crawl into it. Things like last-minute ice storms come to mind, weeks of roads locked with ice and leftover snow. Bitter temperatures. Commutes wrought with misery and woeful moans. FEBRUARY in KANSAS. Welcome to suck-ville.

So far.... so good? The next 27 days will be interesting, that's for sure. I have a sneaky suspicion that we're in for an especially hot summer, though. I like that.

I've recently made some plans, some goals -- and while I'm not fully prepared to spell them out here in print, I'm pretty excited about the prospect of a hot summer. A hot, stupid humid summer under an unforgiving sun, telling stories that start off like...

"so, there we were, it was lap 11, the sun was finally going down, and it was still 133º... my legs looked like something that fell outta the back of a Pemmican truck. The beer was hot, and the grass was dead. I looked for shade, but the trees had all caught on fire. I pulled another hunk of molten tar off my shoe to finish patching my 8th flat tire, and then I'd be off again - into the unknown..."

Yeah, it's gonna be a good year.

Even though I'm acclimated to the cold, I am a little tired of it with these last couple days of getting taunted by springtime - but, my mental pieces are in the right place this year. I'm not "done with cold" like I was before, hating it and not riding at all. Yeah, it'll be 24º tomorrow morning when I mount up for the jaunt to work.... but there is a fire in my heart again, stoked by a new objective that lies only six short months away. Stay tuned for that.... (nice tease, I know. You like it.)

But, there can be no doubt.... Spring is six weeks away, and I can already feel the hot pavement rushing under my feet, hear that first clap of thunder in the spring air, smell the aroma of the morning air after a night's rainfall, hear the song of frogs in the roadside ditches. Football season is over, tonight.... (finally) ...and it's time for that "other" season to start, hearkened by the sound of hundreds of cleats snapping into pedals as people get ready for another season in the saddle.

It'll be a special year, no doubt... the year of Lance's return. A year of hope with a new president at the helm. A year of promise, as financial futures are rebuilt. Things to ROOT FOR. Times are still hard, yes... but it's all SO much easier to take when you have a bike ride to look forward to, and a goal to focus on.

Whatever it is you're looking forward to; the MS-150... the Cliff Drive Classic... Tour De Lakes... Copper Triangle... RAAM... the Kansas City Triathlon... Hospital Hill... Furnace Creek... Rapture in Misery... the Cidermill Century... RAGBRAI... whatever it is, here's to ya and good luck.

Let's get this thing started.