Home Sweet Home

I had excellent company on my recovery ride today. Stephen road his cross bike, perhaps for the first time since cross season and Alia confidently mounted the trail along behind my cross bike. We headed north toward Mountaindale. A storm was just arriving with a little wind and spit for rain. By the time we turned west we could feel the cross wind but there wasn’t any increase in precipitation so I continued to take us north. I explained to the children what a great tail wind we were having since we couldn’t feel it at all. It was another story when we turned around just before the timber piles. The wind halved our speed and intensified the chill of the rain and imminent storm.
Getting home was more of a challenge. Alia’s occasional whimpering due to cold and discomfort frequently sounded like a flatting tire. Stephen had trouble keeping a straight line with the wind gusts and passing trucks but continued to use multiply gears to get up the inclines and push into the wind. While I kept my heart rate down my anxiety grew for my children as the fierceness of the wind and rain increased. We made it ~12 miles in an hour.
Immediately after getting his bike and helmet put away Stephen crawled under his comforter. Before taking her helmet off Alia ran warm water over her hands to no avail. She then turned on the gas stove and sat there petting the dogs until I offered the warmth under my shirt for her cold hands. Because of the winter like storm, on this first Monday of Spring, we should have gone out earlier or not at all. While we were peddling Alia said, “Good idea MOM!” In an attempt to sway her mood I replied with sincere gratitude. To which she clearly stated, “I was being sarcastic!” Once we got home they quickly forgave me.