Little Short on Oxygen

When you relocate from the lowlands to 4,500ft. you definitely notice the lungs laboring to deliver enough oxygen to make the hillclimbing (say, to 8,500ft.) pleasurable again. I love climbing on my bicycle. After a month of high country living and exercising the two percent loss of available oxygen is hardly noticable...unless, let's just say that nearly every tree within a ten mile radius of your town burns, leaving a forest of charcoal statues as far as you can see. The village of Chester harbors a small island of green that processes carbon and delivers oxygen. The Dixie Fire of '21 incinerated 96% of the trees that oxygenated our daily activities previously. The views of Lassen Volcanic National Park are stupendous and panaramic to the north. We really couldn't appreciate the wall of high country that stands proud above Chester when we were enveloped by tall fir, pine and cedars. Now we 'make do' with less oxygen and broader views.

Epiphany While Pedaling

Forty years ago this month, I am pedaling up Hwy 32 out of Chico, Ca. with my friend Ed. At Santos Way we swerve to miss a shattered brown glass bottle with a SNB Pale Ale label still intact. Ed Mc Laughlin was a unique character... His reactions were quick and he vocalized what was on his mind instantaneously. "That sucks, we did that!" I worked at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. for it's initial five years. Ed would fill in on the capper, washer, labeler when we got in a bind and needed more hands, which was often. "This motorist was not only drinking our ale while he was driving, he slammed his empty onto the shoulder of our favorite bicycle ride." We were sure that SNB drinkers were far classier and more intelligent than that. "This was an act of meaness. We made this possible." In five years of running the Fritz Maytag-gifted bottle washer i calculated that I had hefted one million bar bottles into this hungry machine...twelve at a time with grippers in each hand. Of course, Ed was right. We were responsible for this alcohol-primed behavoir and here it was coming back on us as we recreated. During the last six months of my employ at SNB, I couldn't put this realization behind me.

We Need To Invest A Lot More Time Into Foot-Twiddling.

April, nearly every day in the longterm forecast is predicted to be in the 60's, even 70's toward the end of this month. The snow has melted back to the 7,000ft. level, the mud is drying up below that elevation. We have various genres of bicycles, all begging for use. The days are longer and we are working no more than part-time. No excuses. We could easily pedal 100 miles a week. Forty years ago we managed to ride 200 miles a week, even though we worked full-time. Cycling or foot-twiddling is an effective way to unclutter the mind. No need to ride hard or fast, just invest the time...saddle-time. We like Yoga. We love hiking but, there's nothing quite as cleansing as exploring the backroads and trails on two self-propelled wheels. Saddle-time may cause you pain during the first two weeks. Nothing that chamoix-lined shorts and a little Bag Balm can't solve.