XCR



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J'M Sm'Th

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There are certain things you learn as a kid that stay with you, no matter how far you stray from
home. I learned a lot about snow, growing up in Wisconsin. There are things about snow which are
certainties, others which fall as unknowns.

One of those sure things is: you know where you stand with snow, when it's zero degrees fahrenheit
and the sun is down.

In this case, snow isn't going to disrupt you when you least expect it. No, when it's this cold,
it's frozen, and stays frozen--not in some slippery, unknown amorphous state, frozen now, liquid
later, then solid. It's so cold that the snow has been frozen to itself, and while the neighbors
***** and moan about the bitter cold, a slow smile creeps across your face as you hear the fine
powder squeal under the compaction of your thick boots.

It's rare that I get to experience snow like this anymore, living in Missouri. Yeah, sure, the
mountain biking is great--even when the heat index is in triple digits--but I miss the squealing
snow of cold, cold, Januaries.

So it was as I headed out to the garage tonight. As I moved past my trusty mountain bike, hanging by
its rear wheel, I couldn've sworn I didn't brush up against it, but all the same the handlebars
shook slowly left to right, as if to say "No ****ing Way in This Cold, Buddy".

"That's okay, you dream of warmer climes, it'll be soon enough hotter than the Gates of Hell." After
all, this is St. Louis.

As I moved to the rear of the garage, I reached behind the stored boards, things forgotten, and
cobwebs of other summers to find the slender reminders of my youth in Wisconsin. Red stripes, white
piping with blue flashes of 'Rossi', there they were--my XC skis.

XC skiing is alot like mountain biking in many ways--you're not bound to the money magnets of hills,
you can break out and go where you please, and get away from the *****ing and worry of other folks.

As I skied tonight, I thought of the mountain biking I've done over the past five years, and how
little skiing I've gotten in. I'm not particularly sad about that, as I love both. But there is
something supremely serene (that transcends even the most sublime singletrack) about skiing alone in
the bitter cold on a windless, cloudless, moonless winter night. There will be dirt, there will be
horseflies, there will be blood wrought by solid contact with Mother Earth, but those thoughts,
those wishes are far away now, as I glide into the silvery frozen woods.

--
J'm [Have fun out there in the cold, and drinks lots of water, eh.]

To Reply Direct, Remove Clothes ..._._
 
"J'm Sm'th" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> There are certain things you learn as a kid that stay with you, no matter how far you stray from
> home. I learned a lot about snow, growing up in Wisconsin. There are things about snow which are
> certainties, others which fall as unknowns.
>
> One of those sure things is: you know where you stand with snow, when it's zero degrees fahrenheit
> and the sun is down.
>
> In this case, snow isn't going to disrupt you when you least expect it. No, when it's this cold,
> it's frozen, and stays frozen--not in some slippery, unknown amorphous state, frozen now, liquid
> later, then solid. It's so cold that the snow has been frozen to itself, and while the neighbors
> ***** and moan about the bitter cold, a slow smile creeps across your face as you hear the fine
> powder squeal under the compaction of your thick boots.
>
> It's rare that I get to experience snow like this anymore, living in Missouri. Yeah, sure, the
> mountain biking is great--even when the heat index is in triple digits--but I miss the squealing
> snow of cold, cold, Januaries.
>
> So it was as I headed out to the garage tonight. As I moved past my trusty mountain bike, hanging
> by its rear wheel, I couldn've sworn I didn't brush up against it, but all the same the handlebars
> shook slowly left to right, as if to say "No ****ing Way in This Cold, Buddy".
>
> "That's okay, you dream of warmer climes, it'll be soon enough hotter than the Gates of Hell."
> After all, this is St. Louis.
>
> As I moved to the rear of the garage, I reached behind the stored boards, things forgotten, and
> cobwebs of other summers to find the slender reminders of my youth in Wisconsin. Red stripes,
> white piping with blue flashes of 'Rossi', there they were--my XC skis.
>
> XC skiing is alot like mountain biking in many ways--you're not bound to the money magnets of
> hills, you can break out and go where you please, and get away from the *****ing and worry of
> other folks.
>
> As I skied tonight, I thought of the mountain biking I've done over the past five years, and how
> little skiing I've gotten in. I'm not particularly sad about that, as I love both. But there is
> something supremely serene (that transcends even the most sublime singletrack) about skiing alone
> in the bitter cold on a windless, cloudless, moonless winter night. There will be dirt, there will
> be horseflies, there will be blood wrought by solid contact with Mother Earth, but those thoughts,
> those wishes are far away now, as I glide into the silvery frozen woods.
>
> --
> J'm [Have fun out there in the cold, and drinks lots of water, eh.]

Lovely! And lovely to see you back after a while!

Bill "almost went downhill skiing today (for first time in a few years) but she flaked
(arr-arr) on me" S.
 
"J'm Sm'th" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> There are certain things you learn as a kid that stay with you, no matter how far you stray from
> home. I learned a lot about snow, growing up in Wisconsin. There are things about snow which are
> certainties, others which fall as unknowns.
>
> One of those sure things is: you know where you stand with snow, when it's zero degrees fahrenheit
> and the sun is down.
>
> In this case, snow isn't going to disrupt you when you least expect it. No, when it's this cold,
> it's frozen, and stays frozen--not in some slippery, unknown amorphous state, frozen now, liquid
> later, then solid. It's so cold that the snow has been frozen to itself, and while the neighbors
> ***** and moan about the bitter cold, a slow smile creeps across your face as you hear the fine
> powder squeal under the compaction of your thick boots.
>
> It's rare that I get to experience snow like this anymore, living in Missouri. Yeah, sure, the
> mountain biking is great--even when the heat index is in triple digits--but I miss the squealing
> snow of cold, cold, Januaries.
>
> So it was as I headed out to the garage tonight. As I moved past my trusty mountain bike, hanging
> by its rear wheel, I couldn've sworn I didn't brush up against it, but all the same the handlebars
> shook slowly left to right, as if to say "No ****ing Way in This Cold, Buddy".
>
> "That's okay, you dream of warmer climes, it'll be soon enough hotter than the Gates of Hell."
> After all, this is St. Louis.
>
> As I moved to the rear of the garage, I reached behind the stored boards, things forgotten, and
> cobwebs of other summers to find the slender reminders of my youth in Wisconsin. Red stripes,
> white piping with blue flashes of 'Rossi', there they were--my XC skis.
>
> XC skiing is alot like mountain biking in many ways--you're not bound to the money magnets of
> hills, you can break out and go where you please, and get away from the *****ing and worry of
> other folks.
>
> As I skied tonight, I thought of the mountain biking I've done over the past five years, and how
> little skiing I've gotten in. I'm not particularly sad about that, as I love both. But there is
> something supremely serene (that transcends even the most sublime singletrack) about skiing alone
> in the bitter cold on a windless, cloudless, moonless winter night. There will be dirt, there will
> be horseflies, there will be blood wrought by solid contact with Mother Earth, but those thoughts,
> those wishes are far away now, as I glide into the silvery frozen woods.
>
> --
> J'm [Have fun out there in the cold, and drinks lots of water, eh.]
>
> To Reply Direct, Remove Clothes ..._._

Thanks for the vivid translation of nostalgia. Love the last paragraph.

bloocow.
 
J'm Sm'th wrote:
>

He's back! And with quite a grand re-entrance!

Greg

--
"Destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late, the battles we fought were long and hard,
just not to be consumed by rock n' roll..." - The Mekons
 
"J'm Sm'th" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]... <snip>
> XC skiing is alot like mountain biking in many ways--you're not bound to the money magnets of
> hills, you can break out and go where you please, and get away from the *****ing and worry of
> other folks.
>

Hey, funny seeing you here.

I've made the same comparisons many times. Even more than XC I think BC (back country) is just like
mountain biking. You go out, climb hills and then descend back down, a little more in control than
with XC track skis. Funny how going out somewhere and coming back to where you started can be so
satisfying. Good stuff.

Matt (prolly be doing a little BC skiing this weekend since you guys are getting all the good snow)
 
On Fri, 24 Jan 2003 05:19:14 GMT, J'm Sm'th <[email protected]> wrote:

[snip]
>As I moved to the rear of the garage, I reached behind the stored boards, things forgotten, and
>cobwebs of other summers to find the slender reminders of my youth in Wisconsin. Red stripes, white
>piping with blue flashes of 'Rossi', there they were--my XC skis.
>
>XC skiing is alot like mountain biking in many ways--you're not bound to the money magnets of
>hills, you can break out and go where you please, and get away from the *****ing and worry of
>other folks.
>
>As I skied tonight, I thought of the mountain biking I've done over the past five years, and how
>little skiing I've gotten in.

I use to live Minnesota, we cross country skied in Gym class. I love that frozen squeaky snow.
Reminds me of my paper route, getting up at
5:00 am with the German Sheps and xc-skiing through the hood throwing papers. The vapors would
freeze your nose hears causing you to sneeze....Damn what a memory!

Peace, Bill(haven't thought about that in years)Wheeler

The mind serves properly as a window glass rather than as a reflector, that is, the mind should give
an immediate view instead of an interpretation of the world.
:-]
 
On 24 Jan 2003 06:29:53 -0800 [email protected] (JD) wrote:

> Who the hell are you? Postig off-topic **** and a newbie to boot.
>
> JD WB

Yes, Sir, Mr. Warner Brothers, Sir. From now on I will try to be more Serious.

". . .In their eyes, there's something lacking, What they need's a damned good whacking!"

--
J'm

To Reply Direct, Remove Clothes ..._._
 
On Fri, 24 Jan 2003 06:22:55 GMT "Sorni" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Lovely! And lovely to see you back after a while!

Well, I don't know about 'back', but I'm here for now.

Thanks for the compliment.

?

--
J'm

To Reply Direct, Remove Clothes ..._._
 
On Fri, 24 Jan 2003 09:26:34 -0700 "MattB" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hey, funny seeing you here.
>
> I've made the same comparisons many times. Even more than XC I think BC(back country) is just like
> mountain biking. You go out, climb hills and then descend back down, a little more in control than
> with XC track skis. Funny how going out somewhere and coming back to where you started can be so
> satisfying. Good stuff.
>
> Matt (prolly be doing a little BC skiing this weekend since you guys are getting all the
> good snow)

Hey, it's not about 'good snow' in Missouri, it's about 'any snow'. ****, there was maybe an inch
and a half last night. But, you do what you must do, even at 10:00 at night.

--
J'm

To Reply Direct, Remove Clothes ..._._
 
On Fri, 24 Jan 2003 20:54:14 -0500 Bill Wheeler <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> I use to live Minnesota, we cross country skied in Gym class. I love that frozen squeaky snow.
> Reminds me of my paper route, getting up at
> 5:00 am with the German Sheps and xc-skiing through the hood throwing papers. The vapors would
> freeze your nose hears causing you to sneeze....Damn what a memory!
>
> Peace, Bill(haven't thought about that in years)Wheeler

You're being polite. It freezes the snot in your nose. Folks in the Southern states will never know
what this is all about.

There is nothing like walking outside on a bone frozen morning, breathing deep through your nose,
and having all the snot in your sinuses freeze.

Keeps you free of infections, lad.

--
J'm

To Reply Direct, Remove Clothes ..._._
 
On Fri, 24 Jan 2003 07:34:20 GMT "G.T." <[email protected]> wrote:

> He's back! And with quite a grand re-entrance!

I don't know about back, but I'm here.

--
J'm

To Reply Direct, Remove Clothes ..._._
 
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