Is it spring yet?

What we should be doing now, but are not.

In my world, March 1st marks the beginning of spring in Ottawa. Most years, this belief amounts to little more than misplaced optimism. In case you didn't already know, I'm an optimist. Mostly. I tend to look for the positive side to most situations, the silver lining. For example, when I broke a few bones in my foot years ago, I took the down time as an opportunity to read more, which led into my return to post-secondary education. I consider this injury a turning point in my life. Sometimes shocks to the status quo are just what we need. On the other hand, certain turns of events leave most people asking one simple question: why? I don't have to rhyme off example of such occasions, we all know them well.

Scaling back to everyday perturbations, I must admit that I am far from optimistic when I'm ill. I see no silver lining, just lost time and squandered opportunity. I am not pleasant to be around when I'm ill. So, after spending the last two weeks ill AND injured (knee to rock smashing on maiden snowbike ride), I looked forward to March 1st, spring, a welcome change of state to lift my spirits. Upon getting up and looking outside, the first hints of not-spring were evident. Yes, one of the streets out front was melty, but the one off the side was snowy. Not spring. After a quick breakfast, I rolled out of the garage to a distinct sensation of not-spring. In fact my sensory system was telling me exactly what I didn't want to hear: its still winter! Frigg. Its still winter. And its March. Frigg. I've had enough of this shit.

Later in the day I received word that spring will indeed arrive, at least by April 16th. Why April 16th? Because this day marks the annual throwdown we affectionately call the Almonte Roubaix. There were scheduling challenges this year, but Bob Woods and Ian Austen have prevailed and nestled the Roubaix in the day before the Calabogie Classic road race. So, for the first time in a long time, if not ever, the Almonte Roubaix will fall on a Saturday. For those looking to double up their racing, the opportunity is there. Perhaps we'll see more riders from out of town seize the opportunity to double up too, who knows? One thing is for certain, the Roubaix will be exciting, and our team will be certain to know the route well to avoid falling prey to sabotage like last year.

The outlook for March is not too pleasing at the moment, however. Yes, Saturday's forecast is for plus 4 degrees celcius and light rain, all day. Still recovering from the tenacious virus that has plagued me for more than two weeks, it might be difficult to decide whether or not to spend hours in the rain come Saturday. It looks like March might well deliver more trainer time than desired. One thing is for certain: spring will be oh so sweet when it arrives. And I'll be sure to announce it when it does.