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Bill  On The Road

 by: Bill Oetinger  2/1/2022

Here We Go Again

How many times, around this month of the year, have I written one of these columns in celebration of springtime? I’m not going back to count them up but I know there have been a few of them. So excuse me for being a broken record when it comes to this seasonal turning…the deja voodoo that comes around once a year as the days grow longer and warmer. There is something so primal about it. After months of rain and gloom and even the occasional snow and freeze…all of a sudden it’s nudging up into the 70s and we’re having to put sun screen on parts of our anatomy that have been covered in winter clothing for the past few months. It never gets old.

I did a classic ride up into the wine country yesterday: the Russian River and Dry Creek Valleys. Ever since we got that drench of rain a month ago, our world has been as green as can be. Green HillsBut now the emerald grasses have been joined by their pretty dance partners, the wildflowers. Mustard down the rows of vines or splashed across whole meadows; shoals of white and orange mini-daisies along the roadsides; yellow clover blossoms under the trees, keeping company with fairy rings of mushrooms. And the domestic flora too: daffodils and daphne, rosemary, plums, acacias. Everyone is ready to rumble.

Dry Creek is a long way from dry. (I doubt it ever is anymore, with the flow controlled at Warm Springs Dam.) I stopped on Yoakim Bridge and studied the ripples for steelhead. They should be down there now. The several fly fishermen arrayed along the bank below Wohler Bridge certainly believe the fish are there. I saw a lot of fishing but not much catching. (I surfed around the ‘net a little to see if I could find up-to-date info on the steelhead run but couldn’t find current numbers. However, those fishermen out there in their waders, patiently floating their flies out into the current…they probably know a lot more about this than I do.)

This spring season is perhaps freighted with even more urgency and promise than in another year because—knock wood—we are maybe finally seeing some hopeful signs with the pandemic. Even as the Omicron Express is chugging its way through our world and even as (mostly) unvaccinated people fall into its clutches, the experts are telling us the trends are heading in the right direction. If things are getting back to normal, what that will mean for cyclists is more group rides, both our informal club rides and bigger, organized events, from centuries to doubles to crits to road races to triathlons to brevets….the whole circus, back in business. The pro peloton will be back in business as well, even more than last year…all the spectating you could wish for.

And then touring…big plans for big tours in far-off places. A bike-n-barge in Holland; exploring the balcony roads of Provence or the hill villages of Tuscany; bike paths along the Rhine. Or just a club tour not far from home but still buckets of fun. It’s all out there for the taking…again.

But most of those pleasures are still months ahead. We’re not there yet unless you want to tour New Zealand or enjoy autumn in Argentina. For now, for most of us, it’s just the simple pleasure of rolling down our driveways and out into this freshly green and suddenly balmy world of springtime magic. If you haven’t done it yet, give your bike a tune-up or hand it over to your local bike store wrench to do it for you. Don’t launch off into this happy new season with a gritty drive train.

All this happy talk about spring: bear in mind I’m only talking about Northern California now, and not even all of this great half-state. Venture into the mountains or up into the far north and Winter is still in charge. And then there’s the rest of the country. We come home from a sunny, pleasant ride and turn on the evening news, where the talking heads are frothing about yet another arctic front crippling the eastern half of the country, from Austin to Boston, with wind chills below zero and the obligatory footage of icy freeways and jack-knifed big rigs. 

But right here, right around the big bay, with our temperate climate, we’re getting a sneak preview of what the rest of the country won’t be seeing for another few months. However, while we’re enjoying what we’re being given right now, let’s not forget that the weather gods can still open the taps and dump more rain and chill upon us in the months to come. In fact, we kinda, sorta hope they do. We had that marvelous monsoon in December that vastly improved our situation with respect to our prolonged drought. We’re in way better shape than at this point a year ago. But we’re not all the way back to where we need to be and if we don’t get any more rain we’ll still be in danger of another nasty wildfire season, not to mention the need for draconian water rationing. Indeed, we were reminded of the danger with a little wildfire up on the Geysers on January 22—soon snuffed out—and a larger fire down in Big Sur on the same day. So while we rejoice in these mild, sunny days, let’s hope for at least a few more days—better yet, nights—of rain before the true Golden State weather settles in for the duration.

In the meantime, enjoy these lovely days while they last.

Bill can be reached at srccride@sonic.net



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