necessities... and wildlife survey for the week

minimum requirements dictate much of what we do in life. for instance, minimum RAM and CPU power determines what software you can run and how much data you can process. minimum calorie intake dictates how far you pedal before you bonk.

while bicycles are much simpler animals... well inanimate objects... there are some requirements for riding...

such as PEDALS. yes, GDOGG showed up yesterday partially pedaled... (is that a word?) first he had just one then two... he tried and tried but alas, when you try to put the left pedal on the right crank and vice versa... not only are they a bitch to get on... but also your pedals slowly start to sob and try to jump ship... as your ascend bear meadows.

needless to say, his ride was cut short... quite short. Mine on the other hand was lovely and not long enough... then again no ride is ever long enough. i was in the zone and relaxed to the point i had no idea how hard my body actually worked. greenlee was my last climb and it flew by. GREENLEE! I am SORE today but never felt it on the ride yesterday. aahhh. the zone.

it was overall a great birthday. starting with waking up to up beat texts on my phone... to being surprised with flowers at work (so beautiful - THANKS!)... to almost having company for a cross ride. some phone calls and cards... to a last of the day chat with ms gretta about life, riding milanos across trails and general crashing into random inanimate objects :)

so the count for this week in the woods includes

• lotsa hawks - a few different kinds
• flocks of turkeys - they are OUT in numbers!
• ground hogs (yawn) ... i swear there's one thats down with NASCAR... he always comes out as i am climbing or descending on north meadows. i'm embarrassed to say he generally wins on the climbs but in my defense, he's got a lighter rig and a much much lower center of gravity. yea, that must be it.
  
• a big ass rattlesnake (that i ever so gracefully almost slid into due to my excitement).
  
• deer - prancing - i still can't get over the elegance of white tails vs the ones out west
  
• turkey vultures - atleast 5 or 6 ginormous (humorously outsized for you lay folk... your welcome for the translation) on greenlee eating a dead porcupine (they stalked me from the trees afraid i would devour their hard-earned feast) - like i eat meat guys - come on (does porcupine constitute red meat?)!
• an ENORMOUS flock of unidentified black birds in scotia... there was nothing humorously outsized about this folks. i've never seen so many in the woods, together. My ascent up the trail off of the main fire road through scotia was marked by literally, hundreds of of these guys flying up into the canopy as i progressed. imagine "the wave" in bird form... it was like an episode from a steven king movie or maybe xfiles... unbelievable
• one wreck. it was a graceful wreck tho. yup.
  
• and last but not least one guy on a pedal-less bike.. it's ok buddy - next time! i know that your breed is rare :)

what a week!