“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” ~Albert Camus
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| Screw you, Winter! We refuse to hibernate! |
Christmastime brings about a season of parties, presents,
over-spending, dreaded family visits, high-calorie debaucherous overeating, and…winter. When the fairy dust of Christmas magic
settles and you’ve toasted to the New Year and your earth-fracturing credit
card statements start arriving, another thing becomes evident; many months of
dreary, inhospitable weather looms that will leave you and your ski completely
high and dry till the daffodils return. Am
I helping your optimism peak today yet?
I am on my annual mecca to visit family for the holidays in NJ. It is only for a week, but I am almost always
taken by how grey and unfriendly it is outdoors. I do enjoy the snow…it is fun to get in my
fix of downhill skiing and do the local fireside taverns and go ice
skating. But I have the luxury of flying
back to sunny warm tropical goodness at week’s end.
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| Ed is not going to take this Winter crap sitting down! |
So what’s a ski junky to do with all of this depressing news? Some people use the off-season to do all of
their wrenching projects…rebuilds, upgrades, repairs. And others resort to other hobbies more
suitable to the season, like snowmobiling and snow sports. But then there is the crazy posse from the
NJ/PA AWA Charter Club. I met a few of
them when they came down to Florida several years ago. They regularly pack their calendars with fun
and exciting rides all over the place, both locally and far away. They have a bunch of members that are just as
obsessed with riding as they are, thus making for guaranteed good times.
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| Doesn't everyone ride the Schuylkill River in December? |
However Alan and Ed (my friends from the club) did not really care
about calendar months. They surely
ignored several warnings about coming down with pneumonia, poor visibility, and
generalized insanity. But on December 22nd,
they chose to ignore Old Man Winter and take to the frigid waters of the
Delaware (yikes!) and do what they do best…RIDE! Granted it was an exceptionally mild day…but
the water surely was not and the sun was not shining. But I guarantee you that not only were there
no regrets about going…but that they really enjoyed the experience! Take that, season change!
There are also some fun and crazy people that do Santa runs on their local
rivers around the holidays. You know
they do have Polar Bear Clubs all over the place. So why not start a new tradition and go for a
New Year’s Day ride, and then have everyone get together afterwards for a
winterization party? Labor Day weekend
does not need to be a riding season death sentence! (see video below, and then get your chainsaws out)
Alright, I digress. Some of you
may live in climates that have resulted in 3 feet of ice coating your riding
grounds. (I am not opposed to some
crafty person inventing a Personal Icebreaker Craft, though!) How can you even give your skis a fleeting
thought during this time? Consider
skipping that commercial tourist cruise this winter, and loading up your
trailer and heading south for a winter (jet) ski vacation! No snow required. Most all of Florida is ideal for riding year
round. How cool would it be to go ride
for a week in the middle of February?
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| Embrace your inner margarita... |
In the very least, you could begin an epic ride plan for the earliest
days of spring. Though it may seem like an
unreachably long time off, you may be surprised about how much excitement you
can garner for something well in advance. Plan a ride in a new place, that
requires research and planning and studying navigation charts and ample time
spying via Google Earth. Also, take advantage of all the sale specials
that tend to come up in the dead of winter with marine retailers, like West
Marine. It’s a great time to stock up on
odds and ends like replacement life jackets, trailer supplies, GPS units, etc. You lady riders KNOW that leopard print dock
line is calling to you!
Though not everyone is as lucky as Alan and Ed, having the opportunity
to sneak out in late December, the moral
of the story is: when life throws you winter, make summertime margaritas! And more importantly, keep making wakes!
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| Mr. Otter and I have opted to remove winter from our schedule entirely! |
