O Spring, Spring! Wherefore Art Thou, Spring?

Iridescent red bougainvillea, cascading over and down the walls like movie popcorn overflowing the kettle. The precise definition of sky-blue showing off overhead. Comfortable temperature, gentle breeze. Springtime…

…in Palm Springs. If spring won't come to you, you go to spring. It really isn't all that complicated. A laid back long weekend in southern California. I thought about cycling. Really. In a serious way. I even went into a bicycle shop - Palm Springs Cyclery. I bought a jersey. I picked up a brochure from a company that rents road bikes. For my next visit. It was ALMOST as if I actually rode. Almost.

OK, I just checked their web site, since I provided a link. There is an entry on the home page that starts, "Due to the current chilly weather, we are postponing our shop rides until the warmer weather returns." Give. Me. A. Break. But if you scroll down a bit, sure enough, there is the Weather Channel report. It is (as I write this) 80 degrees in Palm Springs. But, with the wind, it feels like 79. Chilly. Now I can see why the rides were called off.

If you haven't worked this out on your own by now, I'll just tell you. I have not ridden in two weeks. But I did ride today. Bill and I headed out on what turned out to be a three-season tour in a little over three hours. In Wisconsin, not southern California (perhaps I'm not giving you enough credit for deduction skills; but, one can never be too sure). When we started out, it was about 53 degrees. Cool, but the climb up Mohawk Valley Road took care of that. By the time we got to Coon Valley, it was up to 60- just a little shy of summer weather. A climb up unforgiving German Coulee Road was followed by a descent then ascent on County H. The top of H on Highway 33 was in a new weather zone. Fifty degrees. Rain. I needed to paw through a pile of trash to find a plastic bag to put my phone in. I know. Be prepared. I did have a bag, but I guess it had been in my wedge for years, as it pretty much crumbled when I pulled it out.

After stowing the phone, I noticed that the long sleeves of my base layer shirt were covered with shaved ice. Sort of like you'd find spewing from a Sno-Kone machine. It was SLEETING. Good grief! But it stopped as quickly as it started. Next, a cool rain came and went for about half an hour. Then, in just a matter of minutes, the rain stopped, the sun came out and the temperature shot up to 62 degrees.

That's what I like about this place. We have four seasons. And, on any given day, you have a chance to experience two or three of them.