Sick of this s*%t!

I can't believe how sick I am of ice-covered roads! Every drive down a side street around here is like an off-road excursion. Bumps and ruts abound, forcing your car to skew and yaw. There is so much snow that many roads are still 6-8 feet narrower than normal, but yet cars still have to park, and thread through. There is at least 8" of solid ice at the end of my driveway, and the mounds of snow along it and my sidewalk are five or more feet tall. We have shattered our previous record of snowfall (77" or something like that, and are well on our way to blowing right past 100". Yeah, that's a trifle if you're along the Great Lakes or in the mountains, but around here it's puh-lenty. My dark blue car is essentially a dull grey-white urban camouflage of encrusted salt.

So I'm retreating into fantasy again. I'm envisioning myself riding along the ridge tops near Arcadia, WI. I blew through the Mindoro Cut (south to north) this morning, and have been spending the last 5 hours traveling about 75 miles as the crow flies. I dipped out of the hills to take in a bit of the mighty Mississippi at Alma, and will probably end my day with a beer at Ole's in Maiden Rock. In the meantime, there are all these hills and coulees to explore! And, of course, this isn't in a stuffy car. Nosiree. This is on my trusty steed, Farouche, the large-lunged thumper that has been my bestest motorcycle ever. All I need to make my fantasy moment complete is some riding buddies: Reena, Devon, and Meredith. And lest I forget to mention it, in my head it's 75 and sunny, with a light breeze out of the west.



*CHUNK!*

*CHUNK!*

*CHUNK!*

My neighbor's out busting ice off of his driveway. I took a look at his driveway earlier, and know that he's gonna be at it for a while. We'll, reality rears its ugly head again, and it's cold and icy out there. No way to go for a ride. I guess I'll go dancing.