One more step

Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge
(Sometimes, it has wildlife in it.)

I'm not among the millions who watched the Super Bowl yesterday. I meant to, but when I hooked up the TV antenna that I disconnected last summer, my wife and I discovered it wasn't aimed in the right direction to pick up the channel we needed. Rather than become the star of an evening news report about the dumbass who fell off his icy roof 20 minutes before kickoff, I decided to skip the game and spend the afternoon finishing some chores and errands.

No big deal. I haven't watched a football game all season anyway. Besides, the best part of the Super Bowl is knowing it's over. See, football season brings summer to an end. It lasts through fall and much of the winter. Its finale is a milestone on the route to spring.

I like seeing winter's big events pass. Christmas, New Year's Eve, the Super Bowl, the Iditarod. I don't give a rat's ass about dog mushing, but I cheer those little shit factories all the way to Nome because I know that, by the time they get there, the snow will be melting off my roof and the coastal refuge pictured above should be firm enough for a few rides.

And soon after than, the snow-covered trails will deteriorate and winter riding will fade.

Fine by me. I ride on ice because it's better than not riding at all.

But I live for dirt.