Ride # 15: Shad Dart on a Gray Landscape

February 27, 3:00 PM

The ride is over now, I've done this one, it's in the books and on Shad Rides. I'm sitting at a kitchen table, quiet in the aftermath of dinner, listening to a live Dead show from the Pauley Pavillion at UCLA, November 17, 1973.

It was mostly overcast today, raw, gray. Between 1:00 and 2:00 snow flurries drifted through. The sun pulsed faintly from behind the gauze. For a brief few minutes just as I was about to launch the sun came out and shone like an omen of encouragement (above). Then it got swallowed up again for most of the rest of the ride. Swathes of flat grays and ashy creams. Dull gray puff skies. Crusty old snow pack like concrete. Dirty white crust across a rolling landscape into Lancaster, the Drumlin, the Princeton Hills, Lemonstar.

The Drumlin, Lancaster

At a certain point, cognizant of my hyper glowing limon neon top, I thought to myself - My god! I am a shad dart in an icy & clear water river and I'm being reeled along in a jagged fashion by a madman with a rod and reel and everything is basically tones of black & white, yet I am a neon abomination darting and flying through the sameness.

Shaddy Shad Dart

Of course, visibility is the key to continuing on with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. At least in amateur cycling. At one point tonight I should have turned right, essentially rounding the corner of the ride and pointing it homeward. I would have gotten home with plenty of light.

But training for the Rasputitsa is not about getting home with plenty of light

I opted for more climbing and a further loop. The cloudy over cover made it darker than it should have been and the yeasty flat sun sinking ever lower couldn't quite make it bright anymore and after a certain point I was psyched to have my flashing red tail light, my maniacally flashing rear helmet light, and my icy blue/white face-forward handlebar light. With all the blinking and flashing and the eye-popping limon top I felt pretty safe. Only a karma shot for transgressions unknown could derail the last leg of the ride, the dash down out of the hills and through the Grove St neighborhood and past Doyle Field to Shad Lane and the home hearth.

Back Before Dark

In the long run, I was right in my choices. Even my garb. I added in a layer of old school duofold underwear and also slid a paper bag in place. Donned a skull cap, a head & face mask, and a bandanna. And a helmet. Not too bulky at all. A pulsing limon-glowing wheelmon of the irie forward motion. It was 30 degrees (-1 C) when I passed Landmark Storage on my way through the Lemonstar 'hood and it was 24.6 (-4.1 C) when I got home. Crisp, righteous, a joy. I was almost overdressed. Never once cold. Positively Icelandic. Which is to say embracing the elements, a celebration of the Great Gift.

And then there was the business of dinner. Knowing I'd be hungry when I got back I'd thawed a package of beef liver that I scored for free last week when picking up the monthly meat & poultry CSA share. There are always free frozen parts available including (I found out this time) whole lamb's heads. I hear that the cheek meat is excellent - succulent cheek meat of the roasted head. But that's getting ahead of the story of ride # 15.

Tonight, a simple cast iron skillet dish done on the grill.

sliced onions & red peppers (olive oil'd)
slices of beef liver each the size of two shad darts end to end
three cloves of garlic chopped roughly
lots of paprika (smoked or sweet or both)
sea salt
pepper ground like dirt
bacon grease

Beef liver from John Crow Farm, before being sliced

Spice the ingredients accordingly. Fire up a hot grill. Put the cast iron skillet on it and get it hot. Add onions and peppers. 7 minutes, stirring plenty. Remove the onions and peppers from the skillet and add the liver. Cook 30-45 seconds on one side. Tend it closely. With tongs flip each piece. Don't overcook. Know the liver.

Added to the overall Platter of Plenty, crispy pan sauteed chickpeas and sauteed crimini and shitake mushrooms.

Sauteed mushrooms, crisped chickpeas,
beef liver with red pepper and onions

 The Reward

Ride Stats: 25.75 miles (41k), 13.3 mph, almost 2 hours riding. Felt great. Power in the climbs toward the end. But extremely cautious on all down hills and at any hint or suggestion of frozen wet surface. Careful and fearful of the white line.

Now the Bad News. Road kill. Another opossum. WARNING: Grisly crime scene photos below.

Opossum, Sterling, MA Feb 27, 2014

Opossum, Sterling, MA Feb 27, 2014