Icy King

Robert Burns' "To a Mouse" is arguably his most famous poem, at least in part. That is, just about everyone has heard one particular line quoted at one point or another (more often than not misquoted), that being this:

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley."

Add an airline into the equation and it's a sure bet.

Mrs. Guy (henceforth "MG") was supposed to get in from NYC last night. We were then going to leave this morning to drive to Florida where my parents have rented a house for the month. Her direct flight from LaGuardia was cancelled due to high winds (as were all ComAir flights). She was then redirected on a flight through Cincinnatti, but...

MG got on the plane for Cincinnatti, but they couldn't leave due to a mechanical problem. What was the problem? The copilot's seat was broken and would not go up and down. Because of this, they had to wait for a mechanic to come and look at it, and he ended up going back to the garage to get a new one and then replacing the old one. This took enough time that MG missed her connection to Knoxville and had to spend the night. The earliest flight here today didn't get in until just afternoon. Ergo, push the Florida trip out one day.

However, I was able to salvage the day by going for a ride this afternoon. Not just any ride. I went mountain biking. I met John B. at his house and we rode over to I.C. King park. I figured out while we were riding through neighborhoods that I hadn't been on a mountain bike ride since March or April. Way too long.

John saved me from myself, though. I foolishly listened to the Weather Channel when they said that the temperature would be in the 50s by 3 pm. I got to John's at about 2:30, and it was nowhere near 50 degrees. He offered up a pair of leg warmers, and I took the offer. I was glad I did. was comfortable clothing-wise with them on, but I'd have been miserable without them. It was cold, especially in shady spots. We went through several spots were it might have been muddy had it been warmer, but it was frozen ground instead.

It was and uneventful ride except for John's sticking chain and my bike deciding to mystery-shift once in a while (probably mad at me for not riding it for so long). I did suffer a pretty severe calf cramp near the end of the ride, but I was able to work it out enough to ride back while compensating with the other leg.

So we now are getting ready to leave for Florida in the morning. At least that's the plan...