Xmas Present

It's time again for an Xmas Eve ride... once a year I wait for this knowing everyone would be busy prepping for parties and meals and trails would be almost devoid of people. Me? Nah... nothing much we really celebrate these days and wifey will take of dinner of course.

Med checkup report came back today... well whatddaya know! The lifestyle and diet change did work. For 3 months now, the missus and I have been pretty much just vegedators. Yup predators of vege, fruits and nuts. Meat consumption is down to almost negligible level these days. Guess it suit us fine as the more voracious an appetite for greens go-- the less appealing meat became save for fish and ohhhh eggs.. I can't do without that.

My family has been blessed with cholesterol levels that rivals choked plumbing in pre-war houses. A little higher than what's considered in the healthy range of 140-200 mg/dl. I'm not dong too badly -- just have to blame it on genetics I guess. It's really the only thing in my case to keep a watch on.

Well med report says everything's fine in fact a helluva lot better than 2 yrs ago. For the first time cholesterol level was not only down but HDL is up and the ratio in the acceptable range. ECG resting heart rate.. even lower now @ 50. My target for end 2014 is 43-45.

But like all checkup-- don't we just fear what might come back from all those bodily fluid extracted.
Seriously words like cancer markers scare the crap outta me. Well, clean bill of health and according to Doc, fit as whistle. To me, that's the best Xmas present there is. Just have to focus on recuperating that biatch of a shoulder right now...

Every present needs a wrapper and what better way than to scoot off from office after lunch and wrap it up with my ritual solitude ride, knowing that any severe huffing and puffing is unlikely to result in a heart attack.

The rain drops had all but disappeared by the time the bike was racked and even had a bit of sun peeking out at the trailhead.

Things are a little different.. end of BF has been fenced up. Guess they have taken out big "umbrella" tree from our reach...

Nature's bonsai. Its really beautiful close up. I hope they can last through all the savagery from wheels rolling across them.
Pretty waxy and tough  surface.. so it looks to be able to withstand some abuse. Still I hope riders will give it some room.

Now that BF is ok to ride and they closed off the exit to the promontory, the shortcut back out from the end from BF's "illegal-to-ride" days has been re-opened and worked on to make this trail loop itself.

No point lamenting and besides there are other ways to get across to the other side of the fence if one doesn't want to get wet skirting a couple of meters out into the water.

Might as well soak in the sights and bend of the lesser ridden sections like the odd trail side "bonsai" above.

Checking out the other entry points... looks good, still accessible. Of course more new "No entry" and "Danger Live Firing" signboards have been put up. Live firing! Yea right... in all my years from army days till now.. don't think a single live round has been fired in this entire area.

Reckon solo rides does funny things to the mind. Seeing the big rock was like seeing an old friend. But truth is I really have not been in this part for a long... long time.


And somehow I lose my sense of direction on the way down.. exited elsewhere and growling in the stomach says time to haul ass... leave the rest of  Woody for another day.

Time to end here too... wifey's chicken in the oven specialty is smelling too damn good.

Happy Yuletide