The Icing on the Cupcake

"Give your buddies some big Valentine's smooches, because you won't be kissing me with your taco breath," Mrs. Nocar laughed as I rushed out the door.

Safety, B and I met NoHandle at the Knott Lott and surveyed the remnants of melting snow. The night was definitely colder than it has been, and the trails would definitely be wet, but still conditions were just too durn good for a proper turnout. My well worn shoe covers blew their zipper. Considering the foot numbing slush the night would surely produce, a quick repair was necessary.
After a moment reflecting on the absence of the natural rideleaders in our community, NoHandle steered us out the back to Road Kill where B found (or did Booker?) that the left side of the road allowed biking on dirt for most of the usual asphalt section. The ride quickly received the FT3 stamp of legitimacy when NoHandle recovered from a wrong turn by turning downhill and rolling cross country over a brushy, snowy slope. Dropped B's chin (A++ conditions), leading to a Fleming CCW loop. The climb was snow covered and brought a whole new level of excitement to the too-familiar trail.
It was all rideable, but some of the short steep punches were buried in enough snow to require some soul searching to pull it off. Per Safety's request in the HCF we maintained a "recovery ride" pace. As in "recover your race-ready fitness by hammering", of course. The forest had lit many of the BFPs and we stopped for some bonfire fun.
It was hard to tear away, but tacos were singing their Siren Song, so we finished Fleming dropped Palins, climbed the rocked road out, and picked up the last dirt enroute to the Knott.

Mother Rye and Even Keel had taken the night off. (Apparently, a boozy Mother Rye had stopped in earlier to announce that it was EK's 60th AND it was V-day, so they were going out.) We were again instructed to sit at the bar, where a wonderful sauce collection had been amassed. The stunner of the evening was the elusive Habanero Pepper Plant.

We told the Taco Bitty that we did not have sufficient FTFT3 commitment levels to pre-order breakfast, but she did invite us to bring some food and she would heat it up for us. And she offered to serve some not-to-be-missed drink specials that may incline a rider to pack bedding and crash out in the Knott Lott. Suffice to say, NoHandle is in charge of the bonfire.

Peter's mom stopped by and delivered some cupcakes. We each enjoyed a couple while NoHandle regaled us, again, about the summer days of yore when he hung out with the cute neighborhood girl and her mom and learned about the intricacies of icing. Or something like that.
Special thanks to Safety First! for photo documentation.