Waiting for the shoe to drop

Doug shot a karma torpedo at me.
Suggesting a guaranteed ride in the slop, is wiser than taking a chance on a longer ride in better conditions another day was sure to bring conflicts my way.
First my sister-in-law called saying my wife was late and not answering her phone. I'd be more surprised if she was on time and / or answered her phone, but that put the seed of "what if" in my head. Would I be getting an emergency call that she had a flat or broke down?
Then a customer called about picking up a small piece, inquiring as to how late I'd be in the shop. "Ah, not that late, I'll leave it outside for you". "But how will I pay you?" he asked. "Just slide it under the door". If he stiffs me it's on his conscious, and not worth missing a ride.
As I was about to get changed and leave for my ride, a contractor stopped in. He grabbed some samples, and started talking about the job. I was bracing for him to tell me he was bringing his client down this afternoon, when he says "I'll see her this weekend and get back to you next week".
WooHoo! I made it out the door!
The conditions were perfect. The ground frozen mostly solid, the only softer spots were well on their way, but deep standing water hadn't frozen completely yet. One problem was the best lines were often where the snow melt flowed and froze, leaving a thick, slick glaze. Good time to try some new lines.
Deep frozen ruts from people riding when it was muddy in some sections presented a challenge to being able to choose a different line.
I had hoped the 45 degree drop in temperature (from in my shop to outside) would lower my tire pressure a bit, but after a half an hour, I stopped to lower them some more.
Soft tires+hard ground=Awesome!
As I rode along I plotted my course. Adding and subtracting trails as I rode. At the 1 hour mark, deep within the shelter of trees I was going to go long. 10 minutes later with frozen water bottles, on the Western ridge being hit with a 25 mph wind I was rethinking that. Maybe a big loop isn't the best idea. Time to head back down to the truck. Just as well, the temperature, and conditions, there were still sections of snow in the woods, had slowed me down enough that I still got almost as much riding time as I hoped.
Glad the torpedo missed the bow.