Busy

I guess that I kind of had to expect it. that being that going back to working full time would mean a drastic reduction in free time. Guess I didn't really realize how much of a reduction that would mean. The past couple weeks we have consistently been eating dinner at 9PM only to head to bed at 10PM so as to be up and out the door by 6:30AM. Add to that no real reduction in riding and dang, my butt is dragging.

The biggest thing that I noticed in getting back to a desk job is that I'm crippled by said job. Sitting for 10 hours a day, day after day is hard on you, literally. I haven't had back issues in years and last week I finally broke down and saw a chiropractor. We don't realize what a toll this takes on us. I spent three months running around and doing lots of chores, basically standing all day and being active. I've got to say that I felt (physically) much better then than I do now having spent my third week back to a desk job.

The job itself is going well. I'm learning a ton of new stuff and struggling a bit with new and very different tools. I'm used to so pretty powerful tools that have a lot of functionality and am now using tools that are functionally less robust. It often seems like I'm speaking a different language, which in reality I am, which makes things mentally exhausting as well.

That's about it. Racing has been pretty darn lackluster, at least for me recently. I had a MTB race of despair where I flatted twice and destroyed two brand new tires, leaving me to walk out of the woods and DNF the race. I've had two back to back road races where I worked hard but results were fruitless. I've decided to stop racing with the club that we belong to and strike off solo. Really, there is no difference except that I had to buy some new clothing. I've been trying to put together a team kit design that Cathy and I have been working on all year. I'm yet to finish. The kids team fizzled out with injury and illness coupled with lack of discipline, motivation and desire. This was not just on my part.

On the up side, power numbers are up and I think that I'm on target for a good showing this fall. That is my hope anyhow and I'm clinging to it. We shall see. We are headed to Armand's wind tunnel tomorrow to get some aerodynamics work done. Pretty sure I'm going to come away hating my stupid TT bike just that much more.

Other than that, we're considering looking at a new vacation place in NH and I've been obsessing over bike parts, namely road wheels and power measuring options. Those are both ongoing.

Vacation's End

Last week Cathy and I were officially on vacation. We spent the time up at our place in Maine, which we really haven't spent much time at in the past couple of years. Between work, bicycle racing and the long drive coupled with the high cost of gasoline, it has been often difficult to justify the trip. Regardless, we took the opportunity to go up last Friday for most of the week.

As mentioned, we got in a couple of good days of cycling. We also branched out and did something new, a short canoe jaunt on the Androscoggin River, which winds it way very near the house. Although the river is nearly dead flat and very calm in the area, we were surprised to find some sections of slightly rapid moving water that made travel upstream difficult if not impossible. We tried to take it head on, from and angle, from another angle, backwards. Nothing was working. We finally went up a shallow section and portaged only to discover more "rapids" and the weather taking a turn for the worse as well. Regardless, we had a chance to do a little something different, which is always good.

I'd hoped to be able to get in at least one hike as well during the vacation but the weather turned rainy and when the sun wasn't out, the mosquitoes were and they were vicious. Even mowing the lawn was a chore with them as was grilling out of doors after sunset. To be expected at this time of year of course, especially up in the "wilds" of Maine. I guess that we should have brought the mosquito nets with us. Live and learn.




So Thursday was the last day of vacation for me. It was spent running around doing all of the chores I'd been trying to wrap up as well as the normal weekly chores like mowing the lawn and grocery shopping as well as trying a new donut shop, Donna's Donuts in Tewksbury. Not bad, but I think Kane's is still numero uno.


I also took the opportunity to head over to the range and give Cathy some time with the new Ruger SR22 I picked up at Four Seasons a week ago. Very nice shooting and well made weapon and a great way to learn better trigger pull when you are less worried about the cost of ammunition. We ran a couple hundred rounds through it and then headed back home for a quick MTB ride to finish off the day.

Thursday was also my last vacation day from another perspective, as yesterday I started a new job. The job is another   software engineering position within a small, mature local company. It is basically exactly the opposite of where I was last. The people are all super friendly and seem genuinely happy to be there. My manager is one of the most technically competent managers that I've ever met and really gets it.

This is a big change from the micro, micro management and semi-competent technical that I had for a long time and incredibly different from the technically incompetent wholly hands off manager I had for a while before being moved yet again to my final, just about right but too late manager. It is also a big change going from one of the largest companies on the face of the planet to a tiny one by comparison. The headquarters are located right here in town and the office is only a few miles from home. Zipping home at lunch to feed the kittens or throw in some laundry should be no problem at all. It also means fewer resources are wasted getting to and from the office, a subject that I take very seriously.

Although I have somewhat mixed emotions about going back to work, primarily because I fear the unknown and secretly lack some confidence, I look forward to meeting some new people and doing something different. Basically starting a new chapter. The old one was really, really long and didn't end so well, which unfortunately jaded me. I need to work past that and move on, which I'm working on. Good stuff!

Nice Rack

We as both cyclists and mass consumers with unlimited discretionary funds sometime forget the true scale of our addictions. I was reminded while packing up our four nicest bicycles, one road and one mountain bike each, for vacation last week and putting them on the trailer hitch mounted rack on the van.

A quick check of the simple math values of those four bicycles yielded a sum that was greater than the purchase price new of said van not so many years ago. This is a rather nice van than seats seven passengers comfortably, has power doors, locks and seat, A/C and cruise control and gets 26mpg when driven sensibly on the highway.

Our best road and MTBs precariously dangling out back.

 Lets just say that with this revelation, the drive north on the interstate in stop and go traffic was a bit unnerving.

One-50-One

Yesterday was day 151 in a row on the bike, not that I'm keeping track or anything. That really isn't that big a deal of course as it's not like I'm hammering each and every day. Not really sure where the mini-adventure in itself is going to end up or how far I will get. We'll just have to see I guess. I'm to the point where it doesn't really matter and I could stop at any point, really, I could :)

The day was a very good day on the bike, with stellar weather and excellent conditions. It was a much better day I must say, than day 150 the previous day. We opted for a local ride vs. a big notch ride as I've been pretty beat lately. A couple of big rides this week on top of some increased intensity the past few weeks has let me in a rut and pretty flat. Time to take it a little easier and recover is really what is needed so a big huge ride didn't seem the hot setup. That ride was a road ride that was to incorporate pieces of routes that we had done in the past along with some new sections that we had not only never ridden before but had never been on before. They were located in very rural Maine, the town of Byron, quite literally in the middle of nowhere in one of thew great many blocks of the state that have very few roads at all. In the past we'd ridden snowmobiles through the area but didn't know it terribly well, so this would be an adventure.

The ride out was uneventful, starting out cool, overcast and comfortable. Within an hour the sun broke and it started to really warm up. We got in some new climbing up to Black Mountain in Rumford, which does a neat bypass of much of the less scenic part of town and also has one good steep wall to get up and over. We then started north on the long steady climb up RT17 toward Rangeley. Unfortunately, that is when the head/cross wind started. As Roxbury Gap came into view, the slightly shorter route which we decided against in favor of this route, the neat new high power windmill farm came into view. The though occurred to me that intentionally riding bikes in placed sought out to erect wind farms probably isn't the best choice. It proved to be a good assertion as we fought the wind for the next 20 miles on a steady uphill grade, most of which was in the direct sun.

To make a long story shorter, thew road we were supposed to turn onto, Easter Hill Rd., never appeared. We rode almost to the height of the land overlooking the lakes region but turned around slightly before, at mile 50 of what now would have to be an out and back. On the way down we stopped at the one obvious side road that looked like it might be the right turn. It was clearly signed something other that Easter Hill Rd. and it was seasonal use only. A short bit of consideration as to the consequences of a dead end or getting lost when at present we were at mile 55 and still had 40 miles to go, and we decided to commit to the dreaded out and back. And with that we tucked our tails and slunk home in defeat, shame and misery.

In contrast, yesterday we chose to ride offroad and traveled over to the Kingdom Trails for some fun and low key riding.We invited my nephew Tyler to join us, who is a very active and athletic young man but hasn't ever really done much of any cycling or specifically mountain biking. Earlier this year I gave him a bike that I'd cobbled together from parts that I had in my bin coupled with some parts and an excellent vintage annodized purple and made in the USA GT Zaskar frame that my buddy Rich gave me last year. Not a modern bike but riddled with good quality parts and a solid ride for someone who has never owned a real bicycle. Between that and the other gear I had lying around I was able to fully outfit him for real.

Cathy and I arrived first and snagged passes and hit the lower part of the east side of Darling Hill. We typically don't spend a ton of time on those trails but hit a bunch of them. I've got to say that we have been missing out. Good flowy singletrack was in abundance. Cathy was riding incredibly well thanks I'm sure in part to the new bike karma.

Last Thursday we picked up the bike of all bikes for her, a Cannondale Scalpel 29er 1, from my buddy Chris at the Bikeway Source in Bedford. He really helped us out big time and pulled a ton of strings to get it for us. Apparently these rigs are nearly impossible to get and they are pretty much sold out for the year. This model was a long awaited and anticipated new design, announced last summer but late in delivery. Anyhow, I see a trip to Kane's in my near future for some well deserved payback. Thank you so much for your help and support. We really need to get to work on putting that team together. Maybe I can get off my lazy butt and try and get it squared away for the upcoming cyclocross season.

I spent the AM Thursday over at the shop putting the new rig together for a shakedown ride Cathy was doing in the PR that evening. After the bike was completely done with SPD pedals and setuf tubeless with Stan's sealant it weighed a scant 23.55 lbs for a size large. They don't get much lighter than that. The only change after the shakedown was to cut the massive 700mm wide bars down to 640mm, making the handling much more comfortable.

Anyhow, we had an excellent ride going with some intermittent cell phone/text message tag trying to coordinate Tyler's arrival. I didn't hear the arrival message so it took us a little while to get back out to meet him but after a pedal swap we hit the road. The road being Kirby Road, a mountainside road that has a brutal paved climbed followed by a steady gravel climb ultimately leading to the Kirby Connector trail. This will then traverse back to the mountain and bring you out on trails to the base lodge. I like it as a starter ride.

The only problem is that they logged part of it last year and made a mess. Otherwise good stuff. Ty was quickly suffering but held strong. He did great and quickly got into it. We made our way over to and down Burnham Down, where they've added massive amounts of board walk. The trails were great and we rode across the road and back to the van for a few modifications.

You see, Tyler brought his backpack, which was full of stuff he didn't need, like shoes and a water jug and tools that don't really work and pedals. We ditched that as we had tools, got him a water bottle to put on his bike, adjusted the cleats on his shoes so he could clip in easier and then snagged some lunch. Top off the drinks and we were back on the trail on the west side of Darling Hill. Super fun stuff. Cathy was flying and Tyler was doing great as well. The KTA folks have been super busy and the trails were great with some neat new additions like Eager Beaver. Very fun alternate to the sand pits. Troll Stroll was in awesome shape as well.

By that point at least one person was getting tired which meant he was getting sloppy. A couple spills told us it was time to head back. Cathy and I made one run for Sidewinder while Tyler waited at the top. I made my way down most of the way and stopped to snag a picture of Cathy. Unfortunately she was nowhere to be seen. I waited an eternity and started calling back the trail. At first, nothing. I grabbed the bike and started running up the slope through the woods. Finally I heard a call back and soon after saw her. She had crashed but was all right.


I guess Tyler wasn't the only one tired. We made our way out and back to the van, packed up and headed out. I stopped at my folks to pick up our old canoe which they had borrowed and my brother Chad showed up to get Tyler. My other brother Jeremy was there as well so we visited for a bit and then made out way for Bethel, back home to some hungry kittens. Top it with an excellent chat with some really, really nice folks that we met at the pizza shop in town and it really was a most excellent day, indeed.

Birthday Fun

As mentioned earlier, last Friday was Cathy's birthday. With all that she has had going on lately, we decided to just go low key and spend the day on our own. This started with a wonderful breakfast on a sunny and mild morning out on the deck with our new bistro set.

Next up on the schedule for the day was a nice easy mountain bike ride. We (I) decided to go and ride some stuff that we used to ride all the time back in the day (code for a wicked long time ago) but have not ridden in years. That would be the Middlesex Fells. The Fells was where I actually got hooked on mountain biking, shortly after I moved to MA back in the very early 90's. Later in the decade the Fells was where I first introduced Cathy to mountain biking and was in fact, the site of the very first social activity that we took part in separately, together; an group XC ski outing.

Lots of good memories of riding and maintaining the Fells through trail maintenance days. There was a point where I was super involved in the maintenance activity there for the local advocacy group. Alas, the controversy and user conflict coupled with moving further away sealed the fate on the relationship and I almost never return.

 

With that, I figured it would be good to head over for a change of scenery. And so we ventured from the house into the PR for a quick loop and then through various Lexington conservation lands to make the trip there. It is about 10 miles if you take a direct route which isn't too bad. On the way we took in the Whipple Hill conservation land and the rocky climb to the summit. Because the trees were full the views were muted. From there we pressed directly through Winchester and entered the Fells at the mid point of the western border. Our time in the Fells was not super long or involved. We poked around the west side and did a loop, taking in the tower at opposing ends and basically just enjoying the day, the nice weather and the time together.

From the Fells a little late lunch seemed a good idea and so we headed toward Somerville and the only place I know of that has secure valet parking for your bicycle, Redbones BBQ. It had been some time since we'd been in to Redbones; years in fact. We used to ride tandems with the Rob and Darcy, owners but hadn't caught up with them in quite some time. The trip over was fine save my taking a wrong turn and us having to backtrack. An order of fritters to start followed by a sliced brisket sandwich for me and fried catfish sandwich for Cathy along with a side of hand cut fries and a fresh PBR draft was perfect. One more PBR and we headed north on the bikeway for home. Did I mention that it is all (very slightly) uphill back home?

Amazing how a .25% grade and mild headwind can seem so very brutal with a belly full of beer and BBQ. Regardless, we made it the final dozen or so miles home, a little sleepy maybe and with acute cases of monkey butt going down. Damn you fashion sense but baggy shorts really are the devil.

The evening was finished off with the traditional birthday cake from Concord Teacakes in West Concord and black raspberry ice cream from Bedford Farms.

 

Great stuff and a very, very good day indeed. Thank you so much Cathy for allowing me to share your birthday with you.