Who? Not me! Not this year any way. it was supposed to be my Cross-year. I made up my mind that, of all the kinds of bicycle racing that there was,cyclocross was the only kind that I would ever be interested in actually doing. Of course, it was the only kind of race that I ever actually saw in person too. It may have had some impact on my descision.
As you might have guessed, a number of factors conspired againste to keeps from achieving the fitness and equiemt goals that even a whole-hearted effort to finish dead last would have entailed. I hung my head in shame as smer turned to fall and I knew that I had failed in my goal.
This year things are different. Not in a hypothetical or theoretical way, like a re-resolution of last years New Years promises, but in a very physical, durable goods sort of way.
I bought a cross bike! Ok, it's not a good cross bike. It's more than good enough for my "Race for Last Place" but not, as far as racing goes, much else. What it IS good for is riding arround in all conditions and on all terraines. It was pristine. Owned by a nice little old man who only rode it to work a couple miles from his house in good weather. Untill he got laid off a short time later. Me? First ride was through the mud. Second ride, also throughout the mud. On the third ride, I added in some dirt trails, frozen water crossing, single track and a couple of those wooden MTB bridges. Ok, I would have added those in but I crashed Out trying to climb up onto the first one. I went head first, actually, but "plastic amd foam before skin and bone", my helmet saved my squash.
And cloths! Oh man did I ever luck out on cold AND warm weather cycling cloths. I'll leave out the details since some of the more delicate readers might be perturbed, but I got a smokin' deal on a ton of stuff. I can ride and not freez OR chafe! I'm pretty pleased with that. Add to that the fact that it's been pretty warm and dry for winter and I've been able to actually ride! Not a lot, just too many other things going on but certainly more than normal. And this year I HAVE TO keep riding, inside or out
Why? Because I owe it to my teammates! Yes. Yes I did. I signed up to NE on a MTB race team. I don't figure I'll win much. I just want to show the flag for a worthy cause, meet some cool people and have a little fun. Knowing that people are counting on me, even just a litle bit, gets me walking down those basement stairs to the trainer when I'd rather be playing with the baby or snuggling with the wife. I still can't go very long or very far but, if I keep at it who knows? Maybe I can get in shape enough to only finish second to last!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Bike paths are good right?
I put the bike on the rack and too it with me while I was running some errands before picking up my daughter from school. The regular MTB with the fenders and stuff. I wanted to explore the abandoned rail bed in Seabrook NH. It started off easily enough. There is a large shopping center that lies along the route of the path and a "secrete" road that leads out of the parking lot, crossing the old rail bed. Found it. I chose to head out south-bound on the trail.
Now, one might suppose that, since I enjoy writing this thing and that this thing is on the Internet and the Internet is for pictures, porn pictures specifically, I might take some once in a while when I am out and about on my bike. Sadly,I do not. I am almost always too involved in the actual riding to stop and snap shots. With that being the case, I will try to describe the experience in words.
The rail-bed itself is overgrown, and had the fully-intact, and partially deteriorated carcass of the railroad upon it. Tracks, ties, the whole nine. However, there is a fairly wide... roadway that runs parallel to it. This road or path is as clear of obsrtruction as any semi-maintained rural dirt road can be. The first part of the trail is made up on undulating hills. I have encountered these formations before on one other abandoned rail road bed and a converted recreational trail. Oddly, other ex-rail beds do NOT have these "whoops" so, even though I theorize that these are the scars that remain when the ties are dug up, I am not sure. I am not sure that the ties along this branch were dug up since a full-intact railway sits a dozen or so feet to the west of the trail. There are a few side paths and trails that lead into residential neighbourhoods. The first obstacle was a train bridge that spans a small roadway. The tracks continue over the bridge and the ties extend out about four feet to the east of the tracks allowing a crossing but with nothing between the ties but thin air, making riding across a daunting proposition.
The path continued on, smoother than before. In short order it came out of the woods across the street from an abandoned municipal building. I was able to pick up the trail on the other side from the parking lot there. This part of the trail in no way lie next to the railroad, but did rejoin it after meandering over an old stone wall and through some twisty trails. I followed this down some more, well into Mass by now and came to a point where a dirt road crossed the path. I turned east there knowing that there was a paved road in that general direction that I could take to start my ride back to the car. It was getting late and I did not want my princess waiting!. The road quickly opened up into a sand pit area that looked pretty expansive. Despite the temptation to explore, I tried my best to pick a direct rout back to the tarmac but wound up with this epic fail:
Getting a 25 pound MTB un-stuck froma spot like this is much, much easier than getting a 300 pound dual-sport un-stuck from a similar predicament. The riding, which had been fairly dry and smooth despite ample evidence of ATV and dirt bike use, got worse from here. Slick and muddy, it was a challenge to navigate safely on a bike with street tires and fenders! When I did come out to civilization again it was not on the road that I had hoped to hit but on one of those small side roads that you can't be sure if it's a road or a drive way that allows multiple branches of the same family to access different houses (and by that I mean trailers) that are on the same property. Either way, the guy on the porch didn't go for a gun when he saw me. In fact, he didn't seem the least bit disturbed to see a stranger ride out of the woods and through his yard / down his street, as the case may be. I quickly took to the streets and got back to the car. It was a wicked fun ride and fueled my imagination with places to explore on a "proper" mountain bike.
Of course, a proper mountain bike would have suited the terrain better than what I had with me, but it did OK. The centerstand didn't fall off this time, and neither did any thing else for that matter. The whole area, path, road and pit, was much cleaner that I have ever seen before. I do not know if there is a community presence in on these trails that picks up trash and stuff or if they are just very under-used. In a way, it would be a shame to see this trail developed into a full-blown MUP. It serve's it purpose as it exists now, in that the riding is by no way so difficult as to dissuade any child or teen for using this as a bike high-way and it's a great place to do a little light mountain biking. Personally, I can't wait to get back in there and explore some more!
Now, one might suppose that, since I enjoy writing this thing and that this thing is on the Internet and the Internet is for pictures, porn pictures specifically, I might take some once in a while when I am out and about on my bike. Sadly,I do not. I am almost always too involved in the actual riding to stop and snap shots. With that being the case, I will try to describe the experience in words.
The rail-bed itself is overgrown, and had the fully-intact, and partially deteriorated carcass of the railroad upon it. Tracks, ties, the whole nine. However, there is a fairly wide... roadway that runs parallel to it. This road or path is as clear of obsrtruction as any semi-maintained rural dirt road can be. The first part of the trail is made up on undulating hills. I have encountered these formations before on one other abandoned rail road bed and a converted recreational trail. Oddly, other ex-rail beds do NOT have these "whoops" so, even though I theorize that these are the scars that remain when the ties are dug up, I am not sure. I am not sure that the ties along this branch were dug up since a full-intact railway sits a dozen or so feet to the west of the trail. There are a few side paths and trails that lead into residential neighbourhoods. The first obstacle was a train bridge that spans a small roadway. The tracks continue over the bridge and the ties extend out about four feet to the east of the tracks allowing a crossing but with nothing between the ties but thin air, making riding across a daunting proposition.
The path continued on, smoother than before. In short order it came out of the woods across the street from an abandoned municipal building. I was able to pick up the trail on the other side from the parking lot there. This part of the trail in no way lie next to the railroad, but did rejoin it after meandering over an old stone wall and through some twisty trails. I followed this down some more, well into Mass by now and came to a point where a dirt road crossed the path. I turned east there knowing that there was a paved road in that general direction that I could take to start my ride back to the car. It was getting late and I did not want my princess waiting!. The road quickly opened up into a sand pit area that looked pretty expansive. Despite the temptation to explore, I tried my best to pick a direct rout back to the tarmac but wound up with this epic fail:
Getting a 25 pound MTB un-stuck froma spot like this is much, much easier than getting a 300 pound dual-sport un-stuck from a similar predicament. The riding, which had been fairly dry and smooth despite ample evidence of ATV and dirt bike use, got worse from here. Slick and muddy, it was a challenge to navigate safely on a bike with street tires and fenders! When I did come out to civilization again it was not on the road that I had hoped to hit but on one of those small side roads that you can't be sure if it's a road or a drive way that allows multiple branches of the same family to access different houses (and by that I mean trailers) that are on the same property. Either way, the guy on the porch didn't go for a gun when he saw me. In fact, he didn't seem the least bit disturbed to see a stranger ride out of the woods and through his yard / down his street, as the case may be. I quickly took to the streets and got back to the car. It was a wicked fun ride and fueled my imagination with places to explore on a "proper" mountain bike.
Of course, a proper mountain bike would have suited the terrain better than what I had with me, but it did OK. The centerstand didn't fall off this time, and neither did any thing else for that matter. The whole area, path, road and pit, was much cleaner that I have ever seen before. I do not know if there is a community presence in on these trails that picks up trash and stuff or if they are just very under-used. In a way, it would be a shame to see this trail developed into a full-blown MUP. It serve's it purpose as it exists now, in that the riding is by no way so difficult as to dissuade any child or teen for using this as a bike high-way and it's a great place to do a little light mountain biking. Personally, I can't wait to get back in there and explore some more!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Cycle Center of the Universe: Cape Cod
First off: I have GOT to start taking more pictures! I did a whole bunch of cycling and saw a whole bunch of cyclists and took exactly ZERO pictures! Not good.
What was good though was to see so many people cycling around for pleasure and transportation NOT in the city.The region's MUPS are very long and connect residential, recreational and down town areas to each other. They also provide a great way to avoid trying to have to find a place to park in the crowded, narrow down-town village streets. The only thing that is "bad" about these bike trails is that, like all of their kind, they run along abandoned railroad beds. This offers quite a mixed bag of sight-seeing opportunities that range from breath-taking to kind of grungy. Unlike many other bike paths that I have been on, they offer many, many dining, drinking and snacking opportunities. It is entirely possible to consume far more calories than are burned riding on these trails!
Once in town the streets are often designated as Bike Routs and, even when they are not so designated, are full of cyclist of all ages. The motorists are quite tolerant of this activity and wait behind the poky cyclists with no horn tooting or near-missing. Every place of interest has a bike rack or two outside it and the attractions are full of people in cycling clothing or helmets. Less one take it that I found only recreational and transportational cyclists on the cape, I have to tell you that the back roads and main streets are littered with Roadies! They tend to ride solo or in pairs, not like around here, so no one really minds them sharing the winding country roads at all. It's like bike-utopia.
What was good though was to see so many people cycling around for pleasure and transportation NOT in the city.The region's MUPS are very long and connect residential, recreational and down town areas to each other. They also provide a great way to avoid trying to have to find a place to park in the crowded, narrow down-town village streets. The only thing that is "bad" about these bike trails is that, like all of their kind, they run along abandoned railroad beds. This offers quite a mixed bag of sight-seeing opportunities that range from breath-taking to kind of grungy. Unlike many other bike paths that I have been on, they offer many, many dining, drinking and snacking opportunities. It is entirely possible to consume far more calories than are burned riding on these trails!
Once in town the streets are often designated as Bike Routs and, even when they are not so designated, are full of cyclist of all ages. The motorists are quite tolerant of this activity and wait behind the poky cyclists with no horn tooting or near-missing. Every place of interest has a bike rack or two outside it and the attractions are full of people in cycling clothing or helmets. Less one take it that I found only recreational and transportational cyclists on the cape, I have to tell you that the back roads and main streets are littered with Roadies! They tend to ride solo or in pairs, not like around here, so no one really minds them sharing the winding country roads at all. It's like bike-utopia.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Tried a New Trail today.
This morning, after work, I got the chance to try to tackle the Nashua River Rail Trail. This was the un-friendlest rail trail that i have ever been on, including the Minuet Man! I started out at it’s far northern end, in Nashua itself. There is a large parking area. A path leads a short distance to the east where there is a small pond. Dirt paths go off from there. There are no water, vending or sanitary facilities here and only a very few trash cans. The area is kept neat and clean though and is in good repair. The path itself is both less than I expected and more.
I tend to be disappointed in the “big” bike paths. I guess that maybe they have been around long enough for the vegetation to grow back in close or perhaps they just didn’t design them to we open and airy “back then”. In any event, I found the path to be narrow and slightly over-grown. For the most part the trail is well maintinaed and clean. There are a few bumpy bits and one or two areas where significant amounts of dirt has come onto the trail. It is not arrow-straight as some of the other trails are. Sadly, there isn’t a lot of interesting scenery along the path but neither is there a lot of Urban Blight os industrialization visible from the path. There are benches and places to reast. It crosses throught down-town Pepperhil and there is a convenience store and an ice cream shop there, among other things. One enterprising abutter has installed a couple of lawn chairs and a coke machine on his property facing the trail!
The other trail users were a varied lot. By far the number one largest group that I saw on this week day morning was older people on hybrid bikes! There were a few roadies, me being one of them today. I saw a guy “traing” as hard as he could on his dual-suspension MTB. He was spinning quite fast and had a very harsh look of concentration on his face. He was concentrating so hard, in fact, that he did not even respond to my cheery hello as I passed him on the path going down and going back up it. In fact, the vast majority of the people that I passed on this path refused to aknowledge my greeting or even manke eye contact! Not the friendly, family, comunity feel that I tend to expect on bike paths! Two people stod out as “friendly”. The middle aged guy on the “fixie” and, more importantly, the young blond girl riding with her friend. Other than that. a couple of grunted “hello”s was the best that I could get out of any of my fellow Trail Travelers.
All in all it was an enjoyable morning though. I did not do the whole trail as I wanted to save some “steam” for riding with my family laer on but I think next time I’ll go all the way down and back. I will continue to ride cheery, no mater what.
I tend to be disappointed in the “big” bike paths. I guess that maybe they have been around long enough for the vegetation to grow back in close or perhaps they just didn’t design them to we open and airy “back then”. In any event, I found the path to be narrow and slightly over-grown. For the most part the trail is well maintinaed and clean. There are a few bumpy bits and one or two areas where significant amounts of dirt has come onto the trail. It is not arrow-straight as some of the other trails are. Sadly, there isn’t a lot of interesting scenery along the path but neither is there a lot of Urban Blight os industrialization visible from the path. There are benches and places to reast. It crosses throught down-town Pepperhil and there is a convenience store and an ice cream shop there, among other things. One enterprising abutter has installed a couple of lawn chairs and a coke machine on his property facing the trail!
The other trail users were a varied lot. By far the number one largest group that I saw on this week day morning was older people on hybrid bikes! There were a few roadies, me being one of them today. I saw a guy “traing” as hard as he could on his dual-suspension MTB. He was spinning quite fast and had a very harsh look of concentration on his face. He was concentrating so hard, in fact, that he did not even respond to my cheery hello as I passed him on the path going down and going back up it. In fact, the vast majority of the people that I passed on this path refused to aknowledge my greeting or even manke eye contact! Not the friendly, family, comunity feel that I tend to expect on bike paths! Two people stod out as “friendly”. The middle aged guy on the “fixie” and, more importantly, the young blond girl riding with her friend. Other than that. a couple of grunted “hello”s was the best that I could get out of any of my fellow Trail Travelers.
All in all it was an enjoyable morning though. I did not do the whole trail as I wanted to save some “steam” for riding with my family laer on but I think next time I’ll go all the way down and back. I will continue to ride cheery, no mater what.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Out and about on Bikes
Then I went to work for a couple of days and stuff. I got out today with my youngest on the back of the 820. Here he is relaxing in front or a relic of the old railroad we were biking on. He get's pretty comfy back there and we had his favorite Buzz Lightyear water bottle so he was pretty well chill. He wanted to see a bunny.
We saw THIS bunny! Biggest, friendlyest, most domesticated bunny that we have seen cycling together. Wait. Domesticated? Yep. This thing was as tame as
can be. We actually cam across it right after another guy. We tried to catch it but it was not quite that tame! We called the ACO. I hop thay were able to round it up and return it to safety.Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Well it was advice I guess
I went for a nice ride around town. I felt like I rode my ass off but it was only six and a half miles. No route. No cadence. No agenda. Just a ride-about. It was nice to get out and about and I got an errand done so I feel very U.C. right now.
I also checked out the "bike path" that our city is dumping a bunch of money into. Once again, this fracked up city is dumping good money after bad as far as I can tell. See, what they have done is make a path that starts at the Hobo camp under the bridge by the river and goes straight to...you guessed it... the liquor store! Pure genius! Of course, being in the scketchyest part of town and running through trash strewn riverside wild-land that has ALL been a traditional hiding spot for the cities drug addicts and homeless population, not a single family is ever likely to go here. The path actually doesn't even run along the river but 20 yards away from it on the other side of the trees and brush where the homeless dudes roam, ipso-facto: NO VIEW! Perfect. Thank goodness The Mayor green-lighted this gem!
I also checked out the "bike path" that our city is dumping a bunch of money into. Once again, this fracked up city is dumping good money after bad as far as I can tell. See, what they have done is make a path that starts at the Hobo camp under the bridge by the river and goes straight to...you guessed it... the liquor store! Pure genius! Of course, being in the scketchyest part of town and running through trash strewn riverside wild-land that has ALL been a traditional hiding spot for the cities drug addicts and homeless population, not a single family is ever likely to go here. The path actually doesn't even run along the river but 20 yards away from it on the other side of the trees and brush where the homeless dudes roam, ipso-facto: NO VIEW! Perfect. Thank goodness The Mayor green-lighted this gem!
Commuter Bike!
Stopped on an errand on the way home today and found this old timer tied to a cable. Bad lighting I'm afraid, but I hope that you get the idea.
Monday, July 25, 2011
They Laughed at my Little Girl!
We were out in the local State Forest last week end trying to link together some trails into an epic loop. That turned out to be a sketchy proposition at best. What did I say the other day? Something like "piles of horse crap are NOT trail maintenance". Well, they can't repair bridges either. Whatever I guess. It must have been a pretty good ride since I broke my chain. In TWO places! Well, after doing the walk of shame to the car, I loaded it up and brought her Home. Not my home but HER "home": the shop where I bought it.
Oh, sure, they fixed her right up, but they laughed at her! It seams that Cinderella was not supposed to have a ball gown after all. It seems that the 16 year old shop rat, as well as the owner, felt it odd that my 15 year old Sorrento was equipped with a Shimano XT rear derailure. "It's what I had laying around" was apparently not the right answer. "must be nice. I wish that I had XT just laying around". Considering that I was in a pretty swanky bike shop in a pretty swanky tow, I wasn't expecting to be viewed as a snob based solely on my collection of spare bike parts! Now I am thinking about getting the whole XT Gruppo for the DB. What a stir that would cause!
Oh, sure, they fixed her right up, but they laughed at her! It seams that Cinderella was not supposed to have a ball gown after all. It seems that the 16 year old shop rat, as well as the owner, felt it odd that my 15 year old Sorrento was equipped with a Shimano XT rear derailure. "It's what I had laying around" was apparently not the right answer. "must be nice. I wish that I had XT just laying around". Considering that I was in a pretty swanky bike shop in a pretty swanky tow, I wasn't expecting to be viewed as a snob based solely on my collection of spare bike parts! Now I am thinking about getting the whole XT Gruppo for the DB. What a stir that would cause!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Pre-ride
In the "old days" I rode dual sport bikes in the Georgetown-Rowley State Forest. Then they banned them. I have been back to the forest infrequently since then. Doing map recon though, it seems that there are trails that lead all the way through the GRSF and into Willowdale State Forest and into the Ipswitch Wildlife Sanctuary. I have wanted to try this out as a hike, but that never happened. So, I got the bright idea that I would try it as a ride. I went out to pre-ride some of it today and I was appalled. The forest has received almost no trail maintenance at all, unless you count countless pile of horse crap as maintenance! The trails that were there, for the most part, are gone. The main road is overgrown and no longer a road. It's a trail, The trails that were there before are mostly gone and grown over or swamped out. It's a shame really. With all that you hear about how ATVs and dirt bike destroy the land, it turns out that the only things keeping the land open for the other users were the ATVs and dirt bikes!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Bedford Billerica Trail
We hit this up on the way home from The Wiggles today. Nice ride, 6 miles round trip and we strayed very little. Couple of nice MTB trails off tot he side. My wife was quite proud of her "mountain biking" until we hit a patch of sand! She made it through OK with a little coaching but the "i'm going to fall any second" sounds that she was making were priceless! She thinks that riding the (for the most part) crushed gravel trail was harder than riding on a paved bike path. I think that she is right!
Monday, July 18, 2011
820 Hegemony to end?
I was cruising the local CL looking for...bike stuff I guess, when I came across an ad for a FREE Diamondback MTB complete WITH a baby seat! Heck, the Baby seat alone was worth the price so I high-tailed it over there to check things out. What I found was a blue, Diamond Back Ascent EX from about 1993. It needs a seat and a seat post and a new front tube but other than that, it is complete and in remarkably good shape for a bike that old. Most importantly: it fits me real nice like. The seat is to be mounted on my wife's bike. But the Ascent is to be MINE! I'm not sure what I am going to DO with this bike as I do not have time enough to ride the bikes that I already have but I fear that the 820, and it's crummy suspension fork might be being muscled out by the older and rigidly-forked Diamondback. If I can not figure out two separate roles for these two bikes the 820 might go up on the block to finance biking accessories. Like Dirt Drops and fenders and a nice rack and stuff..
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The Politics of passing
Not in a group ride or a race or any thing like that. Just out riding. Which is what I was doing this morning. Yesterday was a banner day for me as far as cycling goes this season. Double sessions yesterday. First low-stress high rep (me on the 1500 over 12 mile) the second High-stress, low rep (me and the BB and all the racks and stuff on the 820 over 3 miles). So, this morning, I was a little wobbly as I set out once again on the road bike. Even though my speed was down, so was my time. I was riding a little more consistently than yesterday. As I started out I saw two guys riding the opposite way down a main street. Regular looking guys on road bikes that I didn't get a close look at. It was good to see. "Regular" guys ride more during Tour Season I think. I know I have been riding more although that has much less to do with guys on TV that time available for me to ride. Riding without the baby on the back is a rare treat indeed these days, so I was glad to take advantage of it yesterday and today, even if my legs disagreed.
As I said, I was riding more consistently than yesterday today when up ahead of my I saw it: another cyclist! I bounced for joy in my spandex shorts! Then the realities set in. I was going faster than this fellow. By a lot. That meant that I was either going to have to slow way down and fall in behind him in a creepy I-don't-know-you-at-all sort of "pace line" or go around him. Then I realized that he was a lot huskier of a fellow than I am, and I'm a fat boy. THEN I realized that he was riding a MTB. Great. Now what? It's like getting in a fight with a five year old. If you win, big deal. You beat up a five year old. This was all followed by a final realization. We were going up a hill.
Now, I am not in any kind of "shape" to speak of, unless you are counting "round" as a shape. But this guy? C'mon. He was at least one and a half of me. Didn't matter one whit. Up the hill he went. And up the next one. Now that all that pesky "flat ground" was behind us he dropped me like a bad habit. And that brings up the other losing consequence of fighting with a fiver year old: you might lose!
As I said, I was riding more consistently than yesterday today when up ahead of my I saw it: another cyclist! I bounced for joy in my spandex shorts! Then the realities set in. I was going faster than this fellow. By a lot. That meant that I was either going to have to slow way down and fall in behind him in a creepy I-don't-know-you-at-all sort of "pace line" or go around him. Then I realized that he was a lot huskier of a fellow than I am, and I'm a fat boy. THEN I realized that he was riding a MTB. Great. Now what? It's like getting in a fight with a five year old. If you win, big deal. You beat up a five year old. This was all followed by a final realization. We were going up a hill.
Now, I am not in any kind of "shape" to speak of, unless you are counting "round" as a shape. But this guy? C'mon. He was at least one and a half of me. Didn't matter one whit. Up the hill he went. And up the next one. Now that all that pesky "flat ground" was behind us he dropped me like a bad habit. And that brings up the other losing consequence of fighting with a fiver year old: you might lose!
Friday, July 15, 2011
They are NOT the same miles.
Miles on the 820 are slower, harder and longer than they are on the 1500. I love my 820 but I LOVE my 1500. I got to ride both today! What could be better? 12+3. Saw more bunnies in Salisbury. We love that trail!.
Monday, July 11, 2011
I want to do a Tweed Ride
Yes I do.
But I own neither Tweed or 3-speed bicycle.
And I don't know where to find one (ride that is).
I am also shy.
These things make me various shades of sad.
But I own neither Tweed or 3-speed bicycle.
And I don't know where to find one (ride that is).
I am also shy.
These things make me various shades of sad.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
OMG This kid weighs a Friggen TON!
OK, more like 25 pounds + bike seat but... wow! Dragging his little but up and down hills for 6 and a half miles is a LOT harder than whizzing him up and down the bike path for 6 miles! We did it though AND we got to watch cows make whoopie.
Friday, July 8, 2011
My First Interview!
We have several Motorcycle Commuters here at work and even a guy who rides a 50cc scooter, but yesterday I came across our first bicycle commuter! This is his bike:
BITS: Hi Dave, that's a really nice bike! Did you ride to work today?
Dave: Yes! That is why I was so sweaty.
BITS: Do you Commute by bicycle often?
Dave: No, I was running late and couldn't find my keys. I don't live very far away, and it's mostly down hill from my house so it's not even really exercise.
BITS: Yes, but won't you get at least some exercise going home? You will have to go up the hill you coasted down to get here.
Dave: Oh, I have that covered. I had some one drop off my car. It's in the parking lot.Besides, these tires aren't for the street. They have big cleats on them for hitting the trails in Maine.
BITS: Oh. I see.
TA-DA!
\Well, there you have it. I have officially launched my Journalism career by interviewing the suckiest bicycle commuter in the whole universe. What do you think?
And the interview:
BITS: Hi Dave, that's a really nice bike! Did you ride to work today?
Dave: Yes! That is why I was so sweaty.
BITS: Do you Commute by bicycle often?
Dave: No, I was running late and couldn't find my keys. I don't live very far away, and it's mostly down hill from my house so it's not even really exercise.
BITS: Yes, but won't you get at least some exercise going home? You will have to go up the hill you coasted down to get here.
Dave: Oh, I have that covered. I had some one drop off my car. It's in the parking lot.Besides, these tires aren't for the street. They have big cleats on them for hitting the trails in Maine.
BITS: Oh. I see.
TA-DA!
\Well, there you have it. I have officially launched my Journalism career by interviewing the suckiest bicycle commuter in the whole universe. What do you think?
Thursday, July 7, 2011
What a Nice Bike Trail!
I have taken to taking my family on rides on the Eastern Marsh Trail, and other trails in Salisbury MA lately. Honestly, the other trails are just filler. The real action is on the EMT, at least for my wife and little guy. Every time we go out there we see dozens of birds and other critters. Yesterday we saw otters, gophers, and bunnies who just sat there at the side of the trail and let the boy look at them and squeal in delight before hopping calmly away. We saw a hawk swoop down and make this kill. It was pretty cool. As he sat there waiting for the little critter to stop struggling, two blue jays who must have had a nest close by, sat in a tree over him, loosing their minds and dive-bombing him. Neither my wife nor I had ever seen any thing like this live and in person before. It was quite a sight.
Of course, there are the people that you see too. As we began out ride we cam across three girls, about 14 years old or so. On was sitting on the path and the other two were standing over her. It looked like she took
a tumble or something. We slowed to make sure that she was all right and she said that she was fine. It was then that we noticed that they had a box of sidewalk chalk. When we got back to the area where they were sitting we noticed that they had just peddled off. What they left behind was this beautiful mural. I was very excited that I was there to get pictures of it before the forces of rubber and rain washed it all away. 
And just because it's a bike blog...
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Thinking about taking this in a new direction.
This started out as me talking about me for me but that's not really advancing the cause of the Tween Spaces. There are things going on and people riding around that are interesting. I want to talk to them, get their stories. I want to let people know about what's going on in these parts. There is a guy who rides a department store cruiser every day all year. It looks like he hasn't lost a pound. I want to talk to him. There is a high-end bike products company in town. I want to talk to them. There is amazingly talented and interesting mechanic in town, I want to talk to him (officially). There was a 50-something year old guy on the bike path with his commando-commuter MTB on the bike path and that made no sense to me. I want to know why. More importantly, I want others to know about these things, these places and these people. Now, how do I do this? I'm shy. I'm untrained. Any thoughts? Any advice?
Monday, July 4, 2011
Velo Frustrato Revisito!
Wow. And I thought that I was frustrated then! Lets sum up my Biking so far this year.
First, I put the DB up on the stand to swap out the toasted back-d and put on some spikey tires. Done and done and stopped. I never got tot he phase where I installed the new chain. It just sat there until two days ago when I need the stand for something else. So I took it off an propped it up in the corner of the basement, spikey tires, no chain and all. And that is where I stand on that, no pun intended.
Heck, I have done so amazingly little riding this year that I haven't even bothered with this blog! I have lumped in my riding posts in my general Outdoorsy blog that you can see here. It's a funny thing though, after just one really nice ride with the kids, I kind of "have the bug" again. I really like riding. My list of resolutions has dwindled to just one: ride more.
First, I put the DB up on the stand to swap out the toasted back-d and put on some spikey tires. Done and done and stopped. I never got tot he phase where I installed the new chain. It just sat there until two days ago when I need the stand for something else. So I took it off an propped it up in the corner of the basement, spikey tires, no chain and all. And that is where I stand on that, no pun intended.
Heck, I have done so amazingly little riding this year that I haven't even bothered with this blog! I have lumped in my riding posts in my general Outdoorsy blog that you can see here. It's a funny thing though, after just one really nice ride with the kids, I kind of "have the bug" again. I really like riding. My list of resolutions has dwindled to just one: ride more.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Velo Frustrato!
Oh look! I just made up a Harry Potter spell! Magical. What is NOT magical is the frustration that I feel when it comes to my cycling endeavors. No, 2011 is not off to a roaring start.
First, there is the whole winter weather and holiday season thing. Last year I had no trouble suiting up and heading out to battle the elements on the old Diamondback. This year? Not so much. I feel slightly silly and pretentious. Like I think that I am more hardy than my fellow New Englanders. I know that's not true because every time I go into The City it seems as if every one in Boston who OWNS a bike is still riding it. It could also have something to do with the fact that that trusty old Diamondback has never worked right after riding it in the crud last winter. Which brings me to point number tow.
I am a sucky wrench. I just don't seem to have the skills or the patients to develop them. Or the tools. Tools are an important part of the equation. I have an old English Three Speed and while every one on the Internet will tell you that they are "the answer", this bike is an answer to a question that I never asked. I have been tinkering with this thing for what: two years now? It STILL isn't right. Not only does it not function correctly, it will not work well for me, in my environment. Sitting bolt upright on a three speed bike isn't cutting it for me. There are simply too many hills that are too big for me to conquer on this bike (or any other for that matter) in my fitness shape, right now. So why do I bother? I do not honestly know. Every one makes such a big deal out of these things that I feel a need to follow along with the crowd and, if not actually ride one, to at least have one. I don't know what to DO with it though. Do I tear it apart and keep tinkering with it in the vain hope that I will "figure it out" and get it working right? OR, do I ship it off to be fixed up by a pro. It's more money and less knowledge. It would also be quicker and safer and I could use that bike as a winter beater if I DID want to venture out to run an errand or something. "I plan on doing a tweed ride next year". And a century. Not on the three speed of course!
And, sadly, the century IS more likely than the Tweed ride. Although I am not in any kind of shape at all for such a ride, my riding preference clearly leans toward the "fitness" end of the spectrum. I just can't seem to get motivated to cruise around town and see the sights or run to the store. Tell me I have to meet a new mile or time goal and I'm all over it. By the end of the summer not only do I hope to be able to do regular 40-50 mile weekend rides but I want to be able to do the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. Less if I can train hard.
So, what are my resolutions?
First, there is the whole winter weather and holiday season thing. Last year I had no trouble suiting up and heading out to battle the elements on the old Diamondback. This year? Not so much. I feel slightly silly and pretentious. Like I think that I am more hardy than my fellow New Englanders. I know that's not true because every time I go into The City it seems as if every one in Boston who OWNS a bike is still riding it. It could also have something to do with the fact that that trusty old Diamondback has never worked right after riding it in the crud last winter. Which brings me to point number tow.
I am a sucky wrench. I just don't seem to have the skills or the patients to develop them. Or the tools. Tools are an important part of the equation. I have an old English Three Speed and while every one on the Internet will tell you that they are "the answer", this bike is an answer to a question that I never asked. I have been tinkering with this thing for what: two years now? It STILL isn't right. Not only does it not function correctly, it will not work well for me, in my environment. Sitting bolt upright on a three speed bike isn't cutting it for me. There are simply too many hills that are too big for me to conquer on this bike (or any other for that matter) in my fitness shape, right now. So why do I bother? I do not honestly know. Every one makes such a big deal out of these things that I feel a need to follow along with the crowd and, if not actually ride one, to at least have one. I don't know what to DO with it though. Do I tear it apart and keep tinkering with it in the vain hope that I will "figure it out" and get it working right? OR, do I ship it off to be fixed up by a pro. It's more money and less knowledge. It would also be quicker and safer and I could use that bike as a winter beater if I DID want to venture out to run an errand or something. "I plan on doing a tweed ride next year". And a century. Not on the three speed of course!
And, sadly, the century IS more likely than the Tweed ride. Although I am not in any kind of shape at all for such a ride, my riding preference clearly leans toward the "fitness" end of the spectrum. I just can't seem to get motivated to cruise around town and see the sights or run to the store. Tell me I have to meet a new mile or time goal and I'm all over it. By the end of the summer not only do I hope to be able to do regular 40-50 mile weekend rides but I want to be able to do the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. Less if I can train hard.
So, what are my resolutions?
- Train. Burn calories and fat. Ride The Basement.
- MTB. I like it. Its fun. There are way to many variables involved in doing it. It's too hard for me to measure "progress" on a daily basis but over time? Perhaps a race?
- Road bike. Make the time and get out there. I bought myself a nice used Trek 1500 and it works like new. No tinkering, no excuses. Road riding IS something I can quantify quite easily. I want to do this at least three times a week once spring comes again.
- Commute? Twenty miles each way. I might be awake and active for the whole 24 hours previous. This might be stretching the goals a little bit but it's out there.
- Cross! This is "The Goal". The reason d'etre for all this other stuff is that I WANT TO CROSS next fall! I need to cross!
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