Hill Junkie

In the groove

2012-01-22T17:58:00.001-05:00

The snow dump earlier this week blessed the mountains with more snow. Unfortunately, the snow dump on Saturday hammered the Cape. Looks like no dirt riding for a while. The good news is I'm well equipped to handle almost any kind of winter conditions now. Studs for icy roads or trail riding, fat bike for powdery or loose snowmobile trail riding, and of course, cross country skis to complement

Snow Biking!

2012-01-20T19:18:00.000-05:00

Starting to look a lot more like winter around here. Conditions finally justified taking the fat bike out for an honest assessment. I went up to Massabesic Lake Friday morning where 2-3" of fresh powder fell on 2-3" of old snow. Had no idea if any of the trails would be rideable. It would have been lower risk to head south where <2" light powder fell on bare, frozen ground. Regular tires would

Comfort Zone

2012-01-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

I've taken it pretty easy for the last few months, taking a total lackadaisical approach to training, and riding in general. It was fun. No stress, only stress relief. Plenty of stress at work right now. I didn't feel the need to compound work stress with maintaining structure in training. But it's time to get more serious. I've picked things up a notch over the last week. A week ago, I did the

Finally!

2012-01-14T19:54:00.001-05:00

We finally got some respectable snow in the mountains. Most years I can begin skate skiing on Thanksgiving weekend. This year we are running about six weeks late. Snow almost up to the picnic table bench seats Brett and I met up with Isaac St Martin and Dave Penney, who came up with spouses and child. There was a surprising amount of snow up in the valley. It was surprisingly cold too. It

Tuesday Night Snow-Worlds

2012-01-10T22:16:00.000-05:00

Continuing with my fitness recovery plan, I made it down to Weston Tuesday night for the training sprint race. The 1km course of machine made snow was in superb condition. What would we do without Weston this winter? I didn't bother waxing my rock skis since the triathlon this weekend. They were surprisingly fast anyway in the almost slushy granular that got only faster as the temperature dropped

2011

2012-01-09T22:49:00.002-05:00

I never really closed out 2011. Hectic work schedule has been getting in the way of many things. Here are a few introspective thoughts on 2011 and going forward into 2012. I generally strive for about 600 hours of aerobic activity per year. I consider anything that raises my heart rate to 2-3x resting rate an aerobic activity, even things like hiking or shoveling the driveway. 600hrs per year is

Craftsbury Winter Triathlon

2012-01-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

I was bummed when Gunstock cancelled their winter triathlon coming up in a couple weeks. The whole New England Winter Triathlon series seems to have died. There are no events scheduled at Weston or Wachusett either. I figured that I dabble in running and skiing, so why not try some of these events to get my fix on? Then while perusing the web for events to hit this winter, I saw that Craftsbury

Maintenance Ride

2012-01-02T20:53:00.002-05:00

The holidays are no exception to the current trend (expectations) that we work on our paid, off days. I did take liberties at lunchtime today to get a respectable ride in. I also took a razor sharp pruning saw with me to clean up some remaining October storm damage. Gave me the willies riding with this strapped to my Camelbak You see, some of the available terrain isn't exactly sanctioned

A BMD conspiracy?

2011-12-31T21:40:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I received updated bone density results. It's been a year since I was first diagnosed with low bone density. At the end of 2010, my doctor gave me a choice of going on bisphosphonates (like Boniva) or increasing my weight bearing activity. I had heard scary things about this class of drugs, and I'm always leery of putting any kind of pill down my throat, so I chose the natural

New Toy for Christmas

2011-12-27T13:49:00.001-05:00

Wifey was good to me this Christmas. She got me a Garmin Edge 500. I did a little research recently on runner's GPS units. Requirements were simple: not a lot of bells and whistles I didn't need, long battery run-time and barometric altimeter. Out of Garmin's line, only one runner model partially met these requirements. It was the Forerunner 910, and it costs $400. The 910 has way more features

Robinettes Orchard & Luton Park

2011-12-26T23:22:00.000-05:00

Had myself a fabulous double-header on singletrack Monday. The temp reached 50F, the sun was out, and a nice breeze dried things up nicely. I first hit Robinette's Orchard. Robinette's has opened their land to mountain bikers for at least 15 years now, probably much longer. Races were held here back in the heyday of mountain biking. I last rode Robinette's 14 years ago. The orchard sits up

Fort Custer

2011-12-24T15:32:00.000-05:00

Endurance junkies that pursue XC skiing and cycling have insurance against whatever winter throws at them. Major snow, hang the bikes up and ski. Snow drought, keep the bikes going. This winter hasn't offered much for the Nordic skiers. Lots of skier/bikers are not that bummed with such great cycling weather we've had the last six weeks. I think this is the first time in 14 years I haven't

What is it about eccentric muscle contraction?

2011-12-19T22:51:00.002-05:00

I totally botched last weekend. Had high hopes of riding trails in North Conway, but radar images Saturday morning spooked me into believing they had gotten snow overnight. I abandoned my plans in favor of a local trail ride, only to learn later the ground stayed bare up north. I still had to get my mountain fix in before heading back to the daily grind on Monday. It was cold Sunday morning, and

GTF-Haystack Supertour

2011-12-17T20:13:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, I had hoped to ride in the mountains at North Conway. The snow was gone, which is pretty rare this time of year. I got up early only to find radar images suggesting bands of snow were moving through the mountains. That really sucked. After many tough weeks in a row at work, I was looking forward to losing myself in the mountains. There's no XC skiing in the mountains, and I didn't

Ridge riding

2011-12-11T22:02:00.001-05:00

Leg searing climbs? Check. Tunnels of mountain laurel? Check.Gnarly ridge riding with views? Check. No, I didn't head down to North Carolina to ride in the Pisgah National Forest this weekend. We have that kind of riding right here in New England. I rode a section of trail I haven't been on for at least 10 years, back when it was featured as a hidden gem in Bike magazine. Today, bicycles are

Feeling my age

2011-12-04T22:03:00.001-05:00

The weather this weekend afforded copious riding opportunities. Just when I thought the mountains were taken off-line, a warm week dissolved all of the snow, even the high peaks. The XC ski season is not looking promising at this point. But when life serves you sunny, snowless days, you put tires to dirt. Dave, Isaac and I headed up to Campton for a 100km ride on mostly dirt roads with

OD on Trail Riding

2011-11-27T20:01:00.001-05:00

When was the last time we had a Thanksgiving weekend like this one? Four straight days of mild temps and sun. I hit trails all four days, including Willowdale, FOMBA, Seavey Hill and the Blackstone River Valley. Early Thanksgiving Day morning, I hit Willowdale State Forest for a little pre-burn fun. The doubletrack was pretty wet, but most of the singletrack drained out nicely from heavy rain

Last of the season?

2011-11-20T22:26:00.001-05:00

Another great mountains ride this weekend. That makes what, three or four weekends in a row now? Life is good. Greg, Dave, Glen and I met up in Campton early Saturday for a four-gap ride in the Whites. It was frigid, in the 20's to start. Planned route was to hit Gonzo Pass (Rt 118), Long Pond road, Kinsman Notch and Thornton Gap (Tripoli Rd). That is two dirt climbs and two paved climbs. Greg

Tri-state dirt road randonnee

2011-11-12T21:38:00.001-05:00

There's an area of New England I've wanted to explore for several years now. I finally had a chance to ride the northwest corner of Connecticut for some remote, hilly touring. I met up with Alex Combes and Jason Grobbel in West Cornwall on Friday. We were on cyclocross bikes, or nearly so. Jason rigged up is 29er with CX tires and a 1x10 drivetrain. The planned route contained two significant

Gap - Gap - Gap - paG

2011-11-05T22:13:00.000-04:00

Gorgeous day for riding today. Dave and I headed over to Vermont to hit some gaps. The White Mountains still have some snow, making a CX ride on forest service roads risky. Ditto for southwest New Hampshire. The Green Mountains have zero snow cover. Clear skies and dry roads sounded like a good deal to me. I need to minimize risk for another four weeks while the holes left behind from extracted

Foot-plus in October?

2011-10-30T14:47:00.000-04:00

Glad I snuck a ride in Saturday afternoon before the snow came. Not really supposed to be engaging in that kind of activity yet, but the way I see it, there is less force on my ankle and less flexion than walking, and I am allowed to walk around. I went over to the Nashua River Rail Trail, which was deserted. Nice quiet 25 mile ride at tempo pace. Saturday night sucked for us. We live on a hill

Lights Revisited

2011-10-27T22:37:00.000-04:00

My primary night riding light is an old NiteRider HID I bought about 12 years ago. The battery has long since died. A replacement NiMH battery costs almost as much as some new LED based light systems. Plus that battery weighed a ton. Enter 2011. LED technology has finally crossed the 100 lumens per Watt threshold. My HID was around 50 lumens per Watt and required heavy ballasting circuitry.

Done Deal

2011-10-25T20:40:00.000-04:00

My hardware extraction went well this afternoon. I think I was heading back home within an hour of coming out of surgery. I was given general anesthesia, but very light dose. They gave me a nerve block behind the knee to kill any sensation from knee down. General anesthesia is risky, and deep general anesthesia takes a while to come out of. The after effects of the block suck though. Now seven

Long Live Long Rides

2011-10-24T22:52:00.000-04:00

We had ourselves a nice little posse for riding the New Hampshire woods on Sunday. Dave, Rich, Isaac and I planned a loop around Massabesic Lake, hitting parts of FOMBA, then heading north along snowmobile corridor Trail 15 to Bear Brook State Park. A 50 mile loop though these areas only begins to tap the available number of trails. You will rarely see pavement too. No two rides I do here are the

51F and Sunny...

2011-10-22T20:56:00.000-04:00

The forecast looked highly favorable for a hike in the Whites on Saturday. My son Aaron is home on leave from the Navy and wanted to hike something he hasn't done yet, maybe 5hrs/10mi kind of deal. I've been up the Benton Trail on the north side of Moosilauke, but never the south side. Aaron has never hike Moosilauke. It is relatively easy to get to. The old carriage road path seemed like a good

Pulled the Trigger

2011-10-18T21:59:00.000-04:00

I'm going under the knife again. This time voluntarily. I've decided to get my titanium hardware removed. My last bicycle race was a week ago. Normally I like to start getting on the rollerskis this time of year in preparation for the ski season. But I won't be doing much of anything for six weeks. My surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday. Dr Heaps, who put the hardware in, will be taking it out

Color Tour of the Whites

2011-10-16T07:37:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning I got up early to check the weather. It looked like the last of the rain was clearing the state soon. I pulled out my old Topaz bike routes map for New Hampshire. It identifies which roads are gravel. The trails were going to be much too wet to ride, and I really wasn't in the mood for a road ride. Off the beaten path dirt roads with the cross bike sounded like a good compromise.

Pennsylvania is way too far to go to suck

2011-10-10T23:02:00.000-04:00

I continued my love-hate relationship with endurance racing this past weekend with the Ironcross race in Pennsylvania. The weather was expected to be absolutely gorgeous, perfect conditions for an over-heater like myself. I love epic rides this time of year in the woods. The trees are turning color, the bugs are gone, and the trails tend to be dry. The terrain in south-central PA is a blast to

CX or 29er?

2011-10-06T22:18:00.000-04:00

I'm on the fence here. I first raced Ironcross on a 26" hardtail MTB in 2003. I did well (5th overall), but it was a smaller field back then and the course was quite brutal for a CX bike. Numerous guys multiple flatted that year and complained about the quantity of terrain not compatible with a cross bike. The last two times I raced Ironcross, I've used my Ridley CX bike with knobby 35mm

Allen Clark TT

2011-10-03T20:45:00.000-04:00

While most of New England fixated on Gloucester this weekend, I did a little time-trial in the northern Green Mountains of Vermont. It is the Allen Clark TT, which goes up the east side of Appalachian Gap. I fully depleted myself during the ride in the Whites on Friday, not caring about the impact it would have on Sunday. Sometimes I treat hillclimbs as A-events, like Greylock this year. That

Fabulous Day in the Whites

2011-10-01T14:28:00.000-04:00

I had hoped to do a 50 miler off-road somewhere on my off-Friday, but heavy rain over the previous couple days nixed those plans. A CX loop in northwest Connecticut on dirt roads I've wanted to try for a long time looked good until I realized I'd have to fight Friday rush hour traffic there and back. Six hours of driving for 3-4hrs riding wasn't going to meet my efficiency criteria. So I settled

Vermont 50

2011-09-25T22:16:00.000-04:00

I nearly bailed on this expensive race after seeing how much rain was falling over New England. I seriously waffled. 2009 scarred me, when it took nearly 6hrs in non-stop pouring rain to finish the race. I missed last year, reportedly the best conditions in 10yrs, as I was in a cast when registration opened and was uncertain if I'd be back in form. A local cyclocross race was looking much better

Essential Equipment

2011-09-21T23:01:00.000-04:00

Seems in a blink of an eye, I converted over to trail running. A year ago, I would have never considered trying it, given my propensity to roll ankles. When I got out of my cast last year, I bought an ankle brace, as I didn't trust my healing ankle. I did a little hiking as a means to strengthen my ankle and lower legs. The deal was, with a brace on my left ankle I found I could still roll my

Miss

2011-09-17T09:30:00.000-04:00

I should be heading to New York right now for the Adirondak road race. Instead, I'm home trying to get well. After the climb up Greylock last weekend, my throat continued to get crankier and crankier. At first I thought I was coming down with a bad cold, but I never developed any other symptoms. My throat got so sore, that after two sleepless nights, I went in to see the doctor. So here I am now

Mt Greylock

2011-09-11T22:02:00.001-04:00

I did the Mt Greylock Hillclimb TT on Saturday. A record number of folks turned out for this well run event on a pristine day. For once, it was not too hot, too cold, too wet or too windy. It was just right. Should be PR conditions, right? That's not exactly how it went down. Late in the week I was fighting a scratchy throat, not getting enough sleep and dealing with a lot of frustration at work

Junction Creek Loop

2011-09-05T20:13:00.000-04:00

Friday's forecast was somewhat improved with only 30% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. I really wanted to do a Telluride/Ophir loop on this trip, but legs and weather were too iffy to risk it. Instead, I opted for a slight variant of a ride I did a couple years go: Junction Creek. This ride is a quintessential Hill Junkie ride. A 4000ft climb on dirt FS-171 right from town takes you to the

Thursday's Double Treat

2011-09-02T22:50:00.000-04:00

Colorado Trail The probability of T-storms was high on Thursday. I didn't want to suffer another debacle like Wednesday's ride. I broke with Hill Junkie protocol (again) and shuttled a ride. This time the net advantage was only a thousand feet or so. My favorite section of the Colorado Trail to date is the section from Molas Pass to Coal Bank Pass. It is almost all above tree line and hovers

The Mother of All Rides from Hell

2011-09-02T00:23:00.000-04:00

Every now and then, a ride goes awry. Wednesday's ride went awry in a big way. Almost nothing when right. Here's a tale of lightning, greasy red clay and fatigue. I had scoped out online a section of the Colorado Trail (CT) that I hadn't ridden yet. It hoovers around 11,000ft. My plan was to park at the Bear Creek trailhead on CO-145, ride up 145 to Scotch Creek/FS-550, climb up to the ridge,

Tuesday Double Header

2011-08-30T22:12:00.000-04:00

Needed a bit of a break Tuesday, so I headed over to Phil's World near Cortez, CO. This riding destination has been growing in size steadily over the years. I figured it was time to check it out. There is not a lot of elevation change here, maybe a few hundred feet min to max. It also stays below 7000ft, so there was air to breath. It was a shame to waste a pristine day on a low country ride.

Monarch Crest to Little Rainbow

2011-08-30T00:03:00.000-04:00

Not much bloggy time tonight. Pictures will have to tell the story. In short, today's ride was the longest I went without picking up water along the ride. I carried 100oz Camelbak and 28oz bottle with me, and that was enough for over 6.5hrs total time out on the trail. Cooler temps helped. There was constant threat of rain with intermitent sprinkles all day. No thunder, fortunately. I cleared the

Assaulted by Pikes Peak

2011-08-28T23:43:00.000-04:00

I might have missed out on the pummelling Irene doled out, but not on the beating Pikes Peak gave me today. This was the second annul Assault on the Peak timed "fun ride." I did it last year too. I borrowed Tom Ramsey's super light cross bike last year. This year was a bit more logistically complicated travelling with family, so I used my full suspension MTB. I at least put some roadie tires on

Colorado, Baby!

2011-08-25T21:46:00.000-04:00

Hopefully while this is going on back home: I'll be enjoying this on Sunday: I have several new routes planned for next week. First up is an extended Monarch Crest ride. I've always ridden this as a loop, grinding up US-50 to pick up the divide, and then finishing in Poncha Springs. Since I will have shuttle service this trip (my lovely wife), I will cash in some of my vertical credits and

Did Blogger Change Defaults?

2011-08-23T22:33:00.000-04:00

In last day or two, all of a sudden my Google account will not let me comment on several people's blogs where I've commented in the past. Anybody else notice this?

Hampshire 100

2011-08-21T20:18:00.000-04:00

Man,oh man, why do I keep subjecting myself to these multi-hour sufferfests? You'd think in the 11 years since I first did the Vermont 50, I'd have figured out how to not cramp or given up on this format of racing. I dearly loves me a long ride though. Must be what keeps me coming back. At least I have an honest to goodness bike race report to share, something that's become a bit scarce here in

Risky Business

2011-08-18T20:56:00.000-04:00

In my last post, I lamented about the fork failing on my daulie again. I needed to ship that bike out to Colorado in advance of my trip. So Sunday I tore the fork down, and sure enough, the top-out spring was broken. This is the second time in about a year I've experienced this odd failure. I called Fox to order another air shaft assembly (you can't order just the small spring). Next day

Climbing Agenda

2011-08-14T22:46:00.000-04:00

This weekend came down to a choice between road racing three hours in the rain on Sunday or savoring several hours on trails on Saturday. The trails won. My track record of following through with planned bike races is pretty abysmal this summer. I've only raced twice on road, once off-road, and once up hill. I've done almost as many foot races. I really dislike racing in the rain, be it on or off

That did some damage

2011-08-11T22:06:00.004-04:00

#108, finishing sprint. Photo: Aline Cashin Ran my first "real" 5k road race this evening, the CIGNA/Elliot 5k Corporate Road Race. Over 5000 people come out for this. Fortunately, we had perfect weather. Heat would not be an issue for me. My stretch goal for this event was to run faster than six minute miles. Crazy perhaps, as I've done zero speed work running, run no more than an hour a week,

Cannonsburg

2011-08-06T23:43:00.000-04:00

Back in Michigan for a few days. My wife's step-father passed away this week. He was 98 years old and only a few weeks ago moved into a nursing home. He had a good run on life. I had an open window to ride Saturday morning. My wife and mother graciously picked up a rental mountain bike for me the night before I flew in. One of the first places I rode off-road before moving to New Hampshire was

HUNdo no FUNdo?

2011-07-31T23:51:00.000-04:00

I will be in Colorado for the D2R2 this year. Why I keep going back for that sufferfest is beyond me. I barely escape alive each time. Yet I was sad I had to miss it this year. A new ride popped up on the calender last year. It was called the Grand Fundo, a play on words from Gran Fondos that have spread from Europe to the US. I've never done a gran fondo. They are a semi-competitive event with

Freaky Things

2011-07-29T22:18:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday I was heading up Ponemah Hill Rd for my last interval of the ride. A kid, maybe 9-10 years old, came bombing down a dead end side street onto Ponemah Hill Rd ahead of me. He went the same way I was going and I was pretty sure he saw me. It was steep there, maybe 10% grade. He was on a cheap 24" mountain bike. I was going all anaerobic and thought dang, I'm not exactly catching the

That special place

2011-07-25T22:43:00.000-04:00

DaveP and I hit up local Bear Brook State Park on Sunday for a solid endorphin phix. The climb up Ascutney the day before didn't take much out of us. A bit of hammering may have been on the agenda. It was still very muggy starting at 8am. Fortunately, conditions improved from there. Bear Brook has seen negligible rain over the last few weeks. It was the driest I've ever seen it. The balding

Slow twitch rider trapped in a fast twitch body

2011-07-23T21:32:00.001-04:00

Mt Ascutney Hillclimb Maybe I should have stayed home today. My climb went as expected in one of the worst east coast heat waves ever. Regular readers know heat and I do not have a friendly relationship. Today's climb further solidified the correlation between abysmal performances and high dew points. For such a short race, here's a long, whiny, technical analysis. I tapered for this climb. Not

Bungled Training

2011-07-19T22:13:00.000-04:00

I can't seem to construct a successful training week these days. Extra work hours, juggling running with cycling and hot weather all conspire against me. I got in some great off-road riding this past weekend, even some intensity up Burke Mountain. But the real training payload comes during the work week. It is my short lunch sessions that deliver the most value per Joule expended. The riding on

Burke for Breakfast

2011-07-17T20:45:00.000-04:00

My weekends are booked into September. I was really jones'n to ride the Northeast Kingdom trails (NEK). I had a small window of opportunity early on Saturday. Early meant leaving the house before 6am. I don't like getting up that early even to race. A perfect day was on tap, so I managed to drag my sorry carcass out of bed. It's getting harder to find takers for MTB day trips. One riding buddy

Ascutney Mountain Run

2011-07-10T21:25:00.001-04:00

Hmm, where to start with this one... When I took up running six months ago to bolster my bone density, I had no aspiration to make anything of it. It was going to be something I just suffered through. But running really isn't all that bad once you gain a little conditioning. I already have the motor, I just needed everything else. I dabbled in running up a couple local climbs in the 300-800ft

Filling in the Gaps

2011-07-03T20:15:00.000-04:00

Everybody has heard of Brandon, Middlebury, Lincoln, Appalachian, Roxbury and Rochester gaps. These gaps comprise the infamous 6-gaps of Vermont ride. There are other gaps that perhaps few have heard of. Have you ever wondered why our traditional route must traverse so far down routes 12A and 12 between Roxbury and Rochester gaps? Surely there must be other crossings over the mountain ridgeline

Day 5: Spooky Cobbled Tunnels

2011-06-28T21:12:00.000-04:00

On our fifth day in Italy, our ride leaders gave the group two route options, gradually climbing to Pratto allo Stelvio, or taking a serious side excursion over two passes as planned. The group split half and half, as many were tired. I of course, wanted the full treatment. I didn't travel all the way to Italy to ride a bike path between towns. The two passes were Mendola and Palade. We were

Day 7: Mortirolo and Gavia

2011-06-26T20:39:00.000-04:00

The best was saved for the last day of our tour. On Friday, our 117km loop would be taking us over Passo Mortirolo and Passo Gavia, another day with 10,000+ feet of climbing. The Mortirolo climb is one of the hardest in Europe. It gains over 4200ft at 10.5% average gradient. We did a single pass the previous day, and being the last day of the trip, I planned to give whatever my legs could offer

Day 6: New Favorite Climb - Passo Stelvio

2011-06-23T10:57:00.000-04:00

The Stelvio did not dissapoint, folks. It is a superb climb. The weather was less than ideal with temps just above freezing and sporadic rain and sleet up top, but I still managed to capture a few good photos. I'll let the the photos tell the story. Many photos are posted in higher resolution than I usually post, so be sure to click on them and view in full scale to maximize viewing pleasure.

Day 5 brief

2011-06-22T16:19:00.000-04:00

No time for proper post. Today's ride from Alleghe to Prato allo Stelvio was epic in different kind of way. Unlit tunnels with cobbles at 70kph, lightning storms, rivers of chocolate milk with floating apples flowing across the street to ride through. Thought I was going to die multiple times. Thursday: Passo Stelvio... in the rain, forecast of -1C at the summit.

Day 4: Passo Fedia

2011-06-22T02:33:00.000-04:00

With 20,000+ feet of climbing in the legs over the past two days, Tuesday's ride was going to be interesting. A short ride was on the Itinerary, but with the toughest rated climb of the trip so far, Passo Fedaia. The ride is a point to point, leaving Alleghe, ending in Bolzano. Cobbles There was negligible warmup before the climbing began. Once it started, it didn't let up. We took an alternate

Day 3: Passo Giau

2011-06-20T16:26:00.000-04:00

Today was the mother of all beat-downs for me. The ride was incredible, but I barely survived. Our 117km loop hit four major passes, including Duran, Staulanza, Giau and Falzarego. For my New England readers, the ride went something like this. Climb Whiteface as an opener. Then tackle Greylock. After you've been softened up by those two, do Equinox. Just in case that didn't kill you, climb App

Day 2: Ronde Sella

2011-06-19T12:11:00.000-04:00

The day that just days ago was forecasted with heavy rain brought anything but. It poured buckets overnight, possibly inches of rain. It stopped by 4am. When we got up, it was chilly, breezy and mostly sunny. Perfect climbing weather. And climb today, we did. We rode the famous Ronde Sella, perhaps the most scenic ride in Dolomites. Our rides are split into A, B and C groups. I started with the

Soggy Day 1

2011-06-18T16:38:00.000-04:00

Made it to Alleghe, a couple hours behind schedule. Not everyone's bikes and gear made it to the airport with them. Quite a group to ride with, 26 total, all guys. Forecast was spot on for today. Rain in the evening, becoming heavy. We built our bikes up in light sprinkles. We went out for a 30km "shake-down" ride to make sure the bikes were good to go for the 110km loop on Sunday. It started to

36 hours and counting

2011-06-17T10:16:00.000-04:00

I have to say, the Paris airport is probably the most F’d up airport I’ve been through. I flew over the pond on a large A340 that seats upwards of 400 people. I was second to last row. We left Boston late because our plane came in late. So I figured I would have to run down the terminal to my next gate to make my connection which was originally a scheduled 1:20 layover. I had no idea. You

Frankenbike for Italy

2011-06-13T22:45:00.000-04:00

The bike I'll be taking to Italy is a real piece of work. It is the bike I typically keep built up for hillclimbs in one form or another. The bike is based on a Trek 5900 OCLV 110 frame. Very light, very stiff. Starting with the wheels, they don't match. I have a Rolf Prima Vigor on back, a Velomax Ascent II up front. The tires don't match, and the tubes in the tires don't match (one is green,

Bagging bigger peaks on foot

2011-06-12T19:00:00.000-04:00

I opted to run up Mt Kearsarge today instead of doing the Mine Falls 5k Monday night. My next planned event is an uphill run. I have just a couple more opportunities between now and then to get in some hill training on foot. I leave for Italy on Thursday and plan to do little if any running over a 10 day period. I took a chance that the gate would be open. Cathy came out with me. The gate was

The Perfect Ride

2011-06-11T20:43:00.000-04:00

Dave and I took advantage of decent weather Friday to spin pedals in the White Mountains. After a sustained hot, dry spell, we hoped for superb riding conditions even though it rain the day before. We headed up early and parked at Joe Jones sport shop in North Conway. My favorite trail in New England is the Red Tail Trail up Black Cap Mountain. The designers of this trail are geniuses. The trail

Entirely different beast altogether: Mine Falls 5k

2011-06-06T22:23:00.001-04:00

I finally obtained a running benchmark of sorts. A couple young guys I work with convinced me to come out to Mine Falls Park in Nashua, NH for the trail running series held there on Monday nights. The race is put on by the Gate City Striders. When I hear trail running, right away I freak, as I think rolled ankles. However, the 5k course is held on fairly tame gravel and packed earth surfaces

Not your typical MTB race: Big Ring Rumpus

2011-06-05T22:44:00.000-04:00

It's been over a year since I raced a mountain bike. With second attempt for an Italian cycling trip just 11 days away, I was apprehensive signing up for the Big Ring Rumpus. Last year I signed up in the elite category, then promptly broke my ankle. Neither the Italian tour nor race happened. I chose to race expert this go-around. I didn't want to race outside my ability, risk injury or get

Going about it wrong

2011-06-03T22:30:00.000-04:00

Thursday night after work I headed over to Pack Monadnock for my weekly fix of endorphin. I brought two modalities of fix means with me, a bike and running shoes. Traffic sucked heading down 101a during rush hour. I had no idea. It was nearly 7pm when I got to the mountain with barely an hour of good light left. It was pretty frigid too, and I brought only short layers. I struggled with how to

"Thunderbolts and Lightning, Very, Very Frightening"

2011-05-29T21:23:00.000-04:00

Those were the lyrics I could not get out of my head during our 6-gaps ride on Saturday. The song became lodged in my psyche after Alex told me there were two things that weirded him out during bike rides: snakes and lightning. But let's start at the beginning. Ten (fool?)hardy souls decided to attempt the Vermont 6-gaps ride on Saturday when forecasts ranged from 40-60% chance of potentially

Like Father, Like Son

2011-05-27T21:22:00.000-04:00

My son is home on leave from the Navy. He now has two zippers on his body to show off. They are results of separate skateboarding mishaps, less than six months apart. Last fall Aaron broke his left scaphoid (peanut shaped bone in wrist). Scaphoids don't heal well and often need a special screw to pull the halves back together. Aaron got the screw. I don't think he was even finished with physical

Typical Sunapee

2011-05-23T22:49:00.000-04:00

I decided to race down an age category at Sunapee this year. The field was smaller and a couple of my regular riding partners were racing the Master 35's. Smaller field does not mean easier though. A couple former pros and several other strong men would see to that. I raced Sunapee many times and have left empty handed most of those times. The last time I raced Sunapee a couple years ago was an

Dirt 50

2011-05-22T16:32:00.000-04:00

Woke up with tired legs, drizzle and 48F this morning. I was hoping it would stay dry so I could head out for a legitimate trail ride. The road didn't seem attractive either. What else could I do to pamper my post-race legs (Sunapee report forthcoming)? I didn't feel like traveling very far. A dirt rail trail loop maybe? Last fall I linked three branches of the Rockingham rail trail together to

Training Tired

2011-05-19T22:38:00.000-04:00

Work has been beating me down lately. Way more stress and frustration that somebody should have to put up with. Extra hours have eaten into blog time too. It's a wonder I even manage to get out and train these days, yet I managed to drive myself into ragged tatters. In a four day period this week, I ran on three of the days. Sunday was a brief run, but by far my most intense, up Pack Monadnock.

Brasstown Bald Buster - The Real Six Gaps

2011-05-08T23:30:00.000-04:00

On our recent trip to the south land, I finally had the opportunity to sample the other 6-gap ride that has become hugely popular. It is known as the Six Gap Century and starts in Dahlonega, GA. It is a timed event and draws upwards of 3000 participants between the three distance options. Brett, Dave and I didn't follow the 6-gap route proper. We started on the northern end of the loop, skipped

Caesar's Head Loop

2011-05-03T17:30:00.000-04:00

We squeaked in a fifth rain-free day on Tuesday. The three of us did an early morning ride right from the cabin before packing the bikes and heading for the airport. The route was a variant of the Assault on the Carolina's ride. We dropped nearly 2000ft into SC, looped around on quiet rolling roads, then began the 2200ft climb back into NC. It was very windy and mild at 7:30am. Short sleeves

We ride up hills, we ride back down

2011-05-02T18:46:00.000-04:00

Many have probably seen this "I lift things up, I put them down" Planet Fitness video. I suspect most non-cyclists, and even a few cyclists, view hillclimb enthusiasts in a similar light as this body builder. Seems like I've had a one track mind for a long time now. Sunday's ride was a monster climb. We went up, then came back down. We did come down a different way, so not a pure out and back.

Mt Mitchell Assault

2011-05-01T21:28:00.000-04:00

A short ride today, enabling a chance to get a post up at the local Ingles grocery store. We have no Internet access at our cabin outside Brevard, NC. Won't make that mistake again. The Starbucks Cafe in the store has WiFi. We've had three perfect riding days so far. Yesterday's 6-gap ride in Georgia was not without issues though. Have to share that story another time. Sunday we hit Mt Mitchell,

What have I become?

2011-04-23T20:11:00.000-04:00

The talons of the dark side dug deeper. A nasty weather day, Saturday was. I had wanted to ride 4-5hrs. That's not the most healthy thing to do when it is snaining outside with temps hoovering just above freezing (snain is snow and rain mixed). So I sought a mountain for a session of interval work. It seems the weather is always less of a distraction when suffering all-out VOmax intervals. The

From Crutches to Sneakers

2011-04-17T23:13:00.000-04:00

A morbid curiosity brought me to Pack Monadnock on Sunday. No, it wasn't to see if the snow was gone yet. Fortunately it was. I wanted to get a sense of what it was like to run up a 12% average, 20% maximum grade incline. Pack is paved, gains 800ft in 1.3mi. The last time I time-trialed up this road was on crutches. What I really needed a rest day instead. 6.4hrs of solid riding the two prior

7000 Feet on Meat

2011-04-15T22:56:00.000-04:00

Thursday was our 27th wedding anniversary. I took Cathy to Gauchos in Manchester, NH in the evening. We've been to Gauchos a couple other times. You have to be fond of meat to fully appreciate dining at Gauchos. Skewers of superbly prepared meat constantly come to your table. I could never say no. There were several chicken, beef, pork and lamb preparations. There's not much for side items at

Bracketing Battenkill

2011-04-13T21:44:00.000-04:00

The last training I did before Battenkill last week was run. The first training I did after Battenkill this week was run. I do not recommend cyclists run on recovery days before important races, nor should cyclists run the day after for recovery. My body still isn't right. Why did I do this? Work got in the way of a decent interval workout last Wednesday. My training schedule lately has me

Battened Down

2011-04-10T20:53:00.001-04:00

I had immense trepidation going into this year's Battenkill race for several reasons. As regular readers know, an injury nearly a year ago wiped out my 2010 cycling season. I bounced back nicely by the end of the season, but lingering effects of my injury diminished the training value I typically derive from cross country skiing. And this winter certainly would have been a season to capitalize

BK prep, or not?

2011-04-03T07:40:00.000-04:00

What I awoke to Friday morning was no April Fool's joke. Six inches of wet, heavy snow on the deck picnic table. I planned my week around a long, hard ride on Friday, but the forecast did not look promising. I've gotten about all of one long, hard ride in since the beginning of the year, something that would be considered hilly road race training. I detest training indoors, but I also detest

Random thoughts on running

2011-03-31T23:12:00.000-04:00

I've been running for over three months now. I've never pushed myself - no intervals, no 5k or 1mi baseline tests. I fear damage could result, damage I wouldn't want to impact cycling. There's not much to show for three month's effort. I've logged only about 12 hours total, or less than an hour per week. I am noticing subtle changes though. The first time I ran, my hip sockets would immediately

From 90's to 20's

2011-03-27T21:36:00.000-04:00

A week ago I enjoyed temperatures reaching into the 90's in Tucson. I came back to New Hampshire with fresh snow on the ground. It was supposed to be spring. I wasn't supposed to be sick either. I went nearly three weeks with minimal intensity work on the bicycle. I started coming down with a chest infection before heading out to Arizona, was sick the whole time there and spent most of this week

Black Canyon Trail

2011-03-21T21:25:00.000-04:00

Saturday was our last day to ride in Arizona. Every time I revisit a riding destination, I'm always sure to check out something new. This is easy to do in states like Arizona or Colorado. Riding opportunities are vast, and passionate MTB communities in those states ensure continued access and lobby for new trails. One new piece of work in Arizona is the Black Canyon Trail. Local riders have been

Double-H Loop

2011-03-20T15:50:00.000-04:00

After a restless night of attempted sleep at 7000ft in Flagstaff, Alex and I headed off to Sedona for a wicked late start. We parked in Oak Creek to begin a loop called Double-H, for Highline and Hog. I hadn’t ridden either of these trails before. They only recently became “public,” apparently being local insider trails before that. Videos suggested some moderate exposure on Highline, and I hadn’

Semi-Recovery Thursday

2011-03-20T00:52:00.000-04:00

Having logged about as many hours of riding in three days as I have in a month this winter, I needed a break. The planned 50 mile TMP ride wasn't going to happen. Alex hinted another 5+ hour day would have broken him too. So we hit a couple cool spots with minimal elevation change, riding only an hour or so at each. These were the Sweetwater Trails and the 50 Year Trail. We rode almost all of

Mt Lemmon

2011-03-19T00:47:00.000-04:00

My chest was wrecked when I awoke Wednesday. I wasn’t even going to ride. Alex was intent on doing at least one really big climb on the trip, and he wanted to do a classic one. That of course would be Mt Lemmon. It is paved all the way to the summit, so one would have to be a bit whacked to climb it with a full suspension MTB. Mt Lemmon was perhaps the only ride Alex could do without route

Two for Tuesday

2011-03-18T00:40:00.000-04:00

Monday’s ride turned into a boondoggle. I feel bad for Alex, having dragged him into an unproven ride. I have a knack for drawing victims into boondoggles. Since the ride took so long, we never got to Fantasy Island on Monday as planned. So on Tuesday, we opted to do a shortened version of the Arizona Trail (AZT) and hit Fantasy Island afterwards. We parked on Rt 83 just off I-10, as DaveP and

The Bigger the Better

2011-03-16T23:22:00.001-04:00

Having climbed Mt Hopkins as an out-and-back three times now, I sought something a little different for this trip. Perusing satellite imagery in Google maps, I found a track that diverged from the Mt Hopkins Rd and swooped to the south before rejoining the road closer to the top. This looked very interesting. Part of the route was Forest Service route 143. The upper portion of this mystery track

Season Finale

2011-03-12T20:16:00.000-05:00

Before heading off to the hot, sunny desert southwest, I squeezed in one last ski for the season. Skogs and I headed up to Waterville with suspect conditions. Two others bailed, fearing rain and poor conditions. The big board in the Nordic Center showed us pretty much all of the north end was groomed, but Swans and a few other south end trails were closed. Sounded good to me. We drove over to

AZ

2011-03-11T23:07:00.000-05:00

Finally time to put a tough week behind me and think about the week coming up. When was the last time you've seen a forecast like this? Tucson, AZ next week This will be quite a shock to the body. Alex and I plan to spend four riding days in Tucson and two riding days in the Sedona area. Reports and webcams say 100% of the snow is gone in southern Arizona, even at 10,000ft. This opens up a

Rangeley Loppet

2011-03-06T21:23:00.000-05:00

Not much to say about this one, other than I finished it and I didn't break anything. Those were my only goals, really. I skied seven times in February and only slightly more than that in January. I dared not expect more. I brought my new skis that still aren't broken in, against better judgement. I didn't fuss too much over waxing. I put on Toko HF Red and followed that with Star F1 fluoro for

This season won't end soon enough

2011-03-02T21:57:00.000-05:00

Work has been stressful. I'm faced with seemingly impossible challenges. Somebody can walk in my office, talk 10 minutes, and just like that I have 10 new emails all wanting something from me. Today I had a 90 minute window between meetings to get in my one and only weekday ride that I get these days. It was sunny and mild out. No booties or beanie needed. The wind was tough heading north. 15

ToT, Finally!

2011-02-27T19:39:00.001-05:00

In recent year's past, trips down to the Cape were special because I could escape the snow and ride primo trail on bare earth. This winter has been exceptional though. Another six inch dump last night meant the local roads just got narrow again. I've been on my road bike once in about two months. I'd rather poke needles in my eyes than ride an indoor trainer. Regular snow dumps render the

Weston 10k ITT

2011-02-22T22:11:00.000-05:00

I had some reservations heading to Weston Tuesday night. There hasn't been a major infusion of snow lately, and conditions were pretty dicy the last couple weeks. They did a pretty nice job tilling up the frozen granular though. Conditions turned out to be better than the last couple weeks. I brought rock and race skis again. I got a little more aggressive waxing my new racing World Cup skis. I