November Sideroads, Concessions and Trails

Since I mentioned this ride as a source of finding the GPS documentary I posted earlier, I thought I should do justice to the ride too.

A group of almost 20 people showed up in Erin at Jouko and Robin's place, greeted by freshly baked cookies and espresso shots before the 11AM start. Almost all were prepared for the ride and had brought CX bikes. The three exceptions were Ian (road bike) plus Andrea and me (MTB steeds). Ian's choice was better.

Before agreeing to do the ride I made it known that I would be the slow guy and it only took one hill for me to realize how out of shape I was. By the second hill I got a push to try to stay in contact and before the 3rd hill I decided to do my own ride. That was the right choice.

I still rode for almost 2 1/2 hours, my legs were spent by the end of it, and I was very pleased to have accomplished what I did. I even took a detour and did some double track that was pretty and technical. I got back a little before the shorter ride group, had time to get changed and not much more. And we all got treated to a feast!

Lots of great food, from lots of the people on the ride or their partners at home. And everyone had a tale to tell about their day, it was a perfect day for an end of season ride. Not the "HTFU" epic it could have been but there have been enough of those this year already. I'd call it a perfect autumn ride.

And here are a few photos from the day. I'm glad I took some pics early, I spent most of the ride on my own (happily doing whatever I wanted at whatever pace I felt like doing it at).

The Things You Find On A Garmin

A ride this past weekend led me to finding this, hadn't really thought about it until seeing it but it's an interesting sort of documentary.

I decided to bring my Garmin along so I could find my way on roads that I'd never been on before. And it was a fun ride (thanks again Robin and Jouko!). It was about 2 1/2 hours of riding and it was a good test of my neck. I felt more comfortable than when Andrea and I were in Vermont, a little more flexible too. Progress, but still lots of room for improvement.

So... this morning I uploaded the ride to Garmin Connect along with all of the other rides it had stored on it. The most recent one before this weekend was from April 7th 2013 (I didn't bring the Garmin to Vermont which is the only other time I've ridden since April). Here's the map from that day...

A day in the life of...

The start is at the Turkeypen trail head parking lot, the end is at the motel where we finally settled in for the night. In between it shows:

• a few hours of riding, along the various trails we rode that day. It was an out-and-back route.
• then some slower walking, making my way back to the parking lot.
• a quick drive to the hospital in Brevard, where they put me in a temporary neck brace and did the  CT scan.
• then while I was whisked to the Asheville hospital in an ambulance, Andrea drove Babe to the campground and then on to Asheville (that's around 8 hours into this day that started around 11AM).
• Then the drive back to the campground. A short drive from the hospital to a drug store for pain killers, then back to the campground. But instead of spending the night in Babe we got a motel room at the corner where the BiLo is. That would make it around 13 hours later. That night wasn't very restful.

Obviously, with all of the things happening no-one thought about the Garmin or turning it off.

Seeing this certainly brought back a lot of memories. Some are in the blog entry I linked to above, some I hadn't included. This kind of tells the story that I skipped over between my crash and the drive back to Toronto, in a way I wouldn't have thought of. The very definition of a life-altering moment, captured via a GPS.

And for the Garmin / Strava geeks, here are the details of the ride.
Pisgah by pkraiker at Garmin Connect - Details

2013 Vermont Trip, Part 2

I'm back home in Toronto, reflecting on how quickly the week flew by.

I'm happy to report that Babe behaved perfectly after the fix for the starter wire, she purred all the way throughout the rest of the trip including the 12 hours driving back on Saturday. I'm glad we pushed all the way home on a beautiful sunny day; it rained on Sunday so being home, sleeping in, relaxing was perfect.

And I spent some time yesterday editing photos and videos. First up, here's the video... I took parts from a number of trails, mixed them up to a great tune, and came up with 8 minutes. These are all fun trails, lots of flow and most of them are descents so you can pick up a lot of speed. I did speed up the video as well, mostly just to get more of the trails in without making it too long but also because I wasn't going that fast. I was riding more than I expected to and loving it but I wasn't going to push my luck. No spills or slips, and I walked the few very tricky parts I came across including some narrow bridges.

Next up are some photos... this blog entry is all about the images and feelings rather than my words :)

These two photos are from the Ricker Pond campsite we had. I can't even guess how long that stone picnic table has been there but it's still really solid so I expect it will be there for a while.

These clam shells on the other hand... they will only last until the next kids come to play on the big rock at the edge of the woods.

Here's what the trails looked like at Ricker CG, they were perfect for me to start riding on.

This waterfall was just off the road, part of Wells River.

We changed campsites for our last night on Burke Mountain, this is the campsite we had reserved (not intentionally but it's the one listed in our reservation). The campground was going to fill up on the Friday evening for the weekend and the site we'd been staying in was booked for the full weekend so it made sense for us to move. And yes, that is another westy in campsite #7 through the trees.

One thing I've found since getting the camper is that firewood is a much different experience that what I'm used to from canoe camping. I've had a great Sven saw for over 20 years (designed in Canada, manufactured in the U.S.) and have used it a lot to cut small trees for evening fires. But much of the camping in Babe is at campgrounds or forests where cutting trees isn't permitted and firewood comes in the form of split logs. Often not split all that well. So I finally broke down and bought a small axe to add to the tool box.

And here are a few more colourful shots to wrap up this entry. I particularly like the vibrant sunset. Not bad for an iPhone photo...

The 2013 Edition of Autumn in Vermont

Amazing how quickly time has passed this year, and yes… I know I'm repeating myself. I just keep getting reminded of that in a bunch of different ways at a bunch of different times.

The last bike riding I did was back in April, back in North Carolina, back before I hurt myself. And so Wednesday in the parking lot of the East Burke bike shop (and by the Kingdom Trails office) it really didn't surprise me to be talking about Pisgah to someone who'd spent a lot of time there. Jesse Livingston & his partner Lori Reed (Trail Care Crew for Subaru/IMBA) we just headed up this way from that area and were here for the first time. But that's later in the trip report so let me get back to the beginning.

We got the camper loaded up in good time on Thursday and didn't hit too much rush-hour traffic getting away from the city. I was up for 5 or 6 hours of driving and we planned on getting to our usual first night stop in Massena, NY. We made good time and got there shortly after 10pm with time to unwind and watch a little TV (likely the only TV we'll see until we're on our way home except for little bits in pubs & such). It was filled with politics of course and certainly got us up to speed on the various positions of the parties and groups of thugs within the parties who seem to be holding the rest of the country hostage until they get what they want. It was a good refresher before heading into Vermont and spending some quality time with Guy & his wife Joan. He is well versed in the national and local scenes and always interesting to talk politics with (something I generally don't do so take that as high praise if you're reading this Guy!).

Driveway camping with Joan & Guy

We got to their place around 5pm on Friday and got the first part of the tour from Joan, including her favourite place in the house. I can see why too… the view across the valley to Mt. Mansfield was gorgeous. I can imagine many hours spent there reading, petting a cat or dog, or just lost in thought. Perhaps a nap or two as well! When Guy got home we got the tour of his beer-making facilities with a tasting. What a great setup, with multiple delicious beers on tap by the keg (no bottling, just straight up).
When we were about to head to Jericho for a nice evening dining at one of their favourite restaurants (Joan told us she'd just been there that afternoon) Babe decided it was time to act up… the problem I've been having lately with the positive lead to the solenoid on the started coming off did exactly that. It's not hard to put back on but with the camper loaded and bikes on the back it would take 15 minutes just to get to it. Guy suggested we go in their camper so off we went. I realized I hadn't been in the back of a westy before (or if I have I've forgotten it). Definitely a lot of room between the front and back seats!

After a leisurely meal (inspired by slow service as much as anything else but still very enjoyable) we headed back and decided to fix the starter wire once and for all. Guy dug out a few tools, I dug out the offending wire and we proceeded to clean it up, solder on a 3 inch extension to make up for the inch we took off plus making up for the short length, double protected it with heat shrink and then added on a good connector (soldered not crimped and protected with heat shrink as well). I'm happy to report that 5 days later the problem has not reoccurred and I would be very surprised if it dare to! So… a big thanks Guy.

Smugglers Notch

One more thing he shared with us is a great camping spot and that's where we headed to the next morning. Rickers Pond CG is part of Groton State Forest and is set between the lake and an old railway bed that's now a multi-use path. It turned out to a perfect place for me to get back on a bike with gentle grades and not too many bumps. There are some nice campsites too, they get booked early I expect and we were happy to take what was left. They are a little close together for my liking but then again we got to meet some great people (including Lesley & Bill and their dog Casey). Next time we head to Watkins we'll let them know and perhaps get together. There was also the blacksmith from down around Putney (I think I got that right) who used to have a westy but decided to switch over to a trailer. He came by to take a look, chat about the pleasures of travel, and recumbent bikes. Interesting guy. And he very helpfully came by the next morning to let us know about the weather heading east. It didn't catch up to us until late Monday afternoon but it definitely hit a few areas really hard (including the Burke Mountain CG which had a few trees come down on sites).

Back to Rickers Pond though… on top of camping (which I love), it also represents my return to riding a bike with two days in the saddle in a row. Saturday, October 5th 2013 was just 2 days shy of 7 months since my fall in NC. The first ride was tentative and about an hour and a half along some rail-trail. Up hill for about 50 minutes at a gentle grade, then back down to the campsite. It was long enough that my tender butt told me about it the next day though. And the other part that complained was my neck… it's been almost 7 months since I've tilted my head back like that.

Mushrooms, in HDR

The next day was a little easier and definitely a lot more fun. We headed in the opposite direction and even played a little off the trail. Not exactly single track but riding through a hydro cut and then a bit of pine forest. That ride was closer to 2 hours.

Monday (the day the weather was supposed to turn on us and the rest of New England) was a day of travelling, shopping and exploring. That included a stop @ King Arthur Flour in Norwich of course. Our final stop of the day was to buy a tarp since we'd forgotten to bring one along and figured we should have one handy. I guess there was another stop as the folks at the Burke CG suggested we might want to wait until around 8 when the storm would definitely be past before setting up camp. And as we were the only people booked into the CG for that night and the next they gave us their phone # in case we needed some help.

Dinner was in the pub in East Burke where we kept an eye on the weather and then made our way up to our campsite. A good fire to keep us warm, the rain stopped and we got to enjoy the night. It was cool but we were rewarded with sun the next day. And it's been sunny ever since (and still cold at night).

Campsite #6

We rode some gravel roads on Tuesday… what was a short loop turned out to be a long loop as we missed a turn. It made for a better ride though and put us on some "roads" that would pass as technical double track. And it helped me with my comfort and confidence on the bike. Which brings us to Wed., and meeting Jesse and Lori in the parking lot.

Parked at Kingdom Trails

This road was on Andrea's GPS

Andrea was all set for a good 3 hour ride and I was just puttering around the camper as she was getting ready. Jesse has friends who are full-timers and has spent time traveling in a westy so he knows the pleasures (and challenges). As paid Subaru/IMBA reps, they get to travel around staying in hotels/motels riding their bikes… and loving it. He mentioned a blog they're keeping, I'll have to check it out.

And on that note I'll wrap up this blog entry. Our trip is about ½ done so there'll be another installment which will start with how our ride on Thursday goes. We'll both buy trail tickets and I'm intending to ride mostly double track plus some easy single track connectors. Then a little more riding on Friday and we'll see how that goes. For now, it's stack up some firewood and get things ready for a cosy evening by the fire.

Here are a few photos to enjoy... they are @ 1024px resolution so they might work as a desktop background.

the end of one season marks the beginning of another.

 Colour

 

Colour and sky

Heading back to Vermont for Autumn colours

As I've said before, it's been an unusual year so it's really satisfying to be doing something we've done for a few years now... heading down to Vermont with some bikes to enjoy the beauty on display.

As we were leaving Andrea was getting caught up on the day's news... it was very saddening to hear about Amy Dombrowski. Only 26 years old, she was one of the best cyclocross racers from the U.S. and was born in Jericho, Vermont. It put the fact that we're coming back to Vermont into a different perspective and has me once again appreciative of how lucky I am to be able to do this.

As we have done for the past couple of years, we've made it to Massena, NY and are at the EconoLodge (just for the waffles in the morning). Another bit of borders blurring...

Here are a few photos from previous years, I have my camera gear and hope the weather co-operates to let me add to them this year. And here's a link to my entries from 2011 and 2012.

Wow... 2013 Buses at Bon Echo Already!

Amazing how time flies... although for me this year has been an unusual one. Still, it's the end of September and I'm not mentally prepared.

This will be the 3rd time I've headed to Bon Echo for a VW campout, and each one has been different. Cold, wet, sunny, windy, fun, and knitting are all words that fit into the previous editions. Here's a link to last year's blog entry.

I'm looking forward to it, this has been a year of few pleasant distractions and this will only be my 2nd VW campout of the year.

So Quiet In Here

I've been a fan of Van Morrison  for as long as Andrea and I have been together and it struck me as a good spot to re-ignite this blog. I've been neglecting it as my focus has been on healing and as understandable as that is I don't think it's right or balanced. So this is meant to kickstart a shift.

The song goes likes this as you get into it:

All my struggling in the world
And so many dreams that don't come true
Step back, put it all away
It don't matter, it don't matter anymore
Oh this must be what paradise is like
This must be what paradise is like
It's so quiet in here, so peaceful in here
It's so quiet in here, so peaceful in here

From a very optimistic (idealistic?) opening of "your heart beating close to mine" to a follow-up "glass of wine with some friends" the thought remains consistent... be at peace with yourself. Paradise found is what you see when you look inside and know you're where you should be looking.

Now let me make it personal... the time I spent dealing with life's roll of my dice has really gotten me to think about what's important and led me to try to find places I can (hopefully) have an impact and possibly make a difference.

I choose to try to do more, not less. I'm hoping my body agrees with this plan (so far it's being reluctant) but I am pushing ahead with the optimistic (idealistic?) perspective I am prone to.

On the plus side:

• Multiple bike races covered, more planned (even though I had to miss some of the major events of 2013 like ToEG, MSA and the Quebec/Montreal races).
• more published articles this year than I would have thought possible for me, as a visual guy. I'll have to not say anything for at least a year just to reset the scales!
• I put my bike back together last weekend, yes the one I crashed on. I even rode it to test shifting. I'm soooo looking forward to getting back on a bike.

The flip side:

• My personal focus has shifted from what I think matters to what I need to do for the contracts I've accepted. This is new to me and I will sort out the right balance given enough time.
• My body is saying "really? you expect to ride???" My answer is... yes
•  I expect more surprises

I will find my balance, it's important to me that I do and so I know it will happen. How much riding, how much office work... what that balance looks like is still to be sorted out

I can say with absolute certainty that what I have gone through has changed me and I am less inclined to compromise on things that I think are important.

So...
a lot of words and no images. That's not in keeping with what I've just written so let me add a few visual highlights of the time spent thinking those thoughts... treat this as a little bit of the churn and accumulation of cobwebs inside my head. I've been (and still am) very positive about this. I just haven't talked much about how hard it has been and still is to keep that positive view on life. That's for another time...

The Bowker / Sher gathering to say farewell to Bowpark

Building it up