The New Hampshire Cycling Club did a great job with their inaugural Kearsarge Klassic, a new event taking in lots of dirt roads around Mt. Kearsarge State Forest Park, an area of NH that we haven't spent a lot of time in before. We found ourselves on lovely lightly traveled scenic roads with some pretty awesome support, as well as a great after ride dinner of homemade chili. The ride was a fund-raiser for the Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust to support its work preserving and protecting the natural beauty of New Hampshire. The club donated over $5,000 with proceeds from the ride!
We'd heard about the ride a few weeks ago from friends who know our love for dirt, but we had not seen any publicity about it. I was reminded of the ride when I noticed a link on bikereg.com last week as I was registering us for the Burke race. I mentioned it to John and we decided to give it a go. As you can probably tell from the blog, we've had a very busy year, and when Friday evening rolled around we were having second thoughts about loading up the car yet again to go do yet another event. Frankly, we are worn out! Not so much from riding, but loading and unloading the car, driving and laundry!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Getting Dirty in the Northeast Kingdom
The Burke Bike Barn is quite spacious, so we had a few friends to join us for the weekend. The potluck cookouts on Saturday and Sunday nights were fabulous. Odd took over the grill and did an excellent job with the steaks, chicken and sausages, as well as drinking some beer.
Laboring Up Burke Mountain
After discovering the Burke Bike Barn last summer, we tried to reserve it for every Labor Day and every Memorial Day forever. Fortunately Doug accepted our reservations for Labor Day this year. Hopefully he has us penciled in for the next 20 years. We love it here! It is a magical place.
It was made even more magical this year by the presence of a rare blue moon Friday night.
Followed the next morning by some brilliant sunshine and crisp blue skies.
It was made even more magical this year by the presence of a rare blue moon Friday night.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
A Mt. Washington duathlon
Ironically, the rides and races that go smoothly and completely according to plan are often those that are quickly forgotten. Instead, those which involve unplanned adversity - be that weather, mechanical, navigation, terrain or something else that I can't even think of right now - are the ones that lead to tall tales of heroism and derring-do.
Speaking of tall tales, Mount Washington seemed determined to feature in my unforgettable list for 2012. In July, the Newton's Revenge race featured wind gusts of almost 70 mph/110 kph, conditions that I thoroughly enjoyed and revelled in. The extra challenge somehow inspired me and allowed me to explore the depths of the "pain cave" a little deeper than I think I might have otherwise managed that day.
Speaking of tall tales, Mount Washington seemed determined to feature in my unforgettable list for 2012. In July, the Newton's Revenge race featured wind gusts of almost 70 mph/110 kph, conditions that I thoroughly enjoyed and revelled in. The extra challenge somehow inspired me and allowed me to explore the depths of the "pain cave" a little deeper than I think I might have otherwise managed that day.