Sunshine, snow squalls and round towers

All this talk of a mild winter is starting to annoy the weather gods. So they huffed and puffed and blew a gale force wind our way this weekend, providing another excuse to take out the tandem. So while John's mates were off sheltering from the wind in the woods, we headed out on the tandem. We only made it a few blocks before stopping into the new George Howell Coffee in Newtonville. 

 

Nawth Shaw riding

I don't know Boston's Nawth Shaw well. So, when Beverly native, Matt Roy, suggested, in one of his infamous Bad Ideas (TM), dragging David Wilcox and yours truly on some of his favourite roads in that direction, I leaped at the chance.

Matt had the decency too, to lay on simply splendid February weather. It was sunny, dry, if breezy and a smidgin chilly. However, it transpired we were going to cover a large portion of the North Shore in our day out, so there wasn't much hanging out and chillin' to be done!

Presidents and Purgatory

Astute readers may recall that at the end of the Festive 500 challenge last December, John and I declared ourselves so far beyond redemption that we felt no need or desire to serve additional time in Purgatory (Pamela had already been to Purgatory Falls, NH earlier in the week), so we bailed on our planned final ride from Framingham out to Purgatory Chasm. This is probably why we didn't win! That and the fact that we didn't have epic blizzards to ride through. But try as I might to ride in snowy conditions this year, global warming seems to have arrived in New England, and we've been blessed with some pretty amazing winter cycling this year.

But it is also a presidential election year, and we've been bombarded with news stories that try my patience and insult my intelligence and make me feel I'm in some sort of presidential purgatory. I'm really hoping to emerge into a state of grace soon. So seeing as how I like my theme rides, we decided President's Day would be a fine day for Purgatory.

"Snowy" trail riding

The forecast predicted 3-6" of the white, fluffy stuff. While sensible types might have stayed at home and provided laps for cats in front of a nice, warm fire, Messrs. Roy, Wilcox and I decided to go slip, sliding in the woods instead. The plan called for stringing together as many sections of trails in the Fells as possible, with Matt leading the way.

Things started according to plan when I awoke to find a dusting of white outside. The forecast still seemed accurate as I made my way to Gnarlington through white coloured precipitation. However, that was to be the extent of it for the day, as you can see from the following photos:

Fender Update - SKS Raceblade Long

[Look here for our newest post on fenders]  


Last week in my Fender post, I mentioned that I had some of the new SKS Raceblade long fenders on order. (I have updated that post now with this information).

They arrived over the weekend,  and I eagerly opened the box and tried to mount them on the bike that currently sports the original raceblades.  But I found several limitations, the primary one being a max tire width of 23mm. I had missed this detail before I ordered them. 

Not the longs!

Fenders

[Check here for our newest post on fenders]


Mo Bruno Roy looks great all the time, but she really carries off the muddy look with style and grace!

Photo by Matt Roy

I can't say the same for me!

And while it may be fun for an hour, I bet it would get a bit uncomfortable on an all day ride. And it might not be such a good idea to show up to work this way, or to try and get a seat at any coffee shop other than Ride Studio Cafe. Even there, you might be offered a big bucket of water and a towel at the door!

Why Tandem?

I always enjoy the chance to tell the story of how I used a tandem to snare Fear Rothar. We were both participating in a cross-USA bike tour on single bikes, but due to our speed difference, we rarely saw each other on the road.

We had met a year before when Fear Rothar came from Ireland to do BMB in 1992. We had emailed occasionally, and he was the first person I told when I decided to do PAC Tour the next year.  I really didn't remember that he had previously told me of the same plans. Whether it was fate or accident, or some plan on my sub-conscious' part, we ended up on the same trip.

Inspiration

Back when I was in high school, I did a week long backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail (AT). It was not terribly long, but a good challenge for me at the time. And it was just enough to whet my appetite for backpacking in the future.

I had never done anything like it before, and had to prepare from scratch. I used a large part of my allowance for the year to buy boots and pay for the trip. I borrowed a backpack from a friend, who had done the trip the year before. She had raved about how much fun it was, and encouraged me to go. I had my own sleeping bag - all kids do, right? In retrospect, I should have tried to borrow a proper one. The rest of my gear consisted of shorts, a pair of jeans and a couple of t-shirts, pretty simple.

At Least it's Not Raining

-Forbidden Topics of Conversation on Bike Rides-

As you may know from reading a previous blog entry, I like my bike rides to include lots of conversation. But there is one subject I just will not tolerate being discussed during any ride, and that's threatening weather. RAIN is a 4 letter word. There is simply no disputing that. And it is just imprudent to discuss rain out loud (or even think about it) during any bike ride.

Bring on discussions of politics and religion. By all means, we should get our heart rates elevated occasionally on a bike ride. The more controversial the better. And don't hold back when talking about your favorite sports team, especially if they aren't local.  Although don't expect me or Fear Rothar to have a clue whether the team you are talking about is in a sport with a large round ball, a small round ball, a large odd shaped ball, or a puck.

OK, for real this time...

Yes, I must live under a rock. I don't watch reality television - so I'm not terribly current on the whole public vote-for-me thing. I just signed up for facebook to get some photos from a friend last summer. But we have had the website for a while, and I would occasionally get a query from someone asking if we had a mailing list or a way to notify folks of updates. I finally realized that blogging would be the best way to 1) get me to post photos from trips and rides in a more timely manner and 2) allow folks to subscribe or get notified when we have something new. So we started the blog.

It was quite timely as the Rapha Festive 500 - Ride to Redemption came soon after, and gave me something to write about for a while, and provided some inspiration for using the new camera, as well as a chance to possibly win some swag.

Why I Love to Ride in the Winter

I do love crisp winter rides. Although I could have passed on the gale force winds today...

But once we got into more sheltered areas, and especially once we started heading home with that strong wind at our backs, we were better able to appreciate the deep blue sky and sunshine that makes winter rides so nice.

35F and Sunny

We finally got some snow in eastern Massachusetts. There is still not enough to use the cross-country skis, but enough to prompt me to mount a studded tire on front of the Green Queen (aka my green Cielo by Chris King). It has been amazingly mild this year and this is definitely the latest I have have ridden into winter without studs.

The Green Queen is my nominal commuting bike. John calls it my 50 year old hammer - with two new handles and three new heads.  I've had the bike for 18 years, and over the years I have replaced almost everything except the Phil Wood Fixed hub.  Yes, even the frame has been replaced.

Social Riding

While the weather holds this winter, I will continue to lead what I call a social ride on Tuesdays out of Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington, MA. This is a ride that starts and ends with a coffee, covers some quiet scenic roads and usually includes a lunch stop. We ride at a Goldilocks pace - not too fast, not too slow, just right! (If you're in the area and have Tuesdays free, please come join us.)

So what exactly is a social ride? Recently a conversation erupted on the email list of my local recreational club about riding etiquette. I was rather surprised by some of the opinions expressed about what makes a good club/social ride. But I suppose more to the point is whether a recreational club ride is a social ride. In the case of this club, the word social is very much part of the club charter. When I go on club rides, I am looking for a social ride.

So I thought I'd share my thoughts on social riding here on my own little soapbox :-)

First and foremost, a social ride is not a race***. If you want to race, fill out the entry form, pay your fee, pin your number on, warm up, race, and then go stand on the podium, and collect your medal and prize money. This doesn't mean that you can't occasionally sprint for a town line on your social ride, but don't assume that the rest of the group will join you or be impressed by your athletic prowess as you raise your hands in victory. I have yet to see newspaper headlines proclaiming any winner of the Concord Town Line Sprint*. I do know of plenty of people who treat a weekly Tuesday evening club ride like the world championships, but I honestly don't know anyone who is impressed that someone else won it.

Vote early and often

For those of you who do facebook...

Seeking support for our effort at Redemption - Rapha style. There will be a public vote to decide the top three for the Rapha Festive 500 on Rapha's facebook page on Friday 13th January, postponed to the 20th January.

Vote early and often!

And if you don't do facebook, here's a great excuse to start!

If you haven't seen the earlier blog entries and don't know what I'm talking about, check out our Festive 500 page.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Bib Tights

I must admit to having a love/hate relationship with bib shorts and tights. When I first starting cycling, I was thrilled to find women's bib shorts. I gave Dawn Urbanek lots of business back when she was making some lovely stylish women's bibs. One of the advantages of bibs is the lack of a binding waistband, which for me, seems to add pressure on a full bladder! The disadvantage, especially for women, is that they add a little hassle, when the bladder is full and in need of emptying.

OK, maybe if I didn't start out every ride with coffee...
Or if I kept my rides short...
Or if I only rode in temperatures where jackets aren't needed...
Or if I didn't want access to jersey pockets...