Vermont Cheddar

We found this great little roadside stand  on rt 30 in VT. and had a wonderful Polish lunch.

Wifey got the itch to get away for a couple of days.   She did some reasearch and as usual found a very good deal.   With that we sent the dogs to their favorite kennel, put a couple of days worth of food and water out for the cat and drove to Manchester Vermont for a two day stay at the Equinox Resort and Spa.  We did some shopping and some browsing.  The shopping was at places like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor to name a couple.  The browsing was at Brooks Brothers and Armani outlets.   I did see a really nice sport jacket in the 50% off rack at Armani that  I could have purchased is for $795.   The hook was.....no tax.    I didn't like the look so I passed.

The walk to the shopping area was around a mile and a half.  On the way back it started to drizzle and we were also returning via the back roads, just for something different.   On that walk I spotted a hawk and told wifey look over and up.  That's when she took a "diggah".    A diggah is different from a fall.   It has things about it that saying she fell just doesn't paint the whole picture.  I watcher her incorporate four falls into one.  Fret not, there was no injury, damage or pain. 

When she looked up, she stepped on the road edge where the tar meets dirt.  Usually a person stumbles, the knees buckle then they recover.  Wifey, in this case did not recover.  Her knee almost hit but she took to giant steps forward then fell on her hip.  Done deal?  Nope.   Next she pancaked onto her belly before finally putting her ear to the ground to see if she could hear buffalo.   The whole thing was a slow and gentile fall that was not unlike someone getting into bed.  After making sure she was fine, the laughing fit hit me.  It looked so slapstick that I couldn't help myself.   Then again the only thing funnier I saw was a very out of style guy in his late 20's walking down a street giving a car full of high school girls his best George Clooney look and turning just in time to smack the telephone pole full face.

Any how,  Manchester is a decent get away place.  Golf if you do that,  hiking, shopping, overpriced restaurants and pampering in the spa.   If you get a good price, it worth the trip.

We drove the back roads to this place so I could get a feel for biking in the area.  One of the tours I am interested in doing takes me up rt 100 in Vermont to the Canadian border and into Montreal.  Lots of rolling hills and a couple of mountains to cross, but the traffic has been absorbed by the interstate.  It is really good riding routes. 

Working Easter

I have been giving up my scheduled work weekends in anticipation or retiring.  This weekend  snuck up on me and I  didn't realize I was working till Friday which was too late to ask someone to cover for me.   BTW both days are time and a half, so they are usually easy to give away. 

Saturday I decided to move my commute from the 6 mile to 11 mile ride.  I drive part way and have a few places to park that give me different mileage options. It was pretty easy and I planned on doing the same on Easter Sunday.  However when the alarm sounded I decided to roll over and sleep in and drive to work.  

The office is 40 miles inland from home and when I leftat 4PM the temperature read 80F. I was disappointed at not commuting today and decided that I would ride after work.   As I drove toward the coast I watched the temps drop and finally settle in at a comfortable 67.

 I decided to do the loop that I routed when I first got back into biking a few years ago.  It has a few mileage options and I ended up riding 21 miles this day.   My conditioning needs work I found, but that will improve quickly over the next few weeks.

It's only three weeks till the Five Boroughs Ride in NYC but I have no worries about being ready for that one.   It's the summer tour I need to do the extra training so I can cross the Adirondacks without calling 911. That's not till mid July. So plenty of time to prepare for that.

100 Year Storm

It is called the 100 year storm.   Eighteen inches of rain has fallen in less than a month completely overwhelming the many rivers and lakes of the area.   My commute, which has been on hold for a few days was an eye opener. I don't live in Taunton, Ma and subsequently didn't keep up with the news.  

I made it a point to bring my camera and the following are two days after the rains have stopped.   Taunton is a very old New England city and many of the buildings involved in this 100 year storm, were there for the last two or in some cases three.

Another Change in Touring Plans

Originally I was going to do the Erie Canal west to east, then a week of some other riding in upstate NY or Canada.  The new plan has the Erie Canal off the radar.

I have a two week tour that begins with a drive to Albany NY.   My bike and I will travel Amtrak to Buffalo and after spending the night I will ride solo to Toronto. I'm thinking a day and a half will get me there.    I have a couple of people to meet in Buffalo.  One may put me up, but I'm really thinking I'll grab a hotel and maybe go out to dinner with him.  The other has also offered a place to stay but more importantly a route to Toronto that he claims is much better than the suggested marked bike routes.   I'll definitely give it a look.

In Toronto, I will meet up with a friend and we will ride together to Montreal. I will end the tour by traversing Bike Rt. 9 in upstate NY back to Albany, before the 5 1/2 drive home to Cape Cod.

Like most of my annual tours the route changes often, but this year at least I am staying in the same general area of Lake Ontario. I'm really giving Bike Rt. 9 a good going over on maps and journals.  There are some difficult climbs but if I remember correctly, there is a way around them.  If there is I'll find it.

Boston Marathon Tune Up

The consensus among the top  runners is that New Bedford is the premier tuneup for the Boston Marathon. The timing, three weeks prior to Boston and the route make it so.

It's also a destination day for people from all over the Northeast.  Living just over the bridge makes it easy for me and wifey to get there and spend a nice Sunday Afternoon.

Eight year old crossing the finish line

 Busy Place

  No better way to end the afternoon

Commuting Stuff

This week has offered some really nice commuting days.   The morning have been tough though.   Today for example, the temperature was 42F when I left the house at 5:45 AM.  I begin the commute in the dark, but when daybreak arrives there is always a substantial drop in the temperature.  At the midway point of my commute my computer read 31F.  An eleven degree drop in less than an hour.

Recent flooding has prevented me from moving the commute back a couple of miles.  ( I live 40 miles from the office and have a few parking options that allow me to bike part of the way).  Next week looks much better for parking a little further away.

In the meantime, here are a few recent commute photos.


Taken on the fly. A Midnight Rider

Ole Blue waiting to go home.

The Touring Bug Is In The Air

Adventure Cycling linked it's members to this group of collegians, who are planning a cross country ride and raising money for Alzheimers. The Fijis which is a take on their fraternaty,  Phi Gamma Delta, obviously.   They are doing an awful lot of work in preparation for the tour which may seem like a lot, but in reality, it can't hurt.   Like all of us, the pre tour jitters come and go along with the occasional nightmares when the start date gets close.    I'm sure they will be amused at all the hubub once they get on the road.  

Speaking of tours.  Brandon and I are pretty set on doing the  Erie Canal again.  This time we will visit Niagra Falls and ride to Albany. (It was Utica last time).  The second half of the tour will be Adventure Cycling's Adirondak Park Loop.  Thats another 400 mile loop from Saratoga Springs, NY to Lake Placid. However if Brandon gets his passport we will ride from Montreal to Buffalo instead of the Adirondak Loop. I'm betting he doesn't get the passport.

Part of our training again this year will be the Five Boroughs ride in NYC. We will do some other rides to keep us in relative condition for an easy tour.   Nothing like the Figis though.  We are not going nearly as far.
 

 
Retirement is getting close as is summer.  Summer is bike touring time.