Bike Wash

Media Fridays

We'll posts videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

This video is from 2009.... hopefully conditions are a bit nicer this year for all those racing, but if they aren't, at least now you know what t do after the race to keep your bike in tip top form!!

Have fun out there and I'll see you at the Fat Tire Classic at Winding Trails!

 

Watch more video of Root 66 Bunny Hopbrook Dam on cyclingdirt.org

Food, Movies, Parents, and Bikes

All of those things don't mix well....

Haven't ridden since Monday, and won't be riding today...

Tuesday went and saw Hunger Games.  Annie read the book, and had already seen it - but she wanted to see it again, so I went along.  I'm not 100% sure how I felt about it.  I think there was a lot of anticipation and build p by those around me who have read the books... so after seeing the movie my perception is that the book would have probably been better then the movie.  Tp me, the movie moved a little slow I guess??  It wasn't a bad movie, but I probably wouldn't watch it again...

Wednesday the kids had an early day and we had parent teacher conferences.  We do two sessions to accommodate all working schedules... so from 1-2:30 and 6:30-8 I was in the gym meeting with parents.  Wasn't so bad... just a long stretch of time keeping me from doing much productive.  I did think about sneaking in a ride in between - but that would leave me less then fresh to speak with parents, so I figured I should just bite the bullet and not get any bike time.

Tonight is our final installment of Restaurant Week with our favorite restaurant - Mistral!  So that means great food.  It also means (say it all with me) no riding.

This weekend would have been the kick off to my season - so I'm kinda glad that it isn't since this week has been void of bike time... but I'll have to get my butt back in gear tomorrow/this weekend... and of course, enjoy the Celtics beating the Heat!!

For those racing this weekend, good luck and have fun!

You fickle...

70-80s last week just dripping with sweat to frozen feet yesterday...

In all honesty, high 40-low 50 is a nice range (typically) for this time of year and I would have no complaints.  BUT, with the unseasonably warm weather we've been having I forgot the proper ride attire for the conditions and my feet were absolutely FROZEN during my ride yesterday.

Still had a fun ride - explored some more of Upton State Forest - took a nice ride out and around a lake in Whitehall State Park.  I stumbled upon the lake and there was a sweet little singletrack shooting around the shoreline so I followed... what I didn't realize was just how big this body of water was!!  A longer side track than I had planned, and with a late start I did get a little nervous I'd be fumbling in the dark to get back to the pterodactyl.  Never fear, I made it back in time. 

After two rides, I'm diggin Upton.  It offers a nice mix of terrain, some decent climbs, plenty of fire roads to bomb, and some nice tight twisty singletrack.  I've also realized that there is much more area to explore, both in and around the forest, and it looks like this place has the potential for some serious miles.

Oh, and the bruises are coming in nicely from the crash at Wompatuck over the weekend...  it sure is mountain biking season!!

when a biker crashes...

and no one is around to see it... is there a reason?

Saturday I hit up Wompatuck with no real route in mind.  I had thought about going down to check out Burlingame (even though I wasn't racing on Sunday) but when I realized it was an hour and 3/4 drive I decided against it.  I had also thought about going to the race to take pictures... but again, the distance and the 9am start kind of made that an unlikely event.

So, Saturday I rode around Wompatuck.  My general idea was to get 20+ miles.  With no pre-set route I was free to just ride.  Wompatuck is big, but it is hard to get lost (or at least lost for long) as there are a plethora of old paved paths that will lead back to the road and major trail intersections are well marked (assuming you have a map - or knowledge of the area).  My ride started well.  My legs were feeling pretty good - definitely stronger.  The weather was great for riding - low 50s, and the trails were in fantastic condition (some blow down here and there, but overall things were great).

I wore my new long sleeve merino jersey and that thing is sweet ass!!  It's made by Icebreaker.

I got a large, and all I can say is that I'm glad I've shed some pounds (and continue to do so) because it was tight.  Not so tight that it was uncomfortable or restricted movement, etc... but it is tight.  I've never worn merino wool before and wasn't sure what to expect.  When I tried it on I wasn't sure how warm it would actually be as it felt super light weight.  I decided to try it out on Saturday with temps in the low 50s because I figured my jacket would be too much and a ss jersey alone wouldn't be enough.  Well, it was PERFECT!!  It somehow managed to keep in body heat while also keeping me cool... as I flew down trails I could feel the cool air - but it felt good.... never got a chill from it (even when I soaked my back with an exploding water bottle... more about that later).



I ended up my ride with 25.8 miles and something to explore on my next (non-ride) visit.  I came across a whole section (so I guess there are areas I haven't ridden) of old abandoned buildings along an old railroad line.  Just a lot of opportunities for some great shots so I MUST go back with the camera and see what I can get.  But, let's get to exploding water bottle....

So I was following a bit of the race course and at one point I wasn't exactly sure which trail to take (turn or continue straight).  I stayed straight and as I was flying down the trail I saw ahead a slight bend with the outside having a slight berm to boulder.  Somehow, someway, something got caught up and I took a spill.  It felt as though something had grabbed my derailleur and flipped my rear in the air... I tried to keep my balance but soon felt like a spill was inevitable so I tried to separate from my bike.  I landed on my left elbow/side with my bike away from my body - but of course still tangled in my legs.  As the dust settled I saw a water bottle top laying in the trail in front of my face.  I look to the bottle on my bike and it's in tact, so I quickly reach back to my jersey and pull the open bottle from my pocket.  At this point I was more concerned with my bike than anything else so I methodically look it over and everything was fine!  My shins on the other hand were beat to hell, but overall ok.

I could not for the life of me figure out how the crash happened.  There wasn't anything there that snagged my bike... it was a mystery.  I continued my ride and soon forgot the crash... except for the wet jersey.  But even though I was wet - I didn't feel wet... if that makes any sense?  The jersey did not retain a chill from the spill, so I probably just looked a mess to other trail users after that point.  I didn't take any pictures before continuing my ride, but before the day was done I decided to find my way back to investigate the scene further.

approach to the scene... looks like a nice turn, right?

ride the outside... that's the plan

ground disturbance....

So, there was a nice divot in the area where the "accident" occurred... but what caused it?  Like I said, it felt like something had grabbed from behind... like a derailleur pull or something.  But there was nothing around that could have grabbed it, and of course no damage to my derailleur....

So I set my bike up to check if I could have hit the ground with a pedal.  I thought I had my pedals parallel to the ground, but maybe not??  

Nope, inside pedal doesn't reach... 

outside doesn't reach either...

Maybe I had the inside pedal down by mistake?















Maybe I wasn't as far to the outside as I thought and I had my outside foot down??

It's a freakin mystery!  Now that I'm back home thinking about it the only thing I can imagine is that I dislodged a rock (my rear wheel bouncing over it - thus giving my that feeling of my rear wheel lifting??) and that divot is where it had been resting?

As I worked my way down the trail there were a number of impact areas on the trail before I came to my final resting spot... the whole spill must have been a sight to see!!

Initial impact zone

circles in the upper right are from the picture above.  bottom circles were about where my feet/bike came to rest - body further down the trail.

Top circle is accident spot, lower circles are from the first impact zone - picture taken from where my bike came to rest. 

It's one of those crashes that will go down in the books as a head scratcher.  Bike wasn't hurt, I have no major injuries, so we just keep rolling forward.  

Back to the original question: When a biker crashes and no one is around to see it, is there a reason?  My answer is: NO

BUT

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound?  That one is not so clear... what I can tell you is that the trees in Wompatuck are a little scary...

ok, relax!! I won't...

"Death is Coming" "He is Very Close"... ok then, I'll just keep on riding, maybe a little faster now!!

Saddle Time

Media Fridays

We'll posts videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

I like the video, the angles, the music... but it left me with one nagging question.

Why did he bother adjusting his seat height... I don't think he used his saddle once in the whole video

A Winter's Day on pinkbike.com

Wounded Knee

No, I'm not talking about the book

Or the high flying Boston Celtic from my youth

(Did you make the connection??)

I'm talking about the tightness/strain in the back of my left knee.  Before my road ride on Sunday I boosted the saddle a little... and I'm thinking maybe I took it up a little too much??  Halfway through the ride I started feeling it in the back of my left knee, but that's it.  Not a sharp pain, just a "stretch" pain I guess.  I thought about stopping to lower the seat (which I should have done) but I didn't.  After the ride my knee was ok and I didn't think about it until Monday morning as I was walking up the stairs to head out to work.  I could feel the strain there.  Again, no "real" pain... just enough to let me know something was up.

During the day on Monday as I walked around campus my knee felt a little "loose" whenever going up an incline... but again, no real pain.  Having missed opportunities to hit the trails over the weekend, I ignored my concern about the knee and hit up Foxboro- hey, maybe more riding would make it go away?? 

Nope... right from the start I was aware of the strain back there... it seemed to go away as I rode, but every once in a while I could feel it....  blah.  What to do, what to do?  The weather this week is insane!!  high 70s yesterday... high 70s (if not 80s) today, and 80s tomorrow... are we sure it's still March??

Yesterday no ride time because of the knee in combination to Annie's trivia night, so straight home for the dogs.  Who, by the way, thoroughly disappointed me with their design ideas... apparently garbage looks better across the floor and on the couch and chair then it does in a garbage bag...  I couldn't believe it!!  I thought about taking some pictures of the crime scene - I mean, there were bottles on the couch!!  But I couldn't bring myself to visually documenting the total obliteration of our place by our lovely puppies... I almost had to question if a frat had broken in and had a rager!!  But, as all dogs quickly learn - their spoils are truly just spoiled.  In the garbage was remnants of sushi from the other night... although I found a bit of wasabe left alone in various areas of the floor, some must have been ingested (and from the #2s last night and vomit this morning I'd say it certainly had been).

Today I will be off the bike as well.... I have to stop in to either the LBS or the Home Depot to pick up some stem bolts anyway.  During my ride on Monday there was some creaking going on and I was guessing it was from the stem.  Yesterday (after my garbage clean up) I planned on flipping the stem anyway for a more aggressive stance and did notice one of the bolts already a little loose - probably the culprit for the creak... but in the process also noticed the rust going on with some of the bolts.  For fear of stripping them I am just going to go ahead and replace them. 

But the main reason for a no ride today is another adventure in Restaurant Week!!  Delicious food on the cheap!!  Appetizer, Entree, and Dessert for $33.12 - sweetness!!  Am I worried about the calories... a little.  But, and I'm sorry to have not been reporting on the regular, I'm doing pretty well on the weight loss side of things.  I'm about 3 pounds from my goal, with a total loss so far of 9.6 lbs.  I'm thinking that I'll probably shed a few more pounds after that, but we'll have to see.... some further loss may just be a natural by product as ride time increases with the season anyway.  But I do want to be mindful of not going too far and sacrificing power or strength at this point.

St. Patrick's Day

Ah, the time of year that Southie is over run by thousands, intoxicated and in green.  This is also a time that if you move your car, be prepared to park very very far from your house... so I was pretty much stuck in Southie all weekend.

Saturday I took the risk and left Southie bright and early for the first trail work session at the Fells.  It was a great turnout, had about 30 people there.  We made short work of the task at hand - rerouting an uphill section of trail and then regrading and narrowing the trail coming down the backside.  I had never ridden this trail before (orange), as it had previously been illegal for mountain bikers to access, but it was great to start getting our "new" trails ready to ride in April.  It was also nice to hear "thank you" from the many dog walkers, hikers, and joggers that came through while we were working.  So no matter how loud one group may be in damning us mountain bikers, the majority are truly cool with shared access and appreciate the work we are doing.

We've got much more work to do in the weeks ahead to get the orange trail fully open and ready to go for bikes... and then some planning and work on building new trails - which will be rad!  Working on the trail was rather fun.  At the end (sorry, didn't take any pictures) the trail looked as if we hadn't done anything to it... which is perfect!! One guy commented - "it's like a woman and her make up - takes 2 hours and you can't tell the difference!!"  Too funny!!

When I got home I was luckily able to park right down the street (after multiple laps looking for a spot).  I was itching to hit the trails, but already the streets were getting packed (and double parked) as the masses were rolling in for their night of partying, so Annie and I just went out for a nice lunch down at the Seaport instead.

Sunday was parade day.  Again, that meant no trail riding for me... so I took out Georgia and hit the streets.  As I was leaving Southie (a couple hours before the parade start) I encountered cab after cab coming into the neighborhood and masses of people in green walking their way in.  Of course I represented with the Ireland jersey but was headed out of the chaos.  Nice little ride.  The weather was perfect and I combined the last two ride routes into a 35.2 jaunt.  Still have one section to iron out but this will be a nice little loop I think.

Today I do have the HiFi on the pterodactyl and I'm ready to ride after work!!  Not sure exactly where I'll be yet... maybe Foxboro or Upton... but I'm sure it will include fat tires and dirt!!

So hard to choose

Media Fridays

We'll posts videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

This week I couldn't decide which video to post... an "homage" to the "winter" we've had in the Northeast, a beautiful trek through the Andes, or a little more Dick(y)?

Was there any doubt??  We are all entertained by his words and adventures... here's a taste of Dicky in the beginning, and then he sneaks back in for a track-stand battle towards the end...
Or you can just enjoy the preview of the Trans-Sylvania Epic.

Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic 2012 from Dirt Rag Magazine on Vimeo.

If you are exceptionally bored today, feel free to check out the other contenders for today.

Check out this Winterbike video - a "winter ending" event up at Kingdom Trails.

The scenery is absolutely AMAZING in this video... I'm not sure if anyone has done a destination trip/ride like this, but it looks like something to look into.  I don't know how you'd focus on the trail with those mountains in the background... breathtaking for sure!

yeah yeah

So I "forgot" to post yesterday... sorry!  I didn't so much forget as I put it off to the morning... then I slept in (just a little) and didn't leave myself enough time to post as I had a parent meeting before school yesterday morning.... so that equals no post.  My bad.  I guess I have to get back into writing the night before.

So, yesterday I was supposed to tell you about my road rides.  Saturday Annie and I went to the "deeps," as Annie affectionately calls it.

Afterwards I DID have enough time to ride on the trainer.  Sunday was beautiful.  Decision time, do I head out to Wompatuck for a 20+ ride or do I get some pavement under my wheels and let Georgia out on the roads??  I opted to see what this carbon beauty could do on real hills (not just a training video simulation) and I was LOVING it.  Good thing I went the road route as at that point I wasn't aware of the HiFi's spoke issue.

Anyway.  Riding a road bike, for real, what's it like?  Crazy.  At first I was a bit "off balance" as those skinny tires felt sooooo very different then the big knobbies I'm used to.  Combine that with the feather weight of the bike, and of course the difference in body positioning, and it was a whole new world.  I quickly got over that and settled in for a ride.  Decided to hit up the Charles River as that had been an old faithful "crap weather" ride for me.  I got to what I had figured my half way point would be and I was dying for more.  So I pulled out the Igadget and mapped out a further loop.  Decent ride, got in 34.3 miles on a route I can certainly follow and expand upon in the future.  There was one sharp twisting decline that I was completely NOT ready for - wasn't sure my brakes were going to do the job as my hands were on the hoods... mental note - next time flip to the under bar grip for better braking action on a steep decline!!

Getting back into riding I never really had an interest in road riding... sometimes I would think of it fondly (around the time Harpoon does there Brewery to Brewery ride) and wish I had a sweet bike (and the legs) to join such an event, but most of the time I figured it would be a boring ride compared to the adventures of the dirt trail.  I don't know if it was the fact that I was stuck on a trainer listening to the same "coach" for 8 weeks, but riding Georgia on the roads was freaking outstanding!!  LOVED IT!  The lights, yeah they were annoying.  Traffic - well I'm sure it was lighter than a weekday, but I don't mind so much jockeying with traffic.  For the most part people were good about spacing (just one A-hole who decided the empty left lane wasn't his deal but 6 inches was enough clearance to give me) and I was happily surprised at how well cabbies did with bikers.  In one instance I was coming up to a green light and a cab coming the opposite way was looking to turn left.  He started to go for a second and I started shaking my head as I prepared to get on the brakes and he stopped.  I was really surprised that he didn't just floor it and go anyway.  It's nice when people are nice.

Monday - discovered the broken spoke - so I rush home, put the HiFi away and grab Georgia for round 2.  Had to be a shorter ride as I was now contending with the setting sun (thank you daylight savings for giving me the opportunity for an after work road ride) so I set out for the Charles again.  This time where I extended the loop on Sunday I cut up and back down through Cambridge.  I didn't want to follow the Charles so much as the Harvard side of the river gets packed with people and was a complete cluster F on Sunday. 

Rant time:  if you are visiting our fair city - welcome!!  Can I offer any help, directions, recommendations for dinner perhaps??  But PLEASE, if you do not speak English well enough to understand "on your left, behind you.... on your left... hello... your left.... hello!!" then please do not take up the entire bike path while strolling along our beautiful river way.  Hell, that goes for locals walking dogs... the picture should not be: dog extended on leash to far left of path, owners side by side in the middle, with other dog extended on leash to the right...  Common sense and courtesy people.  I do not expect to go full speed.  I am super happy to share the path with any and everyone.  I understand, and am ok with the fact that, slowing down, holding up behind you, and waiting for an opportunity to pass is all part of the game.  But, if we all navigated our world with a little common sense and decency there would be much better flow - in the streets, sidewalks, grocery stores, you name it!!

So back to the main objective... the plan is to hit only the city side of the Charles as there is better bike lane delineation on the path and less "strollers," and then take city streets back to and through the city.  Oh yeah, and of course on my rides I hit some Strava sections... too much fun!!  

  

broke

So, you know how the other day I mentioned grabbing a stick between the wheel and derailleur... and everything seemed fine?

Well, yeah, it's not.  Nothing traumatic, but enough to be annoying.  As I was loading the HiFi on the pterodactyl yesterday (you think I would be able to spell pterodactyl by now, but no... 3 out of 4 times I spell it wrong...) I noticed a busted spoke.  The weather... high 60s/70!!  And no trail time...

Instead I went straight home and got some pavement under Georgia's tires (the roadie) for the second day in a row... but more about that tomorrow.

So today after work I guess I'll be going all "Mr. Fix-it."  Seems like a busted spoke is more of an annoyance than anything - saving the sealant, taking up the rim tape... replacing said spoke, retaping the rim, and resealing... a bit much "re" for my liking.

There's always more to ride

On Thursday I was back at Foxboro ready for more.  The weather was amazing and I hit the trail wearing just a bike jersey (rest assured, I had shorts on as well).  As I took off my legs felt a little sluggish from the day before but I hoped that as they got warmed up they would perk up.  Before long I ran into a rider off the side of the trail attending to his wheel.  I stopped to offer help and he explained he had been having tube issues lately - apparently he had not seated his tire and the tube popped out the side??  Haven't witnessed that before but he was happy working (and not too far from his car) so he sent me on my way.

Off I went as I sought the new segments I had come across the day before.  Not only did I hit that section again, but I found even more new stuff!!  This side seemed to see less traffic - but the trails were sweet!!  Came across some nice rollers to play on.

The first one is steep, best ridden from the other direction I'm sure, but I was still able to power up and over.

Next three

 I probably came up from the "wrong" side of this rock formation, but it was fun anyway.  I hit it both ways and it was naturally easier from the other direction... but I kinda liked climbing up the steep face.

A little ways down the trail there was a nice "up and over" built for a fallen tree.  It was around a little turn and caught my off guard, but it was easily ridden (from this side).

There was a little bit of a drop off coming off the back side, making it a little more challenging to cross from this side.  From this side you need to have your momentum up in order to clear it (otherwise you are slamming your crank into a rock/log).

Getting to the trail (after getting out of work at the regular time) I had plenty of time for a ride.  I threw my light in my jersey pocket (with battery and all this time!!) just in case I rode for longer - but didn't need it.  I did manage to hit up the segment I unwittingly rode on Wednesday and I wasn't too confident that my performance would be much better than the day before.  During the climb I felt slower... so I did what I could to gas it on anything level and then on the decline before the final push to, and through, the parking lot.  As I reached the peak I felt blah about it but caught a glimpse of some riders through the woods so I pushed on for the decent (and chase).

The rider ahead of me had a dog with her, so I hung back not to freak the dog out.  As we hit the bottom I paused as a nice stick logged itself between my wheel and derailleur.  Luckily, everything seemed to be fine and I kept on riding... hitting up some more "new" trails.... this time I had a vague recollection of some of the trails I was riding, so I think at one time or another I had explored this section - but it certainly hadn't been on the normal route... Foxboro it freakin big.  Plenty of varied terrain to choose from - and many options as far as stringing together a ride.  Even without a "planned" route the place never fails to keep me entertained, or give me a great ride.

As I got home I anxiously loaded up my data in Strava... what would it show me??  I was interested to see where these new sections were that I had encountered today, but I was also curious as to how I performed on the climb segment.  KOM baby!!  I was psyched!!  Feels like I could have (should have) been able to get up that climb faster - so it will continue to be a measuring point for me as I continue to grow stronger.

A LEGENDary adventure

Media Fridays

We'll posts videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

Beautiful shots

Lights...

...don't work without batteries...  I was all set for my ride after work, excited even!  But in my rush to get everything together in the morning I left the battery pack at home...

The kids had a short day and we had meetings... until 3:30!! ugh (and yes, that is a loooong day for me - typically ending at 2:30).  So I quickly change, hop in the car (spilling my almonds as I drove to the trail) and get my gear set to ride.  I took off as quick as I could and realize I'm not wearing my HR monitor.... go back or just ride?  I ended up turning around to get it (more data to play with!!).

Head back out now tracking HR info to load into Strava (my new favorite toy!!).  I rode over at Foxboro because I had planned on riding into the darkness and know the trails well enough to ride at night there... failed that one.  So without a light I took off with an eye on the falling sun.  Got in a good ride, but a little shorter than I had wanted.

Strava.... what an amazing (yet frustrating) tool!!  I do like the "segments" in there that you can use to challenge yourself to push harder (a little "friendly" competition with any other rider who has ridden that segment).  I know there are a few segments in Foxboro, but I didn't think I was hitting any of them on my ride yesterday so I just rode.  When I loaded my ride I apparently had hit a (newly added) segment...  The unfortunate part was that when I hit the "top" of the climb (entering a parking area) I slowed amd just spun through to the next trail segment... taking a swig from the water bottle as I headed back into the trail.  The "top" according to the segment on Strava was a little ways back into the trail... so I destroyed my time for that segment unwittingly because I didn't 1. know it was a segment and 2. didn't realize where the end point was.  No big deal in the big scheme of things, just kinda hurts knowing I could have just pushed myself that much further before backing off...  there is always today!

And today (with temps in the mid/high 60s!!!) I will be riding.  Likely at Foxboro again.  Trails were in pretty good condition... only a few spots with snow/slush on the trail (which of course then means a few muddy spots) but overall the trail was firm and fast.  And I did find a new-to-me section of trail that was super tight and fun.  There is just so much in Foxboro I haven't gotten a complete loop going, I just kinda ride and ride until I'm done.  I have sections that I string together, but not a complete ride yet. 

Oh, and I made sure to bring my battery today.  May not need it as I'll be out of here at 2:30, but it's always nice to have in case things get extended on the ride.

Hope you are taking advantage of the weather as well!!

Ride time!

This week has been GREAT! (even though today will be my first ride of the week...)

Sunday we got back from Connecticut with the puppies and I absolutely hammered it on the trainer.  I was completely done, but it felt good!!  It has been hard for me to gauge how "hard" I should have been going through each of the segments of the workout and stuff... working with "perceived effort" and a "1 hour power" as my gage for overall effort.  Each workout would leave my legs worked.  And I have certainly felt stronger with each subsequent training... so it's working.  I always wonder if I'm working to my max... 

I do have to remind myself to slow down at times though.  I'm still early in my racing career... hell, I'm even still early in just riding!!  So I have to allow myself time to ramp up, to hone my skills and get faster/stronger.  It's just so much damn fun I want to do it all!!!  But, I guess that isn't really a bad thing.... Fun is the key after all!!

Monday it was freezing, so I hit up the gym.  With the race season upon us I have to look at adjusting my workout routine to ensure I'm not fatiguing myself in the gym and thus deterring from the trails... so reps will increase and weight will decrease.  Tuesday I had School Council after school - so no ride time.  Today...  mid 50s!!  I've got my bike, gear, and my legs are dying to hit the trails.  Just have to figure out where to legally (with some March trail closures in effect) ride.

Tomorrow... mid/high 60s!!!  Ride ride ride ride ride!!!

I'm eager to start getting my roadie on the actual road and off the trainer... in preparation I got this....

yeah, I'm matching my gear with my bike, so what!!?

Season Opener

So last week I took another peek at my race schedule for this year and realized that my season opener was a little over a month away.  This weekend I checked back on the Root 66 site and the EFTA site to check back on their initial "preliminary" schedules and came to find that the first race was moved from April 8th up to April 1st!!

Questions immediately started flooding my head.... am I ready?  WILL I be ready?  I should probably stop the "heavy" lifting soon... but when?  And so forth.  And then comes the fact that my birthday is on April 2nd and Annie had mentioned getting tickets for the Celtics v Heat game at 3:30 on the 1st...

So, do I partake in birthday celebrations - possibly the last Celtics game "on" my birthday...  or do I race?

I think with the big 3 coming to an end sooner than later.... and our impending (probable) move, it will be the Celtics game and a delay to the start of my season.

Hey, I began my career last year at Winding Trails... may as well start season 2 there.

Does someone have a calendar?

Seriously... it's Friday??  Does not at all feel like a Friday, but I'll take it.

Late post, at work, so no video (they block EVERYTHING here).

I did go to the gym yesterday and did my late "official" weigh in... good thing I was a day late.  On Tuesday I did a preliminary weigh in and I was about a pound over my previous weight.  Two days later and I'm .6 under my previous weight.  Yay

(granted - that is .6 over a two week period (my last real weigh in).  BUT this did include a visit with friends including good(bad) food and too much drinking and no real exercise)

So it's a wash and I'm back on track now. 

Really can't believe it's Friday, or that it's March 2nd!!  First race in just over a month.... YAY/YIKES!

Snow in 2012!!

Although parts of New England got dumped on over Halloween, Boston got nothing.  So with the impending snow yesterday and today maybe it was our chance to have a closure on "winter" with some actual snow.  Would I get a snow day the week after vacation??  (I know, I can already hear the boos out there)

No, we got nothing...  Boston, after over spending last year on snow removal, has apparently installed a bubble over the city preventing any snow from reaching the ground.  So the crazy winter continues....

But here we are, March 1st - trail closure day all over the place.  The one positive it many state managed lands have moved to the March ban instead of much longer winter bans that had been present even last year.  There are still a few spots open to ride (when weather appropriate to avoid damaging trails during this wet/thaw cycle) so all is not lost.

Last night I ditched the gym due to prep for painting to be done on the baseboards and trim in our condo and an bit of "stomach fun" that I had going on yesterday.  So, will this delay equal a more favorable weigh in today?? (and by "more favorable" I mean breaking even with my last weigh in...)

Either way... home, paint, gym (heavy leg day), home and maybe paint some more... fun!

This weekend it's going to be in the 50s... tomorrow in the 40s... so trails will be????

I'll be in CT anyway visiting the folks and picking up the dogs... I'll have to call down there to see what conditions are like... maybe I can hit up Case as it's 1. close by and 2. drains well (from what I hear read)