Vermont to Switzerland
Seed starts are sprouting and growing. 360+ of peas, corn, beans, chard, watermelon, perennials, strawberries, and more. They are warm and cozy under artificial sunlight in our basement – as our garden is still under 6-8 inches of dirty frozen snow, with more to come – as we will be under a winter storm warning for Thursday and Friday. 6-12 inches of snow across northern Vermont overnight, more in the mountains. Sigh. The VT Champlain Valley 200k Brevet is April 9!
~65 miles with lots of spring dirt on stretches of the Fall Classic route. Frozen dirt in the morning, mud later in the day. ~3k in climbing, much of it in muck, which made for an interesting day. Eye freezing, ice cream headache headwinds pretty much everywhere.
The day started off well with my coffee and hoping for some warm sun, then 10 miles later a wreck on Poor Farm Rd. Crossed up the wheels as best I can figure going over some frozen ruts. Cut up my elbow and knee, didn’t rip the jacket or pants though. Shoulder and hip are sore today. Made my way out to the shoulder of the big mountain and climbed up to Irish Settlement Rd. Wheel stopping mud in some places – still tacky and walkable – but fender and brake clogging. Explored down Nashville and Stage Rd. and had to do a roadside fender cleanout and adjustment to get the rear wheel to turn. I was in the 32×30 quite a bit on the last stretch through West Bolton – fighting both the climb and the wheelsucking mud.
Ended the day @ On The Rise for lunch with the wife and little one who had visited the Vermont Audubon Center sugaring festivities earlier in the day. Blue skies + warm sun (when out of the wind) + and some nice dirt (when it was frozen!) = good day out.
Easy recovery spin on the first day of Spring. Quiet this morning in the woods – snow melting, some crust to ride, some mashed potatoes, some frozen post holed rattled your teeth out sections of bike path.
Currently we are under a winter weather advisory, with fluffy snow falling outside the home office window. 3-5 inches by tonight. Sigh. While I love the snow, winter fatigue has fully set in, and I’m looking forward to exploring some single track this year, as well as upping my fitness as I take on both organizing and riding our local brevet series this year.
Its early for regular Sunday Dirt postings – but on the return leg of a fairly flat out and back to the Champlain Islands Wil and I took to some dirt. Smooth, firm, and in great shape. ~80 miles to Hero’s Welcome and back. I’m cooked. Longest ride since last fall.
(click to see the hundreds of bird houses…)
We had a tough week last week – the family was dodging colds while packing and prepping for our move. We made it. Closed on the new place last Tuesday, moved on Wednesday, and turned over keys to our old place on Thursday. We are settling in to our new (old) cape in Burlington with 1/3 of an acre blank slate of a backyard for the dog and little one to enjoy. We have trees, grass, a fence, and a small garage. Ball chucking with the pooch and chasing the little one around ensued. Life is good.
Until that cough caught up with me. I went to urgent care Saturday morning after spiking a high fever and I’m being treated for pneumonia. Starting to feel human again after 2 days in bed catching up on some movie rentals. Hopefully my lungs will return in time to enjoy the VT 100k Cafe Cruise. It was going to be slow before I got sick, as I’m in a death spiral of riding form… now I just plan to enjoy a long day on the bike and to finish with some friends.
What a difference a week or two makes… weather turned the corner for a bit. Rode in shirt sleeves and knicks last week. Then we were hit with some short lived fluffy white today.
First sunny ride with the usual suspects. 36 miles for me (I pulled out early). South of town and to some fast smooth dirt. Road bike legs and lungs need some work. The boys probably topped out 45 for the day.
~67 miles with Jim and Patrick. Most of the dirt is in smooth and wonderful condition. Plenty of climbing from steep rollers to Brigham Hill Road. I wanted for a century to scout a 300k route… but we opted for close in and backroads. We never ‘race’ on our Sunday rides – but we do work hard when we have to – and we’ll work well as a group to tackle some of the busier roads and to get out of the wind. This Sunday, knowing that we were going short, I attacked nearly every false flat, hill, and climb. The goal was to redline and repeat. I wanted to feel beat by the time I rolled home.
I succeeded and felt great doing it. The form is slow to return – but it is happening. Patrick was recovering from a 4 gapper the day before and Jim was prepping for a trip to Maine – so they idled it back letting me spin like mad off the front – only to catch me over the top and have me sit in and recover while they chatted away – effortlessly I tell you – while I struggled for breath.
Flèche Teamate Patrick and I rode the Westfield 200k in the heat on Saturday. 126 miles, limited traffic, plenty of climbing, temps in the 90’s with a beautiful route from Westfield to Shelburne Falls, a side trip to southern Vermont and then back via Shelburne Falls and some lonely mountain roads. The ride took a bit longer than I had hoped – but climbing in the heat mid course was brutal. I opted to snag a few extra bottled waters from McCusker’s Market when leaving the lunch control – they were gone before I began the descent to Conway. I struggled with the heat, some soreness in my left quad, and numbness and pain in my right hand. New things – but pain is not unexpected when on the bike for so long. The hand pain should be remedied by adjusting the Ergo lever position and how the cable exits to wrap the Nitto Noodle bars. The muscle pain is most likely due to this being the longest ride of the year… Patrick played with the lead group for 2/3 of the ride. He rolled in about 2 hours ahead of me. I finished the last 20 stronger than I rode the first – so despite the heat and being off my better pace – I feel good about the ride.
Spring ride with lots of dirt – a mental boost and a gear shakedown for next weekend’s 200k. We rolled out of town from our usual start along Mountain View and the always fantastic ’seasonal’ Governor Chittenden Road. Lots of gravel and a roaring brook. On to Richmond via a closed and muddy Kenyon Road – 10% or more in grade, skinny 28’s slipping in the muck when I would stand up. Seated climbing, rear over the rear. Great views to Camel’s Hump. Down into town on the wrong side of the closed bridge, follow the river past Cochran’s and to Jonesville and then up, up, up Stage Rd. (optional as Bolton Notch was gnarly and gravelly). Flying along the highland flats to Brown’s Trace and a stop @ the Village Cup. Busy Rt. 15 then on to Tower Rd. and into Colchester on Lost Nation, Curve Hill, and others. Loop out to the bay and home. Just about 58 miles, with some great climbing and scenery. The group (4 out of 5 Flèche teammates) worked well together – each of us pacing ourselves on the steep stuff and working together into the wind pulling on the flatter terrain.
