Category: vermont

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The Cut

Middle of nowhere – I took a ride to where Mallet’s Bay meets Lake Champlain. ‘The Cut’ as it is known – breaks the old causeway for the railbed to allow boats in and out of the bay. LocalMotion runs a bike ferry here in August – allowing a shortcut to the islands – and there are local advocacy groups working to make it permanent and improve the trail. Winter storms do a number on the crushed gravel – the path was strewn with driftwood, larger rocks, and a fair share of washouts. A stiff stiff wind was howling out of the north – and the 2.6 miles from Colchester Point seemed the slowest and coldest of my life.


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Bakfiets!

As the weather has warmed we’ve been accumulating the miles on the Bak – I mounted the car seat base in the box and we have a traditional kid tent to fend off the elements. Add some of Ava’s favorite animals and we are good to go – we’ve been averaging 12 – 15 miles per trip. Our first journey was an attempt to take the fixed wheel from my Surly to the Old Spokes Home and swap out cogs – but we met with 4″ of ice on the bike path at the hill into town – and a cold windy dead end out and back. Since then we’ve made treks to the library, hardware store, eye doctor, the park, and to meet some friends in town for lunch. We also discovered Viva Espresso in the Old North End for mid day snacks (for the little one and dad!) and we are a hit at City Market when we stop for groceries. I’ll have to take some more pics of our set-up – I’m using large Ortlieb panniers on the Bak’s rear rack for storage, the car seat in the box, a traditional kid tent, and room up front and around my passenger for extra cargo space.

We are well on our way to replacing VMT (vehicle miles traveled) with BMT (bakfiets miles traveled).

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SSDD(2)

Same spot, different day.
Yesterday a cool, sloppy and slushy run.


This morning a crunchy and cold walk.

The locals have been very busy this spring.



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Run


We’re signed up for the Boilermaker in July. Took a ‘first run*’ today in the Intervale with the Maya pup – 1.5 miles. Cold and sloppy – but better than trying to run on the MUP. Off again this afternoon to repeat the experience, and maybe double the distance.

*run, of course is relative – it was slow – but fun.

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Winter


Its cold and icy here, and we’ve been busy with our little one. She arrived 1.28.08. 7 lbs. 10 oz.


Pregnancy through labor and delivery were all incredibly difficult for our family, and Jen was incredible throughout. Simply the most demanding and amazing process I’ve been involved in.

Now, perhaps I can find the time and the mindset to get back on the bike. My body is in need of it – I matched Jen’s pregnancy gain pound for pound!

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Pic of the Week


I made the pic of the week over at Adventure Cycling. I submitted this a long long time ago – it was nice to get a confirmation email and finally see it online. The pic is of my IF ClubRacer from the Burlington waterfront on a cold and rainy day. I took off for a long ride, but after about 10 miles in the fog and misty rain I turned around and headed for home.

Posting has been sporadic. I’m working on a bike related business and spending much of my spare time developing the website, products, and planning. More later, as I delve into a human powered endeavor.

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Summer Evening


Took a quick 35 mile ride to Irish Hill and back for some climbing repeats and managed some nice snaps of the sunset over the lake on the return trip.


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Sport Utility Vehicle


Trying to keep the cars parked as much as we can this summer – today I made a delivery of a dehumidifier to ReCycle North. Tucked under the cover is a ceiling fan that they wouldn’t accept – so I stopped at Local Motion (our local cycling and trail advocacy organization) on the way home and left it with Brian who ensured me he would put it to good use – or give it a good home. After lightening the load I made stops at the post office and the grocery store.

I’m experimenting with PowerGrips on the long distance machine, and have to admit that after the short ride today I have mixed feelings. It was a pleasure to wander around town in street shoes and still feel connected to the bike – but in getting things snug enough to pull through the pedal stroke I felt like I was mashing my toes… Kent loves them – he even did the Great Divide with them on his fixed gear – but I’m thinking I’ve got the adjustment off, I need to find stiffer shoes, or my feet just don’t like being compressed by the diagonal strap. (I seem to remember toe clips being more comfortable… but a pain to keep tightening.)

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June Century – Smuggler’s Notch


Rode a great century from Burlington through Smuggler’s Notch and back. Climbed the notch from Jeffersonville and discovered that the further I got along the better I felt – the first 1/3 of the ride was muggy and humid – the last 2/3 the temperature started to drop and I found my legs. Upon reaching the top I discovered a traffic jam and I caught nearly every motorcycle and car that passed me while I struggled up the grade. The story from the Harley folks on the downward side was that as troopers were working a previous wreck a motorcycle came around a tight corner and crashed into the back of an emergency vehicle. The rider went to the hospital with a broken wrist and possibly broken ribs. I came round the corner just as they were getting the bike on the tow vehicle.

The ride down was supposed to be the fun part – but with all the traffic I took it easy and was approached by every other car in line about what was happening ahead. After clearing traffic I had the whole lane nearly all the way to Stowe, as traffic didn’t start moving until I was enjoying some lunch at Harvet Market on the Mountain Road.




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Climbing


Climbed to Bolton Ski area today. This was my first serious climbing of the season and it felt good. Slow, but good. I averaged nearly 6 mph up the climb – and looking at the GMBC Time Trial results I won’t win a medal anytime soon… but it felt good to work hard for 4.4 miles. The VDO topped out at 17% grade – with long stretches at 9-10-13-14%.