All the cool blog names were taken, so my cats, Cooler and Fizler, lent their names. This blog is about our third or fourth mega-trip that Will and I have taken to Vermont every September since the year before Hurricane Katrina.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Big Dam Bridge 2008

Charles, Will and I did the Big Dam Bridge 100 in Little Rock on Saturday. (But we did the 50 miles.) Last year my average was 12, this year 14.5. I shaved about 30 minutes off my time--there is some discrepancy because they have a finish clock but of course it doesn't match up with my computer. It was under 4 hours, which was really great for me.

Charles did the 25 last year, so we were real proud of him for doing the 50. In two weeks at the Tour De Cure, he's planning on upping to the 75 if he still feels good at the turn. Will did the 50 with me last year, but bonked about 35 miles in, because he refused to eat at my urging. This year I was able to convince him to eat. The Carb Boom gels he had available helped, too. He did the last 20 miles by himself and beat us back by about 5-10 minutes!

I had a great speed there for a while. There wasn't much wind, and the terrain was rolling or flat, and I was able to hold around 18-20 all by myself, for at least a couple of miles (there was no one around, but someone did draft off me for a while and then when I slowed up a hill, passed me up and wouldn't pull, but congratulated me on my speed). I was forced to go fast because I was having trouble with the FD--couldn't get from the big to the middle ring unless I went all the way down to granny first. That, of course, cost me momentum which ticked me off, which made me mad enough to stay on the big ring up hill, even though I had to cross chain sometimes to do it.

Riding my heavier steel touring bike in Vermont for a week did make me stronger. I shift less because the barcons are less convenient. The gearing is lower to begin with so I don't go fast which means I ride longer. Getting on the lighter road bike with quicker shifting felt like taking off the ankle weights.

It was a really good ride. Can't wait until next year.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

From a Campground near Canada..

Today I drove upstate a little ways, to the Groton State Forest. It contains Lake Groton, and several ponds, and is located sort of between St. Johnsbury and Montpelier.

There is a rail trail that runs through the forest. Rail trails used to be railways. This particular one was decommissioned as a railway a long long time ago, because it was more dangerous than a new one that accomplished the same thing nearby. (That's what I gather from a website called crossvermont.org.)

Even though I had directions from Vermont Magazine that Heather had given me, as soon as I happened on the beginning of the rail trail, I parked and got on it. I could have followed the complicated directions in the magazine and ended up riding partly on highways, etc. But...I wasn't interested in traffic, and I didn't have any.

Although I knew the trail was gravel, I figured it would be pretty hard packed, like the Katy Trail in Missouri. Even though I loaded up both bikes just in case, I really wanted to ride the Centurion. It fits me better, still had the computer on it and the pedals, and it can handle gravel. I was wrong about the trail. It was sometimes soft Redfield-like sand, sometimes big boulders, sometimes lotsa rocks, all of which the mountain bike would have taken in stride. The Centurion did all right, though, thanks to my superior bike handling skills.

Seriously, though, I had no mishaps, but I did have to watch carefully for big boulders. You know the kind--the ones buried half way out of the ground in the middle of path and you don't see them in the dappled shade until you're giving it the death stare. You know the death stare--on a bike, anything you stare at you'll hit, no doubt. Sometimes that can mean certain death! That's why, especially when mountain biking (and on gravel roads) it's a good idea to look far ahead of your wheel and pick your line and DON'T DON'T DON'T look at that knob sticking up off that root, or that giant boulder buried in the path, or the goose-poop lying innocently in the middle of the bike path. The goose-poop will fly up on your leg and gross you to death.

No goose poop on this trip. I did take some pictures, though. Here's a slide show.



I read somewhere this week that it is moose mating season. I really really wanted to see a moose! Not too close, but you know, up there on the trail, passing across while I approach--like deer. I didn't see any, but I did see wild turkeys (they are hard to photograph), and quite a few butterflies, and I think I scared up some quail or something, but I never got a good look.

Apparently I also stumbled upon a vast network of snowmobile trails. (I think they call them snow machines, now, but that makes me think of ski slope grooming equipment, so I'll continue to call them snowmobiles, just like I still call "ATV's" 4-wheelers.) I came across a big sign with a map and the spidery snowmobile trails all over it. I tried to figure out where I was, but it didn't have roads so I couldn't orient myself. Along the trail, there were lots and lots of warnings about upcoming junctions and how to get back to Hwy 302 and speed limit 35. There was no danger of me going close to 35, though. I did get up to 15 at one point, then I realized how sad it would be to lose my teeth on one of those hidden boulders, so I slowed back down to around 10.

It was nice and flat, but gravel, so I had to be careful. I was alone for so long I started singing out loud. That got me to whistling. Whistling helps me get my breath back when I'm exerting myself. I do it when I'm singing and when I'm riding and when I'm at my exercise class. I've never considered whether that bothers anyone in class, but who cares? Some of them don't brush their teeth before they come at 6:00 a.m., and that bothers me!

So all that singing and whistling reminded me of all those hours and miles I spent on my bike in Conway when I lived there in high school. I rode my bike all over the place for hours on end. Singing and whistling and cruising around corners with no hands. The handlebar bag on my Centurion prohibits that--makes it unstable--but I can still ride for hundreds of yards and turn corners with no hands on my road bike and mountain bike like I was 15 again! I told you--superior bike handling skills!

But back to today--singing and whistling and COASTING. The rail trail was a false flat up on the way out. That means it wasn't really flat, but it looked that way. I was slowly climbing at maybe a 1% grade for about 5 miles. Then I crossed some kind of barrier and it was the same grade but in reverse, and I was able to coast and coast and coast. Not really fast, like on a real hill. Just enough gravity to make pedaling unnecessary, so long as you didn't mind going at gravity's pace. I didn't, because I was already whistling and singing. On the way back, I climbed for a few miles on the false flat in the other direction and then coasted part of the way after the barrier, and then I pedaled hard the rest of the way back, with gravity on my side.

Today, I came to know something that will forever be true, and always has been. My favorite part of cycling is coasting. All those miles in Conway when I was a teenager, and all those miles today. If I could just coast along with a whistle on my lips, I'd never get off the bike.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Photography

For some reason I bought a Macbook and didn't think about having an SD card reader added. So, for my camera, getting pictures off of it requires a separate little device, a card reader attached to the USB port. Luckily, I've had one of those for about 8 years. It reads many cards. I've used it approximately 5 times before I got the Macbook. Now I have to use it all the time, which is okay. But sometimes I don't remember where it is, or I'm sitting all warm and snugly in bed and it's out in the Element in some piece of luggage while I'm thinking about my blog.

Well, I finally uploaded all the pictures I've taken so far onto the Mac. I take pictures all the time, even if it's not terribly interesting, just to remind me of where I've been and what I've been doing. Or what Will's been doing, seeing, experiencing. This is why I take pictures of Charlie and Sadie when they're at my house; because I can't remember the crazy bread-stealing that Charlie did so I can share the funny story with Heather unless I take a picture!

There were days worth of pictures on the card. A few different events. My Blackberry has a camera on it, so I've been using that for some events (Yankees game), because it's just easier to carry one device and I doubt I'll be printing any pictures I take at a baseball game. So, the small megapixels of my BB are fine for the blog.

Sometimes I like to take extreme close-ups of interesting things. I did this last year in Maine, and I ended up printing a lot of those and putting them up on the wall in the dining room. I really liked the pictures I took. Even though I've taken a few years of photography, and I've been interested in it, I've never really found an "eye" for it. This little technique kind of boils it down for me, and I like the pictures. I don't really care if anyone else does--except maybe Charles, since it's his house, too. He hasn't objected, yet! I don't have to hang them up, though. I can just look at them.

I figured out yesterday when I was trying to take some close ups of apples on a tree, that I want a digital SLR camera. It was a farm, with an apple orchard to the east of the stables, right on the road. The orchard had an electric fence around it! A guy was mowing it. I knew they didn't want people picking apples, and I didn't want to be accused of it, but I wanted pictures of those apples! Fortunately, the yard in front of the stables was also covered up in trees that were covered up in apples! No fence.

I parked my bike and took out the camera and got as close as I could without crossing the property line. I still didn't want to be accused of picking an apple. The thing is, the only way this extreme close up works on a point and shoot digital camera is to get within focusing distance, and then use the zoom to zoom way in. I was too far away from the trees for that. I got as close as I could. But still not good enough. Here's a picture:



After I adjusted the color and cropped it in IPhoto, I think it looks pretty good. But I really just wanted one or two apples in the frame. The other thing about point and shoot cameras is the screen is hard to see in the daylight, so I'm never really sure if I'm getting the whole frame I want.




Here's an example. There is supposed to be a beautiful purple bush to the right of this picture in the foreground, but I couldn't see it in the view finder, so I missed it. If I were looking through an SLR (single lens reflex) lens, I would be able to see exactly what I was getting, whether it was dark or light outside.


You'd think I'd just use the Minolta film camera I have at home. But that's expensive in the long run, and I'm known for never developing film! I really like my digital camera. I think it's time to graduate to a big girl camera.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Out with the old

Here is a picture of the old Yankee Stadium, and then the new one.

By the way, the same company who built Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, AR, is also building Yankee Stadium. HOK Sport.
Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Yankee Stadium

Today was our chance to see the New York Yankees play in Yankee Stadium. They are getting a new stadium, right next door. Will has been a Yankees fan since he was little and we obtained a copy of a video about The Subway Series, when the Yanks played the Mets. The Yankees won, of course, and Will, as an impressionable young kid, watched that video repeatedly. He fell in love with the Yankees because of that video.


So here we are in Yankee Stadium! Nine games left in the place where Ruth, Dimaggio and Mantle played.

The 2008 Yankees are stinking up the place today. They just lost to Tampa Bay, 7-1.

Will did get to see Jeter make one of his spectacular throws, though.

Before the game, there was a moment of silence to remember 9-11-01. It is very different to experience that kind of thing in this city.

At the end they played Sinatra singing "New York, New York", of course.

Even tho the home team lost, we still had a memorable time!

Liberty Bell

This is a picture of Will looking thru the glass at the actual Liberty Bell. It is free to go in and see, but there is a loing line with security checks. Since we were travelling to Margaret's and didn't want to be late, we decided not to get in line. I'm so glad they had that window! The area around Independence Hall is definitely somewhere I want to revisit when I have more time. Will expressed interest in seeing originals of the Declaraion and Constitution. Maybe we'll go back on our way ro Camp next year.

I have Ben Franklin's biography at home. Wish I had read it!

Ocean side

The beach at Cape Henlopen State Park is a very nice beach. The sand is cleaner than I expected. The water is that greenish color of the northern climes. It was the first thing I noticed; not the blue water of the Carribean that we're used to.

Will spent a few hours skimboarding. It is kind of like surfing, but there's no rudder on the board, and it is smaller. You kind of throw it into the shallow waves while running, then you jump on it and ride the wave parellel to shore. It took a while but he got the hang if it.

It was a beautiful day foe the beach. This might not be the picture of tha day, it occurs to me.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

I love mobile blogging

This is me cracking up at Cracker Barrel.

In case you're wondering why Will isn't in the pictures, it's because he doesn't want to be. But I take pictures of him anyway.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Home Sweet Home

We made it to the Atlantic! Well, almost. It was a longer haul than we were ready to make, from Asheville to Lewes, Delaware. We ended up spending the night in Chesapeake, VA, which is outside Norfolk.

A nice civilized hotel, with cable TV and wi-fi. We hadn't seen any TV since arriving at the BRA. We knew there was weather acoming, so it was nice to get the whole picture on TWC. Unortunately, it didn't look good for camping.

I looked for a cabin, and found one outside Ocean City. The place looked great--Frontier Town--then I looked at the event calendar.

Delmarva Bike Week starts Thursday! So my choices were a thunderstorm in a tent or a cabin with roaring Harleys outside my window. I decided to at least drive by Frontier town and take a look. My decision was made for me, however, when I saw 5 bikers pull out of the Harley dealer right in front of me, and then proceed to ride ten miles below the speed limit.

We could make do in a tent. Maybe it wouldn't actually rain. Will forgot his swim trunks, so while we were shopping and eating in Ocean City, MD,, the squall line went through and it never rained another drop.

Now its a pleasant 70 degrees, and we've already ridden our bikes a few miles on the paved path this morning. There's a cantonment here, Ft. Miles, that was placed to protect the shore after WWI. The huge guns are still here.

Will is feeling a little under the weather, so we're taking it easy the rest of the day.

I have more pics that will post when I get electricity again..
Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

I love this picture



This was taken by my friend James Coburn, at the Live & Learn Conference, with a fish-eye lens. He said make a funny face, and this is the funniest face I know. I LOVE this picture! I look like a hobbit.

Thank you, James!

Up the Down Road

This is a pic of me at the bottom of the entrance to the Blue Ridge Assembly. The BRA is on the side of a mountain. Thus, the entrance is Up Road, and the exit is Down Road.



If you are on a bike or walking, they ask you to use the Down Road, either up or down. It is way less curvy than Up Road. But on a bike, that means the descent is screaming fast, and at the end there's a speed bump! (Reminds me of an old Bill Cosby routine.)



The road is so steep that you feel compelled to put the car in low gear to avoid burning up the brakes. Imagine that on a bike! FUN!



So this day I rode down with Ben and Bryce, did about 15 miles, during which I drafted behind Bryce, who was on a mountian bike! (He does adventure races, and actually had a tow rope attached to his bike! I knew he could smoke me, up, down, or on the flats, even if he was on a tricycle.)



I let them go up the hill without me so I could go to the drugstore in town. When I got back, I snapped this pic, and then commenced to climbing. One mile up. Slowest noted speed: 2.5 mph. I could have walked faster, but I didn't. I pedaled every inch!



Thursday, September 4, 2008

Music City

Finally got all the electronics in the same place so I could upload a few pictures.




We stopped at Opry Mills Mall in Nashville to get out and walk around and have a little lunch. I remember this sign from near the Grand Ol' Opry, when Opryland was still there. Check out the speed limit:





Here we are hoping and hoping that old I-40 ends soon!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Here they come to save the day!!


There were an astounding number of bucket trucks and wood chippers going down I-40 yesterday in Tennessee. Every few miles, there would 10 or 12 more in a row. It took me a few sightings to realize they were heading down south to remove trees from power lines, etc. I took a picture through the bug-sprayed windshield.


I began to speculate that there must be government money involved to have so many--literally hundreds of them--available at a moment's notice. I know for a fact that the Siloam Springs Electric company has standing contracts with tree services for natural disasters, etc. I thought maybe some of those trucks were electric company trucks, but I didn't see any logos that made me think so. I saw lots of tree company logos, though. I suppose FEMA or the local electric companies in Texas and Louisiana already had contracts with many many companies. When the call goes out, I guess they drop everything and head out.

Sure would hate to be a homeowner with a tree down when that call came in.

~~~~~~~~~

The trip from Memphis to Black Mountain seemed very long. Memphis to Nashville seemed like a piece of cake. We stopped at Opry Mills Mall to have lunch and stretch our legs. Will got to go in the Gibson Showcase store and play a few several-thousand dollar guitars.

After you get to Knoxville, and as you approach North Carolina, I-40 gets very winding, the speed limit drops to 55, and the trucks have to stay in the right lane. It's a very good thing. That road is scary. None of the two or three tunnels are straight shot. You don't know when you see the tunnel how long it is and if there is anything happening in the tunnel you need to know about. The tops of big trucks appear to be scraping the ceiling in the arch of the tunnel. I did my best not to be passing any of them while I was in the tunnel.

But...it is OH SO HARD to go slow when you're sooooo close to your destination and you have just driven the long way across two whole states. I admit I did not go slow. I sped. Even though I have a warning ticket from the Johnson, AR, police department stuck in the sun visor to remind me not to. I was still safe, but I can't drive fifty-five!

Walking with my feet 10 feet off of Beale

We left the last regular season Naturals game on Monday in about the 6th inning, so we could get on the road and not be getting into Memphis too late. We picked up Jessica in West Fork about 15 minutes early, and made it to Memphis at about 9:30.

Of course, we can't just roll in and not have a visit, Michele called Mary Jo over, and we had a nice chat. Michele's house looks great. The girls had Silvano dressed up like a fairy with make up and everything. He seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

Poor Freeshow (Michele's elderly dog). She can barely move, and I wonder if she's suffering. That's probably the last time I'll ever see her.

It's so nice to have friends that welcome you in no matter how long it has been. It was like I never left. (I made Will take a picture of Michele and me before we left. I'll try to remember to add it to the blog.)



Some photos just capture perfectly a dog's personality. This is Michele's dog, Hank. He's some kind of one-blue-eyed little darling who smiles a lot and jumps up, but knows to sit if you make him, but not for the camera.

Will's Last Game



On Sunday Will had his last game as a Naturals bat boy for this season. Here's a fuzzy camera phone photo of him with the Sasquatch, Strike, in the home team dugout.

We had a good time at the game, even though the Naturals lost, 9-5, to the Tulsa Drillers. After the game the Northwest Arkansas Symphony played patriotic music and there were fireworks to finish off the night.

Apparently, Will secretly speaks Sasquatchese because I heard them chatting in the dugout before this picture was made. When I caught them, this was the pose they jumped into to cover up that they'd been talking. Will may be the only person who has ever heard Strike speak.

Monday, September 1, 2008

It's almost time!

It's amazing how much you think you need for a month away! But it all seems to fit.

We have two bikes, a skateboard, a skimboard for the ocean, all the helmets and shoes and pedals for the bikes; a tent, air mattresses, chairs, cooking stuff and all kinds of other things for camping; an electric tea kettle. Four suitcases! Two laptops, two ipods, a PSP, a Blackberry, walkie-talkies, CDs, and on and on it goes. Three pairs of shoes each, lots of clothes, swim suits, etc. Craziness.

While I'm packing up the Element, I'll take a few pictures and post them later.