A progression in cycling

I have always had a mountain bike, for the longest time a Trek 820 mountain track with grip shifters that I bought in Junior High.  I took this bike to college with me and rode it all around campus.  Eventually I upgraded to a Kona Cindercone with front suspension & mechanical disc brakes.  Why a mountain bike and why a Kona?  Well, in my mind at the time, they looked cool so they were obviously the best bikes.  I rode mostly around campus, and this bike was overkill.  BUT, it was cool looking and made me happy every time I rode it.  I could go through college woods and commute between the Forest Service, where I had a workstudy job, and James Hall - where I weighed out tiny amounts of soil for CHN analysis.  It was awesome to cut through the shady forest on a dirt trail.  I liked feeling like I was further away than I actually was from the hustle & bustle of the road.

After college, I would occasionally ride on trails (Kingman Farm, College Woods, FOMBA) but I could never keep up with my husband Jim and definitely held him back, so I rarely took out the mountain beast any more.

Fast forward to 2009.  Jim finally convinced me to try a road bike so I could ride with him.  Well, at this point, I still didn't think road bikes were that cool, and I had crazy sticker shock at the bike shop when I saw $900 price tags on a Specialized Allez.  I didn't know why these bikes cost more than my way awesome looking mountain bike.  They didn't even have disc brakes or shocks or anything.  What was I paying for??

I took a demo out from Papa Wheelies, where our friend was working at the time.  It was a Cannondale Synapse - a men's model that was a tad bigger than I needed - but served it's purpose for demonstrating ride feel.  Jim and I rode around UNH and Durham.  I remember getting off the bike on Mill Rd and pushing it up a hill, panting.  Jim turned around and looked at me like "ohhh boy".  Yeah, this wasn't a long ride.  But, I was impressed by how much more ground I could cover on the road bike.  I liked the idea of being able to ride with Jim.  I didn't need many technical skills here like with mountain biking - I just needed some more endurance.

Excited, I returned the Synapse and browsed the 2010 model catalog for the women's model color choices (in my girl-mind, color was a make-or-break in my decision to buy).  I ordered up a 2010 Cannondale Synapse Feminine 5, an aluminum frame w/ carbon fork, Shimano 105 components (on Jim's advice, because I get stuck on "ooh shiny!").  White with red accents, a sharp looking bike!  This bike really got me into covering some ground, but it didn't happen immediately.  The first year or two I covered about 500 - 750 miles, mostly 10-15 miles at a time.  I bought my first bike computer - a wireless Sigma w/ cadence.  Being able to track stats really made this more exciting for me (scientists like tracking data, go figure!).  I learned to ride close to Jim's wheel and benefit from the draft - when I could keep up with him for short segments.

Fast forward again to 2012.  I heard about bike to work week from an e-mail sent out at work.  My interest was piqued and I signed up for a lunch & learn session.  I learned some routes into the Tradeport, and realized that although my commute crossed several towns, it was really only 16-17 miles.  I just hadn't considered it before because I would have never thought of riding all the way down Route 4.  Jim took the day off and rode in with me on a Friday in May, bike to work day, via free breakfast.  It was an awesome feeling to get in some exercise and enjoy the brisk morning air before sitting down at my desk all day.  This was really the spark that ignited my desire to ride more often, and from there on out I was putting some serious commuting miles on my legs.

 

Another milestone in my riding progression happened in August 2012.  At the suggestion of a coworker, I went to check out a women's only group ride at Gus'.  She told me her friend Erin rode there, and that with all my biking to work I could definitely keep up with them.  I had never joined a group ride, so I was understandably apprehensive in showing up the first night.  However, I was welcomed in to the friendly group and soon found myself in the midst of a paceline.  Afterwards we had wine and potluck snacks.  I met a bunch of new friends I could ride with, and it was a blast!  I've been going every Thursday night since.  I also began joining in on the Gus' co-ed Sat morning rides, where I could push myself to ride to my limits.  Or, I could go at a civilized pace and chat - depending on how I was feeling that day!  2013 - 2014 is where I really locked down my core group of road cycling buddies - folks I could message any time and know that someone would show up to ride.

This is an actual picture taken on my first group ride (far right)!

Early spring 2015

In 2013, I started eyeing carbon road bikes.  As I understood much more about bikes & components at this time, it was easier to justify the price point as I knew how much it would increase my performance.  Hungry to go faster, I walked out of Exeter Cycles on a glorious fall afternoon in late 2013 with a svelte Supersix Ultegra Di2, set up to rapidfire through the gears with it's electronic shifting.  Such an upgrade, this bike brought my riding to another level.  I still have an ear to ear grin every time I hop on it.

 

From 2013 and much more into 2014 I started paying attention to Cyclocross.  I'd known about it's existence at least marginally since I met my husband Jim in 2001 as he was on the UNH cycling team.  It's understandable to see why I never really gave it any thought after hearing him describe it as "an hour of pain in the sh!##*%! conditions ever".  So, why was I suddenly questioning his opinion?  Well, a few of the girls I rode with seemed to be touting it as awesome, and they raced.  Then, two Vanderkitten racers, Caro & Rebecca, came to our gals ride one Thursday evening with their badass looking gear and van.  They seemed pretty awesome too.

I watched the races at Orchard Cross in 2013.  I signed up to ride the costume race on my mountain bike at Orchard Cross in 2014.  I also volunteered at the kids race, did some course marshaling and even stayed to tear down the course.  Oddly enough, tearing down the course was the most fun part of the whole day, and I got the idea in my head that these were the kind of people that I wanted to hang out with.

Kind of simultaneously in the fall of 2014, I began to demo some cross bikes at Gus'.  They started hosting night time gravel rides on the rail trail.  It was pretty easy for me to justify the cx bike purchase even if all I did was use it for off-road adventures and never got in to racing.  So, that's what I did.  The fall of 2014 was filled with day and night-time rail trail adventures, expanding into gravel road exploration and early spring 2015 classics such as the Vermont Overland Maple Adventure Ride, Rasputitsa and Raid Rockingham.  At this point, I started calling my cx bike my "fun" bike.  Not fair to the other bikes, I know, but it quickly became my weapon of choice to just go out anywhere and explore.  Dirt, grass, pavement, mud, gravel, sand - whatever you stumble upon, you can ride it all.

That brings us to a few months ago, August 2015.  I had pre-meditated joining the Gus' CX team, but mostly with the intention of increasing my bike handling skills as a road cyclist.  I planned to try a race or two after learning the necessary skills to see how I liked it.  This past August 25th, I showed up and signed a waiver at the Rye airfield just before the first team practice.  The course was wicked dusty, and I was pretty terrible at doing...well...anything.  I tweaked my hips jumping over barriers and had to go to the chiropractor to get sorted out, I cut my leg with my chain ring and developed a gnarly wound, and my right arm was speckled with small bruises from hours of nervous dismount - shoulder - remount practice.  Within a few weeks of practice, however, I started to acquire some basic skills thanks to all the folks who came out to teach - be it teammates, elites or pro racers.

August 19th I did a "try cyclocross" ride at White Park led by Rebecca Fahringer.  Not a race by any means - just tooling around the course.  August 20th I did my first race, Sucker Brook CX.  Nothing could have prepared me for what would happen when the whistle blew, as I rode beyond what I thought my limits were and totally destroyed myself from the inside out.  But this is all worthy of another post in which I can go into greater detail.  After Sucker Brook, I woke up wanting more.  So, contrary to my original plan, I proceeded to sign up for more races immediately.  Each race, as I pre-rode the course, I inevitably found something that struck absolute fear into my heart.  When the whistle blew, however, I found a way to ride these obstacles every time, and really impressed myself.  The "big race", that I was training for has come and gone.  Orchard Cross is in the books with my best finish yet - 21 / 37.  I've more than impressed myself with the skills I've learned in such a short time, and have made a bunch of awesome new racing friends.

I don't know what else the future holds, but I'm sure it involves lots more adventures on bikes....ones that I currently own, and ones that I've yet to meet.  I'm excited to find out.

Just a quick gravel ride

Sunday, August 16th - a scorcher of a day forecast at the height of the summer.  Last night, I tried to get my head around what I wanted to do today.  Ride bikes was at the top of the list, obviously.  When was it not?  Jim had plans to mountain bike with his buddy at FOMBA starting at 10 AM, and the 55 mile century training road ride I really wanted to join was going to put me in more direct sun than I knew I could deal with.  I did have one good option left - leave early and stay on shady gravel roads.  Take out the cross bike & christen the new cx kit with some dirt.  I could ride some intervals, yeah!  Training ride!

I magic'd up a 25 mile route on Strava and uploaded it to my Garmin.  There were some squirrely parts through Nottingham that I would definitely need the map for, but I think I fit in all the roads that I've been meaning to explore.  High Rd., S. Summer & Poor Farm Rd all make the cut (thanks Arlon!)

Almost immediately after setting out, I decided 'eff that, I'm going to ride this route BACKWARDS!  So, instead ducking down Kennard, I turned left on Mitchell and headed down into Lee.  My Garmin almost immediately flipped out and froze, wouldn't respond to even shutting off w/ a long press, so I left it be for a while and it eventually rebooted.  That was the end of following directions.  It was going to be one of those days, I could feel it already.  All I had for breakfast was a small bowl of cocoa pebbles, and I set out to do intervals in the heat, off-road, on the heavy bike, with squishy tires?  Psh.  Yeah.  Ok.

This quickly turned into an exploration ride, and accepting this fact only two miles into the ride was the greatest thing that could have happened all day, as it lead to many fun finds, surprises and sheer joy along the way.  The first thing on the list of fun was to pop down a class IV road in Lee off of George Bennett Rd.  Unfortunately that just lead a few hundred feet to the police station.  Oh well, now I know.  Continuing on, I got to enjoy the gorgeous stretch of Cartland & Demerit Roads, which are always a favorite.

Crossing onto 152, I began exploring in earnest, as I took High Rd.  I was rewarded greatly when I came to the end, as it turned to dirt as promised!  The rain last night at the very least settled the dust in the open sunny spots, and left peanut-buttery stuff in the shady spots.  My tires licked up the fine tacky sand, forming racing stripes down the middle.  The ride felt so much better taken off the pavement, and into this bike's native environment.

A few turns later, I really started to question where I was.  Oak Hill Lane and Red Oak Hill Rd are very similarly named, and after just a cursory glance on the computer this morning, I guessed and went with the former.  I followed Oak Hill Lane past farms lined with shady trees, tractors and stone walls.  I realized that the road was about to end at someone's house.  As I approached, a woman was exiting said house, yelling "Hey Ma!  I'm headed to the store, I'll be back".  She looked at me awkwardly and I countered with an equally awkward, "hey, how's it going?  yeah, don't mind me, I'm just a bit lost" as I turned and headed back up the hill.

At the top of Oak Hill, I turned right and continued my quest down the road.  Up at the top of the hill, I saw two cyclists on road bikes.  One had a blinky light, and being kind of far down the hill, I thought nothing of it.  Then, another cyclist turned onto the road.  They seemed to be meandering, waiting to regroup as others turned onto the road, and my curiosity made me chug up the hill.  I knew I had no chance of keeping up with road bikes here, but that chase instinct took over for a minute, and I gassed it up the hill.  As I got closer, I thought I recognized the new Gus' shop jersey.  I chugged some more - and lo & behold - it was the century training ride folks!!  I caught up to Leslie & then the rest of the group, recognizing Scott in the shop jersey as I got closer.  OOOH BOY!  Some motivation to keep going.  We stopped for DONUTS!!!!!!!!!!!  Unfortunately, there were no donuts.

But there was a purple cow, a cat, and a bike lean opportunity:

I joined Scott & the gang for a couple miles, grabbed some cold brewed iced coffee, A/C and good company in Eppin' for a few.

Five bike lean @ Starbucks:

Century training ride crew:

Luckily, Scott pointed me back in the right direction, since I was a bit lost.  Continuing along the way, Nottingham Square Rd was GORGEOUS.  Horses, farms, stone walls lined with mature sugar maples, old New England farmhouses, expansive rolling green fields awash in sunlight, huge cornstalks, a slight breeze - the essence of summer.  I'll be back to ride that again.

Shortly thereafter, I came across a welcome sight:

Pavement ends = shade begins & minimal traffic.

Plus, water features!

Turning off onto Poor Farm Road was fun.  It was like a gravel roller coaster.

Lo and behold, I found Walter White's Aztec for sale down Poor Farm Road!!  For only $2500, that's a steal!

Continuing onto S. Summer St, I came across this pond and a big ole heron was flying across.  Alas, I was not quick enough on the trigger to snap a photo of him.  I did, however, get this sweet bike lean in:

Somewhere along Poor Farm & S. Summer, I started to play "road or driveway".  I took a few photos to see if anyone could guess them correctly.  Let me know what you think:

(A)

(B)

(C)

Got your answers?  Post your guesses in the comments section.

From South Summer, I kicked over to McCrillis, then up 152 for a bit.  The plan was to take Priest to Kennard, then Smoke St, then home.  Of course, I had already accepted that this was not the day to go by plans.  As I was riding by the PD, I noticed a guy & a girl on 29'ers in a dirt lot adjacent to Flutter St.  I started to wonder what they were doing there - were there trails?  I didn't see a trail head.  Did they know something I didn't?!  Time to go back...

I chatted with the mountain bike folks and found out they were from Barrington too, around the Swain's lake area.  I mentioned I was in an exploring mood, and we talked about the trails they had found.  They had just come from Pawtuckaway, down Flutter St.  They mentioned there was a trail behind the playground by the PD across the street, that it would be totally traversable on my bike, and that it came out on McCrillis right before the bridge over the river.  I thanked them and wished them a good ride - then headed off to explore this trail.  No pics there, as I needed two hands on the wheel, so to speak.  It was a little wet & slippery, some logs to jump over, and some low hanging branches to duck under.  As promised, it spit me out here, on McCrillis Rd.  The signs say "32 McCrillis" and "Not a Public Way" if you're lookin' for it.

The road looks like this leading up to it, with the bridge on the left:

At this point, the heat was starting to get intense, and I was down to 1/2 of a water bottle.  I start thinking I should really head back.  I continued down McCrillis, until I came to this surprise.  It was the equivalent of finding an oasis!

PEACHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

$3 for a quart of unsprayed, small, flavorful local Nottingham peaches!  I put my $$ in the box and THEN contemplated how I was going to transport these things home.  Not to worry, I immediately downed 3 of them before I even got back on my bike - cutting the number to transport down.

These things were as advertised.  VERY juicy.  I had juice mixing with the crystallized salt on my face, running down my chin.  My gloves & hands were sticky.  I was wiping them on my kit...it didn't even matter.  It was totally worth it.

I stuffed the remaining peaches in the back of my jersey, 2-3 peaches per pocket.  As soon as I started riding, I took another out to eat as I pedaled along, juice streaming down my face & getting tacky on the hoods.

A quick turn up Smoke St. brought me back up to Rt. 4 and into my driveway.  The last few tenths of a mile on the open sunny street was brutal, and I was happy to be home with my pocket peaches in tow:

A few made it home, even less made it to the end of the day.  All in all, a brilliant ride - reminding me that I don't always need to find someone to ride with.  Don't get me wrong, I love riding with people, but it's nice to take a ride like this, where you're free to change your mind and the route whenever you please - without worrying about anyone's agenda but your own.

ADK Highlights Reel, Part I

Having just returned from the yearly family reunion in the Adirondacks, and with disorganized thoughts on a rainy Sunday morning, I thought a photo montage with snippets summarizing our week long vacation would be in order.

Our week started with NEARLY forgetting to pack the 5 lbs of potato salad - our contribution to Saturday night's family cookout - into our cooler.  After a 2 day team effort to make it during a busy work week, this would have been a disaster.  Crisis averted though, as Jim remembered on one last sweep through the house.  

We got on the road early, sans breakfast.  This necessitated a stop at the Dunkins in Epsom.  It's a little known fact, but they've got the best deal on a dozen bagels around:

And later on, at a market in Quechee, we found this delight.  We did not partake, as it was still morning time (so responsible, aren't we?)

What would an Adirondack vacation be without Adirondack chairs?  We found many, including some made of old skis on top of McCauley Mountain:

A woman with a mini horse IN HER TRUCK showed up.  She was just driving by, but after minimal pleading unloaded the enchanting equine out of the cab - much to the delight of the children AND adults. 

Seriously folks, this is something you take a picture of first, and ask permission later.

There was much socializing in the yard, more lounging in Adirondack chairs, and clever t-shirts:

Many peanuts were eaten, and the classic Star Wars toys came out to play.  The empty keg was loaded up on Sunday, and the party moved on to the house we were renting.

 

My niece Marielle was the only one who met the weight requirement to ride the carousel horse outside of the candy shop:

We turbo-browsed the last 25 minutes of an arts & crafts fair at Arrowhead park in Inlet, and I picked up these treasures.  Two handmade wooden spoons (made of two different maple wood grains) made by a local artisan and a flask of 6-mo-aged-in-a-bourbon-barrel maple syrup (less than 1 % abv):

Were bikes ridden?  You betcha!

Completed the ~27 mile Fulton Chain of Lakes loop on two separate days.  I managed an average of 17 mph, decent considering the climbs in the beginning and the fact that last year I only managed 15.4 mph avg.  Pretty pleased to see that I'm improving year by year.

Amazingly we rode past Eagle Bay Donuts twice, only stopping to take photos (no donuts were harmed).  Too heavy to eat mid-ride on a hot day - imagine the cider donut only a bit bigger and without cider.  Yeah, so a fried donut rolled in sugar.  That's an Eagle Bay donut.  They're pretty delicious.  We partook later in the week.

There was much bike lean-age for fun after one of our rides.  Mainly as a fun way to highlight some parts of the awesome house-cabin we stayed in.  This place comfortably housed 8 of us, and the kitchen was AMAZING:

JUST LOOK AT THIS:

Yep, no toaster oven, tongs or ice maker in this place, but all of that is forgivable given this prestigious appliance.

There was much fun with lobster party lights:

(Even Lobster DI2):

We took a paddle boarding lesson, which after the first 10 mins of shaky knees, was really fun.  I think I could do with a repeat of the beginner lesson, but I bet if I got into it I'd have the balance of a ninja!

We saw a couple of fat bikes out in front of Mountain Man Outdoor Supply, and asked about sizing, availability and where we could ride.  The shop had one S, one M and one L - said nobody ever rented them - and vaguely pointed us in the direction of somewhere they thought we could ride.  They had zero trail maps.  Good enough - I really wanted a go at these monster trucks of the cycling world and didn't think we'd do anything serious anyway.  Lucky for us they had mis-labeled the pricing at $20/half-day instead of $32/half-day.  They honored the mis-labeled price and rolled up two bikes for us.  With no attempt to size us properly and only a vague reply as to the pressure we should inflate the tires to - we took off from the shop for a half day adventure.

After a quick buzz down the street to the trail head, we jumped onto some mountain biking trails and started cruising over roots & rocks.  5 second assessment of fat bikes:  THEY'RE BOUNCY.

Seriously.  Like bounce-off-uphill-and-smack-your-jaw-on-the-handlebars bouncy.  Hold on tight.

The trail we were on abruptly looped back in on itself and ended, forcing us to go explore how to get any further on this trail network.  We couldn't find an obvious trail, so ended up pushing these bad boys UP A MOUNTAIN.  We were literally sweating bullets.  They must weigh 35-40 lbs a piece.  Up, up, up, try to ride - lose traction because it's too steep.  Up, up, up some more.  Pant.

Eventually we come to the top (it's about 2000 ft at the highest point according to my Strava track), and find a picnic table and some chairs.  Time for photo ops and catching our breath.

Breath caught - Jim goes to hop on his and promptly falls off the first rock and tumbles, luckily catching himself.  Remember, we've had about MAYBE 5 minutes of riding experience (pushing part doesn't count) and now we find ourselves face to face with some gnarly downhill single track.  I find myself bouncing over rocks, roots and holding on for dear life.  I go through a dip and bounce myself off the seat, but not off the bike.  Back on, stand up on the pedals, lean way back & hold on tight!

One more quick stop around the bend, because how could you not stop for a tetanus truck?!

Lockjaw DX.

Halfway down, the clouds roll in and the heavens open up.  The rain feels amazing, washing the salty sweat out of my eyes, and cooling us off considerably.

We made it down and decide we're not up for hauling these things up the mountain again, so head off to try another less upping / downing trail.  The second trail was fast and flowy, bringing us through some great mud puddles / river crossing.

Time almost up, and feeling good about having taken these poor neglected bikes through some proper terrain, we return the dirty bikes back to the shop still clad in our mud caked kits.  Not having to wash the bike after a ride like this:  PRICELESS.

At this point we're caked in mud, and what idea do we have?  Jump in the river to get a coat of dirt off before going in the house.  It's a brilliant idea, really.  We'll just jump off the bridge into the Moose River.  All the kids are doing it.  It's deep enough.  At least that's what I've been told.  Haven't seen a kid not make it yet.

It's just a lot different when you're standing on the other side of this rail, willing yourself to let go:

After maybe 5 minutes, but what felt like 15, I get up the nerve to let go and jump away from the bridge.  I harken back to my mom's rhetorical question growing up:  "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?"  My smart-ass answer was "Well, yeah, I would.  Who wants to live without friends?"  Of course this would only get me in more trouble or sent to my room.

The water was quite refreshing.  What surprised me most of all was the amount of mud still caked to my legs.  I waded through the river, scrubbing at my calves with my fingernails.  A couple of minutes and good enough - much more respectable looking.  Home to shower and nap before the next adventure.

Later on that week we headed up McCauley Mountain to ride the scenic chair lift.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.  Pretty rewarding view for such a short ride to the top:

TO BE CONTINUED....