Christmas Eve

So happy I got the chance to get another ride and with soft legs I went for Crandalls for a good spin. I heard snow was in the forecast and got out as soon as I could which was right when the snow hit. It styarted to flurry on my way to the spot and picked up along the way. I got pedaling and found that the leaves and the new snow made things very slick. This was going to have to be a cautious ride. Atrmed with SS it made for some tough sections but determined at every obstacle. I felt a bit taken out of my legs but I still had some steam to put out. It was hard to see with the snow hitting my eyes but it made for a truly inspiring environment for a bike ride. I was tiring quick, Crandalls is a pretty demanding in the climbing category. I really enjoyed that ride and will not soon forget it, I hit all the trails and found myself at my car wanting more but worn out. Heading home the snow stopped and the next morning I headed out to go snowboarding at Stratton with some good friends. Standard East Coast crap conditions were present which made it suck but I made the most of it. Wind, low light, maybe 50% trails open, cold and crowded.

Ride!

Wow, so after waiting for the snow to leave so I could get my first ride on dirt in two months took too long. The rain cleared and so did the 60f temperatures which was crazy but left the trails just perfect. I set off for Case on Tuesday and was happy to be pedaling my way back up the trails. It felt pretty great to be out, shortly though my lungs and legs caught up to me in the first few minutes but not too bad. I was armed with my one speed and no suspension which has always been my go to bikes. Also I just put a fresh set of nevegal tires on the ol Raleigh. I love new tires, they grab trail so awesome. I did feel more rolling resistance than from WTB Exi wolfs. The sun was out and this was going to be a good day. I Hit the town line licker and then I guess another trail I have not rode yet called Smooth and then a sweet trail called Smookey. These new trails are a great welcome to the beginning of the ride since they are fun and most importantly new trails. Then it was off to Shank Juice, this being my second time riding it I forget just how much work this trail is, by far it's the longest single connected trail I believe, about a 18 minute heck of a fun trail. After done with that I was feeling my legs giving out but not completely. Down Tinti trail where that good old euphoria ran into my veins. Ahhhhh thats the feeling I have missed. Rode down to the reservoir where I took a minute and soaked in that view and joy it was being out on the bicycle. Up Misty, up NUT, then an easy peezy ride back up to the lookout and then home free. I was pretty worn by the end of the ride but what do you expect since it was a first ride in 60ish days. Loved being out there and can't wait to get me some more. Supposed to ride today, probably Crandalls, then snowboarding friday up in VT and then hopefully some more biking Saturday. life is good.

Ehrlichiosis

Remember back in October when I was on a good ride when I started to feel terribly ill. Well I got really sick, the most sick I have ever been actually. I had a nasty fight for a few days with a rocketing fever and all the fun things involved with it. After a hospital visit and suspect of flu out of the picture, I became concerned about a case of Lyme or other tick borne illness. I was slow recovering so my Dr. put me on a round of Doxycycline to cure what might be Lyme. This was actually the reason why I was cut short on riding this fall, I had to remain off the bike for two months. For a few weeks after the sickness I was getting daily dull head aches and my head was foggy and I was short of breath. These were concerning side effects of my sickness that led me to really think something else was going on here. A blood test was ordered on a follow up visit and when I finally got the chance to get a blood test drawn I did. After weeks of no response the results did finally come in. I was slightly relieved when Ehrlichiosis a tick borne disease which was found in my bloodstream. I got sick to my stomach thinking of one of those horrid creatures actually got a taste of my blodd. I have always found them and peeled them off before they ever get a taste. Well apparently one at some point did get a taste and it was a lone star tick. They carry this disease and whether or not my sickness was 100% caused by the tick is not certain but all the clues and symptoms certainly point to it! A month after the ordeal I was slowly getting rid of the after symptoms and very thankful my Dr put me on antibiotics so I was able to rid the bacteria before it got more serious. I've said it once I will say it again, I wish we could move these awful creatures off our planet. I have six more months to go without getting a tick until I move to a tick free zone of Utah. Leggings, spray, frequent checks will be more of a routine since I want to nothing more to do with these creepy crawlers. In the mean time I will squash them with my fingers in joy when I come across their path. Tuesday the ground should be clear and a windy deep freeze should be in place calling for riding conditions, so close!

Off the bike

Snow still blankets the forest but warm weather is here and RAIN IS COMING! That means whent he weather moves out Monday temperatures plummet freezing the ground for what I hope to be Christmas Eve riding. Hope for me please I am dying to ride. However with the snow I have been able to get out and really enjoy my sons second winter, he took to being on the tube and had a great time. Next trip out we plan to ship him down some mini hills.

On the 58th day……He Rode!!!!!

Well the crap hit the fan on Tuesday as we got our first dose of snow, I could not have been more pissed since after 2 months off the trails winter came just a few days before my time to ride. What am I to do, I can't control the weather, I kept telling myself that I remember the tough winters in Utah where the off season was mandatory 4 months. Here in CT it is quite easy to never have an off season, as I found out. I was pretty mad at the world for a few days but got some relief when I heard word a local rider made do with conditions in skinny tires. So with not very high hopes I planned to ride Thursday. I chose to set off for noon to get the most warmth and light. I really stirred my mind thinking of what I should wear for the 22F conditions I would be in for a few hours. When it was all said and done I wore some old ski thermals and my race face DH pants and up top I wore a t shirt under a rain jacket. I had a barclava that I rolled up to turn into a thin hat under my helmet to keep my ears warm. This was my best attempt to keep my body prepared to keep in the heat on this ride which I succeeded. I parked at the Pond lot at Case and began to climb what was now 2" snow. I had my dog in hand and was enjoying his company as he pranced around the snow. It was tough going, but I just kept on, I was in the granny and had to keep myself on the seat which just ain't my style but I made my way up only having to stop due to my un prepared lungs. When I reached the top I had to walk with the bike as I found fat tire tacks from my friends the night before. Once on top I was able to finally reach flat ground, this was nice, I was able to finally just pedal and not be so tense getting through the snow. I followed the fat tracks to Smookey, I have not ridden this trail before and looked for it last time I was at Case but failed. Once again I had climbs my bike could not handle, traction was just so little to be had. There was a slight breeze that blew pixie dust off the trees and sparkled adding a dose of euphoria to the scene of frozen woods. WTH was I doing out here, I was obviously the only person to have ventured on skinny tires into one of the most populated ride locations, I chalk it up to the fact that most people had a great fall riding season unlike myself. But on with it, things were rocking and rolling and for the next 20 minutes I had a remarkably good time. Ended the trail at the fire road where I crossed the river and my poor dog had to take on water that immediately froze to his feet unknown to me. That is until I made the horrible choice to take shank juice. Oh what a terrible idea, I hiked most of it until my dog started to stop on the trail and gnaw away at his feet. He stopped a few times before I went to him and took a look at his feet. Imagine if your hands and toes were being spread as wide by ice chunks and that was how my dog felt. I was so sad for him, I cleaned off his front paws with a tire lever and the rest I bit off with my teeth. It apparently did not help much. I was so desperate I bailed to the power lines and then back down to the same stream. Things are far different and slower moving when your exhausted from trudging snow on unfit lunged uphills. By now I was terribly miserable cause I could ride nothing but downhill and flat ground. Took some trails I thought were best but painfully slow hiking every inch of uphill on foot. Bentley was having a hard time the entire way. When we did finally reach the top of our ride, it was one more downhill and I was so happy to be ending this nightmare soon. When we did reach the car all I was concerned about was getting my dogs feet into some heat. I wish I had heeded my wife's advice and have stayed close to the car cause I absolutely screwed myself. What was planned to be maybe 90 minute ride turned into double that. The ride was unique and fun at times but the slow moving uphills and my dogs condition were not fun. I don't think I will be back out there anytime soon since 4-8" snow is coming our way tomorrow, sucks for now but it will get better.

Just 54 days of not riding and only 3 more days to go

Snow is forecasted for Monday night and I hope to heck that we don't get any of the 1-3" of snow the news said, I almost lost my cool when the weatherman uttered those terrible words. It is going to be very cold this weak which means whatever we get probably stays with us. Let's see what happens when I take the guns out Thursday and get back on the brown horse as I plan to!

10 Mo days

10 more days til I can get back riding again! It better not be snowing hope for me!

24

Counting down the days to ride, I hope winter does not get in my way, it's been extremely difficult having such great weather and not being able to ride my bike, but I am hanging in there 24 more days to go til I rip!

Two weeks down

Been 19 days since my last ride and I am starting to have withdrawals. The weather has been perfect which is helping nothing but I think I have held it together pretty well so far. I am however going to try to wiggle a ride out this weekend if at all possible but I may have to accept failure but if I succeed it will be bliss. Been spending lots of time with the boy which is always great, I can't wait for snow to fall and take him outside and have some real fun. I also can't wait to hopefully get a few more days snowboarding this year with some good friends before I leave the state this summer. I have pretty much made up a big decision, when I move back to Utah I will try skiing!I have been snowboarding almost 20 years and never set foot on stick but I want to learn to ski so I can do tours and skin up to fresh powder so I am gaining knowledge on telemarking. It's time for something new and I think I will have trouble ditching my board but would like a new challenge in the backcountry powder. Some photos of my boy, I fricken love this kid he is so awesome!

Sorry But Closed

Looks like I am going off the radar and expect no rides until mid December. Due to my recent sickness that I believe might have been started from exhausting myself of nutrients on that big ride two Saturday's ago. My Wife lost valuable time from studying between the hospital and Dr. visits and can't afford to get sick again since I need to car for our little one year old. A break is always nice makes riding feel brand new all over again. I may ride if it happens but don't expect much to be going on this blog..........happy riding

The Week Off

Withe being so sick my body needed some time off. With a week of rest under my belt I will now start to look for ridees as they come with the schedule but they will be few and far between I am sure, it is however relaxing not worried about the next ride as I rest......I got the boys bike built up and rolled him around and like it. Landon just sits and takes it in, not interested in steering just yet but that will come. His first bike!

Sunday

Usually Sundays are no ride days but with my wife occupied with schoolwork and my mother in law Gloria in town from Utah, the baby was in good hands. I sent a text to Derek to see where he was riding and he had no plans so we ended up at Salmon River trails aka Belltown Bikes Headquarters. I was feeling completely fine despite putting down 30 miles the day before so we sent off. I quickly got disoriented by leaves, that happened a good 4-5 times where I made wrong turns and head scratches. I was leading the ride since I knew the trails better. As we got into the last hour of the ride my neck and head began to hurt. It soon was massively painful, getting to the car was the only thing on my mind I was feeling just absolutely terrible. I got to the car and was pretty scared at how my body was feeling. I was not over exhausted from the ride I apparently just got sick midway thru my ride. As I drove home I was getting chills and nausea and it sucked real bad. I got home and tried to shake it off, then I ended up soon in bed fully suffering a high temperature, then at 8pm my fever almost hit 104 and my wife wanted to take me to the ER despite me being against it so off we went. They took forever! I hate hospitals no one there gives a crap about doing their job except for the Dr. even that is no guarantee. I sat in the empty waiting room for an hour before I was admitted into a room bastards. After drawing blood, chest xray, flu test and a dose of Motrin which dropped my fever. After 5 long hours of doing nothing and people just moseying on in every once in awhile I got to go home. I got home and had a normal temperature had some food and went to bed about midnight. Shortly after falling asleep, the chills and sweat came one after the other, my whole body ached horribly. I continued to hit temperatures into 103-104F.I could not sleep no matter how much fluids and medicine went into my body, I was horribly sick. Same crap continued until Tuesday when I started to mix Tyenol into my doses of Ibuprofen and I was able to crawl out of my coffin. Anyway, great ride and so happy I came out of this alive, word of advice mix Tyenol 4 hours after taking Ibuprofen with high fever. Derek rides one of the first Belltowns to come out of Bob's workshop talk about short stays that thing is short.

Salmon leafy belltowns at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Hartford, Connecticut

Hollow Goods

My son turned 1 year old today so my Mother In Law is in town and we finally have a baby sitter so I got a good window to ride Saturday morning and could not be any more excited! I wanted to crank out some pent up energy from the last few months and I had 4 hours to get as much trail as I could. I have been pondering combining my favorite trails on both sides of the hollow and I knew I was ambitious but knew 4 hours should cover it. I started off in very little light just after 6:45, I was armed with a proper Belltown and got pedaling. I hit the whole southern section of School House Brook and had a few bobbles since some intersections were extremely hard to see with all the leaves and lack of riders. Feeling pretty good I crossed the road and pedaled into Mansfield Hollow side. Did the lollipop which felt good, then I had to do the full pull so took the hard way along the lake. Then off to the soccer fields for a nice loop and then up Stoned Hill and back down and closed out the Mansfield Hollow side. I was now feeling pretty hurt since I was low on energy since I am a complete idiot and did not eat enough food, I was running on a peanut butter jelly sandwich I had at 6am so yeah 5 hours was too long to run on just a sandwich. I did not picture riding 30 miles but when I got across the road I was shy of 30 miles by 2 miles so I rode on despite lack of leg and that was only due to improper trail nutrition since I could go out and ride right now as I am typing this. I rode around and once I saw the phone hit 30 miles I packed into the car and went home pretty dang happy. When I hit the finish button it said 29.7 miles......DOhhhhhhh it robbed me of the big 30 but it was so close I think we can count it, not sure why strava lied to me but oh well. What a great ride I can't wait to get back out which should me be Monday. I may get a chance to have another big ride if I can find the miles somewhere.

Thursday Hale Whores

Rode Thursday, enjoyed the crap out of it! I was hoping they might change the ride location but it was Hale again, no big deal since riding is riding. I took the Belltown since I was feeling brave and quickly got onto trail to pre ride before they started. Quickly I had to adjust my weight, I have learned the hard way that with this bike I need to stay back and not over the bars because I just keep falling onto the bars when a front wheel gets caught on something. I did a good 20 minutes of pre ride and showed up to the lot and waited a good 10 minutes for the rest to get ready. Then it was off onto Al's trail where it became evident that the leaves have taken over the trail. People were going left and right off the trail, I managed really well since I know Al's very well. I was finidng myself mid pack lately which is kind of nice since I must be riding better/faster. After Al's it was off to Punisher which was a whole other crap show to be had. This trail probably see less use than the previous trail and in incredibly tight and curvy. It got ugly and it was as tough as ever with no gears and wide bars. I was relieved once that was over, finally we all got moving nice after we got on some more worn trail. Off to Scoliosis which I F'n hate, then Dirty Deeds which I like since it's a straight forward climb. Then to Wiggle where I feel onto the bars as usual and then decided to lay down and go to sleep as people passed behind me, I went down so soft and was awkwardly stuck on the ground with my bike, was nice to go down soft and not hurt the next day. This was a great ride, I felt pretty good and was still looking for more. I plan to ride tomorrow morning and I think I have about 4 hours of ride time so I am off to The hollow to put down some 20-30 miles. Wish me luck. I still feel like 4 hours is minimum for some other big rides I want to do but family is coming over at 12 to celebrate mine and Landon's birthdays.

Screw you

Redbull Rampage is so damn flawed, what a crock of crap, the only one that deserved to be on that podium was Mcgarry. Strait yeah you had a decent run, Zink your sick for flipping the sender but you did nothing else other than that. Huge disappointment this year with judges yet again, you suckkkkkk! Then the contest gets canceled due to conditions was a bummer but out of their hands. Lacondeguy charged so hard and got no love, grrr I am so mad. Still fun to watch as usual though.

Sunday Cased

Well Sunday was my birthday, my poor wife has been so slammed with school and stress that I assured her that we needed to do nothing for my birthday and I was totally cool with it. Shortly into the morning routine she told me to go on a bike ride, I was pretty surprised! At first I was wondering if she was serious, but shortly I learned she was, it was pretty good timing since the boy was going down for a nap soon and I did not have to feel bad leaving her on child duty when she needed to study. I had pondered the ride in my head, and how desperate I have been to get away from Hale, so I chose case since there was a new trail I wanted to hit. When I got pedaling my legs felt pretty hurt since I ran full speed at Hale the day before but 20 minutes later they felt a lot better. I got a little bobbled looking for one of the newish trails, I have rode it before, it was covered in leaves and really hard to see but I managed until ending back on blue. I took a spill, I may have had too much brake but as the Belltown has done twice now just snapped me off the bike like I was in an ejection seat. I think there is something with the geometry or braking, not to be cocky but it's pretty uncharacteristic for me to crash and this was one where I was walking back up to my bike saying well that was a first. Luckily my bike was unscathed yet again, but my body took a repeat hit to my elbow but nothing like last weeks slippery ride. I pedaled on and found the new trail, Shank Juice. The entrance was just a nice curved line of discolored leaves as it's brand new. It was all leaves, it was so cool, nice and smooth and the woods were glowing and it really was an inspiring trail. It was way smoother than I expected too, with nice twists and turns. I expected a straight forward standard climb, but then it dove down hill where I think I lost about all the elevation and then climbed back up. Plenty of marked trees that will probably be falling victim to logging soon, I would hate to see that happen since this by far is better than any trail at Case. This was a pretty long trail, I was on it for 20 minutes, I can't wait to go back and get it again. I took Tinti down from there and was amazed at how much wear it took in the last few months, it has seen a lot of tires and the wear is evident. Loosing leg but not ambition I went up Misty Mountain and then NUT and to lookout and pink down most the way. That trail gets little love but it's near to me since it was the first trail I rode since moving to Hartford area from Utah. My first few rides at Case I found literally none of the goods, it took so long to figure things out there. Just under two hours of riding and I was pumped about the ride and looking forward to getting on the next. I hope Thursday happens, and Saturday morning and Monday! Trying to figure out where and what I want to do. I still don't have unlimited time but I need to do something new. There is a brand new to me ride location that I never knew about with big miles. Maybe I can get up there on foot with the boy and start scoping it out.

Case bday ride gift at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near New Haven, Connecticut

Saturday Haled

I was hoping to ride but knew it was up in the air, I got the go ahead by 8am as I put the baby down to sleep way earlier than usual for his first nap. I was on short time so 90 minutes and Hale was required, so I got out tearing into Hale. I was on the Belltown and it was feeling good, still feel like the zees are very unimpressive but they do work well. Was an absolute perfect morning, I was in awe with the nature, as hippy as that sounds. I have not rode in the morning in a long time and realize it's probably my favorite time to ride, looks like I kind of missed fall as the trails were smothered with leaved, made a few bobble on my way down to Rufus Brook. I was riding as hard as I could just about, with never knowing when the next ride will be I want to keep my endurance up. I did a pretty sweet loop and was home in time to start my Landon duties as my wife prepares for her exam. Nappy hale at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Connecticut

Thursday

Just itching to ride finally I anxiously watched the radar and the 50% chance of rain and realized by 4pm I was in the clear. Set off into the woods 10 minutes to six and pre rode my way into the parking lot. There was a bit of waiting around, probably 20 minutes or so which is always kind a bummer, one rider was arriving late and then had to get all ready. I would have like to have gone and rode more trail while we all watched but I did not know how long it would be so I was kind of frustrated as I sat doing nothing with my first ride of the week. We did get cranking eventually and rolled out quick, I was feeling pretty good but having trouble with the land mines. Land mines are the little rocks under the leaves you can't see, when you have no suspension those suckers throw your game off, no big deal though wasn't stopping me other than occasional shot from the seat. It was pretty warm out, I said it once and I will say it again, this Fall has been nothing but stellar. Trails were tough to see in the lights, lots of riders were falling victim including myself. There was a mechanical of a chain popping off which turned out to be a lengthy ordeal and it canceled plans for the ridge and sent us to the most hated trail of mine Scoliosis. I swear every time I want to just cut the section out and wait for them but I man up anyway for disappointment every time. With that over it was up Dirty Deeds and with no luck convincing anyone to ride more they ended in the lot. This is a great group of guys and I enjoy riding with them but I wish a lot of the time I was riding solo. Given this time of year and my situation right now I have no choice with the darkness but I am very thankful for them welcoming me on their rides. So I was a little worked up on how much more riding we could of done so I decided to brave the darkness and ride Al's. At times it was spooky and that was only cause my mind was coming up with stuff, why is that? But I noticed with the leaves down I could see so much further and it felt less creeper. So I put in another 30 minutes of trail and was pretty pumped at my decision. I decided I am going to night ride tonight as long as it permits, might take my dog for company we shall see. I am obsessed with biking, I guess other than my family it is all I really have and enjoy it so much. Happy riding. Oh yeah, my Mother in law comes to town next week and if weather and thing work in my way I should able to get out on some bigger rides since she can babysit!. The way I look at it I can get two rides while she is here and they can extend over two hours. Lets hope things work out in my favor. Is it December yet? Stupid GPS failed again.......

Saturday

Of course I was looking for any opportunity to ride this weekend and would do just about anything to make it happen as usual right. Well teething has gotten tough around here, the little guys teeth are finally moving in after one capped a few weeks ago. Anyway he had a rough few nights and an exhausted Dad but luckily Friday he went down well and he woke early the next morning at 5am, which was tough but I knew he would go down solid for his morning nap so I could rip a ride. It was nasty out, we got a lot of rain and things would be super slick with the leaves. It was a little foggy too but none of this was going to stop me from getting my possibly only chance to ride before the week ended. I was off to School House to put together a loop I had planned in my head. Got going and walked around and through all the dang trees still down from this summer. I called the director of Park and he informed me that they know the situation and crews are currently on more important projects which I totally understand. When I came into my first rock gardens, they were impossibly slick, especially for a one speed on worn tires. I just treated them like ice from then on out cause they might as well have been. On my way to Wolf Rock I was on blue and came into a rough section where I was taken off the pedals and thrown forward but not over the bars but lost my balance and over to the side I went. Landed my shin on a mighty narrow rock, it was not a terribly fast impact but as shins are, not much meat and all bone! That sucker hurt tremendously, with nothing much to do other than ride it off I did so. I was so pissed that traction was so hard to come by but that was the conditions and there was no changing that. The more I rode the more I walked tough rock sections since I was having no more of that. I hated throwing dirt into my open wound that was a deep gash now but I had time to ride and that's what I was going to do. I completed the loop which was solid and exactly what I wanted but I do still have three more trails I need to explore out there. My shin hurt pretty bad but riding helped me ignore it as I passed my car to do a mini loop to the North. That was was quick and ended at the car just under 2 hours to get home and back to my Landon duties. Driving home I could not wait to clean the wound up and did so. I had a hard time getting the dirt out, I could not soften the wound up enough to really be able to pull out all the debris. It hurt pretty bad Saturday, I am taking this wound seriously unlike others I have had, so I wrapped it all up and got through that night and woke up with it feeling much better. Sunday was a different story, it throbbed and ached all day and last night trying to go to sleep was nearly impossible until extreme tiredness set in. Today it still hurts bad, I found bandaging makes it worse for some reason, so I am going to leave it open to see if I feel better. Enough whining, that ride was good despite slippery conditions. Hopefully Thursday happens for me this week, one can hope.

Brook clean at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Hartford, Connecticut

Thursday Hunger

Well remember my last post on how I did not think Thursday night ride was going to happen, WELL IT DID! Earlier that day I walked the trails in Mansfield Hollow to get a solid loop on foot to follow on a bike one day. The weather has been absolutely incredible I am loving it. Anyway I was all geared up and ready to go at last minute notice if my wife was going to have to be at school that night and when she told me she did not have to go I was already running down the stairs to hit the trail. It was then my phone buzzed and a text came in saying they were riding Crandalls. Oh boy, I had 5 minutes to make their ride but they do usually run 10-15 minutes late. So I gathered into the vehicle and headed that way. Pretty happy to see they had not started yet when I arrived to the parking area. I Got started and I was so happy to be on my bike, I had been itching to ride all week, at that moment I felt good, but shortly my weak legs would tell me otherwise. It is funny how riding once a week has changed my body, I no longer have the efficiency ready at any moments notice or the stamina I once had. Since I was passing riders I normally ride behind it could also have to do with my good spirits and desire to shred! I guess the fact that all these guys are Hale whores worked in my favor as well, most rode Crandalls twice if that. I was armed with the Raleigh cause I was in no mood to crash the new bike again due to lights and leaves. Reached the far side and made a comment to Pat on why the heck does he not carry tubes or pump? I guess he is too bad ass, one minute later he walked out on a flat tire. I asked him in the parking lot if he would being his gear next ride, he said no, Oh well. It was hard as heck to see through the leaves, darkness set in and I found myself leading the ride strangely, having lights behind you are not a favorable thing, I am not use to it and it was distracting. We ran into John who was riding solo and he tagged along for Zag and soon caught a massive stick to end his ride in a deraileur death. The descent down new trail JnJ was switch backed for maximum trail length and found myself dizzied at the end but did enjoy happily. We climbed back up and then down red and then a quick pedal to the lot. Mighty good ride, I definitely did not want to stop riding like most nights, but my legs were cooked, I hate that feeling cause I know they are far more capable. I am amazed at how much endurance I lost in the last few weeks but oh well, riding is riding! I am writing this entry early since I have been up since 5:30am as my kid roams around, teething has him all pissed off and he does not feel well so his sleep is being affected. That means he will go down for a solid morning nap which means Dad goes out for solid morning ride I hope. Gps failed sorry Fall Wednesday walk, Bolton Notch, love this place