MtB Weekend

As a present to myself I escaped for the weekend with some friends to ride bikes and soak in the end of summer/beginning of fall without kids.  Next weekend I will be going on a family canoe camping trip so don't think I'm letting them get soft.

We headed to the Green Mountain National Forest and camped at Silver Lake.  The setting couldn't be beat.

My buddy Josh and I arrived late Friday night to set up camp, but first we loaded up an old trek bike trailer with all of our gear and hiked it over half a mile down a steep hiking trail and drank half a flask of whiskey (whiskey before hike but after packing.)  We then were offered firewood and political opinions by a libertarian camper near us, and we accepted neither.

We woke up a little blurry eyed but the view helped.  We then went to meet Chaim at the parking lot and found that there was  a road we could have come down with our gear rather than the hike.  We then set out to ride the Chandler Ridge/Leicester Hollow trails,  over 8.5 miles of single track.  We had a blast, the weather was perfect and we had the whole place to our selves.

The trail was perfectly laid out with great switchbacks, wonderful views, and good flow.

However, there was a great deal of roots and rock to deal with which as we all commented forced us all (especially since we were all on 26" hardtails) to focus like lasers the whole time.  In fact after a scary fall early I was a little shaken and by the old school gnar of the trail which never really let you enjoy the flow and layout of the trail.  It seemed that every climb and tight turn or interesting rock feature was laden with expansive roots and rocks waiting to grab your front tire or release your rear.  I ended up hiking quite a few sections and I got more and more frustrated with each one.

The return on the Leicester Hollow trail was a mellow climb back to the lake very straight with little contour but it was a nice finish to the day.  The setting was a moss covered and Endor like, very different from the dry ridgeline.

That night our final friend Erik joined us and we ate like kings and drank like vikings.  It rained and because I was determined to sleep under the stars I was caught without my tent, but being resourceful I just slept under the picnic table.  No glamping here.

Oh by the way the crappers were divine.

Free Advice

It's the only kind I have to give.

I have someone close to me who is going through something and this something involves romantic relationships and potentially children and what one is responsible for and not responsible for and the difference between a parenting relationship and a romantic relationship.  I truly can't imagine having to go through something like this but I still want to give this person some perspective and advice.  I have been thinking through what I want to say and the main messages I want to get across and I imagine that this message would make everything o.k.  I truly wish that I can say just the right things and not only help this compadre not only feel good about the decisions they have to make but give them some insight to help them make those decisions.  I imagine that most people who give advice have the same desires when they pass those words of wisdom on.  In this case, as much as I hope that I say just the right things and these words somehow help this friend navigate the situation ahead towards the best possible scenario, I still don't trust what I have to say enough that I would ever charge for that service.  I wonder how therapists, councilors, and others who make a living can ever be confident enough in their opinion to demand payment for it. 

Ramble Ramble Ramble

Well the 2015 Ramble has come and gone.  This year's iteration of Burlington's Old North End neighborhood celebration of community, arts, and weirdness was as great as ever and was thoroughly enjoyed by all members of my clan. See the highlights in the photo dump here.

Happy(?) April 14th!

Ruination Day.

What do I give a sh*t about and can I make it out of trash?

One for the weekend from Eric.



Make something!

Think Spring

Thanks Bike Jerks

It's winter, I'm alive, we skiied.

one for the snow

In light of all the snow we've been getting in the last two weeks here is a great ski video, found on all hail the black market.

Bike Camping!

Well now that summer is gone, like way gone, and the tricks and treats has happened, it is well past time that I commit this to virtual paper lest I forget it ever happened.  Borrowing from the example set by the Reverend at the Church of the Sweet Ride I've been pushing to get at the good times and encounter the adventures in life that are available to me  now...aaannd to involve the young-in's in that paradigm. So it was with the threat of the end of summer and the beginning of the kid's school year that i rallied us to strike out on our first bike camping trip.  Truthfully this is not just the first family bike camping trip but my first camping trip upon the bike cycle too.
Preparations began a week ahead of time with the construction of some bucket paniers for the kids.  I was turned onto them by the Hipples and found instructions here.  Inevitably there was last minute scrambling and adjustments but eventually we got everything packed and away we rode.

Only to turn around before we got 2 blocks away so we could tighten Ry's rack which started to list to one side.  Then we were off again and within 4 blocks we stopped 3 times to adjust this or re-tighten that, but then we were really off and we didn't stop until we got to Charlie's Boat House for ice cream.  Then we followed the bike path to the causeway which we followed until we hit the cut.  There we needed to take the bike ferry, "Thanks Local Motion"

From there we rode the back roads of South Hero Island.  As we encountered our first hills the whining and complaining began to creep into  the collective conciousness. So I started spewing my best dadisms, such as: "Whining won't make it any easier.  It will only make me want to leave you behind."  and "Doing hard things is hard." Just as we were reaching meltdown we found a little wayside to distract us.

Nothing like ice cream, swings, and petting some goats and horses to set one's spirit right!

From there we had the finial stretch which was difficult for a couple of reasons.  First was we shifted from a relative quiet back road to the main thoroughfare of Route 2. There was a nice 6foot shoulder and the kids are confident riders but the constant traffic and higher speeds had everybody on edge and I couldn't wait to see the park sign that let us know we had reached our destination.

We reached the park and when we did it was all good times and smiles. The tenseness of the last stretch soon forgotten.

Boy was it windy.  The wind howled all night as it pushed up the waves on the mighty Lake Champlain and we passed the night cozy in a lean-to with the sounds of wind and waves in our ears.  Then we woke up had coffee and were on our way.  We had ridden 24 miles to the campsite and were facing a 20 mph headwind on the way back so I made the executive decision to call in support and have my lovely better half pick us up at the other side of the lake shortening the ride to 14 miles.   I thought that if I can keep the troops happy they will be more willing to set out with me again.  It was a good call as the previous day's miles and the headwind really made this a challenge for the 7 and 9 year old.  I had my own bit of suffering to do too.  See I borrowed a friend's Extra-cycle for the trip so I could haul the extra stuff that the kids weren't able to haul.  Little did I know that the seatpost was stuck too low and the saddle fit me in a way that left me calling it the ass-hatchet.  Needless to say we were happy when we saw the swagger-wagon waiting for us.

However when asked the kids both independently verified that they will be doing this again.  Good times!

Reporting from the Ether

Well between throwing my back out, having an infant daughter, and  I've not been able to find time to check in with myself on this here forum.  But here I am now, so that will have to do.  It's been on the tips of everyone's tongues so I might as well say it, the weather has been absolutely fantastic. To celebrate I spent the weekend tackling yard work and home based chores. Then to reward myself with some "me-time" I went for a bikecycle ride.

I put some liquid refreshment in some carefully scouted secret spots for enjoyment at a later time,

and I brought one to enjoy immediately and to accompany a glorious sunset.

Then it was time to turn tail and head home.