What the future holds....

Yes, I do have a blog. I am sure this a surprise to many of you, and I am sure those of you who knew this already are just as surprised that I am writing. Summer is over, although there is still a lot left and it is night riding season! It was a good summer. Trips to Cali, Oregon and riding in beautiful Vermont in between.

All told, it was a great summer for riding, but not a great summer for racing. Lots of flats in Canada, no 24 hour race, and a puking fit 5 miles into the Vermont 50 made it hard to put a lot of importance on racing this year. In retrospect, not having a big race to plan for made racing an afterthought, while riding and having fun was definitely the main priority. Nevertheless, I was feeling a bit left out the weekend of Great Glen. I didn't sign up this year, and my family was having a "camping" reunion in Freedom, NH. I live approximately 155 miles (okay, not approximately) away from Freedom. I wanted to attend the reunion, but I also wanted to get in a bike ride. So, I packed up my camping gear into some dry bags, threw on my hydration pack, and set out to cross the twin states. Just to make things interesting, I wanted to take my mountain bike, and ride as much trail/dirt road as possible. To make things even more interesting, I decided to take my single speed. To make things even MORE interesting, I decide to let google maps decide my route, using the directions function and clicking the "bike" button. Great idea.

As you can see from the map above, there was no way to avoid copious amounts of pavement. However, I was able to stay mostly on dirt, class IV roads, and even some bike path through most of VT. On the way into NH it was mostly pavement and not a ton of fun. I ended up climbing over Kinsman Notch, which I had never visited before. It was breathtaking.

The descent was chilly, but it was good to be heading into civilization after 30 miles through WILDerness. Not much between Woodsville and Campton. At eight at night, light was failing and I started to look for a place to sleep. It was pretty dark, but I found a nice field with a river at the end and a great view of the wide open sky. Sleep came quickly, but the mosquitoes and made sure I didn't get too much rest. The tarp I brought kept me dry, but not bringing a sleeping bag or something bug proof was a mistake.

On the next day, I woke up to see that I had slept below a ridge with a line of houses on it. Oops. I hope they liked watching me change in the morning. I packed up and headed out to visit one of my teenage stomping grounds. I grew up in a small town, and we spent a lot of time in the National Forest to the North of town. Sandwich Notch road goes through the forest and is about 3 miles from my parents house. I rode through memory lane, taking several detours and visiting some landmarks.

I stopped at my parents for lunch and to visit with my father. I even helped him build a compost bin. Then I slept for an hour, packed up and headed out to Freedom. The ride was uneventful, mostly dirt and pavement. I met my sisters and brothers and all their kids at the campground, and hung out for the rest of the weekend. It was a great trip. It also helped me choose my race for next year.

The Colorado Trail Race.

It is going to be a long winter.