Better than coffee

The map above is my morning commute.  It doesn't look like much, but it it has been kicking my ass lately.  Getting up at 4 in the morning and riding 30 miles is tiring.  Riding home 30 miles (almost always into a headwind) after teaching is even more tiring.  But, at least I have been able to kick the coffee habit. With all the money I am saving on coffee and gas, I might buy myself a dirt bike.  Then the commute will get really interesting.  In reality, this all just in preparation for Colorado in July.  Raced yesterday at Catamount after a two hour warm up ride with about 1,800 of climbing.  As you might have guessed, the race didn't go so well.

At least my legs didn't feel like turd for the commute today.  But tomorrow might be a different story.

The shakedown

This weekend was the first of what I hope to be many bikepacking trips. Marc met me at my house after I work (of course I got out late b/c it was a gorgeous day and everyone wanted to get a new bike) and we loaded up our new-ish frame bags and backpacks with all the clothing, food, gear and tools we thought we would need for our bike adventure. I got dressed and finished packing and we were on the road by 7:30.

After a short road ride, some dirt road and double track, it was on to our favorite local trail. The stats are as follows: 5 miles, 54 LOW sap lines (added this spring) and 1,400 ft of climbing to a beautiful view.

Although, when you arrive at 9:30 at night, the view looks like this:

We set up camp, cooked dinner and went to bed quickly. I was pretty beat from 3 hours of riding Friday, 3 hours of trail work Saturday morning and then 6 hours of work before we left. I crawled into my bivy and bag and was out pretty quick.

The night was mostly uneventful. The rain that had been threatening held off, and the only thing that woke me was the wind, which picked up so much during the night I thought my bike might get blown off the cliff. I think next time I will bring some small earplugs and a better pillow, and my sleep system should be ready to go.

We packed up after a lunch of granola bars and water. Neither of us wanted to spend time cooking oatmeal or coffee. I was up at 7, and we were packed and ready to go by 7:45

The 15 minute downhill got our blood going and lifted our spirits enough that we convinced ourselves to forego the bakery stop and ride for the morning. We rode 4 miles of dirt and pavement to the next favorite trail system, Sleepy Hollow. This climb was another 1,200 feet of climbing to another killer view (it is much better w/out the stocky redhead)

This pic was taken at the cabin that Sleepy rents out to people who want to hike or bike up and spend the night in comfort. The main reason it was on our list was for the facilities.

It isn't five star, but having a place to sit and fresh TP made the morning if you ask me. The other highlight is the ripping downhill from the cabin to the next section. Marc and I cruised down and hit another dirt road and had to make a decision. We could continue on to another trail system just a quarter mile away, or head back on pavement and river trail to get home and eat a late breakfast/early lunch. It was about 10:30, and since we had a 20 mile ride home and I had to pick up my wife at the airport at 12:30, we opted to head home. Overall, it was a good first ride with weighted bags and full sleep set up. It was also nice to find out how I would feel riding for a while after sleeping outside. Everything went as well as could be expected, although now I just have to figure out how it will feel on my singlespeed when I get my frame back.

Say no to crack.

The riding in the good ol' green mountains has been incredible lately. Trails are dry, it is too cold for the skeeters and flies, and the leaves get caught in between your wheels and frame and make the cool engine sounds. The trails are in such good shape that they are almost too dry, with berms crumbling and people asking for just one day of rain to get the dirt nice and tacky (and also to get a rest day, lots of tired legs)

No matter what happens with the weather, tomorrow is a mandatory rest day for me. Went for a quick 2 hour ride that ended earlier than I had planned. I started from my house, spun the 4 miles to the trailhead, and then began the nice, techy 35 minute climb to the top of a ridge. Once on top of the ridge, the trail follows the spine of the ridge for another 30 minutes to a cliff, then descends down a 15 minute downhill that never fails to put a smile on my face. That was the plan until this happened.

<<<<<

So, on the way up I heard something that sounded like a creaky headset. My headset is old, so I thought nothing of it. I kept hearing it and was getting annoyed, but I made it to the top and got off my bike to take a leak. When I returned, I brushed the mud off of my down tube and felt a slight rise. Not good. The crack was about halfway through the tube, and I luckily found it before the gnarly descent at the end of the trail. I walked the bike down the hill and called Aliza to come and get me. Now I get to call the company and see what we can do about a new single speed frame............

Sunday Surprise

Got out to ride this Sunday all by myself. Tried to set up rides with three different people but nothing panned out. So, I got on my bike and headed to a place I had never ridden before, and I was pleasantly surprised. There was everything I look for in a good ride: rocks, roots, hills, and fun downhill. It also gave me a new spot to go and camp that is close to home.

How did I happen on upon such an oasis, you ask? Well, it all started last summer. I packed up to ride my bike to NH to visit family, and since I was going to be out over night and on lots of sketchy back/forest/snowmobile trail roads my wife wanted me to wear my road ID. I don't usually because it isn't comfortable and it doesn't fit my fat little wrists right. Apparently, it fell off not 3 miles from my house. It was found by the gentleman who maintains the trails that I found. I stopped by his house to pick up the ID, and his wife not only invited me to ride the trails in their backyard, but also to the party they were having that night. I politely declined the dinner, but I couldn't pass up the chance to ride new trails. So, about eight months later, I decided it was time to explore.

The fun climb up.

And the view from the top.

There is a lot of potential up there, but I think that it is going to remain low key. That will keep all the riff-raff out.

End of the road

Got an email this Friday from the clothing company that has been sending me "love me" presents for the past few years. The wised up and realized I was not a super star on the internets. Maybe the realized that my average blogs-per-month is in the .025 range. Oh well, at least now I can wear my patagucci without feeling guilty......

Guess who decided to show up...

Winter. Lots of fun. Hopefully I can ski all week, and then it will start to melt when school starts again.

BIG weekend.

Yup. BIG weekend. This week took forever, so I needed to make the most of this weekend. One more week until we are on Vaca here in Vermont, and this weekend was an excellent opportunity to get ready for all the fun we will be having when school is out.

Friday afternoon was spontaneity day in the Lapierre household. This little known holiday, celebrated only in the Williston Lapierre household, consists of me buying a present for my wife and making her do something she hasn't done before. This is what I came up with.

Charlie's Vermont Angel

No, it is not a "real" gun. It is a Co2 powered bb gun. Nevertheless, Aliza has never shot any type of gun. She was so nervous she made me load it and shoot it first before she try it. We spent several clips shooting seltzer bottles and cans. We are pretty BA.

For Saturday, we started with some bike riding. The trails in VT are still luge tracks, thanks to the lack of snow, intermittent rain and the constant temps near 30 degrees. Marc and I studded our tires which helps with the ice, but leads to frequent flats.

Marc and Andy trying not to stab themselves.

We have become pretty fast at changing flats, which is good because it is pretty cold out there despite the lame winter we have been having. The trails are still fun, and it is really cool to ride on trails like this and have total control (except when Marc takes a corner to fast and slides into the woods)

After the bike riding, Marc and I decided to test out some new gear. Outdoor Research sent me a Bivy sac, and I really wanted to try it out. I am planning on using one this year in the CTR, and I thought that this weekend would be a good chance to try it out.

Marc, trying the bivy out in my kitchen. He wants one now.

Marc and I headed down to Stowe, where we hoped there would be lots and lots of snow. We were a bit disappointed when we found a solid 1/4 inch of fresh on top of firm, firm snow. We skinned for about 45 minutes to find the perfect campsite. We set up camp and gathered some firewood. Then we headed out to take a few runs.

Home, sweet home, for the night.

Marc, digging in.

After skiing for a bit, we headed back up to camp (in the future, I think camp should be low, so that you can end a ski run where you are going to cook and sleep) It started to snow for the last few minutes of the skin, and we hoped it would continue and make the morning skiing better than the afternoon runs. No such luck. I looked up into the sky after dinner and we could see lots of stars. It was very beautiful, but we would have preferred clouds and snow to cold and ambiance.

We were hungry after the skiing and set to work cooking and gathering more fire wood. I got a chance to try out my new esbit stove, which has little white blocks for fuel. It worked out pretty well and in about ten minutes I had my cous cous made. I threw in another block and boiled some potato pieces that Marc brought. It wasn't gourmet, but it was some of the best potato soup I have ever had. After dinner, our attention turned to burning stuff. For some reason, whenever Marc gets near a fire, it grows exponentially.

He also seems to enjoy fire quite a bit. We let the fire burn down, and then hit the sack around 8. I slept surprisingly well, and fell warm throughout the night. I do think that next time I will pack down the snow under my bivy a bit better, since I kept rolling into the tree next to me. In the morning we had planned to ski a bit, but Marc was rather cold and tired (he decided to try sleeping a 40 degree bag, which I don't think worked too well) I was easily persuaded, as I could meet Aliza and her dad for some warm, indoor climbing.

After climbing we had lunch, did some shopping and then headed home. I wasn't feeling tired anymore, and Timber the wonder dog was bouncing off the walls when we got home. So, I got dressed for a bike ride and decided to tire Timber right out. I wouldn't have thought this possible two years ago, but Timber is getting older and even he needs to rest after an hour and a half of running through the woods. It helps when the trails look like this and he has to run twice as far just to keep pace with me on the ice.

Got a lot done this weekend, hopefully this week flies by and we can do even more during our Feb. break.