The summer is flying quickly as we careen towards July. Weekend rides with
Alison,
Lisa and
Lila , (
Alison training for IM Sacramento) have been fun! It’s been good to be back on the road bike after spending the last few years primarily mountain biking. I've missed the road! (I haven't missed the mechanicals, however, which I rarely encounter on the mountain bike.) A few weeks ago, my chain
jumped over the cassette and
jammed hard between the cassette and frame. Fortunately, we were finishing up our ride when it happened, less than a mile from the finish, and didn’t spoil the day. I dropped the bike off at
Centraal Cycle in Beverly for repair -- one of the few remaining local bike shops. They dislodged the chain fairly quickly with a chain break tool, but kept the bike for spoke and derailleur repair. (Apparently the derailleur was “wicked bent”.)
Sadly, that left me without the road bike for a week as the shop is short staffed, (like everyone else), and they just couldn't get to it.
I had the bike back in time to take it out to the Berkshires for a training weekend retreat with some of the girls, (minus KHaff and Cate, who are in Croatia). Lila arranged a lake house getaway, with plans for us to ride, swim, kayak, and run — but the weather didn’t cooperate. On a cold, windy, overcast Saturday, several of us decided to forgo the bikes and went hiking instead; while Amy and Jennifer, with IM Mt Tremblant 70.3 coming up the following weekend, gutted out the elements and rode to Great Barrington. The rest of us enjoyed a short hike before meeting them in Great Barrington for lunch. It was a fun getaway despite our change in plans.
 |
| The cottage is ready for summer |
Gas prices have reached $5.20/gallon locally this summer, which has limited my trips to Vermont. I drove up last week to do some cleaning at the cottage to get it ready for the summer, but I’m not sure how often we’ll get up there this year. There are a few events coming up over at the mountain — Gnar Weasels and Flow State — that I may volunteer for, but I’m still not riding. It’s been a slow grind, but it's all good.
(Still no events on my calendar this summer — my focus just isn’t there. Maybe something will pop up for the Fall.)
