Day 8, 30 Days of Biking: Cocoa Ride

A PT session mid-morning left me without the opportunity to get in a ride earlier in the day before stormy weather arrived. No worries. Despite rain and snow falling, Chip was ready for an adventure... and joined me for a hot cocoa ride after school. Yaaay, Chipper! A short ride, (2.5 miles), but a fun afternoon.

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Great Teams, Great Friends

PT on Friday didn't go as well as I thought it would. I expected to get the ok for cycling, (because 30 Days of Biking starts tomorrow), but I got a big NO. (NO?!) Arrrgggghhhhh!!! I understand the shoulder isn't in great shape, and it can get quite painful at times, but I was under the impression it was a mild injury. Fixable. So I wasn't happy with my PT.

On Saturday, still feeling frustrated, I met the Cyclopaths for breakfast -- and of course it was snowing, for the tenth straight weekend. No one braved the elements and rode their bikes, and most agreed it will be a while before they're back on the road. It was good to see folks and catch up, and I'm hoping we have a good summer together.

Afterwards, I headed into Cambridge with Alison, Cate, Jen and Amy for the TriMania Expo, (at MIT -- taking the photo of the pool, above, for Will.)  It was a fun afternoon looking at different bike-swim-run related info, gear, and events -- with many laughs between us. (Those girls are such fun.) I also heard from a few Kittens on Saturday, checking in to see how PT went. Really sweet.) So, despite the gloomy start to the weekend, and my depressing mood, I had a great Saturday spent with Cyclopaths and Spiders, and chatting with Kittens -- and I felt much better about my PT situtation afterwards. Thanks, sweet friends!

30 Days of Biking starts tomorrow.

Sunday Snowday, Ragged Mountain

Still too messy for my road bike, but I got to wear the new VKVIP thermal team jacket, (that arrived on Friday), to the mountains yesterday. Will, Chip, their friend Jack, and I headed up to Ragged Mountain, (the boy's home mountain during the winter), for a last blast of skiing and boarding. The boys ditched me for the more technical trails while I stayed low-key, (having barely been on my board this year), but it was a fun day. Love the new jacket -- It's a bit big for me, but Chip says I'll grow into in. Hahahahaha....

Adventures with Chip: MTB in the snow

The snow is really becoming a joke at this point. We've had over 75" of it here on the North Shore, just within the last 15 days -- with more storms headed this way at the end of the week. We've had quite an impressive winter. Most, (but not all), of my riding has been indoors, either on the trainer at home, or on the computrainer at the B&S Fitness Facilities, (aka P2). Fortunately for me, Pete's mountain bike has allowed me to get out on the road this winter, even in the snow. (I'm not going to want to give it back at the end of the winter!!!)

The boys have used up all five of their snow days at school, but today's day-off was a pre-planned professional day, so it's a freebie. (Very convenient for the schools, who are digging out from yesterday's snowstorm.) Since Chip is always willing to head out on an adventure -- especially if it involves food -- I asked him if he wanted to join me for a snow ride. He of course said, "Yes". So we headed off down snowy roads towards the Salem DD's. Funnnnn!!!

Half the Road

We had a rainy day today, slowing things down a little and giving me a good excuse not to ride. Chip, Will and Zach chilled out with video games, and I spent the morning cleaning the studio to get some production going, and then settled in to watch some cycling on tv.

Yesterday I received a copy of Half the Road -- A documentary that focuses on the inequality between women's pro cycling and the men's pro teams. (The feature happens to include Vanderkitten pro rider Emily Kachorek, which also made it fun to watch.)

It was an interesting documentary -- if not somewhat redundant and dry. It needed some serious editing, though gave good insight into women's cycling, and clearly stated a case for parity among the men and women pro riders. Hopefully someday that will happen. It will be interesting to watch the elite pro women race Le Course at this year's Tour de France on July 27th.

After finishing Half the Road, I switched over to the Tour de France recorded on the DVR, and caught up with Stage 10 of the Tour. (I'm a few days behind. Goodbye, Ted King and Alberto Contador.)

Since it took me 30 minutes to figure out how to work the tv, (I don't watch tv, we switched cable companies, there's three hundred remote controls, (or three), and I just don't know which buttons to push), my afternoon of watching cycling video should really count towards my training. Like watching game film. Right?

Hahaha.... Maybe not.

Day 26: 30 Days of Biking, NEBC Race Clinic, Rain

Today's race clinic in a cold steady rain was not fun in most regards, but in some ways it was. We had a low turnout today which, given the weather, wasn't a surprise. (Since it's Day 26 of 30 Days of Biking, I had planned to ride, rain or shine.)

My group headed out to warm up with some paceline riding before stopping at a quiet road to start the day's skills session. Unfortunately, I managed to get a flat tire soon after the warm-up -- and everyone stopped while I changed my tire, (like a pro!), before proceeding with the drills. My gloves were totally soaked at that point, and my fingers froze, and I regretted turning down Mark M.'s offer to borrow a pair of neoprene gloves. (I thought mine would be warm enough -- I was wrong.)

Our instruction today included starting a race, (choosing the right gear to get into a high cadence as quickly as possible) -- and finishing the race, (anticipating where the finish line is, and practicing a leadout and sprint to the finish). I'm sure there were other things we did too, but my brain is dead at the moment.

Later, getting back to the parking lot where we started, someone peeled my gloves off for me, and another stopped the Strava app on my iPhone. My fingers were so frozen! Still, it was a fun day despite the miserable weather, and I had a great time with the NEBC gang.

It was the final day of the clinic, (so sad), and everyone was sooooo nice. I will miss my graduation race because of crew training for RAAM in Oregon the same day -- but I'm sure the new bike handling skills I learned in the clinic will help me be a better rider. It was a blast -- minus the rain.

(Photo above of Mark B., who, like Chip, doesn't seem to mind rain or puddles.)

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Day 23: 30 Days of Biking, Adventures with Chip

Today was a fun day on the bike with Chip as we took off down the trail towards Marblehead in the rain. We decided to head to the Driftwood for breakfast, and arrived fairly soaked -- but after warm pancakes and cocoa for Chip, and eggs and coffee for me, we were good as new.

Heading back out in the rain, Chip took some selfies at the landing, (State Street dock), not really caring about the wet weather. We then made our way back through town, stopping to explore an old cemetary along the way.

Back on the trails, we veered off into the woods at Hawthorn Pond, looking for turtles. At that point, Chip decided he needed a pond stick, and tried to take it home on the bike with him. That didn't last long. As he precariously crossed the planked walkway across the pond with the stick, I waited for him to lose his balance and fall in, but fortunately he let go of that prized possession before tumbling in. (Wise choice, Chip!)

We continued on to Salem where his comments and observations made me laugh. At one point, his pant leg got caught in his bike chain and a heard a loud, "rrrrrrrrip", followed by, "Ummm, MOM?!" Hahaha... those pants are toast. With the torn pant leg flapping, it became caught in the chain a second time, so we tore the fabric up to his knee to tie it around his leg. Just part of the adventure.

We got back to Beach Bluff at 9.5 miles, and I mentioned to him that I hated ending a bike ride on an odd number. So, we looped the neighborhood to end it at ten miles -- although he would have been happy to leave it at 9.5 (or continue to 11), because "odd numbers get ignored." Hahaha... I'll try to remember that, Chipper.

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Day 5: 30 Days of Biking, NEBC Race Clinic

Today's cycling adventure, (and Day 5 of my 30 Days of Biking challenge), was an Intro to Racing Clinic out in Devens, Mass. with Northeast Bicycle Club. It was a cold, overcast day, with breaks of sun here and there, but I had sooooo much fun that after the first ten minutes I completely forgot it was cold. Everyone was incredibly nice, (understatement), and my head is now so jam packed with info, it's going to take a while for everything to sink in. But I learned a TON -- I have some practice to do, (Bunny hops! Corners! Water bottles!) -- and I can't wait for next week! (Thank you NEBC gang!!!)

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