pbray

This was our 24th trip together... for those keeping track... and our second trip with our friend Sarah B.


2023 Cotswolds Tour (UK), Bicycle Adventures
2022 Olympic National Park and Discovery Trail, Washington State, Bicycle Adventures
2021 Finger Lakes NY - Carolina Tailwinds
2020 Trip Canceled - COVID
2019 Glacier Park Montana, Trek Travel
2018 Michigan - Cherry Coast, Carolina Tailwinds
2017 St John's - Trinity Bike & Hike, Freewheeling Adventures (Canada)
2016 Best of Madison, Carolina Tailwinds
2015 Middle-Tennessee, Carolina Tailwinds
2014 Coast of Maine (Acadia), Discovery Bike Tours
2013 *no trip*
2012 Big Sur--Monterey to Santa Barbara, California, Backroads
2011 Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Bicycle Adventures
2010 Outer Banks North Carolina, Carolina Tailwinds
2009 Black Hills South Dakota, Timberline
2008 Northern Shenandoah VA, Carolina Tailwinds
2007 Crater Lake Oregon, Bicycle Adventures
2006 Canadian Rockies Alpiner, Timberline
2005 Historic Quebec, Classic Adventures
2004 Bryce/Zion Alpiner, Timberline
2003 Finger Lakes, Classic Adventures
2002 Blue Ridge NC, Carolina Tailwinds
2001 Nova Scotia, VBT
2000 Mid-coast Maine (Camden, Castine), VBT
1999 Nantucket weekend, Easy Riders
1998 Middlebury VT weekend, VBT

Trips before Stacey became my personal trainer :-)
1996 Kerry Ireland (9 day), Easy Riders
1995 Maryland Eastern Shore, VBT

After skipping last year due to pandemic, Stacey and I really enjoyed getting to ride with Carolina Tailwinds. Our favorite tour company and before the trip I got to catch up with old friends.

This was our 22nd trip together... for those keeping track"

2021 Finger Lakes NY - Carolina Tailwinds
2020 Trip Canceled - COVID
2019 Glacier Park Montana, Trek Travel
2018 Michigan - Cherry Coast, Carolina Tailwinds
2017 St John's - Trinity Bike & Hike, Freewheeling Adventures (Canada)
2016 Best of Madison, Carolina Tailwinds
2015 Middle-Tennessee, Carolina Tailwinds
2014 Coast of Maine (Acadia), Discovery Bike Tours
2013 *no trip*
2012 Big Sur--Monterey to Santa Barbara, California, Backroads
2011 Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Bicycle Adventures
2010 Outer Banks North Carolina, Carolina Tailwinds
2009 Black Hills South Dakota, Timberline
2008 Northern Shenandoah VA, Carolina Tailwinds
2007 Crater Lake Oregon, Bicycle Adventures
2006 Canadian Rockies Alpiner, Timberline
2005 Historic Quebec, Classic Adventures
2004 Bryce/Zion Alpiner, Timberline
2003 Finger Lakes, Classic Adventures
2002 Blue Ridge NC, Carolina Tailwinds
2001 Nova Scotia, VBT
2000 Mid-coast Maine (Camden, Castine), VBT
1999 Nantucket weekend, Easy Riders
1998 Middlebury VT weekend, VBT

Trips before Stacey became my personal trainer :-)
1996 Kerry Ireland (9 day), Easy Riders
1995 Maryland Eastern Shore, VBT

And the 2019 trip was Glacier Park in Montana, with Trek Travel. Our first time with Trek, and the best rental bikes we've ever ridden. Actually best bikes we've ridden period.

2019 Glacier Park Montana, Trek Travel
2018 Michigan - Cherry Coast, Carolina Tailwinds
2017 St John's - Trinity Bike & Hike, Freewheeling Adventures (Canada)
2016 Best of Madison, Carolina Tailwinds
2015 Middle-Tennessee, Carolina Tailwinds
2014 Coast of Maine (Acadia), Discovery Bike Tours
2013 *no trip*
2012 Big Sur--Monterey to Santa Barbara, California, Backroads
2011 Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Bicycle Adventures
2010 Outer Banks North Carolina, Carolina Tailwinds
2009 Black Hills South Dakota, Timberline
2008 Northern Shenandoah VA, Carolina Tailwinds
2007 Crater Lake Oregon, Bicycle Adventures
2006 Canadian Rockies Alpiner, Timberline
2005 Historic Quebec, Classic Adventures
2004 Bryce/Zion Alpiner, Timberline
2003 Finger Lakes, Classic Adventures
2002 Blue Ridge NC, Carolina Tailwinds
2001 Nova Scotia, VBT
2000 Mid-coast Maine (Camden, Castine), VBT
1999 Nantucket weekend, Easy Riders
1998 Middlebury VT weekend, VBT

Trips before Stacey became my personal trainer :-)
1996 Kerry Ireland (9 day), Easy Riders
1995 Maryland Eastern Shore, VBT

Just back from the annual bike trip, where we had a fantastic time. Madison, Wisconsin lived up to its reputation as a bike-friendly city. Not only do they have an extensive network of bike paths and bike lanes, but even out on country roads the drivers are incredibly patient and respectful of cyclists.

Carolina Tailwinds remains our favorite company to travel with. Great people, great bikes, and they think of everything, so all we have to do is pedal and enjoy.

Already plotting our trip for next year. In the meantime, here's where we've been so far:

2016 Best of Madison, Carolina Tailwinds
2015 Middle-Tennessee, Carolina Tailwinds
2014 Coast of Maine (Acadia), Discovery Bike Tours
2013 *no trip*
2012 Big Sur--Monterey to Santa Barbara, California, Backroads
2011 Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Bicycle Adventures
2010 Outer Banks North Carolina, Carolina Tailwinds
2009 Black Hills South Dakota, Timberline
2008 Northern Shenandoah VA, Carolina Tailwinds
2007 Crater Lake Oregon, Bicycle Adventures
2006 Canadian Rockies Alpiner, Timberline
2005 Historic Quebec, Classic Adventures
2004 Bryce/Zion Alpiner, Timberline
2003 Finger Lakes, Classic Adventures
2002 Blue Ridge NC, Carolina Tailwinds
2001 Nova Scotia, VBT
2000 Mid-coast Maine (Camden, Castine), VBT
1999 Nantucket weekend, Easy Riders
1998 Middlebury VT weekend, VBT

Trips before Stacey became my personal trainer :-)
1996 Kerry Ireland (9 day), Easy Riders
1995 Maryland Eastern Shore, VBT

This month was the (nearly) annual bike vacation, and our trip took us to Mount Desert Island, Maine, and Acadia National Park. We had a fabulous time, biking, hiking and even a morning spent kayaking. There's something about a bike trip that disconnects you from your daily life--your focus narrows into the day's mileage and enjoying the sights, rather than the latest horrors in the news, or controversies on social media. I did occasionally log on my tablet, but in our downtime I was much more likely to pick up a book.

I need to figure out how to do this now that I'm back in my daily life. I enjoy being able to connect with friends on social media, and follow interesting people, but at the same time it can be a tremendous time suck and source of negative energy. There has to be a better balance.

For those following along, here's the tally of bike tours so far. And yes, we're already talking about which tour we want to take next year.

2014 Coast of Maine (Acadia), Discovery Bike Tours
2013 *no trip*
2012 Big Sur--Monterey to Santa Barbara, California, Backroads
2011 Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Bicycle Adventures
2010 Outer Banks North Carolina, Carolina Tailwinds
2009 Black Hills South Dakota, Timberline
2008 Northern Shenandoah VA, Carolina Tailwinds
2007 Crater Lake Oregon, Bicycle Adventures
2006 Canadian Rockies Alpiner, Timberline
2005 Historic Quebec, Classic Adventures
2004 Bryce/Zion Alpiner, Timberline
2003 Finger Lakes, Classic Adventures
2002 Blue Ridge NC, Carolina Tailwinds
2001 Nova Scotia, VBT
2000 Mid-coast Maine (Camden, Castine), VBT
1999 Nantucket weekend, Easy Riders
1998 Middlebury VT weekend, VBT

Trips before Stacey became my personal trainer :-)
1996 Kerry Ireland (9 day), Easy Riders
1995 Maryland Eastern Shore, VBT

Had two great rides this weekend, which seems fitting because I'm getting in shape to bike for two great causes:

In June I'll be riding a metric century in the annual Macy's Vermont Cares Champ ride to raise money for HIV/AIDS prevention, support and advocacy. Click here to sponsor me or click here to sponsor my teammate Stacey.

In July I'm riding seventy-seven miles in the Prouty to raise money for cancer treatment and research sponsor me, or sponsor my enabler Stacey.

No donation is too small, or if you can't spare cash, send good thoughts our way.

Alas one of the downsides of my new abode is the lack of decent movie theaters, which means that I won't get a chance to see the Avengers movie until next weekend.

I did get out on two good bike rides this weekend. The first was with friends who live a few towns over. It was right at the edge of being too cold to be out (50's, cloudy and windy) but we managed. Yesterday I left from here, and started off on one of the marked bike routes, then detoured for a bit to add extra mileage. When I'm cycling on my own I don't like to get too far from the house, so I need a ring ride, or multiple spokes. That way, in case of malfunction, at worst case I'm never more than 10-15 miles from the house.

I'm starting to relax on the new road bike. It's by far the most comfortable and stable road bike I've ridden. I need to get some decent miles on it in the next week or so, before I bring it back to the bike shop for the one month tuneup.

Compact or triple crankset? Keep in mind that my bike maintenance skills are zero, so any time anything needs to be changed I'll be bringing it in to the bike shop.

(Yes, I'm thinking of buying my first road bike in the modern geologic era. I've been riding a hybrid since 1995.)

Riding in New Hampshire tends towards the hilly, if that makes a difference.

The month of September has been chaotic, to put it charitably. Just a week after floods ravaged my hometown, I headed out on the annual cycling vacation with my friend Stacey. We'd give serious thought to canceling, but the trip was non-refundable, so in the end we decided to go.

Being away and mostly out of touch for nine days was an odd experience. This year's destination was the Santa Fe & Taos area of New Mexico, an absolutely gorgeous place for bike rides, but internet and cell access were sporadic at best, so I quickly lost touch with the outside world. I could never quite shake the worry over what was happening at home--or what I would have to deal with when I came back--but despite that, we had a good time. The seven other cyclists and two guides were all great to spend time with, and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

One of the highlights of the trip was riding the Enchanted Circle, a 62 mile ride that including climbing three thousand feet up to Bobcat Pass, a whopping 9,820 feet above sea level. As someone not accustomed to those kind of altitudes, I spent most of the week feeling like I was moving in slow motion-- everything was just a bit harder and took just a bit longer than I expected. But despite my inability to do any training in the weeks just before the ride, I turned in a credible performance and earned my share of beer and ice cream treats.

We didn't get near Roswell, which explains the distinct lack of alien sightings. Though there was a road sign warning of potential cow / flyer saucer encounters, which alas I did not grab a picture of since it was on a steep downhill. Maybe next time. For now, I'm glad to be home, and digging my way out from under the piles of mail.

Patricia at Bobcat Pass (NM)

In honor of my newly tuned-up brakes I took my bike out on the extra hilly ride this weekend. I'd planned a shorter ride but blew past the turnaround point, then rode straight past the next cut off, at which time I realized that my legs had decided that it was a good day to head out to the airport, so I did.

I'm grateful to the folks at Babcock Bikes of Endicott who fixed the squealing brake problem that left me feeling like I should apologize to neighbors for waking them up during my early morning rides. Babcock's is an amazing store--they know bikes and they know their customers. I'm only in there once or twice a year, but they always recognize me (and my bike.) The mechanic remembered putting new tires on my bike last summer, and since the tires weren't significantly worn I got to explain the "wrecked ankle and spent summer in a cast rather than riding" story, which brought appropriate expressions of sympathy. And best of all, there's no bike snob attitude-- I can describe a mechanical problem as "It doesn't feel right" or "I think something bad has happened" and they'll nod their heads, take the bike away, and in a day or two call me up to say that it's fixed.

While in the store I spent some time admiring the new Treks they've got in stock. I still like my fifteen year-old Bianchi hybrid, but I'll admit that my eye does wander. When I get a new bike, it will be from Babcock, I can't imagine going anywhere else.

Local bike shops are an endangered species, so if you have a good one in your area, you should cherish it.