Looking back

At first this was going to be a review of 2010 but it turned out to be how I grew into biking over the last couple of years.  I kept thinking I should write about some of my experiences and said I'll do it some Winter day.  Well, now with 40+ inches of New England snow this year and cold temperatures that Winter day has come.  I'll start with the first time I flew to a bike ride down in North Carolina in 2009 where I did the Tour de Tuck with my brother who lives in Chapel Hill.

Right off the bat the hills started before we even left the police escort on the highway.

Before you say what are you huffing for the climb doesn't look too steep, true, but it was a consistent 8% for 12 miles!

My brother making the climb - we stayed together throughout the ride sometimes one leading sometimes the other and stuck with a group we were at the same pace with.

Atop the Blue Ridge Parkway just after the ride (elev 5820').

Then came the Spring Classics 2010.  How did I start to race?  I did one race in Sept 2009 on a whim with my neighbor Len.  I hung with the pack and lead him out for his spring to the finish on the 2nd to last lap.  He encouraged me to come back next season.  All this lead me to thinking my entry level Giant OCR1 with nearly 5000 miles was due for an upgrade (makes a good trainer and wet day ride now).  So I spoke with Roy at Grace Bicycles  where my other neighbor Gerard also worked and and said I would like to get a new bike.  I went in late Fall of 2009 when the store was empty one night and Roy spend about 2 hours measuring me and I got on a bike with sensors (Retül 3D).  Then we spoke about bike frame materials (steel, carbon, titanium or combination) and wheelsets and component groups.  It was a lot to think about.  This was nothing like anything I've bought before, even my VW Passat purchase was done in hour (I'm not a Mall kind of guy).  But this kind of shopping I didn't mind.

After lots of thinking and more research and test rides (Parlee, Guru, Independent Fabrications) I came down to Parlee Z4 or a locally made in Holliston custom steel ANT.  The two frames were really at two ends of the spectrum.  The Parlee was like the devil saying "get the Ferrari" and the ANT was like "buy local, steel is real".   After Roy gave me a ride to the local and shop and I met Mike and saw the process I decided to go with the Fire ANT.  While about a pound heavier, I liked the powder coat durability and feel of my test ride on the similar Independent Crown Jewel (where Mike worked earlier).

  

In the Spring the bike came together (with regular updates from Mike and a few stop ins at his shop as things came along).  17.2 lbs.

Now it was time to ride.

At Wells a local criterium on the Grace Bicycles team with Rich.

Two days for MS at the Cape Code Getaway MS ride with Rick.  100 miles the first day and 75 the next.

Yes that's right a SRAM SAG car - just made it cooler somehow, one guy got a flat and borrowed a ZIPP 404.

The Purgatory road race in Sutton, MA was my first placing - 10th (cat-5)!

Three are better than one.

Short but steep (0.9 miles, 350’ elevation gain, 9% average grade, 18% max grade).

RDJ Memorial Hill Climb , Prospect Hill Park Waltham, MA  (1st year).  The photos is EVERYONE who was there.  It was a fun family feel event and I hope they come back next year.

You also have to get off your bike...

Frozen grass is slippery off camber!

I didn't ride but came to watch a couple of members of the Grace team (Rick and Kevin) at a cyclocross race in Sterling, MA. Kevin got 4th!  I took some laps on a beater cross bike I have around the course and it was a lot of fun and if the Fall wasn't so busy with coaching soccer etc. it would be tempting.  A great event to watch even if you don't ride.

Well, that's about it and I have to say I feel a bit more motivated now to get on the trainer for this Spring despite 40 inches of snow outside.

Hope to see you out there!

-Jason

Slowing down

I generally ride about as fast as I can given the situation.  Sometimes I have to slow down due to traffic, sometimes because it's raining or snowing, or I don't want to sweat too much on my commute to work.

So last week on my ride home, a beautiful August day as I passed the lake...

I slowed down.

As I was looking through the trees at the lake I've passed 4 day a week for the last 3 years (I work from home one day a week) I saw an opening.  I kept going.  Then as I crossed the next block, I thought, what's the rush.  I turned back and headed to the opening which was just a 20 foot path from the bike path.  I parked the bike and walked to the edge of the lake and saw a beach chair just sitting there in about 6 inches of water.  I took off my shoes and walked in the warm water which felt so good on my feet and sat down.  Ahhhhhhhh.    Everything slowed down.   A few geese floated over by me so close I could almost touch them.  I didn't have any food but they seem happy just to be near me and I was glad to have their company.

So there I was just a short walk from my daily commute where time stopped that one day.  Now when I have the time, I make sure to slow down when I pass the lake, and sometimes, I park my bike and sit in that chair.

See you on the road.