Cache Creek from Cedar Lane

My ride couldn't get up the entrance road to Cache Creek today so I had to start from Cedar Lane. 

Fortunately there was plenty of snow and the trek up to the parking lot was smooth.

Skiing Jackson Hole Mountain

 

I am glad we skied Snow King yesterday because the people who were skiing here said the wind was brutal and Sublet was closed in the morning because of it. The snow squalls were limiting visibility but the wind wasn't blowing hard and when the sun peaked out it was quite nice.

Curiosity delay on the way to Teton Village

There's only one way in and out of Teton Village if you want to ski Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and that's Moose Wilson Road and it also common to see moose along this stretch of road. I had heard from someone who headed out there earlier that the pair was a bull and a cow and apparently the bull tried to get frisky earlier but the cow wasn't having any of it.

Snow King Mountain: Ski In and Ski Out

The weather on Friday at Teton Village was supposed to be really, really windy so my father and I decided to ski Snow King. It's so convenient. Just walk 50 yards, put on your skis and off you go.  On my first solo visit to Jackson Hole, I was off the plane and on the slopes in an hour! Last year, my flight was canceled due to equipment issues and I ended up flying to Idaho Falls where my Dad picked me up. 

Blue Bird day at Grand Teton National Park

We started from the Cottonwood Creek Parking area and you could not have asked for a better day. There was a slight breeze which made the standing temperature of 24 degrees feel like 24 degrees. My Dad, his girlfriend Peggy and I headed north towards Jenny Lake and compared to last year, there was a lot more snow. 

Good Morning Grand Teton!

When I got up Thursday morning and looked out the front window The Grand (Teton) was enshrouded by clouds.

American Airlines Flight Fiasco

The night before I was supposed to fly out to Jackson, WY, I drove down to Newark Airport and stayed the night at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel. They also have airport parking so it killed two birds with one stone, especially since I had a 5:30 AM flight the next morning.

First Nordic Ski this year

On the last day of February we finally get a significant amount of snow in Newtown to go cross country skiing. I broke out the back country skis because my regular skis were already packed for my upcoming Wyoming ski trip.

Blackbeard Pub Ride - 60 deg in February!

Unbelievable temperatures today!

Sunday Morning Greis-n-shine

Another later start and rather than riding to OOF we met at the Flagpole and decided to ride to Greisers in Easton for lunch.

It's always sunny in ... Connecticut?

We were going to ride to OOF Saturday morning to celebrate my return but it was still below 30 degrees at 10 AM and nobody wanted to ride. I waited a few more hours and then I jumped on my Titanium bike and headed north for a little Vitamin D and Hill therapy on the route that I call the Middle Finger. My Garmin said it was 39 degrees but it was really more like 35 degrees. I was overheating on the climbs and freezing on the descents.

Last day in Chicago

I woke up to this Thursday morning and knew I would be riding Zwift tonight.

Wednesday Ride after Work

I headed out from my Aunt's house at 5:30 and it was surprisingly still light out. I took the same route north as I did for Monday's ride only it was overcast and didn't look the same.

Will you be my Valentine?

Steven Tramposh, a founding father of the Newtown Lunartics was in town on business and texted me wondering if I wanted to get together for dinner. I had nothing to do so I told him to take a train out to the suburbs and I would pick him up and we would go to one of my favorite places in Chicago, Meier's Tavern. I even got him a Valentine's card as a joke.

We drank German Bier, ate hamburgers and caught up. He moved to New Jersey a couple of years ago and occasionally rides with us when he visits Newtown.

BCLC Monday Night Recovery Ride

On Monday evening I walked the dog early and gave her a big treat before heading out to Lake Bluff for the Bicycling Collective of Lake County's Monday night recovery ride. I had 45 minutes to ride 12 miles to get to the start of the ride and I am hammering the whole way since I left a little later than I should have.

Solo to Volo

Today's ride was aimed at riding somewhere new and getting as many new Wandrer miles along the way but on the roll out I had some synching issues with my lights causing me to stop and reset my Gramin. 

Mom's Joke of the Day #699

Saturday turned out to be a glorious day to be on the bike as I headed out from Northbrook to Lake Bluff. Not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was hovering around 42 degrees - which is unheard of for Chicago in February!

Zwifting in Chicago

 

My first day in Chicago I decided to ride Zwift in my Aunt's basement.  I brought my old phone in which I have an HDMI adapter for and I can run Zwift off it and onto my Aunt's 72 inch TV. I had to go out and buy a power strip and an extension cord because there are no outlets near the floor in her basement.

Leaving on a jet plane

My Aunt, who I stayed with twice last year for two three week periods flew me out to Chicago to dog sit for her while she went on vacation. There was no way I was going to go out there and not ride so I started looking for a bike bag. A buddy of mine had a bag but he was leaving the weekend I was returning so that wasn't going to work. Someone offered me a bag for free which I gladly drove up state to pick up. I brought him a couple of four packs of his favorite beer from Counterweight to say thank you.

 Happy Birthday Elliot!

My son turns 19 today.

RC Ilumenati's Flat Night

The days are getting longer!

We needed a night ride and dine that was more than a few beers and pretzels in a parking lot. It was decided that we would ride from the Fairfield Train Station and then get wings after the ride at Archie Moore's.

Gravel: The answer to life, the universe, and everything!

 

I reached out to my brother-in-law Will and a few others to see if they wanted to ride Westchester Dirt Roads on Sunday. David and Will (pictured above) accepted, as well as a few others but then they bailed at the last second. I picked this route mainly for the distance, not wanting to go too far, since the last time I rode real gravel was in October.

The Sun is Back!

Another OOF aborted ride attempt. Only, this morning it was snowing lightly.  Finally, it stopped and sun came out! Mike didn't have a lot of time so we opted for a ride from the Newtown Flagpole and afterwards we planned to get coffee at the Newtown General Store.  Tomas joined us two.  Once again I overdressed and dropped a layer before we headed up Castle Hill.

New Kit Day: Joseph and Technicolor Dreamcoat

 

I got this new thermal jacket over Christmas but it was kind of small so I sent it back for the next size up. It's from Twin 6 and I was very skeptical on whether it would be warm enough for anything below 50 degrees. The colors spoke to me but I still questioned the material.

Riding on a New Engloomy afternoon

Just another cold Sunday morning leading to another abortive attempt to ride to Oven's of France. I waited till noon to head out and since I was solo, I headed north with a vague idea of the route I wanted to ride.  I left my house thinking it was a lot colder than it actually was and by the time I was halfway to Bridgewater I had to shed clothing.

Welcome back Tadej and Dry January

Tadej makes his 2023 debut to the Ilumenati but requests that we do a flat-ish ride this evening because he was riding his gravel bike. The Ciocc was down for repairs.  The only problem with that was on Monday I had ridden down to Trumbull on the Rail Trail and it was really soft. I tried to come up with something flat.

RC Ilumenati's NOMP Season Opener

Our fearless leader, Mat O, came out for this one along with John K and myself.  We started by heading south towards Trumbull so I could get a few more Wandrer Miles and then pushed north along our usual route.

Lunch between the Lakes

It's cold again! There was a planned Lunartics ride for 9 AM this morning but it was below 25 degrees and no one wanted to brave the cold and that is the latest time you can leave if you still want a good selection of pastries at Ovens of France. The alternative was to wait until later, in this case 11 AM and ride somewhere else. Mike was the only taker so we met in Bridgewater and headed towards Roxbury.

RC Ilumenati's first ride of 2023, SOMP

 

It looks like we are going to have two Season Openers for RC Ilimumenati. Tonights is a ride South of the Merritt Parkway and the next one North of the Merritt Parkway, and our usual riding area. To make this matters just a little frustrating for me tonight's ride started from the Gaelic-American Club and I am doing Dry January so there will be know Black and Tan's for me tonight. If I can abstain tonight then I won't have a problem going the full 31 days.

Nice Weather brings out the nice Ass!

 

The mercury was in the 60's today so Scott and I headed out at lunch time for quick rip around town.

The Inadvertant Roubaix

 

Good thing I was on my Anyroad bike today because whenever you ride in Northwest Connecticut you are bound to hit a dirt road or two.  Mike and I started our ride from his place in Gaylordsville. Along the way, we saw Steve Levine ride past heading up to Front of the Mountain or Mud Pond.

New Year's Day 2023 Account Opener

Happy New Year!

It's 50 degrees on January 1st and I am riding in bib shorts!

Woo hoo!