Tha, tha, that's all folks

 May 10, 2025

Kind of ironic that I would find an image of Porky Pig on the day of my son's graduation from The Rochester Institute of Technology. Earlier that morning, before the ceremonies, I headed out on a ride to sample some of the Rail Trails around Henrietta, NY from the Air BnB I was staying at.

Surly Cross Check make over

August 11, 2024 

After about a month of tinkering I finished my rebuild of my second Surly Cross Check.  I went from 9 to 10 speeds and a 36t rear cassette with a Shimano Tiagra drive train and a Wolftooth Road Link.

Missing Link

 July 6, 2024

Ann & I rode down the Northern Rail Trail in New Hampshire to Danbury, NH.  A few years ago, I had ridden to Danbury from Concord but turned around due to the weather. Today's ride closes the loop on this rail trail.

Two States of Pavement

 July 5, 2024

I took the Waltly out to explore White River Junction and climb some hills, intent on staying completely on Pavement. Rode down through Dartmouth College and over the Connecticut River into Vermont. It seems Vermont has a lot more dirt roads than New Hampshire so I pieced together a route that I hoped would be completely on pavement.

East of the Connecticut River

 July 3, 2024

Headed south from Lebanon, NH to see what the roads were like on the east side of the Connecticut River. 

Mother's Day at The Beast

Ann & I were running late Sunday morning and missed first chair by 15 minutes but we still got some decent parking.  Superstar was mostly groomed and it looked like it was going to be a great day of spring skiing.

Third from First

 

Since my Fat Bike was down due some shifting issues and the rear wheel is out of true, I pulled the Cujo out of stable and I discovered a broken spoke while putting air in the rear tire. I pulled off the wheel to take it to the shop later and then I pulled the Stump Jumper out of the stable. Of course it had a flat tire, too. I put air in it and hoped it would hold air.

Ann is back on the Bike

Before heading back to Connecticut on Monday, Ann & I went out for quick spin around town. It was her first time riding outdoors this season.  She had a bit of a set back last fall with a ski injury and has been slowly coming back and cycling is part of her rehabilitation.

Apres Ski with Ned Flanders

Driving down to Rutland I took care of a few things before hopping on the fat bike and riding over to Pine Hill Park.

May 1st at The Beast

 

Today was kind of a bittersweet end of the week. After 10 years working at HomeServe I decided to turn the page on a new chapter of my life by selling my house in Connecticut and move to Vermont. Friday, I headed to Killington to get a few runs in before heading to Rutland and I couldn't have asked for a better day to be on the slopes.

14.8

 

Tonight's ride was the Bunny Route. There was a previous attempt to ride this route but it was sort of unsuccessful so we were trying it again.  Scott brought a new initiate to the group, a guy named Rick from Newtown, whom he met at Newtown's Earth Day celebration last week. 

Cold as OOF

 

As the ski season winds down and I found myself staying in Newtown this weekend I joined the Newtown Lunartics for their weekly ride to OOF (Ovens of France) from Sandy Hook to Woodbury and back. 

Rejoining RC Ilumenati

I kind of fell off the face of the earth with RC Ilumenati, , my local night riding group, due to the Give-a-Shit meter being pegged with all the cold weather and snow that this winter brought. Tonight, though, I came back. I thought it was going to be warmer evening, but it was far from it  

When life gives you lemons you make lemonade

Due to a midday appointment, I was working from home today and as I was 30 minutes into something I had to get done and then the Internet goes out! I called my Internet Provider and they gave me an 11 AM ETA so with nothing better to do, I went for a bike ride.

Relive: Yellowstone Snowmobile Tour

Yellowstone National Park Snowmobile Tour

Ann & I went on a snowmobile tour with Scenic Safaris to Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.

FBBS

 

Fat Biking Before Skiing!

40 degrees in Rutland this morning and I hit PHP for a quickie before going skiing. I am wearing just a sleeveless base layer and my old Angler Pub Sweatshirt and it was the perfect combination of clothing.

Birthday Fatty Ride

 

The Nor’easter in southern New England effectively stranded me in Vermont Monday and the word from the office was don’t even bother to come in on Monday. I worked from Ann’s house and then borrowed her truck to drive over to PHP for a quick ride at lunch. I needed a break from putting the bike on the MINI.

First Tracks on a Fresh Groom

 

I drove up Thursday night after work knowing that if I didn’t leave when I did I wouldn’t have made it to Vermont on Friday. Friday’s snow forced the cancellation of the 4th Annual Cold Rolled Fat Biking Festival here in Rutland which I was planning on attending. I did get a little skiing in after work on Friday, 12 runs in 2 1/2 hours.

President’s Day at PHP

Snow Dog, PHP’s grooming machine got an upgrade - it now pulls the driver on a metal sled which is heavier and compacts the groom even more. That was evident today. Just about everything I rode on was perfect. 

Be my Fat Valentine

 

It has been over a month since I last rode at Pine Hill. Last weekend, I brought my son up to Killington to go skiing for three days and I could have went Monday because he was too sore to ski after 14 runs on Sunday. Went equipment shopping instead and I bought him a new pair of boots and rented skis for the rest of the season. Ann was riding on the trainer today so I headed out to Pine Hill.

Fat Bike on the MINI

 

My fat bike is almost as big as the car!

I decided to try the Thule ProRide Fat Bike Adapter for my car, again. Back in ‘19, when I first got the MINI, I put Fat Amy up on the roof racks in the very same manner. I got rid of the roof racks in favor of the MINI Cooper bicycle holder, however, I could never get Fat Amy never to fit/hold onto the rack well. Also, I don’t like using the rack in the winter time due to all the salt spray that accumulates on the back of the car. 

Buttah!

We got around an inch of snow overnight in Rutland and I waited till noon on Sunday for the temperatures to warm up a bit. I got to PHP around lunch time and it was still around 19 degrees. Heading out I was making the first tire tracks on Escalator. 

19° at Pine Hill Park

I wanted to ride Pine Hill Park on New Years Day but the high was 15 degrees and I thought it would be prudent not to ride in such cold temperatures. After today's ride I am don't think it would have mattered. Headed out to the park after grocery shopping. The sun was out and it was a blue bird day only by the time I got on my kit, put the bike in the truck and drove out to the park I had sun for all about 5 minutes.

Chez Cyclesnack North

My future forever home, aka Chez Cyclesnack North, is a bit smaller than my southern location, but its one advantage is a big basement. Getting bikes in and out of the basement can be challenging at times, especially with those bikes with really wide handle bars.