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.

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.

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.

2nd Fat Bike Ride

 As luck would have it, all that good snow last week got washed away in what I call the Vermont December Warm Up. Saw this last year skiing at Killington, we were skiing knee deep powder the first two weeks of December and then there was a warm up and some rain, and then freezing temperatures to reinforce the meaning of Ice Coast skiing again. Apparently, there was still some snow at Pine Hill so I threw the Fat Bike into the back of the truck and headed over to do some riding.

New Fat Bike Day!

For the longest time I have avoided buying a fat bike because I didn't want it to interfere with my other winter activities but I finally pulled the trigger on one.  Mountain biking was my first love and this year that love has been reawakened at Pine Hill Park in Rutland, VT. In the winter, Pine Hill is off limits to tire sizes less than 4 inches which prompted me to get a fat bike. The Park Manager put me in touch with Doon at Green Mountain Bikes in Rochester, VT who hooked me up with this great deal on a SevenPeaks Tracker 11 Fat Bike.  It's a discontinued model but a new bike, for around $1000 with 4.5" tires and a dropper post, I couldn't pass it up.

Bird Mountain Turkey Burner

David Molnar reached out saying he would be in the area visiting his folks over Thanksgiving and I suggested that we meet on Black Friday for gravel ride in Castleton. 

2025 D2R2 Pre-Game ride

 August 22, 2025

In keeping with our newly founded D2R2 tradition Will and I rode over to Treehouse Brewing in South Deerfield.

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.

Afternoon Downhill in the rain

 August 19, 2024

Ann & I headed up to Killington to take a few downhill laps. It was a lot cooler in the mountains compared to Rutland so it was an easy decision to make for a summer afternoon activity.