A nice central Vermont 70 miler...

http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=197122

It starts with a long and VERY gradual ascent up the Brook Road which is a nice rolling dirt road that follows, you guessed it, a brook. Then onto pavement along the reservoir. Then a turn onto Rt. 302 which is essentially and endless and fairly steep climb. Then a bomer down to Rt. 232. This is the first store on the ride. Then a left onto Rt. 232 for moderate rollers and some climbs then bomb down onto Rt. 2. Follow Rt. 2 until the right onto Creamery St. (second store Marshfield country store) for a beautiful scenic ride up to Cabot. Cabot also has a store. Next store I believe is in West Danville, the Joe's pond country store. The ride around Joe's pond is also lovely. The rest of the ride is typical Vermont up and down along the 2 lane with variable shoulder action until you get back to Plainfield.

Handlebar bags

The new Arkel small bar bag.

Again.

A hand made bar basket for my kid's bike, rando in training:) His granny made it. She is a basket maker.

Nice reinforced spaces for nylon webbing buckle system.

It even works well on adult bike with brifters.

Another view.

The basket was made by granny for my son's biking adventures.
I mounted up the basket on my road bike so that if anyone wants to special order a basket from Granny Ann you can see how it looks. She can also make any size and shape of basket you want! A link to her soon to be website coming soon.

The Arkel bag was purchased for my rides after much internal deliberation. I am very happy with it. It seems to be the perfect size. The mounting system is flawless. Looking forward to having the cue sheets up high and easily viewable.

Xmas eve ride

Hardwood Mountain.

Dog on railbed.

Nasmith Brook.

Bike at Laird Pond with view of Kettle Mtn.

Dog digging at pond.

Beaver lodge at Laird Pond.

View of Kettle Mtn.

My cold head.

Bike & Dog.

Went out for a nice ride this morning after making a hearty breakfast for the family. After the ride we did some sledding action with 2 jumps on the hill. Fun Fun for all.

Toasty...

The mittens were more lovely than usual. The thumbs are often numb by the end of the ride if there is a lot of braking. These warmers did the trick.

Snow time!

Lets go!

Happily trotting along.

Cows seemed surprised today.

That's my foot eh?

Cockpit view.

It was a good day for back roads riding.

Recovery time.

Got out today on the mtn. bike. Dropped the pressure down to 25 in front and 30 in rear. Worked out great on the back roads and okay on the old rail bed. The canine was thrilled with the experience. Not too sure about he cows, they seemed a bit out of sorts upon noticing us. They were in a different field from summertime and I am sure I looked different in winter mode.

These Burton mittens are amazing!! Warm and nimble. Highly recommended. They are the best hand warming devices I have ever owned.
3 years and still going strong.

What I'm riding now...

After the Lake Champlain 200k I decided that it was time for a bike that was 12-15 lbs. lighter and a much better fit than my roadified Trek 950. (which was a great bike) This summer I picked up a Surly Pacer from Old Spokes. They set me up for fit and I was on my way.

This is a fantastic bike. It is super comfortable and handles great. For me it has the perfectly tight steering that is soooo nice. In addition the fit is nice and relaxed. I went for a 58cm. I am 6' tall but with short legs so the seat is lowish but that is fine with me, just takes more pressure off my hands.

It is now fitted with planet bike hybrid fenders and a rear rack. Coming after the holidays is an Arkel handlebar bag.

For now it is on the trainer in the basement. Wheee, fun.

From this summer...

This is an image from the 100k cafe cruise this summer. A beautiful day and many wonderful pastries later. I think there were 5 coffee shops/bakeries on this ride!

The Lake Champlain 200k was a hot hot ride. There is a big climb right before you must decide whether to go for the 200k or take the first ferry back to Vermont. I am pretty sure my brain partially melted, thus resulting in my decision to finish. It was quite a ride around the lake though. It's always nice to ride near Burlington where one can somewhat avoid the constant climbing of central Vermont.

On the ferry back to Vermont from the New York side on the 200k.

This summer I started doing some longer rides. I completed my first 200k. Here are some pictures from the summer biking adventures.