Test a new saddle, bachelor weekend...

This weekend the wife and child are visiting family on the west coast. Taking advantage of my temporary bachelorhood I worked until 2 AM at the home shop on thursday so that I could ride on friday. It was a fantastic day. I have been testing out a WTB Valcon saddle from Onion River Sports. On my mountain bike I ride the WTB RocketV and it is fabulously comfy in that role but longer hours sitting make it less comfortable. The Valcon has been very comfortable so far. The cutout and lack of curve up front seem to have solved the pressure issues I sometimes get. Also important is the lack of flare at the rear and shallow depth which for me cause rear of thigh chafing. It also seems to fit the sit bones just right to help prevent me from letting my hips roll forward. So far so good.

The Pacer at rest.

Sunny playground at the Marshfield library.

A new "borrowing" seat that I am testing out.

Sometimes carpentry and rando mix poorly...

Sometimes carpentry and rando don’t mix well…

But it was a great ride.

The first Vermont rando event of 2011 was this past Saturday. I had every intention of riding it 1 ½ weeks before it started. Then I got a last minute call for a commercial job…cabinet building and installation. I was tired when the ride began from working 12-14 hour days, and had a long hard day ahead of me on Sunday, as it was the deadline for the install. I figured, hey, I’ll just go and see what happens.

Around mile 30 I realized that if I rode the whole ride I would be shot the next day. So I opted for a shorter (54.3 mile/time 4:16/slow & steady) loop which took me about 5 ½ hours. It was a great ride and although it is not very randoesque, I am proud of myself for making the decision I did because yesterday was a 14 hour slam and we had to work around 4 other crews at the job.

All in all it was a great day. A great group of folks to ride with and a beautiful day.

Yep, it's a barn.

Picture that I poached from Per. Hope that's ok Per.

This was after I turned off on my own loop along Hinesburg Hollow Road.

Close up of tussocks and beaver stream.

Coffee stop at the cider mill on Dorset Street.
The Minoura light bracket (fork mounted) held up well.

Nice practical bike that pulled up. Father and daughter.
Cool to see a young kid (12ish) riding a practical bike!

T

Sunday sunny cycles...

Huntington Gorge.

Beaver pond.

Photo op stop, breeze on top.

Don't know what pond this is but part of beaver dam area.

Had a great ride yesterday. 25 miles or so of gorges, lakes and llamas. Didn't get a picture of the llamas but there were 5-6 of them being walked on 2 leashes! We suffered for a few moments from a mighty headwind. I came up with a characteristically useless idea for a fuzzy logic electric assist that is wired to a wind speed monitor and automatically compensates to keep the effect of any headwind below 10 mph! Sun and more sun and perfect temps resulted in one of the best rides this year. Wonderful.

View from the parking lot of Martin Bridge.

The cemetery outside of Cabot.

This was a great ride! Beautiful sunny day and 40 degrees.

Yesterday ride...

It was a dark and stormy...

Power Grips shot...loving them for warm winter feet.

The temps were in the mid 40's. Spring sprang for one day. Went out with my canine partner in crime for some grueling miles on the back roads (which closely resemble wet concrete in a high gravity atmosphere) when they first thaw.

Spring preview...

Blue skies, nothing but...on Rt. 100 to Moretown.

And look, I topped out at almost 143 MPH!
This happened while I bought Gatorade and the bike was still.
Weird. Any ideas why?

...blue skies on Rt.2 in Middlesex and beautiful old gnarled trees on the bank of the Winooski.

Completely amazing day. I took a few hours off today from 10 ish to 1 ish since
the weather was supposed to be so nice. Was it ever!
Rode from Montpelier to Waterbury on Rt. 2. Then up the climb and descent to Moretown and then on to Waitsfield and back on 100B to Moretown and Midlesex and back to Montpelier.
It was so warm that I had to remove my hat and neck warmer and go down to 1 layer on the climb from Waterbury to Moretown on Rt. 100.

Back roads VT video...

back roads

railroad bed, a bit shaky due to fresh snow and riding
one handed in the loose fresh snow to do video

Here are a few short videos of my standard back roads/railbed ride. Some of my favorite things about riding in winter are: the quiet crunch of the tires, the warmth of the inside of my balaclava, stopping to see what tracks the dog has sniffed out and the hush of stopping.

It was 15 degrees today which is cold enough for me. At this temperature I began to get a little frozen eye feeling which does not seem to happen in the 20-25 degree range. Otherwise still plenty warm though.

I apologize for the dog pooping action, I don't have video editing capability.