On the ride in to work, a bird with very good aim lands his morning constitutional on my leg. I get back home after surviving another day at the “office” to find the bike odometer reads 666. Overall it was not a bad day, and I did beat the thunder storm home, so I now have to decide if I am in the clear or not. Luckily, I have a mind like a sieve and I will have forgotten all this by the time I hit publish. CRS does have its benefits. Heather

Ride stats:

Commute in

Distance: 13.6 miles
Temperature: I actually wish I had arm warmers for the first mile!
Elevation: lowest = 223.8 ft/ highest = 877.5 ft (∆ 653.7 ft)

Commute home

Distance: 14.7 miles
Temperature: No idea, beating the t-storm home. (me: 1, t-storms: 1)
Elevation: lowest = 155 ft / highest = 816.3 ft (∆ 661.3 ft)

Because of weather, we had to change the BCC ride to today, and Donder* was not able to join us. I made Ellen stop so I could get a photo of these purple flowers (my name for them, Ellen called them thistle). One of the cool things about having Ellen on a ride is she’s pretty good with flower names. She’s even getting the hang of identifying them as she goes whizzing past them. It’s nice not having to lug my favorite wildflower guide on every ride.

This one I took on the fly:

I like the look of those skies much better than yesterday’s. Heather

Ride stats:

Distance: 17.53 miles
Temperature: 80˚
Ride category: Wildflower safari

*Consider yourself warned Donder, Ellen stole borrowed Evan’s road bike and she was flying up the hills. I think she even liked them!

Ellen and I heard that the Rt 91 corridor was getting so much rain, cars were actually pulling over because of poor visibility. At work we had white clouds, some blue sky, and the sun was peeking out. When our relief arrived, they said the skies were dark and the rain looked imminent. Ellen really wanted to ride; beats doing firewood any day. But after my first and last experience riding in it, I thought it might be better to reschedule. So, we did. I knew we made the right decision after I got home and took care of the dogs. There was wind, thunder, heavy rain, and this time we even got the hail! I tried to get a picture, but it lasted less than a minute.

I am so glad we did not get stuck in that! I would have to add snorkel to the ride checklist.  Heather

I thought it was perfect timing when I got home and found my Olympus 790sw sitting on the counter yesterday. Today was my commute by bike day, and I took a few extra minutes to take photos going in and coming home. I kept an eye on the weather all day, and decided to wait a few minutes before heading out. That was a very good plan:

I took a road home that I’ve been meaning to explore and was rewarded for my patience:

One last photo, from the commute home:

Needless to say, I love having my bike camera back. Now, if I could just get that replacement gorillapod from Joby. Heather

Ride stats:

Distance (combined): 27.6 miles
Temperature: 64˚ in the morning and 86˚ upon my return to the hacienda
Elevation (just the new section I explored today): lowest=648.5 ft / highest=957.0 ft (∆ 308.5 ft)
Ride category: The bike camera rides again!

Rainy Day

Today was my day for a big ride. I mean, a REALLY big ride–for me, anyway. It’s been one month since my last 40 mile ride and I wanted at least 45 today. I set myself a goal: 3 hours on the bike.

I had been faithfully checking the forecast all week and had every assurance the weather would cooperate. I should know better having been a New Englander all my life. Twain’s wisdom rang true today, as it usually does.

The rain was coming, but could I beat it? The question of a big ride was quickly reduced to whether I would ride at all. The “Big Ride” turned into the “Something is Better Than Nothing” Ride.

I forged on under dark skies, and sure enough, the rain caught me. Half my ride was under water. I really don’t have a huge problem riding my bike in the rain. It was actually quite refreshing. What was worrisome were cars and poor visibility. When it started coming heavy at me, my own ability to see diminished. My braking became compromised. I wanted a Big Ride, but didn’t need a Big Crash. Especially with traffic in the picture. I cut my route and begged off.

Next time….

–Karen

On our last BCC ride, Ellen was telling me how there was a “trough” in the area that they used to drink from when she was a kid. Apparently tests were done and it was discovered there was a high amount of lead or something else bad in the water, so the town dismantled it. I’m sure there has been no lasting effects. Nope, our Ellen is as normal as the uh, next, uhm…moving on. Here’s another photo from the ride. I’m not sure what the flowers are (maybe Dame’s violets) because I was not going to be a poison ivy detector to try and reach them for an identification.

Ride stats:

Distance: 15.4
Temperature: 82˚
Elevation: lowest = 373.3 ft / highest = 638.6 ft (∆ 265.3 ft)
Ride category: Headwind interval training; at least it didn’t reverse for the ride back!

Heather

Why It’s Important

Originally uploaded by sipclip&go

I snapped this photo in the parking lot of my hotel last year at the 2007 Philly LIVESTRONG Event. The owner had this on his vehicle along with a lot of other eye-grabbing stickers. You know, these events always produce a lot of merchandise to accompany and promote their existence. But this is not lip service. This is anything but a cheap bumper sticker. When I saw this it stopped me in my tracks and I just started at it for a moment, taking in its meaning. I hope you take a moment to do the same, and consider supporting the cause.

-Karen

This is a photo of my colleague Jenny who rides her bike to work whenever the weather is nice. I’ve noticed the number of regular bike commuters observed as I drive to work in my pick up truck (trust me, at $60 a tank I wish I was among you) has increased significantly. I used to see one person faithfully pedaling to work each day during the summer along Rt 47. Now the average is about 4 or 5, weather dependent.

Jenny takes the Norwottuck Rail Trail in from Northampton over the Connecticut River to Hadley where we run a big chain bookstore. Being the head bottle washer of the bookstore, I insisted upon the installation of a bike rack in front of the store for commuters and recreational cyclists when we opened 6 1/2 years ago during construction. I’m glad to say it’s paid off, not only for my customers, but for my employees too. Other members of the staff are pedaling to work now too, and several more take the bus (PVTA). Jenny says it’s a great endorphin release and helps her unwind after work waiting on the masses.

Thanks for saving the planet and getting your endorphin fix, Jen!

–Karen

I rode to work today, and I lost against Mother Nature. The commute in was great, the ride home not so much. Before I left, I noticed the storm moving in sooner than expected but it looked like I might beat it. I did not. Donder who was heading into work saw me pedaling before the storm unleashed, and actually called to see if I made it home all right. We may have to change her title for that act of kindness. She was also wondering if I got wet. Drenched would be a better descriptor. The weather people got everything right, thunder, lightening, a lot of rain, but missed with the hail prediction. I’m ok with that.

The photo is the rose bush in my yard. The sun was actually peaking out, but you can’t really tell that in the photo. You can see that there a quite few rain drops on it, though. Heather

Ride stats:

Commute in

Distance: 13.5 miles
Temperature: No coffee, no idea.
Elevation: lowest = 223.8 ft/ highest = 877.5 ft (∆ 653.7 ft)

Commute home

Distance: 14.7 miles
Temperature: 72˚ and very, very wet
Ride category: Proving to myself that commuting home in a thunder and lightening storm is a great incentive for setting a personal record. I shaved nine minutes off my time. I will not be adding that to my frequent training tricks any time soon.

I’m back in the saddle after a long week of flu-like suffering.  Today I rode a short 20 miles–enough to get me out of the house and pedaling again.  When I don’t ride I feel lousy physically, and mentally as well.  I’ve often likened time outdoors exerting myself to a sort of spiritual purging, and as my life becomes more and more scheduled, these times on my bike have become so important to my well being.  It’s like going to church but without the singing and judgements and silly hats.  Today on my ride I thought a lot about the concept of redemption and how it motivates me, and perhaps all of us, in many ways.  Why do I ride?  Why am I doing LIVESTRONG?  Why do I invite certain people into my life?  What is it I am looking for?  And what the hell did I ever do to drive me to want to feel redeemed?  I know the answers to most of these questions, so mostly it intrigues me that this idea of redemption is one of several underlying motives in my life, and the mechanics behind it.  I want to prove something to myself, perhaps.

Miles: 20.5   MPH: 15.1

Ride Category: Meditation & Reflection

-Karen