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They have fun on their morning walks.

Most importantly.

I am watching a friend attempt his first Ironman. He is at Lake Placid. 5 miles into the run. Joe is a good guy. We ran our first half and our first ultra together. He lost like 200 pounds. He is an amazing source of inspiration.

Here’s a few more:

It has officially happened. Someone has moved in to my shed. The nest was originally in the loft, but now it's in a box of wood pieces at the bottom of the shelves. I opened the door yesterday, and I heard scattering all over the place. This kid was on top of the shelves. He tried to do the squirrel thing and go higher; but he found out 2*4's are slippery, and he slid down. Ha! Mom was not amused, but she realized I wasn't going to make a big deal about them being in there. I gotta get those soffits closed up I guess. (no, they aren't making a big mess)

We climbed it this mirning?

I was on a long solo training ride and saw a bike shop pace line about a half mile behind me. I recognized the jersey they wore. When I first moved here from Vancouver, I rode with them but left after the first season. It was a road nazi group and they took too many chances for my liking. I picked up the pace gradually and after 20 minutes they managed to pull along side me. The lead bumped my elbow as he passed and I was about 18 inches from the shoulder. He muttered something like "caughtcha asshole" when he went by. I laughed out loud. The other riders moved out giving me a little more room. The last guy slowed to chat for a bit and apologized for their lead. He said, "He is just pissed it took 20 minutes to reel you in". People are asses for all kinds of reasons, including no reason at all.

Started at 6am this morning. After a relatively flat start we headed up of Bear Notch. Not a terribly hard or long climb but enough to know you climbed. That was followed by an awesome decent back to the valley. Then began the long climb up through Crawford Notch. The last mile or so was 13%. We drove down it yesterday and it really looked hard. Actually it wasn’t nearly as bad as expected. Once over the top we had about 30 miles of rolling terrain. This is when it really started getting warm, 85 or so. Then we made the 11 mile climb through Pinkham Notch. Long but not real steep. That was followed by another fun descent. Once back in the valley we. Had about 12 miles to finish. Most of it was flat until at miles 107.8 you turn on the road to the finish. They said it averages 13% but it’s a couple real steep pitches and a few lesser ones. Tough ending to a long, hot ride. Pretty proud of WoZack she did 108.8 miles, 6200+ feet of climbing and averaged 14 mph.Good bbq chicken afterwards?

Back in 2017, I made myself a target by grabbing the lead in a major tournament held by Team USA Southeast: For the next year and a half, I got matched against ever stronger players and struggled to stay alive, round after round. Well, the final results have been certified: I hung in there for the Bronze Trophy in the final round:

There is a long incline going up my road, and my place is near the top. I was mowing one day and a lady cyclist stopped at the end of my driveway for a drink of water. She was wearing her helmet backwards. I never said a word. As someone who hates unsolicited advice and those people who seem to start a lot of conversations with "You know what you should do...?", I just smiled and waved. My wife gets lots of unsolicited riding advice as well. On her very first 100km ride, we were at the top of a very long hill about 70km into her ride when our neighbor drove by. He honked and waved. The next day he made a point to come over to see how it went and then went on to explain to Nat how she had a very high cadence for the speed she was going and may find it easier if she managed her gears better. And he never cycled a day in his life.

We live in a smallish dwelling during most of the summer and part of the shoulder seasons. Smells are much more noticeable in a tiny place. Curry is delicious, but you better do the dishes immediately. Organization is vital for small living. It quickly becomes chaotic. Also, you better really like the person you are sharing that tiny space with. Even two lovebirds can get punchy. Can you please go stand over there? Did you just fart, again?!? Could you not do that, like, before you walked in the camper … 5 seconds ago? Our home isn't exactly giant. It's 1000 sq. ft., and we couldn't do it without a garage.

We’ve been in our current home for 26 years. It has about 1200 SF of living space plus the basement. We raised our children here and while sometimes it would have been nice to have more room, it worked out fine. its perfect as empty nesters. And since our children moved away, we’ve put a lot into remodeling it. And it’s quite nice inside. We’ve stayed in several vacation cabins over the past 10 years or so that have been pretty small, rustic units that we thought, “wouldn’t it be cool to minimize and live here?” But usually that had more to do with the locations than the units themselves. In reality, we are very content with our home and it’s amount of space.

HI Cheese, and thanks for those pictures. RO always seems like such a happy kid and her smile is contagious! Such a cutie!

We have missed you

Some of mine in different stages of build, and no I don't ride them enough. Missing is the Holdsworth record bought in the early 70s. I'll even throw in a photo when we were riding from Great Falls to White Sulfur Springs, MT. some of the bicycles in the shop belong to my wife.

Patrol Leader Lake Day 20190728_125030.mp4

I climbed it too (though not this morning): I really do want to do it again. ?

If truth be known, my chuckling at him let the rest of the group know what I thought of his antics. Maybe it was passive aggressive on my part. I enjoyed the challenge of holding off a group of 30 or so. It was the the days highlight!

I like the drops when I’m riding into a strong wind. That’s about it. But during the spring, it’s every ride. @Zealot the bike is beautiful and easy to ride. It often disappears beneath me.

I have shared this before but back in 2007 or 08 I was working in LA and the Tour of CA was a few days away. I was pulling out of our office and got stopped by the Rabobank team, the whole team like 40 guys! Holy schiznit so after they passed I pulled out and followed them. The guys at the back were talking & appeared to be riding casually. I look down at the Speedo and they are cruising at 32 mph!

So, this is the Schwinn: it will be a complete restoration project. Checked the serial number: I know it really means nothing, but it’s a bit of American nostalgia for me. Replaced the saddle yesterday. But with my arm as it is, not much I can really do right now. Have found the original NOS wheels (love the chrome! ? ), the decals and the paint. Plan to tear it down and restore over the fall and winter. Should be fun.

Taking a coffee break near the end of today’s ride.

First time I went around the block, it took over an hour. I don't pay close attention, but I got under 45 minutes today. I was spinning to take it easy on my joints, which got beat up on my previous ride. I was also making a lot of noise as a result of the spinning. Ahh,ahh,ahhh. Yeah, I'm a tough guy (insert roll eyes gif, too tired to do it myself). I've started using TJ's Yuzu coconut water for my post-ride. Throw some ice in a tumbler, pour, kazaam. It's got a good slug of potassium, and if you're thinking "I can't stand coconut water" Neither can I. This stuff tastes good, don't ask me how they do it. This may not be relevant, but I set the drink on the counter, and start swinging my leg back and forth, PT style. After a few minutes of that, they're loosened up so I can move onto regular stretching (which I haven't done yet). We're having strawberry shortcake today with local strawberries, and real cream. Yeah, that will wipe out about 50 miles of riding, and I did 10.

Well, there are watchers and non-watchers. I've enjoyed the portions I've watched, mainly the last 30-40km. I enjoy the scenery, and can always work on photos and just listen during some 'slow' parts. There really has been more 'team work' than some think, and it has impacted some of the stages. Of course, discussions with a friend that raced professionally in Ireland for the USA Raleigh Boys back in the 70s helps my understanding of what is happening.

Minimalist be damned. I have to admit that I covet my oldest son's ex father in law's top 4 floors of a skyscraper home. Of course I can't even pay the taxes on that.

Nom E Nated

You will when they have eTour de France!

Can’t ride. But I was driven 22 miles to pick up the vintage Schwinn. Counts for something, I guess.

Do you know why beer goes through us so fast?

That was an awesome week. We figured out each night’s campground and didn’t really worry about riding together the whole week. It worked out well. It really worked out well when Digital rode ahead on the day we were running late and he found us a guest house to stay in so we didn’t have to pitch our tents in the dark. That pasta dinner the first night set the stage for a great week and it was really nice to meet further. He’s every bit as nice in person as he is on the forum.

That was an awesome meal, Further! Great day, great ride!

We didn’t have a large family, it’ snot from not trying. We adopted three sons, one black and two biracial. We tried to adopt girls but it always fell through for one reason or another. We have a large family now with 15 grandkids.

My first house was one of those ticky tacky boxes Pete Seger sang about, 625 sq ft. It was too small for 2, in my unhumble opinion. I can see it if that's your limit. But you can never get more than a few feet away from the other person unless you walk out the door. The wife watches a show about people getting tiny houses. Most of them are a bit tetched, if you ask me.

Tornado warning to the north of us..they just announced it..."tornado possible" Well WTF does tornado warning mean? Snow? ?

And more pictures from Petites Big Adventure

I have to admit @shootingstar, that I am a competitive person by nature and when I see a cyclist ahead of me on one of my solo rides, that person becomes a ‘rabbit’ for me and I will give chase. It’s not to prove anything to someone. It’s just my nature. Kinda like a dog chasing cars. ? But I never degrade another cyclist or judge them based on their bike, their manner of dress or the speed at which they may be riding. Like you said, every cyclist has their own journey. And I’m fully aware that if I pass a cyclist on a particular day that it may simply be because that is her rest/recovery day and on another day she may blow my doors off. ? Peace.

Yup, never judge a cyclist on how they look. It used to amuse me to see a guy cyclist on his carbon bike, all kitted up in cycling gear go charging up a long hill, while dearie slugged along. I bet that carbon bike cyclist had no clue he was passing a cyclist who cycled across Canada ..twice,then later half across the U.S., etc. Dearie is very cheerful when other yahoo guy cyclists like to "prove" something on him. As experienced cyclist we should know the motto by now: You don't know what journey a person has taken before by just looking at a person.

Some guys are simply jerks, shootingstar. ? And some think they are somehow saving the ‘damsel in distress’ or trying to impress her with their ‘superior’ knowledge. -sigh- Keep on doing what you do and ignore those kinds of people when you can.

40 MPH on the crappy cobblestone of the Champs. Torture!

When they ride next to the Dr. car and get bandaged @ 20 MPH it amazes me. I'd be under the rear tires quicker than kiss a duck.

Yeah..., I would be right at the back. It always amazes me how close they ride, and when you see them riding along at 40km/hr and chatting away. Watching them climb 6-8% grades at 24-25km is incredible. That is why i dont stress about all the doping stuff. You could give me coaches and all the drugs I could handle and I could still not do that

She is very good! Not covered in Doritos dust!

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A great day for RO! Hi Cheese!

Here's one of my old Giant, first "real" bicycle I bought. The picture was taken on the bridge between Chincoteague and Assateague. My wife's happy place.