Montana--Day 3

Well, this is what happens when I wait too long to post vacation pics & stories... I forget what happens. Forgive me if I leave out some of the more compelling details...

Here's what I DO remember. Jean and I wanted to ride the "Going to the Sun" road, which is the main road that goes from the western side of Glacier National Park to the east side. It's about 50 miles, one way, with a "good" climb in the middle. I didn't see us going out and back, so we planned on leaving from Lake McDonald and heading up to the high point, Logan's Pass. From there, we'd turn around and head back down.

Jean was initially taunting me to ride all the way to the east side, and then try to find a ride back to our starting point. After a few thousand feet of climbing, the taunting abated...

Anyway, you can see the GPS profile below:

Here's the spoiler though... we didn't get all the way to the top (visitor's center). Unfortunately, there's construction going on on the road, and there were road closures at a couple of different points. Of course, the road wasn't closed for the day, but there were delays of up to 30 minutes in either direction. Now, here's the problem. I knew that part of the road was actually closed to bikes during peak hours (11-4), but I thought that that was just the section down by Lake McDonald. When we began our ascent, there was another sign stating that this section of the road was also closed to cyclists during the same time. Long story short--we got about 1-2 miles from the top, were stuck at a traffic stop, and decided to turn back because we didn't want to be riding on the road when it was closed to cyclists (Jean LOVES to follow rules).

It turns out that the cyclist restriction only applied to one direction and that we would have been fine had we waited. D'oh!

Anyway, while we didn't get all the way to the top, we still ended up doing a total of about 3000ft of climbing and just under 40 miles total. Fun!

The scenery was simply amazing, and I had a hard time trying to both ride AND take photos, but I did it. I even took some video:

So, anyway... we rode up, we rode down, we had lunch, and that's really all I remember. I think we also cruised in to Whitefish, a nearby town, and checked out some shops including a great coffee shop, and Glacier Cyclery where we got some good info on trails in the area--but more on that later.

In the meantime, check out the photos. I'm sure Jean remembers more than I do (she's MUCH smarter than I am, though, that's no great feat), so I'll probably add some info later.

Montana--Day 2

So, if day 1 was all about travel, day 2 was all about figuring out what was where and what to do. First item on the agenda was bike assembly. I'm getting better at putting the bikes together quickly, and to be honest, I like working on bikes. Once we had our "steeds" set up, we scooted in to Glacier National Park to get the lay of the land. Our first impression was "wow."

GNP is huge with huge scenery.

We started at the visitor's center right near the entrance, which, paradoxically, was all about the Canadian side. I took a pic of the dinosaur (cuz, when you think about Canada, you think about dinosaurs, right?) and we made our way further in to the park.

Our next stop was Lake MacDonald, where there was a whole little village of shops, restaurants, hotels, and a visitor's center. We did our obligatory walk-through to see the touristy stuff, then got the 411 at the visitor's center. We wanted to do the "Going to the Sun," road on our bikes, and I needed to clarify some information about road closures, as part of the road is closed to bikes at peak tourist hours and there was some construction going on.

With those details worked out, Jean and I spent the rest of the day cruising around and hitting some short hikes.

I don't remember the details--we drove around, we hiked a bit, we drove around some more... 

We went through that whole "wow," thing a few more times and then ultimately headed back to the cabin to prepare for our early morning assault on Going to the Sun.

I'll leave you with a few more pics from Day 2:

Montana--Day 1

I've seen plenty of amazing photos of Glacier National Park and of Montana in general, so it was high time that Jean and I went out to Big Sky country to check it out for ourselves. And, I needed a good destination to serve as an anniversary gift to my lovely wife, so Montana it was!

As with most trips, the actual travel part wasn't that exciting. We flew out of Logan and connected in Denver on our way to the final destination of Missoula, Montana.

I WAS excited to see an official New Belgium Brewery restaurant in the Denver airport that served my favorite beer, 1554, which is not sold in New England. Mmmmmmm.

Aside from that little delight, our Saturday involved flying with our not insubstantial luggage (hey, you try bringing two full size mountain bikes, sleeping bags, bike tools, helmets, cycling shoes, and clothes for an active vacation that involves hiking and biking in temps from the 40's to the 80's... and some rain gear, just in case) and then driving a few hours to West Glacier.

Arriving into Missoula, we were immediately impressed with the surrounding scenery, and I actually wish I had planned to spend more time there. But alas, there's always a good reason to go back!

Anyway, we did hit the Missoula Wal*Mart before making the scenic drive to West Glacier, as we needed to stock up on some supplies that we did not pack (i.e., a small coolers, etc).

Once we had our supplies, we hit the road in our rental car. The mountains and surrounding landscape turned out to be as amazing and impressive as we had hoped--plenty of rugged peaks, lush green grass and trees, blue lakes, and wildflowers... we were psyched.

The drive from Missoula to West Glacier took about 3hrs, and we arrived at our little rental Kabin without incident. We unloaded and got ready to attack the following day.

One thing that was a bit weird was the fact that the sun didn't even come close to setting until 10pm. It was very strange to be sitting around in full daylight and then realize that the time was almost 9:30...

AT&T-->ATTEMPT at Talking & Texting

If you know me, you know I LOVE new techno-gadgets. So it would probably come as no surprise to learn that I WANT a new iPhone.

But, I will NOT get a new iPhone, for one simple reason--AT&T. See this picture? See the number of bars I've got? See the service I've got? Nothing. I get dropped calls, failed calls and poor reception. If you've been watching the tech news (and I know you have been), you know that AT&T and Apple haven't had a great PR run heading in to the new iPhone launch. Aside from the pre-order snafu's, I can honestly say, I've been nothing but discouraged by the network overall.

I will be watching and waiting to see what Verizon has up its sleeve, and maybe I'll break my contract early and actually be able to make clear calls. Until then, I'll be the guy with the wire coat hanger taped to my Blackberry, trying to get a good signal.

Randomness...

Yeah, I've been neglecting my little pet blog, so I've decided to through some random photos at it, and subsequently, at you.

In no particular order, here are some images to amuse and enlighten you...

First off, you may ask yourself, "does David ever draw upon his training and education he obtained when he first started college as a graphics design major?"

I think this hand-made sign, done with Krylon and corrugated cardboard, clearly demonstrates that I've still got the touch. These signs were put up in Salem as part of a limited time installment. If you missed them, they're gone. The signs' brief life is part of what made them so special.

Of course, the signs were not only part of an effort to immerse myself back into the Salem art community and part of a Salem "beautification project," but they also served a purpose--I had a garage sale.

Garage sales are a great way to let strangers look at your stuff. It also gives them an opportunity to get lots of it for nearly nothing.  I had people sifting through the stuff well before my actual 8:00am start time, but as I understand, good deals don't follow a schedule.

If you've ever had a yard sale, garage sale, tag sale, or simply had hordes of people rummage through your extra stuff, you know the fun I had. I was running to show solo, but my buddy Rick did hang out with me for most of the day, more as a security guard, to keep the crowds under control.

Believe it or not, I did have some crowds. I wish I could have photographed them all. As an understatement, most yard sale shoppers are "interesting."

At one point, the rain started to fall so I moved the tables into the garage, and that's when the people with bags over their heads arrived. Why are women SO afraid of a little rain on their heads? Is wet hair going to look any worse than a plastic Market Basket bag on the head?

Anyway, I got rid of a significant amount of clothes, gadgets, housewares and books. The rest is heading to Beverly Bootstraps.

When all was said and done, security guard Rick, treated himself to a fine beverage, and I took the day's proceeds to the Dollar Store (not really).

Aside from hosting massively successful garage sales, and working on artistic installments around Salem, I've been riding as much as possible, although I'm still dealing with the SuperFly "issue."

I also let my friend squirt bubble-gum colored molding material into my ear canals. Don't worry, he's a doctor, so he knows what he's doing. This is in an effort to get custom molded ear-buds for my iPod. It was also an opportunity for my friends to make fun of my ear canals. Jerks.

How's this for random? There's a clothing store in the swanky "downtown" of Beverly Farms, that, as far as I'm concerned, has some of the dorkiest clothes. Well, their current window display has a pair of shorts with pot leaves on it. I guess that's how some of the residents afford their million-dollar homes.

And speaking of the weather, could we get some more rain and fog please?

This has been a weird spring so far; I hope that once we roll past the official summer solstice we have a steady stretch of sun.

And speaking of trying to navigate through thick fog, while also recording heart rate data, did you hear that my trust Garmin Forerunner 305 bit the dust? It did. It's been replaced.

That's all for now for my random update.

Until next time, enjoy this photo of Luna after she successfully hunted down and captured the elusive tennis ball of doom.

OLD Freestyle Footage...

I came across this old CD today and found this video on it... this is back when I was living in San Diego...

Happy Anniversary!

• Married--5 years.
• Co-habitating--11 years.
• Best Friends--23 years!

Weeping Willow Race Report

You think you're getting a full race report here, but a-ha, you're NOT. Instead, you're getting a photo that I borrowed from Seaside Cycle's FB photo page and a link to the coolest bike clothing company out there, Twin Six. Trust me, I'm sort of like a doctor's helper, and I promise, the click won't hurt a bit. Click here, and do it now!

KingdomTrails_part1

The Green Mountain State.

I love Vermont. It's been a few months since I had been up to the Northeast Kingdom, but the addiction is rekindled, and I can't wait to go back.

Jean and I headed up on Saturday, but we went up late… the weather was actually better here in MA, so we took care of stuff around the house and did a great road ride first. Ultimately, it was time to pack our stuff in the car and hit 93 north. The drive up was uneventful, and we made our way to our friend Jo's house.

It was great to catch up with our old friend and get re-acclimated to our home away from home. She's got a great B&B in the perfect location, and Jean and I have been staying with her so often, she's like family.

After getting reacquainted, getting a good night's sleep, and having a great breakfast, it was all about getting rubber down and hitting the trails!

Ah, and speaking of old friends, there was Harp, Coronary Bypass, Pastore Point Loop, Coronary, Tap & Die, Webs, West Branch, Hogback, Sidewinder, Border, Heaven's Bench, Ridge, Leatherwood, Riverwood, Nose, Worth It, Beat Bog, Widow Maker, Pines, Bill MacGill… Good friends indeed. If you know what I mean, you know how good it was. If you don't know, well, next time I mention that I'm going to Kingdom Trails, get your bike ready and come along to be enlightened.

In addition to riding, we did some more riding. In addition to that, we did one of our favorite hikes in the area, to the overlooks on Mt. Pisgah, looking over Lake Willoughby.

All in all, it was a killer get away to the Green Mountain State. Now, I have to review my calendar to see when we'll be back.


See some other pics here.

Avid BB7!

Avid's BB7. It's a simple component, yet the source of MUCH anger and frustration this morning...

It started out when I was doing a pre-race inspection on my Singular Swift. The rear rotor was a little wobbly, and there was a small nick in the finish that was causing some accelerated wear on the pads... oh, and the pads were probably at the point where they could have been replaced. So, I figured I'd just get a whole new kit. Easy enough, right?

I started by calling Western Cycle... no BB7 in stock. No problem. I checked Seaside Cycles, which is only about 3 miles from my house... the shop's Web site had an online catalog which showed the BB7... I arrived at the shop only to learn that the online catalog was NOT actual store inventory, but a list of things that could be ordered. D'oh!

Next. I tried calling REI. I had a feeling that they would have the caliper in stock, and I could get a new seat for Jean, as I knew that the also carried WTB. When I called REI, I was on hold for about 5 minutes. I hung up, and instead tried Pinnacle Bikes in Beverly. No luck. I called REI back, was on hold too long again, and hung up to call Beverly Cycles. No BB7. Repeat the same process with REI, being on hold, and then calling another shop two more times (Centraal Cycles and Brown's, both in Beverly), no BB7.

I finally got someone at REI, and I was in luck, they had the BB7! I asked to have it held for me at the front desk and then I hopped on 128 south (from Manchester By The Sea no less). I drove "quickly," pushing my Element to the limits. I had to get down to Reading and get back home so that I could get to work. I got down 128 south just fine, but when I hit Danvers, I looked across the median, and to my horror, the traffic was backed up as far as I could see. I could NOT spend my time in that. I hopped off 128 on 114 and hit more traffic. ARGH!

On a lark, I tried Salem Cycles, and viola, they had " a frig load of BB7's." I was there as fast as I could, navigating Salem traffic and parking (which suck). I got the caliper, and then battled Salem and Beverly traffic some more.

Sigh... so much for a quick errand and installing the caliper before work!

Kingdom Trails

Lake Willoughby

From the top of Mt Pisgah, thanks to Photoshop stitching about 5 photos together...(click on the photo).