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).

Back to Blogging!

Wow. It's been about a month since my last post. That's lame, but I've been BUSY!

I guess I'll start with this past week and then work backwards a bit, mainly because this past week is still fresh in my memory, and the old memory ain't what it used to be...

I was off this past week, with the exception of putting a shift in in the emergency department on Monday, and this was a great week off--better than most in the recent past, mainly because I got to do plenty of riding and proportionally less moving stuff (although, in retrospect, still quite a bit).

Saturday, however, was not an exciting day. Jean and I spent virtually the whole day running around from store to store getting "stuff." What stuff? I don't really remember, but I do know that light bulbs were pretty important. So was a smoke detector. All I really remember was that we drove around all day, from Target, to Home Depot, to Lowes, to Wal*Mart. Fun, fun, fun. After a long week at work, there's nothing more fun than driving around doing errands. Seriously, we're getting everything online from now on.

Although, while waiting for Jean in Wal*Mart, I did get to see this VERY cool, custom painted, camper. I may have these guys do some signage on my car... we'll see.

Anyway, the fun part of Saturday came when we got together with Megan & Rick for Clash of the Titans--in 3D. I loved the original movie, and to this day, my all time favorite movie quote is "Let loose the Kraken." (For some reason, this was changed to "release the Kraken in the new movie...)

I wasn't sure if the new version would be as good as the first, and sadly, it wasn't. It was still entertaining, and most important, I got some cool 3D glasses.

Sunday was still raining. I had been longing to get out for a ride--especially after working 9 days in a row, but the crappy weather held me at bay. I decided to take the marauding morons (Gary & Luna) out for a run, with Jean (not a marauding moron), and then meet up with Doug for breakfast. Jean and I did a couple of miles together and then I peeled off with the dogs to log a couple of more miles. I was hoping for 4-5 miles, but as I'm still learning my way around the new neighborhood, I took a couple of roads that were longer than expected, and 7 1/2 miles later, we jogged back in to the driveway. Longer than I had planned, but I was able to reward myself with a great steak tip breakfast at the Cityside Diner in Beverly! Mmmmm, meat.

Highlights for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday include, riding, riding and more riding.

Tuesday night I met up with a group at Willowdale, to try to scope out some of the course that will be used on the race in May. I was the only sucka there on a SS, and when the course hit the fire roads, I was left behind. Damn. The singletrack was a different story though, and there's where I felt I could hold my own. It was a fun ride, and cool to hang out over at Matt's house after. Although, apparently I've got a $1 bill for the beer. Damn again.

Wednesday, my buddy Tim came out from Worcester and we explored some trails in Beverly Commons and Gordon College. For reasons that are too convoluted to describe here, I decided to take a geared bike. I haven't ridden a geared bike off-road (aside from my travel bike which has a 1x8, and is used exclusively when I travel) in years. I also had suspension... I'll get into that another day, but looking back as the trails in the Commons, it was the right tool for the job. Very technical trails with lots of short, steep ups & downs. I'd probably take the geared bike back there next time, but we'll see. We ended up walking as much as riding, so when we had the chance to pop over to Gordon College, we did. It was one extreme to the other though, as we found ourselves pedaling along smooth fire roads. I eventually found some good stuff though and there's a surprising amount of killer singletrack hidden away all over the north shore.

Wednesday's good ride was followed by another ride in Bradley Palmer/Willowdale on Thursday, this time with Mike and his SS. It was good to be back on my fully rigid, 29'er singlespeed. We banged out a fast & fun 13 miles, and we continue to find new trails out there. I don't know who's doing the building & cutting, but whoever it is, he/she is a mad genius. Perhaps it's simply trail gnomes? Whatever, I love Willowdale.

I was starting to feel some fatigue set in in the legs, so I decided to take it "easy" on Friday. Well, sort of. I did sleep late (10:00am!), but after being suddenly awoken by the doorbell, I headed out for a road ride with Glen and Jamie. It was an easy ride for them, but I was hurting. All in all though, I knew that once I got back to work, I'd be thinking about riding, so I figured I'd ride every chance I could while I was off. It's better to go back to work exhausted instead of well-rested.  Otherwise it's not an appropriate use of personal time!

COSTA RICA Day 7: Viva la Viernes

I was successfully reunited with my wheel. Alejandro brought the wheel to Bike Arenal which is also apparently called Ciclo La Fortuna, and to further confuse things, I was told that despite the sign that says that the shop was closed for renovations, the shop was open--although at the house behind the shop. Whatever, all I know is that my wheel got completely rebuilt, with new spokes, for $10! Ten! I was back in business! The weather was still a bit iffy, but after a day of milling about, we were ready to ride.

The first order of business was to head back to the waterfall. We had turned around about halfway up a killer climb last time, but this time we wanted to make it to the top. We did. From there, we went back down to La Fortuna, then on to another dirt road into La Guairia. From there, the road deteriorated to a slick, sticky, muddy, ATV trail. FUN! We climbed up some more, then descended down to the Rio Arenal. On our return trip we crossed paths with a couple of groups of ATV riders, and I think we were definitely having more fun. At least I had more mud on me.

Anyway, after some more climbs and some more killer Costa Rican scenery, it was time to head back to the hotel (of course, uphill), and then to the showers.

Our clothes were sticky, sweaty, and oh so stinky. Although we tried to air them out and let them dry, I felt bad for any TSA inspectors that had to open our bags...

After the showers, it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner--so it was perfect for coffee time! Back to the Gecko (I've got to find their beans... apparently a company called "Down To Earth." Once I was adequately caffeinated, Jean and I wandered over to an art gallery.

When we arrived, the girl working there was all alone, and we were the only ones in the shop. While we were browsing, a bus-load of demanding, impatient, and downright rude Americans rolled in. They huffed and puffed because the poor girl coudn't help all of them at once before finally making a few purchases and being herded away. Jean and I apologized, on behalf of all of the consciencous American travellers out there. We also got some VERY cool art.

Anch'io again for another great Italian dinner and then back to the hotel to start the bike break-down and pack-up process.

COSTA RICA Day 6: Well, it is a rain forest…(Jueves)

I was in a children's music video many years ago, doing stunt riding in a Billy Bob Bear costume, riding to the song, "You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Me Loose Wheel." I was reminded of this as I was without my loose wheel for the day...

It's a bit of a blessing that I didn't have my bike because we had some major mal tiempo... it was POURING. 

The day turned into another defacto chill day, Jean with her book, me with my laptop. We did try to head out for a couple of hikes when we saw some breaks in the weather, but it would literally start pouring again as soon as we arrived at the trail head. We took that as a sign.

We did brave the deluge and head in to La Fortuna for coffee--I loved the Gecko. Anyway, there we were treated to a reenactment of the famous Costa Rican Craneo y Culebra y Perro dance. In this dramatization a young boy donned a skull mask and taunted a local dog with a rubber snake. It was beautiful and moving. It was also very strange.

The really exciting part of the day came when we tried a local Italian restaurant, Anch'io, and Jean swooned over the pasta and wine. Mmmmmmmm.

Need a chainsaw???

As you may recall, I'm calling our recent wind storm the GDWSO2010 (the Great Destructive Wind Storm Of 2010), and I'm still amazed at all of the down trees I've seen. In the woods, and on the trails, there are still plenty of actual trees still down, but out on the streets and in the neighborhoods, I'm mostly seeing giant stumps and maybe big log piles. 

However, my neighbor (the house behind me), had a tree come down and crush his garage. Aside from some caution tape, NOTHING has been done. That's no big deal when it comes to his garage, but the tree that's down is resting against his neighbor's house. WTF? I'd be enraged if that tree was against my house. 

Anyway, I took this pic right after the storm, and sadly, the scene is unchanged!

Towel Sculptures from Costa Rica

Sure, I had never thought that towels would be an appropriate medium for sculpture, but the staff at Hotel El Silencio Del Campo opened my eyes...

The person who cleaned our room each day started with a relatively easy heart shaped design, followed for a couple of days with various geometric shapes, but then she (I'm assuming she was a she... is that wrong?), kicked it up a couple of notches by making an elephant and finally a pair of swans kissing. Origami that you can dry yourself off with... that's pretty cool!