Memorial Day Weekend 2010

Well, the unofficial start to summer 2010 will be over in about 45 minutes. Still time for one more activity. It was an interesting, packed weekend and I didn't even get to do everything I'd planned. I know, big surprise there.

Friday was a low-key evening enjoying pizza for dinner with a friend and later some bowling at Green Lakes Lanes.

Saturday I woke up early, of course, and used the time to do laundry and run to the farmers market. I need to talk to their management about installing some bike racks because there is no dedicated place to lock up. The market was packed but I made two strategic stops - Wake Robin (yogurt) and a place out of Interlaken that sells organic free range eggs. Maybe a cheesecake is in the near future. I also cleaned my mountain bike for the first time this season, something I hope will prolong the life of some of the parts, although I am afraid most of the damage has already been done. I also put on new brake pads as the old ones were pretty smoked.

Later in the day I picked up my friend and we headed to Shindagin for the late afternoon and evening. The drive down was pretty as we took a route that meandered down between the lakes. Who knew there was a nudist colony in Moravia? Once at Shindagin, things kind of started to unravel quickly. First, my friend burned her leg on the tail pipe of my car while getting something out of the boot. We locked up the bikes and drove to Slaterville Springs to get additional supplies to my minimalist first aide kit - like disinfectant and tape. On the way, a rabbit made it's last dash, meeting it's maker via the undercarriage of my car. I felt terrible (still do) but there was no avoiding it. Once back at the trailhead, we started out for our ride. I forget what is hard to someone who hasn't ridden very much and took some more challenging trails. My friend did really well, clearing many obstacles I was not expecting but also took a few spills, one of which was particularly sketchy. I turned around just in time to see her go over the handlebars. She told me she was ok, and there were no visible signs of injury, but with my beginner biker track record, I need to be more careful in selecting, or warning, of trails and their obstacles.

We rode until about dusk, during which time my right pedal came apart, which was certainly a challenge. I wasn't able to keep my foot clipped in like last time and was concerned about impaling my leg with the pedal spindle. Fortunately, I didn't. We finished up riding around nine and ventured in to Ithaca for dinner at the Shortstop Deli, which put us back in Syracuse at 11, me at home at 11:30. Beat.

Sunday I was up early (again) and filled the water barrels at the Isabella Street community garden. By the time I finished that, it was off to the Southside to help install the Somali Bantu community garden. It is located on Oneida Street and built with donated materials from the Garden Soxx company. It was amazing to watch the community members, about half of which were teenagers, come together to build the garden. We laid out geotextile fabric and arranged pre-filled Garden Soxx into ~30' rows 2' apart. Then the community filled more Soxx, laying that out at varying row widths. One section was also "boxed" in using the Soxx and mounded up with compost and soil to grow potatoes, which I think will be an interesting experiment. The Filtrex folks also donated supplies to construct a drip irrigation system, something none of us had ever assembled. It was pretty straightforward and minus a few hiccups, we got it put together and working. I don't know what all was planted but it seemed like a lot. We went from no garden to planted irrigated Garden Soxx system in a matter of about 4 hours. Now I hope it works and generated the produce the community desires.

Sunday evening, despite my strong desire to do so, did not involve any biking. I went to another friends' house to have dinner, drink beer, and relax. Mission accomplished.

Monday I had made plans to meet up with a high school friend I haven't seen in about 15 years. We were to find each other at the Liverpool Memorial Day parade around 10. Got in my car, late of course, and it wouldn't start. Only clicking. I'd been pondering riding there and this confirmed that thought. I arrived too late for the parade but did get to see her and her family, as they waited around for me to show up. I always find it truly amazing when you haven't seen someone in a long time and you pick up as if you'd never lost touch. We all talked about what's been going on all these years. I found out she and her husband do triathlons and he's also a mountain biker. Too bad they're moving to WA at the end of June. We hope our paths will cross again before they leave, and they generously offered to help me out with my car woes.

On my way back from Liverpool, I crossed paths with two friends hoping to ride around Onondaga Lake. Not sure what route would allow them, but I hear it was a success. A quick call to Dad confirmed my suspicion that the battery had turned its last starter Sunday evening. I did some research and discovered not all batteries are created equal. After a few phone calls, I located one that the web said would fit like the OEM battery. A store two miles away had one in stock so I tied the old one onto my bike and went to pick it up. An extra 30 pounds strapped to your bike makes going downhill a bit quicker. Uphill, a different story. Standing to pedal was out of the question, as were sharp turns. The new batter was almost the right fit, a few spaces in the strap would have prevented it from getting tweaked. Started right up, though.

With a working car, I decided to take advantage of the 90 degree heat by going mountain biking at Highland Forest. I'd not been there yet this year, and was curious to see trail conditions. They were dry as a bone, with only a few seeps causing wet areas. I got very disoriented on the not always marked (or on the map) trails but had a good ride. Saw three other riders, one who helped me get my bearings. I also flatted - hope it is the only one of the season - which during the repair, I was a banquet for the local mosquito population. As I was wending my way back to the car, I flushed a ruffed grouse. It didn't really fly away, so I stopped and tried to get some pictures. It was very interested in getting back to the location I'd flushed it from, and I was able to have it walk within 5' of me. Low lighting (it was dusk and t-storms were rolling in) made pictures a challenge and it wasn't until all the fun was over that I realized I should have been recording a video. Oh well. Those t-storms on the way back helped to rinse off the bike.

Well, now the Memorial Day weekend in officially over. Tonight, late, my brother is arriving in Rochester on his way through from CO to ME. We're catching the DMB show in Darien Lake on Wednesday, and the band's been playing some old and new stuff, so we're holding high hopes for a great show. Either way, it'll be fun. Hope to get some riding in as well, although his three months at 9,000' will certainly make it immeasurably difficult for me to keep up. I also bought the new Broken Social Scene album, which was my companion for much of this weekend's solo adventure activities. I think it is pretty good.

All of the riding lately, including my April and May around town commuting, pushes me over the 200 mile mark for the season. This is well below what I hope, but on par for some of my respectable season totals. Would like to hit 1,000 again this year but the slow start is making it look not so attainable. There's the spirit...

A Weekend in B

Bikes

Bhutanese, Burmese

Baking in the broiling sun

Bitter, of the Lilac St brand

Being with friends

Bike

Blistering pace (for me)

Breaking 150

Biting bugs

Beautiful sunset

Bank

Bread

Birthday bash (for the big 3-0)

Bonnie, being cleaned and Brake lights

Being productive, even if late

Chasin' daylight

If the state is in such a budget crisis, why are trails being mowed? Shouldn't we be asked to experience nature, um, naturally?

After a few failed attempts, yesterday I got together with a friend to go riding. He hasn't been out on a bike since somewhere in the vicinity of 4-5 years, and the last time I rode with him he got a concussion, so we went easy at Green Lakes State Park. Well, sort of. There is a climb out of the double secret back entrance parking lot that is tough even when you've been riding frequently but we both survived and had a great time. Did a nice 9 mile loop, checking out one of the lakes along the way. Everyone kept rubber side down, and no minor mishaps occurred either.

Today I was up and out of the house early for the spring community garden planting. It was a bit chaotic but everything, I think, worked out. I am not sure exactly how many seedlings and seeds were planted in the garden but I know we had in excess of 120 seedlings. We even gave away ~100 buckets with pepper and tomato plants, as well as tried out planting pepper and tomatoes in this using one of these to fill them. Kind of like a wheel barrow cannon - for mulch.

Bear Swamp in late spring.

Now that we're a month away from the longest day of the year, I decided to take advantage of the late sunsets. After picking up my car, I thought of going to Highland Forest but didn't know if they would shut me out after a certain time. Instead, I meandered over to Bear Swamp where I new the only closing time I would be up against was daylight. I took a route I'd only driven once before, got a bit off-track - ending up south of the forest, but eventually made it to where I needed to be.

I suited up quickly, in light of the time and voracious mosquitos. I hadn't ridden any of the red trails this year - they're always pretty wet - but decided to give 'em a try. They were more damp than wet, which was good to see. I cooked through that trail pretty quickly and made my way over to the yellows. I was going to ride the teeter totter but someone broke it in half so I passed. I was feeling pretty decent and decided to climb up to the top of a trail that I typically skip but it has a really fun downhill so it was worth the effort. Someone was camping in their RV in one of the parking lots, probably wondering who the fool on the bike was riding by at 7:30 pm. At the halfway point, I thought I was a little behind on the light factor so I started weighing my options. I eventually realized I was feeling really well and riding the loop faster than I ever recall, so didn't ever pull the plug early.

Most of the time, it sounded like I was riding in the fall, rather than the spring, because their were a lot of fresh dead leaves on the trails. We've had a few late spring frosts, which caught some of the trees with their leaves out, damaging/killing the leaves. While I like riding through crunchy leaves because of the sound they make, I know this is probably not good for the trees.

The other thing that was really prevalent today were spider webs. Riding late in the day means the spiders are doing their thing, setting up shop for the night's feast. There are more than a few that are likely going to go hungry tonight, cursing the two wheeled bandit who disrespected their kitchen.

The climb out - or as much as you can see from the bottom.

I bombed through a few more down hills and cleaned things I typically am much more cautious about riding. It was a great ride and I felt really on, listening to a favorite KEXP podcast. I averaged 8.8mph up until the bottom of the climb out to the car, where I dropped .4 of a mile/hour. Even with the good climbing beat of this song, too little saddle time made for a pretty slow grind. This snails pace was an opportunity for the mosquitos to feast, much to my displeasure.

Back to the car just in time - the sky was pink, like the bellies of the feasting mosquitos.

A bit muddy, but not too bad for Bear Swamp.

All in all, a great couple of rides. It was good to ride with a friend, and also good to cook up some trails by myself.

Walls and training wheels

A while ago I posted about a girl I met and the affect of this experience. I began to allow myself to feel things I hadn't in a long time. Things I've sealed away behind stone walls. I am usually a grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side person but when it comes to situations where I've experienced deep wounds, and dragged others through those dark times, I have had a very difficult time coming around to see greener grass.

There have been times I've gotten caught up in the moment and stood along those walls with a chisel in hand, and started to chip away. The experience, for sure, is a rush - exciting, exhilarating - like ripping down a trail while in some alternate state zone, seeing only what you need to see while everything else blurs by in the periphery. But just like the wet root, off camber rock, or tree trunk that leans just a little too far into the trail to send me over the bars, that rush comes with risk. (I also tend to feel I write better and am more creative when in that zone, so I apologize for the less than thrilling posts as of late.) I usually choose to forego the risk and enjoy a tolerable, but predominantly mediocre, existence when it comes to these matters.

Somewhere along the line I've convinced myself that this existence is better for everyone involved. But is it? Who is this everyone? Some have said they worry about me, while others, the opposite. You always hear you'll know when the time is right. Is there some flashing sign? The last time I thought I knew but was so obviously wrong because I ignored what I so terribly didn't want to acknowledge. And in doing so, I jeopardized and strained more than anyone ever should, but have been so very fortunate in the trueness of friends and family who've seen me through more than I care to admit. This is the everyone, those who I don't want to do that to again. I've proven, I think, that I can make it through but probably not alone. However, that last sentence makes me realize I am in a mentality of setting myself up for failure from the start. Perhaps that is how one knows when one is ready. For, as Lance Armstrong's said, if you are afraid of falling off, you will never get on the bike.

As of late, I've been thinking my inability to establish anything beyond platonic relationships with women stems from my inept social skills, or that every one I meet is either married or in a serious committed relationship, or that I've been out of the game so long I don't even know where to start. While I believe all of these and other excuses I could come up with hold some validity, the larger issue is that I am afraid of falling off the bike. Weird realization for someone who evades the situation by getting on a bike. Maybe it is time to get out the training wheels again, or find a nice grassy hill where the falls won't be so bad. Small failures are opportunities to learn, right? What have I learned so far? Time to get on a bike and figure it out.

Tryin' to keep myself away from myself and me

Last time I rode, I found my shifter in disrepair upon returning to the car. Between this, and my inability to make/find the time to ride, I haven't been out on my bike in two weeks other than a few short commuting trips around town. While these rides are interesting at times - like when drivers pull out in front of you causing near misses and choice words - they are not the rejuvenating experiences I find on single track or even long road rides. I've recently been reading more about riding and came across this:

"Simply put, we ride because we love to ride. The act of riding is at once an elegantly simple and tremendously complex sensation: It is the culmination of hundreds of thoughts and emotions - escape, love of nature, exercise - and at times, the complete absence of thought and emotion, a singular focus that allows for no distraction and spares no mental or physical faculty."

This description by Mark Riedy and Joe Lindsey in The Noblest Invention sums up pretty well what riding means to me.

It is certainly my escape - from work, from my mind, from having to confront fears, from being social, from my life.

It is the place where I go to figure stuff out, even if it only makes sense for those few moments.

It is my time, when nothing else matters, the one place where I can go and not worry, and if I do, it is left behind, and only catches up when I choose to stop and let it.

It is my place of living on my edge, what ever that is at the moment, and however I choose to define it.

It is where I go to hit the reset button, to keep things in mental check.

This last bit is what is currently lacking in my state of affairs. I know this because I've recently been listening to Counting Crows' August and Everything After, a staple when I'm venturing to less than acceptable places. I know this also because one of my coworkers told me to make time for a bike ride this weekend. The closest I got was helping a friend evaluate what he needed to do to get his bike back on the trails. Good news is, not much appeared to be amiss other than some rim tape and clean chain. For now, I'll venture forward, trying to keep myself away from me.

Reacquainting with old friends

May, May, May. You must have taken a shortcut to get here so soon. Well, at least well before I thought you were going to arrive. I've always had trouble being in the moment and as of late, the moments are even more fleeting. And, oddly enough, my way of slowing down is to speed through the woods on a bike, winding between trees, over rocks and roots, and splashing through streams. Accompanying May's arrival were a few days of 70 and 80 degree temps and bright sunshine. Away we go!

Dusk setting in at Green Lakes

Friday after work I went for the first ride of the season at Green Lakes. The trails were very dry for this early in the season. Good for riding, bad for food production and the water table. A friend and I ground our way up the hill out of the parking lot and then meandered through the parks trail system to the lake. I am pretty sure we crossed a former road I've never paid attention to before but early season fatigue, yeah, that's what I'll call it, required a mid-climb rest. The things you see when you rest for a moment.

The inability for my brain to shut off brought an early rise Saturday morning. While I lament the pre-8am exit from bed, it did mean more trail time at Shindagin. I arrived to find the parking lot full and about a half dozen cars along the side of the road. I suited up and hit the yellow trails, exploring some new ones and briefly becoming disoriented. I eventually wound up at the red trails and cooked along the chair trail. I discovered an unmarked but obviously biker made trail that again took me into uncharted territory. Unlike a lot of other things, I decided to check it out. It wasn't the most exciting trail but I guess you never know until you ride it.

I rode along to some of the blue trails, and made my way to IMBA, my favorite downhill at Shindagin. As it was the first ride of the season, I tried to keep things in check but sometimes its hard to... I think I had a runner I met coming up the trail a little nervous. After this loop, where I saw what I imagine was a group from the Cornell Outing Club, I was gassed and didn't feel like eating the pizza I brought. So instead, I did what was probably one of the most foolish nutritional activities I could have - I ate two PopTarts and drank a 20 ounce Pepsi. Good for short sugar rush, bad for stomach and energy crash. The rush gave me about another hour of riding, the crash brought me to my guttural knees. Some day, both in riding and my daily activities, I will figure out how to eat, or at least practice what I already know better.

It was really great to get out for almost 30 miles of trails this weekend. I really miss riding at Shindagin, and while it is more fun to have a riding partner so you can take it up a little and not be worried that it is only you who can get you out, I kept things to a level where I was able to enjoy the trails. I kept rubber side down the whole day, and aside for a minor brush with a tree, all things were intact at the end of the ride. Well, everything except for the cover on my shifter. Not sure where that is or if I can get a new one, but I hope I don't have to buy a whole new set of shifters. This is becoming the year of the bike repair. The rebuilt pedals work great, though.