706 Hours in the saddle

Fortunately, my 2009 odometer is a little more optimistic
No worries about the devil here!
Happy riding for the New Year!

So far this year, I've spent 706.6 hours riding my bike, including time on the trainer, on training rides, and in races. This is a slightly greater than number than I posted in 2008, when I finished the year with 602.5 hours in the saddle. Last year, I rode 9,775 miles. In 2009, I didn't train with a device to track my miles so I don't know what the final mile count is for the year, but I think it's safe to say that I easily broke the 10,000 mile-mark. No wonder my bike is looking tired.

Whether or not these are things to be proud of is up for interpretation, but there's no doubt that I saw great improvements in my racing this year, and I think I'll still stick to the general assumption that more miles = more fast. Incidentally, the year isn't over yet. Between now and Thursday I'm scheduled to ride another five hours, bringing my total to 711.6. So, assuming that everything goes to plan, that will be the real number to close out the year.

Of course, coach Scott has some other ideas, which, sadly for me, include lifting weights and calisthenic exercises. Tonight, for the first time in a really, really long time, I did push ups, lunges, planks, and one-footed hops.

If my room mate were my wife, and were she looking to build a case for a divorce, I think coming into the kitchen and finding me doing one-footed jumps would be a good addition to her claim of insanity.

Anyway, aside making me look like a fool (which I really don't need help with), this work out left me feeling more physically wasted than any ride I've done recently. Aside from my arms being totally worked, my thighs are now exhausted and craving protein. I'm sure the big-gear drills on the trainer are going to feel great.

Hopefully all this silliness is going to make me faster, because I'm certainly not enjoying it in the interim.

Anyhow, just as my arms are tired from today's work out, my mind is also tired from this long work week (now on day 7 of 8). Since I'm planning on being completely exhausted by the time I close out the day tomorrow, I'm declaring this post the end of my 2009 blogging season. And what a season it has been!

I'm headed down to NYC tomorrow evening to celebrate the New Year (and to ride in warmer climes). Blogging will resume on Sunday, when the promise of a New Year will leave me re-enthused about life and all this it includes!

Thanks for reading, Happy New Year, and I hope your celebration are fun and full of promise!

Night riding

Despite a rainy start, it turned out to be a sunny, warm December day here in Saratoga Springs. Of course, rather then getting out and making the most of the unseasonable weather, I was stuck in the office for the sixth day of my holiday work marathon. Fortunately, there are but two days remaining in said work stint.

But, warm weather is rare this time of year, and the roads are clear from the last accumulation of snow we had last week, so, for the first time this year, I broke out my new headlight, and went for a ride when I got out of work, as dusk was settling over town.

Not looking to get into a tricky situation as temperatures dropped with evening's arrival, I stuck to roads I know well, between here and Stillwater, in the area surrounding the Saratoga Battlefields National Historical Park.

Despite the cold(er) temperatures, I found that I was able to maintain a healthy pace, my light easily lighting up the road ahead, and a blinky red light keeping me visible from behind. In many ways, the ride was fairly unremarkable, but in other ways riding at night can be a very interesting experience.

For instance, on Route 32 I startled some deer. Turning my head to look in their direction, one buck's pupils shown with brilliant green hues for a passing second as I rolled by. Later on, I was startled to realize that my wheels had passed millimeters from the carcase of another deer, likely the victim of a collision with a vehicle.

As the ride went on, it began to get colder and I eventually switched to heavier gloves. My only real concern on the ride was that many of the roads I was traveling were wet from the day's thaw, and with temperatures dropping, there was a high potential for black ice.

Fortunately, I seemed not to encounter any, and made it home intact, and so happy to have put some miles under my wheels, rather than the spinning roller or trainer drums that are more common for me at this time of year. As hard as spinning is, it really only takes one outside ride to rebuild motivation, and remind you why those trainer hours are worthwhile.

Holiday season, or something

For me, Christmas is an odd holiday. Of course, I have been Jewish my whole life, and will likely remain Jewish for the remainder of my life, so it's really not my holiday. I have tried to celebrate a couple times with various goyim, but so far, it hasn't really felt natural. Maybe I'm waiting for the right Christmas celebration to come along.

And yet, nearly everyone around me is celebrating with their family, while I'm stretched out here on the love seat watching a movie that even I'm too embarrassed to name. I spent the day at work, and will return to work tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, and so on. For now, it's another lonely holiday, just like last year, only with more work. Maybe what I really need is a nice, Semitic cat to hang out with on Christmas.

Of course, there is light at the end of the tunnel; a lovely five-day break over the New Years, and then a new job. For now, though, I'm going to try to remain focused on getting through the rest of this 8-day work week. (Que Lennon/McCartney) I can only hope that today will have brought my last Santa Claus interview.

There will be a second, big announcement coming soon regarding my team affiliation for the 2010 season. Just waiting for the ink on my proverbial contract to dry...

With that, Happy Holidays!

Tops from the week:

1) Bernstein named Sports Editor, obviously.

2) Announcing my new job, and receiving lots and lots of email from friends and family. Answering everyone may take a little time, but I'll get there! If nothing else, it's good fun for the holiday, while everyone is with their family.

3) Early registration for the Tour of the Battenkill.

4) Working over the holiday means that I'm going to take some liberties and wear jeans to work.

5) Related to item 3, but getting ready for the ToB, one way or another.

Bottoms from the week:

1) Not one outdoor ride this week, and none likely for the weekend.

2) Related to number 1, riding the damn trainer/rollers all the f-ing time.

3) Holiday sweets. Far too many to go around this time of year, my diet is shot. I smell a New Years resolution to cut wayyy back on sugar.

4) Out of lettuce, and no chance to buy more until after the holiday.

5) Those dishes still haven't learned to clean themselves.

Email overloaded

The wonderful thing about sending out an email such as the one I sent out last night was all of the dozens of responses I got from friends and family, some of whom I have have not heard from in a long time.

While I would ordinarily have been blogging, I spent my evening responding to emails, and now have to turn in for the night, without much posted here at all. Please accept my apology. Besides, yesterday's exciting news should be enough to tide you over for a while...

Be back tomorrow, I promise.

Bernstein named Sports Editor

It's been a while in the making, but as of today, the next step in my career is official. Here's an email I just sent to a couple hundred of my closest family and friends:

Season's greetings!
I'm writing with some exciting news for this holiday season: as of Jan. 4, I will be assuming the role of Sports Editor at The Saratogian. Since November 2007 I have served as the paper's city reporter, covering City Hall, local and national elections, crime, development, major commercial investments in the region such as the GlobalFoundries microchip plant in Malta, NY, and many other stories along the way. December 29 will be my last day on the reporting staff.

A friend asked me if I would miss covering local politics and I glibly answered that I would not, but the truth is that I have met a lot of wonderful people over the past two years, and am grateful for the many opportunities I have had -- not every second-year reporter gets to cover the president or to be interviewed on C-SPAN! So, truthfully, I will miss the political beat (and all the other beats), if only for the people. It's been a wonderful 26 months full of learning and exciting opportunities, and I am now thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the paper's award-winning sports section, an experience that promises to be every bit as educational and fulfilling.

Of course, I plan to continue my "extra-curricular" writing for the Embrocation Cycling Journal, Good Bye Blue Mondays, Velo News, Cosmo, and any other publication that will have me.

Thanks for reading! As always, I would love to hear how you are this holiday season, and stay tuned for more news! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and Happy New Year to all! AB

BikeReg.com servers smoking, 1,000+ register for Tour of the Battenkill

I realized that I was a bit remiss in my duties as chief Tour of the Battenkill blogger (self-appointed) in not pointing out to readers that online registration for the greatest single-day bike race east of the Hudson (Rockies? Pacific Ocean?) opened at 7 this evening.

I checked the confirmed rider list an hour after registration opened, around 8 p.m., and there were already more than 900 people registered. An hour later, the number had bumped up to 1,016. As of this writing, the number is up to 1,130.

Six of the 21 fields are already full, mostly in the lower categories, although one of the two Cat 3 fields is full as of this moment.

The long and the short of it is that the 2010 ToB may very well meet it's 2,000-rider goal, to secure its spot as the largest single-day road race in the country for another year. In any event, I just hung a poster from the 2009 race on the wall I face while riding my rollers/trainer, so that I can once again hold ToB close in my dreams, and in my day-dreams.

There was once a study that showed visualizing success in a free-throw competition over a period of weeks (without physical practice), resulted in more completed baskets during a competition than practicing free throws ad-nauseum without visualization. I think combing positive thinking, visualizing success, and physical training helped me to last year's success at ToB, and I'm planning on a greater degree of success at this year's ToB. I'm thinking the poster -- which was, by the way, a birthday present from my parents -- is going to be a great help in this regard.

However, with all of this ToB excitement, I haven't registered myself yet. "Why," you ask. Well, thus far, there are only 26 racers registered in my field, an additional benefit of being a 2 -- there just aren't that many of us. With a few things still up in the air, I'm going to hold off on registering for the moment, although I'm sure I'll be throwing my name in the hat in the not-to-distant future, especially if it looks like registration in my race is starting to pick up.

So, congrats to Dieter for making ToB such a wildly-successful race. I can't wait for April 10!

On a completely unrelated note, I think the best thing about being Jewish, aside from Gefilte fish and knishes, might be NOT having to go Christmas shopping. L'Chiam!

On a second note, unrelated to either of the notes above, keep watching this page for a very exciting announcement in the coming days.

On a third note, similarly unrelated, I have added a word-verification catcha to the comments page on this blog. I'm sorry for the additional step, but with tens of thousands of readers, managing the spam comments is getting a bit tiresome.

F-F-F-f-f-freezing

I'm now into the second week of winter training, but managed to get my first dose of cold weather riding today. It was about 20 degrees when I left to ride West River Road with Mike and Aleks. In past years, I've operated under a 10-degree rule, in which I'd consider riding outside in weather down to 10 degrees.

After today's ride I'm either going to have to revise that rule or invest in warmer clothes. Although I did finally figure out how to keep my core warm while riding in cold temps after three months of cold-ass trial and error last winter, I still struggle with finding ways to keep my extremities warm.

Today, as usual, my hands and feet became incredibly cold over the course of the 3-hour ride. My feet, while cold, remain functional, encased in their Neoprene booties and wool socks. However, I've always found that my hands can nearly debilitate me when they get cold. Today I was wearing my heaviest gloves, Marmot ski gloves. These are actually really warm, and good enough for nearly any situation, but the cycling-specific combination of putting pressure on your palms, and leaving your hands out in the wind while hardly exerting your upper body, always combines to leave my hands chilly.

But cold hands are pretty normal for me in the winter, and I'm used to riding one-handed for long stretches, as I ball my hands up alternately inside my gloves, in an effort to keep them somewhat warm. This really only serves as a delaying tactic.

Then I get to enjoy the wonderful burn, as my hands and feet thaw, upon my arrival home. One time, I was so cold upon arriving home that I couldn't even stand in the shower, and wound up curled in a ball in bed, under two comforters, gasping for breath as warm blood finally reached my hands and feet. That sucked.

Fortunately, today wasn't quite so extreme. Although I was quite chilly when I got home, my hands warmed without incident, and my feet were only mildly uncomfortable when they warmed up in the shower.

Riding in this kind of cold, in addition to really sapping you of energy, really takes it out of me. After my ride today, and after getting out of the shower, I could hardly summon the energy to scrape my carcass off the couch to go to the grocery store. Cooking dinner became a challenge akin to summiting Everest, and I haven't yet got up the motivation to clean the kitchen. I have a feeling that it's going to be an early evening.

So, that's winter training. And it's not even winter yet. The only good news is that we didn't get any of this storm that buried the rest of the north east. So, it may have been cold out there, but at least the roads are clear. Ah, winter.

First intervals of 2010

First off, if you haven't already read my latest essay on the Embrocation Cycling Journal, you should go read it now. Here's a link.

Second of all, I did my first intervals of the "year" today. I've put "year" in quotation marks because I've done lots and lots of intervals, of various types, during the calendar year, but these were my first intervals of the 2010 racing/training season, which began last week.

Bicycle racing is a sport that defines itself less by calendars and more by events. Races start (around here) on the first weekend in March. If, like me, a certain race in early April is a major target, you really only have three months in 2010 to get fast. So, you start in 2009, getting a jump on the year ahead. And that's where the intervals came in today. Incidentally, I'm also getting used to the particular cadence of writing "2010." It's actually kinda fun.

These weren't too intense, just (I think) something Coach Scott had me do to remind my legs what a hard effort feels like. Probably not a bad idea, as I haven't done any kind of hard effort (other than a handful for 'cross races) since September or so. I think they went fine, and I felt sufficiently worked out afterward. No more intervals for the rest of the week (save some one-leg drills tomorrow), just lots of tempo.

I was able to get outside and ride yesterday, which was great. Today, however, it was cold and I was on the trainer. Then it snowed. I doubt I'll be getting outside again for a little while.

Tan lines on Embrocation

You've seen this photo before
That is my tan line, circa Sept., 2008
Jealous?

No post tonight, but for a good reason. A superb essay, by me, has been published over at Embrocation Cycling Journal. If you haven't already, you should go over and give it a read.

The essay is about tan lines, and the awkward situations they can sometimes cause. Give it a read, you won't regret it.

Here's an excerpt, which shamelessly relies on the the old adage that sex sells:

"...But every once in a while, bike racing gives way to a real life in which tan lines are not points of pride, and where the goal is to get rid of, not to enhance, such features.

Recently, I was lucky enough to be getting into bed with a very attractive woman – the kind of woman who could do much better than a bike racer with tree-trunk thighs but a stick-figure waist and toothpick arms – who, for reasons unknown, deemed me worthy..."

Enjoy!

Also, a final word on Hanukkah.

Losing the latkes

I've just got home from the weekend in Brooklyn. My principal reason for the visit, of course, was to help my Dad celebrate his birthday this morning (I had to leave before his birthday dinner), but I also wanted to do a little to celebrate Hanukkah.

Although I love almost every aspect of life here in Saratoga Springs, I do occasionally find myself missing a Jewish community. Where there is a very active community at Saratoga's two synagogues, being a non-religious (anti-religious?) Jew, makes synagogue a less-than-appealing place for me to visit, let alone to find a community of like-minded peers. After all, all I'm really looking for are a few people to eat latkes with.

Last year I made latkes for some Goy friends, who seemed to enjoy them, but not with the gusto that latkes should be received with.

Anyhow, that's all a roundabout way of saying that I attended my family's traditional Hanukkah celebration, over at Harvey and Jackie's house. It wasn't quite the same without my brother, who is out in Colorado, finishing his semester, but it was still a good time. The Hanukkah party started in 1984 (incidentally, the same year I was born), so I've been attending my entire life. In the interceding 25 years, the regular crew has gone through many changes, and now has added a new generation, which is kinda fun.

The only sad news here is that I failed to win the annual latke-eating contest, loosing by two latkes (17-18) to a first time party goer, Claudia. I've won the contest many times in the past, and this year went in having decided that I was only going to eat until I felt that I'd had enough dinner. The number would be whatever it was. True to my word, I stopped eating when full, even though there were still latkes to be eaten on the table (though not on my plate).

And I lost. So it goes. There's always next year. And yes, the latke-eating did lead to a bout of guilt-riding this morning. I haven't weighed myself since Saturday morning, so I'm a little scared of what the scale will say in the morning. I'm going to get back to my diet tomorrow.

Nothing draining like cold, wet

One time, back in August, I described myself lying on the floor, after races, "throttled from the effort," moaning. A friend commented that it was hard for her to imagine me in such a state.

Well, it's been quite a while since I've done any kind of effort that required that level of recovery. It's been three months, to be exact, since Fall Bear, a race that remains my biggest regret of the season. Today, with winter training now underway, I revisited that special kind of exhaustion.

I'm in Brooklyn, by the way, tempted down here by the promise of latkes, and also by a desire to help my Dad celebrate his birthday on Monday. Also tempting was the desire to ride in warmer-than-Saratoga temperatures. I set off this morning to ride with fellow BVF alum Brian B. We headed up to the GWB, and then through Englewood and Tenafly, hoping to meet up with the Rocket Ride, out of Nyack.

Although rain was on the radar, it wasn't forecast until the afternoon, so I thought we'd have time to ride, and then make it home ahead of the weather. Brian, I suppose, came to the same conclusion. However, it wasn't to be.

After somehow missing the ride, we found ourselves in Piermont, with a little rain started to fall. We refueled with a quick muffin, and turned and burned for home. It started raining in earnest shortly after we hit 9W, and I was thoroughly soaked by the time we got to the GWB. Then it was an *interesting* ride down through Manhattan and home.

We rode pretty hard, so I felt fairly warm for a while, but it was the wet that really drained me. When I finally got home, I warmed up in the shower, ate some eggs, and then spent the afternoon drifting in and out of consciousness on the couch. I may have moaned a bit as well. Somewhere in there I managed to do some laundry, and to make it over to Harvey and Jackie's for the annual Hanukkah party, but more on that tomorrow.

In all, Briand and I rode for about four hours, two of which were in the rain. I think I'll sleep well tonight.

Snowy top and bottom five

Like adding insult to injury, we got an additional inch of snow this evening, putting a nice slick crust on yesterday's accumulation. This is really only my first week of indoor training, and I'm already sick of it. Well, maybe sick of it isn't the right term, but I'm certainly feeling some yearning for warmer weather.

On the up side, I've watched like seven movies so far this week, just while on the trainer/rollers. By mid-January, I should be all caught up on the big films I missed while living in media seclusion during the rest of the year (remember, there is no TV here at the 106).

This has been a fairly crappy week for a few different reasons that I am not at liberty to discuss, but it has also been a hopeful week, for other reasons. Hopefully I'll be able to lay this out for my faithful GBBM readers at some not-to-distant point in the future. For now, you will have to be content with the traditional top and bottom lists:

Tops from the week:
1) Hiking with Tom! Such a great way to spend a weekend.
2) Thanks to Facebook for a little writing help -- and stay tuned to Embrocation next week to see the results!
3) Snow, because I may be over the trainer, but I'm not quite sick of snow yet.
4) Blue Sky Bicycles spin class earlier tonight. Better than spinning alone!
5) Apparently Hanukkah starts tomorrow at sundown. Who knew?

Bottoms from the week:
1) Feeling sad about Cousin Ruthie.
2) Snow. Because it's making it difficult to ride outside.
3) A bad copy of Crash (from the library) left me wondering what happened next. Perhaps I'll find out next week.
4) Somehow I started training, and also started to gain weight? Not sure how that works.
5) Not to pollute this blog with work nonsense, but getting thrown out of a county Democratic Committee meeting was certainly a low point this week.

First snow, and it's a big one!

It snowed today. Like, a lot. It started at some point overnight, and when I woke there was already what appeared to be several inches on the ground, with more falling steadily. When I finally got around to leaving the apartment, around 1 p.m. (after spending another three hours on the trainer, of course), it was apparent that we have got much more than the anticipated six inches. It had, by that time, stopped snowing.

I cleared my car off prior to driving to Malta for a story, and measured about 10 inches of accumulation. Of course, if this winter goes anything like last year, we'll have plenty of snow over the next three weeks, and that will be it until March, when the snow will serve only to interfere with bike racing.

Unfortunately, it got warm this afternoon, quickly turning much of the snow into slush, mostly clearing the roads and leaving me scant opportunities to practice my power slide and doughnut. Of course, that I have new tires on the car wasn't helping either.

So, snow is fun. One of these days, I hope to go skiing -- and now that it actually has snowed, this seems like it might be a possibility. Last year, I managed a total of four ski days, including two at Aspen, all of which were awesome -- but four days does not a ski season make. So, this year I'm shooting for five days slope-side.

Now, where are my skis? I'll have to see if I can locate them under the pile of bicycle wheels currently occupying my closet. This weekend might have been an opportunity to hit the slopes, but I'll likely be heading to the city to celebrate Hanukkah, my Dad's 40th birthday, (can you believe he's that old?!), and possibly for a very important meeting that I am not yet at liberty to discuss -- but stay tuned!

Decisions, Decisions

Major setback today, but it's OK. I have the Three Philosophers for company, and I've driven my room mate into her bedroom so that I can have a night of solitude on the love seat (I sometimes talk about a couch, but really, it's a two-seater. The stairs to this third-story walk up is too tight to allow for anything larger.)

Wow. That was an unbelievably bitter paragraph. Forgive me.

Anyway, I've got a big reason to be bitter: in the past two days I've spent 4.5 hours riding my trainer, and with snow in forecast for tomorrow, there is no sign of the trainer action letting up.

On days like yesterday, when I have time off during daylight hours, I often face a tough choice between riding outside in the freezing cold, and facing near-certain death-by-black ice, and near-certain death by boredom on the trainer. Yesterday, I chose the later, rationalizing that I'd have plenty more cold-ass days to ride outside this winter, but that I'd not yet seen Crash, which had just arrived from Netflix, so what better way was there to accomplish a workout with a movie?

Three hours later, I'd created a Dead Sea-sized puddle in the living room carpet was was second-guessing my decision. Crash, scratched from previous viewings by other Netflix subscribers, crapped out after about 40 minutes, leaving me to watch the first few stages of the 2008 Amgen Tour of California. Remember when J.J. Haedo was going to be the next big sprinter? He's still fast as hell, but I'm not convinced that time he beat Boonen was more than a fluke. Of course, there's still plenty of time for him to prove me wrong.

Anyhow, the moral of this story is that riding indoors is boring, BUT riding outside in the winter can often be equally unpleasant. Maybe I should move to a warmer climate.

Thanks, Facebook!

Hugh Grant
Soon appearing on the Embrocation Cycling Journal
Sort of

With my forced rest now over, I returned to training today, with what will be the first of many, many, many trainer sessions. I was going to write tonight about the process by which I decided to ride the trainer, instead of venturing out for a ride in the snowy air, but then something more interesting happened over on Facebook.

Every writer has a different process. Mine, although it varies from project to project, and venue to venue, seems to be to have a kernel of an idea, and then to wait for something to happen that can round the idea from a tidbit to a full-fledged piece. Sometimes this happens relatively quickly, and sometimes it takes months or years -- if it happens at all.

This afternoon, I was putting the finishing touches on an upcoming essay for the Embrocation Cycling Journal, when I found myself unhappy with the following sentence: "While I’m no Mr. Big, I like to think that I have some charm, and that I’m usually fairly smooth in intimate situations. In this case, I had nothing."

The problem was that I was concerned that a) not enough people who read Embrocation would know who Mr. Big is (it's a character from Sex in the City, in case you're wondering), and b) that the character didn't really illustrate the right sentiment.

Lacking a cohort of peers to bounce ideas off of (I was alone in my apartment at the time), I posted a note on facebook to the following effect: "I need a suggestion for a writing project: what actor/character best-typifies a charming, smooth, and genuine male?"

I got a range of responses, from Hugh Grant (suggested by my brother, and now incorporated into the essay), to Snoop Dog (suggested by Scott Demel, who defines "actor" rather loosely), to Lance Armstrong, to Tiger Woods (suggested by Matt Godeke, who I think was going for irony.)

So, while I'm not ready to call my forth-coming essay a group-product, I am grateful for the facebook universe for the many suggestions -- you saved me from spending several hours this afternoon delving into the world of Internet film reviews.

Hiking season is here!

On the way down
Snow flying
Lake Arnold was nearly frozen

Thanks Tom, what a great weekend!

Tom front points up the ice
Flowed Lands in the background
Notice: no gloves!

I love hiking, but with the strictures of a training program for bike racing, there isn't often much time for outdoor adventures during the cycling season. For that reason, I've come to fully embrace winter hiking, and so Tom and I kicked off the season this weekend.

Pointing the way.
It wasn't quite a white out,
but we got momentarily confused

For the hike, Tom and I were reunited for the first time since May, when I dragged him on an 80-mile ride around Washington County, despite the fact that he hadn't ridden a bike in four months, or something. This time, we opted for an adventure that would have us on more-equal footing, an overnight trip up to the high peaks. The trip served the dual functions of getting us out into the woods for a much-needed respite from the day-to-day (Tom is looking for winter work, I continue to work at The Saratogian), and giving us a long-overdue chance to catch up.

Here I am, working the ice
I'm no Tarnold:
Note, gloves

After a little back-and-forth over Thai food on Friday evening, we decided to climb Mt. Colden, from ADK Loj, via Avalanche Pass, and to spend Saturday night at Avalanche Camps.

The hike went much faster than either of us had anticipated. Before we knew it, we were ascending through an increasing snow shower on Colden's west flank, looking down as Lake Colden receded in the distance. We broke out crampons on the upper reaches of the trail, where rocks and roots gave way to an icy flume that encouraged gravity to have its way with us. Trusty ten-points kept us on the up-and-up.

More Flowed Lands
a brief break in the cloud cover
We got more socked in as the afternoon went on

Unfortunately, the snow didn't allow for much of a view from Colden, although we did get one fleeting glance at the Flowed Lands. The skies were much more clear on Sunday morning, as we made the short hike back to the car.

On the way home
Tom at Marcy Dam
Wright in the background

The lake froze overnight,
although it may well have thawed again during the day
In a few more weeks, you'll be able to ski the lake

Winter camping means two things: lots of hot water for cooking and drinking, and early darkness. We started cooking dinner around 5 p.m. on Saturday, with the snow continuing to fall through a blanket of clouds that blotted out moon and star light, leaving the woods murky with dark. After eating, we went for a leisurely stroll down to Marcy Dam by headlamp, which left us both nice and toasty as we turned in for the night -- around 7 p.m.

I had the pleasure of waking up at 4 a.m., my bladder full to bursting, only to discover that not only was I cold inside my sleeping bag, but that my boots -- foolishly left out -- were frozen solid. I crammed my feet in for purposes of relief, knowing that I'd have my work cut out to thaw them in the morning.

The Whisper Lite glows red-hot
Only one on this trip,
But you'll need two in a couple weeks

Waking up 12 hours after turning in, we were both exhausted from too much sleep. After thawing my boots out by the store, we hiked out, somehow stayed awake for the drive back to Saratoga with Tom at the wheel. Once back in town, we celebrated with burgers, before Tom had to head home.

I will admit to being fooled by the early-season conditions, and making some rookie mistakes -- not that it made the weekend any less fun. Thanks again Tom, I can't wait for the next one!

Unfinished business on rest day #5

Today was a funny rest day, as it was a Thursday, which is usually my day off the bike. So, perhaps I shouldn't count this as a rest day at all. And yet, it was still just the latest day in which I thought a lot about riding, ate poorly, and didn't exercise.

Instead of riding today, I watched David Fincher's Seven, of which I had only previously seen the first half -- way back in April 2005, while at the Boston Bean Pot with the Skidmore cycling team. Don't ask my why it took me four-and-a-half years to get around to watching the film in its entirety.

Was it worth the wait? It's a good movie, certainly worth seeing if you haven't already -- plus it's funny to see what Morgan Freeman looked like with a little less gray hair. Kevin Spacey, on the other hand, is creepy as always.

Looking ahead, Tom is coming to visit tomorrow, and I have to say that I'm pretty excited to see him. After hanging around these parts tomorrow evening, we're going to head up to the Adirondacks for an overnight Saturday to Sunday, and will hopefully climb a few mountains, to be determined. So, it should be a fun weekend!

With that all being said, here's a return to tradition:

Tops from the week:
1) It's easy to be productive when I don't have to ride1
2) Thanksgiving, and all of the fun that went with it.
3) New pedals -- nothing like some new parts to spruce up the old road warrior.
4) Not moving. Staying in this apartment another month will make it the home in which I've lived the longest, other than Mom and Dad's place.
5) As mentioned above, Tom is coming to help me forget that I'm not allowed to ride for a few more days.

Bottoms from the week:
1) Haters.
2) Limbo. No, not the dance.
3) My body's incredible ability to store unused energy at a moment's notice -- dangerous when paired with extended periods of not using energy.
4) Not riding and still somehow tired all the time? Must be the season.
5) Rain? Shouldn't it be snowing by now?

Rest Day #4

Here's what I did today instead of riding:
1) Talked to Tom about our weekend hiking trip up to the high peaks.
2) Bought new pedals, and installed same at Blue Sky.
3) Thought about using my new pedals, as on a ride.
4) Overate.

I really don't have much to say tonight, except that I'm pretty excited about my new Shimano pedals.

It seems that I was so used to my worn-out Look pedals that I'd forgot what clipless pedals are supposed to feel like: solid underfoot. I feel pretty good about this investment, and looking forward to using my pedals as I tear through the 201o season.

The only downside that I've found is that the cleats are so wide they overhand the edges of my shoes' sole a bit. I guess the trade off -- a larger contact platform -- is worth it, but ascetically, it's not idea.

Remember what I said yesterday about being in the midst of a fertile period for writing? It may have been more short-lived than I thought.

Rest Day #3

We are now nearly at the end of my third day of "rest."

Here's what I did today, instead of riding my bike:
1) Slept in.
2) Thought about riding.
3) Returned an Ottrott 'cross bike to the Serotta factory, visited briefly with Scott Hock and Aleks Mooradian -- such a sweet desk she's got!
4) Returned a red blouse to J.C. Penny (long story, don't ask).
5) Thought about what new races I can do in 2010.
6) Ate a pretzel.
7) Purchased toilet paper, A&D ointment, and deodorant at Target.
8) Thought about how I'm going to win the Tour of the Battenkill.
9) Changed my cell plan so that I'll stop getting hit with overage fees for texting too much/ogled all the fancy new phones I can't afford.
10) Fretted about setting a meeting for the 2010 Marshal and Sterling Saratoga Crit.
11) Watched an episode of The Simpsons (online, of course.)
12) Cursed Scott.
13) Dropped off my rent check.

Then I went to work, where I found occasion to drown my sorrows in pizza.

I guess maybe this time off the bike really is a good idea. At the very least, I'm getting lots of little stuff done. Tomorrow I'm going to buy new pedals -- after using Look pedals for six years, I've realized that the weight savings I could realize by switching to another system are pretty significant -- about three-tenths of a pound by switching from my current Look a3.1 pedals to Shimano Dura Ace. Plus, all of my pedals are worn out, and there's no sense in replacing them with more outdated technology. So that should be an exciting 45 minutes. Of course, since I'm forbidden to ride, it'll be a while until I can dial in new cleats.

Exciting stuff, I know.

And to head off the inevitable comments, I know that I could save more weight with a different system, but we have Shimano pedals in stock at Blue Sky, and that's really the chief qualification for me. Plus, I've always been a Shimano guy. No reason to change now, right?

Though not necessarily related to my off-the-bike resting, I've also noticed that the past few weeks have been particularly fertile for me, in terms of various writing projects. I've always noticed that personal turmoil, while bad for sleeping and cycling, is good for writing. So, hopefully this new found productivity will continue, at least for a little bit, as I continue to enjoy my brief period of resting.

Now I'm off to complete this day of rest with a little more TV-via-Internet.