David & Karen: On a Bicycle Built for Two!

Anxiety on My Own

2012-02-23T16:35:00.000-05:00

I don't know why it is, but I experience a tinge of anxiety when it comes to planning a bicycle ride out and about on the hills of Sterling when I am on my own. David is working and unavailable to ride with me.

I have a great single bicycle, and I love it. But I have to admit, I love being on the tandem more!

Before David left for work, he had me pump air into the tires. A simple thing for most, but it's something I've always relied on David to do. He showed me how the tires on my two bikes are different and use opposite ends of the pump nozzle. And they are also different when it comes to how much air I should pump into each.

I discovered too, that I don't have great upper arm strength. Of all the exercises I prefer to do -- elliptical machine, brisk walking, treadmill, or cycling -- none of those do anything for my arms. I do have a couple of workouts on DVD. I suppose it's time to admit, I should do those more often. The simple motions of pumping air into my bicycle tires made my arms ache. Geez!!

Once I am ready to leave my driveway, I feel a sense of trepidation. I worry about what-ifs. What if I get a flat? What if I can't make it up a big, big hill? What if I have an accident and fly head first over my handlebars? What if... no one is around to rescue me???

My view on the bicycle on today's ride.

I don't know... The benefits far outweigh the risks.

It's the wind in my face, the fresh air, and the time to allow myself self-reflection that motivates me. Not to mention, the calories burned. To top it off, the way I feel so great after a ride is really the payoff. I will do it again whenever I can!

Epic! Hardcore! ~ Reactions to our February Century Ride

2012-02-22T16:15:00.000-05:00

We did it!!!

Epic. Hardcore. Those are some of the words people used upon hearing of our desire to complete a century ride (100 miles) in upstate New York on our tandem in February!

The snowfall came down upon us for only for the last 10 miles or so. While I had previously told David that if it snowed, I would be getting off the bike and he could ride in on his own, that didn't happen.
: )

After all, we had gone so far and my butt wasn't even killing me at that point!

Our adventure began on Friday night. Because David had a full workday ahead of him, we had the van packed the night before. When Dave was free from work, we drove 3 1/2 hours to Ballston Spa, a small town not far from Saratoga Springs, New York.

Our hosts: Paul & Wendy

We connected with a wonderful couple, Paul and Wendy, who offered to host us for the weekend. We met them online through the warmshowers website, which offers hospitality for touring cyclists. These people warmed our hearts with their down-to-earth friendliness and generosity. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at their home, the easy conversation and the most incredibly amazing and delicious meals!

Paul is a professor in Culinary Arts and Wendy is equally gifted. It was our good fortune to meet up with them. In spite of our late arrival on Friday night (after 8 p.m.) we were welcomed at their table with a pot roast dinner, including mashed potatoes and homemade bread!

On Saturday morning, we awoke early. Paul was great to help Dave off to a good start with coffee brewing. I had taken along fresh ingredients in a cooler for our favorite pre-ride smoothie, and we shared some with Paul before we hurried out the door to ensure we had plenty of time before our ride start at 8 am. We were about a half hour drive away from the town of Schuylerville, where the Snowball Express event began from the Director's home.

After stopping on the way to figure out why our GPS was directing us in an opposite direction from notes we had taken earlier in the week, we finally arrived at 7:45 am. I was already dressed in multiple layers, but Dave overheats easily so he still needed to pile on some clothing. Other riders were mulling around, inside and outside of the house.

Coffee, tea, and bagels were available for pre-ride fueling. I had a half cup of coffee and a half bagel with cream cheese. There was a great assortment of Hammer Nutrition products put out for us too. Dave and I took a couple of gel packs each. We had also brought along some of our own old favorites for long rides: Clif Bars, Shot blocks, and some of our favorite flavors in Clif Shot Energy Gels. (I like the mocha and expresso flavors, not so much a fan of fruity gels.)

We took off around 8:15 a.m. The morning was bright and sunny, and while the temperatures were said to be in the low 30's, there was little wind. I was very comfortable in my six layers!

There were six bicycles on this ride, seven riders -- including the organizer. This was my second century ride. My first was The Flattest Century of the East put out by the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen Club, and that one had over 2,000 participants. This was quite a contrast!

Dave Waldburger

We were happily surprised that one of our fellow TCC (Thread City Cyclists) members was inspired to join us. David Waldburger is a seasoned cyclist who commutes to work each day on his bicycle! He is a pleasure to ride with, as he easily adapts on group rides with other cyclists of varying capabilities.

We all rode as a pack for the first part of the ride. Everyone was upbeat and talkative. It was nice to get to know the other cyclists.

Jim Williams

One of our fellow riders has taken part in the RAAM (http://www.raceacrossamerica.org). Fascinating to talk to, Jim is an attorney living in New York City, on a 4-person team training for this year's grueling event (profiled in the movie documentary, Bicycle Dreams). His team, Team4HIVHope, will be conducting active experiments on their members to compare the effects of endurance activity on HIV+ and non-HIV+ athletes. In 2011, Team 4HIVHope completed the Race in six days, six hours and 34 minutes and finished 8th out of 32 teams. The ride we shared with him is part of his ongoing preparation for the big race, which begins on June 16, 2012.

With the exception of one somewhat challenging hill at the very onstart of the ride, the route was surprisingly flat. Dave and I were pleased that the pace of the group was comfortable for us -- even being on a tandem. We averaged a speed of 14.5 MPH.

Along the way, we kept ourselves fueled periodically with the sports nutrition goodies we brought along. At one point, the group did spread apart. Those of us in front lost our way, and we needed to stop to look at the route sheet and turn around after crossing a grated bridge. I was thankful at that point, that it was dry road because we imagined that riding over that grating could be a little slippery when wet.

At another point in the ride, we lost sight of two riders, but they were local and knew the area well. Somewhat miraculously, we all managed to regroup again as the ride progressed. The first rest stop was at a convenience store about 35 miles in. I was ready for it! Unlike the guys, I wasn't comfortable stopping along the roadside to pee.

At the halfway point, it was about 12:30 in the afternoon. We were back at John's house, where we started. It felt good to take a more lengthy break then, as we collected inside around the dining room table. There were chips, Oreo cookies, Pop Tarts, and leftover bagels to munch on. I was surprised to see a cooler full of cold soda for us. That's one item I've removed from my diet. I enjoyed a hot cup of tea instead, and it felt good, warming me up from the inside!

A little while later, we were back outside getting on our bikes. I was playing a mind game with myself, trying to forget that I had just ridden 50 miles, and convincing myself that I felt good enough to embark on a fresh adventure!

The skies were getting more overcast, and it seemed it wasn't as warm as it felt earlier in the day. The temperatures were supposed to reach 39 or 40 degrees, but now there wasn't so much sunshine.

Mile by mile, riders engaged in lively conversation, which passed the time more quickly. There was little traffic, and I appreciated that.

Later in the afternoon, the weather turned, and we felt the occasional drop of water hit our faces. We were hoping for it to hold off, but gradually, it became colder and before we knew it, it was snowing!

In spite of my warning to Dave that I was prepared to hop off the tandem if it started snowing, we were so far along at that point! We had 10 miles to go when it first started to get wet, and 8 miles left when it was actively snowing.

As the weather changed, our group spread apart greatly. The faster guys (Dave W. and Jim) broke away from us. The three others fell behind, and as a result, Dave and I were on our own for a while.

The snow started to fall more heavily and it was accumulating on grassy areas, but seemingly melting upon contact with the road. We were advised earlier in the ride that the way back was continuing straight, but we came upon a fork in the road. Our glasses were covered in wet snow, and our clothes were starting to soak through. Being on our own, we were suddenly unsure of which way to go, and we didn't want to delay our return by choosing to wrong way.

We stopped to give John a call on the cell. Come to find out, he wasn't too far behind. However, while we were stopped, another rider made his way up to us. Ross is an older cyclist, a marriage counselor. We enjoyed chatting with him about his work, and we joked about couples who ride tandems, and how doing so tends to make or break a relationship.

Ross rode with us in the snowstorm!

Ross has gone this route before, and he knew how to get us back. He was encouraging -- it wasn't too far to go, the roads weren't all that much slippery, and we had come so far already!

As we continued onward with Ross, Dave's cell phone rang. I retrieved it from his rear pocket to answer. It was John. His wife had called him, stating that it was snowing pretty heavily back at the house. She offered to come out to get him with their minivan, and he was going to have her do that. John offered us the same escape if we felt we did not want to continue riding in the harsh weather.

There were just 8 miles to go! No way. We had to keep moving.

We approached a stop sign, and Ross stopped and we followed suit. He took off his gloves. He asked us for our camera. This was the 100 mile mark, and Ross was helping us to capture the moment!! (Photo at the top of this page.)

By then, we had two more miles before we were back at our starting point. It's likely that our earlier detour lengthened the overall mileage tally. As we pulled into the front of John's house, Ross yelled out a hearty, "Congratulations!!" to us.

Dave W., Scott, Jim, John, and my Dave after the finish!
Ross had just left for home.
(Not sure why the reflective stripes on John's jersey caused a blur, but it happened in four shots!)

We congratulated him as well. Dave W. and Jim were already inside, and John was brought home by his wife. A few minutes later, Scott arrived safe and sound. We clapped and cheered for him too!

Inside we warmed up and peeled off our wet layers. It was 5:30 p.m. As much as we were feeling drained and wiped out from the last few miles, we felt proud of having done it!

Back with our van loaded, we phoned Paul and Wendy back in Ballston Spa. Such wonderful hosts, they were preparing another memorable meal! The menu included Chicken Marsala, couscous salad, and grilled asparagus. For desert, walnut tarts from Paul's class. Incredible!

In the morning, we were served a breakfast we had never experienced before -- aebleskiver! They are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, æbleskiver are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover. Paul invited me by the stove to view the unusual cast iron pan designed especially for this dish. Served with powdered sugar and maple syrup, we enjoyed the new found delicacy!

Before heading home, we wanted to see some of the sights of the area. We checked out the Schenectady Greenmarket a winter Farmer's Market. We picked up some fresh bread, jellies, almond butter, and raw honey. Afterward, we headed over to the town of Saratoga Springs where we walked and checked out some of the eclectic shops to be seen.

All in all, this was an adventure that began with kind-of-a-crazy idea from the man I love! This century ride in February is part of our goal-setting process, where we decided to mark out certain key events to challenge ourselves throughout the year.

We've met some amazing folks and learned a lot along the way. We're super-excited to experience more! This is all in support of our desire to be more fit and healthy, and to stretch beyond our own pre-existing ideas of what we are capable of doing!

Getting Ready for a Big Weekend!

2012-02-17T08:59:00.000-05:00

It's a rainy but mild day in Connecticut. Temperatures should reach 50 degrees. Tomorrow is set to be somewhat colder, but sunny. Dave and I are happily anticipating the weekend ahead. This will be my second century ride. I hopeful that we can make the entire distance!

Our rear tire has been replaced. The old one was toast. Dave gave the tandem a detailed inspection and a good wipe-down to combat some of the muddy splashes that had accumulated in its crevices. We have the van preloaded so we'll be ready to roll!

We are looking forward to cycling in a new environment. The course will be a rolling figure 8 loop through Saratoga County and will take us along the Hudson River and around Saratoga Lake. We've been told that this part of New York is very pretty ~ although that is during the warmer months!

We're also excited to meet new friends. We've tapped into the WarmShowers.org website again (the last time was in September for our California honeymoon!), and we've had nothing but positive experiences! Our hosts for this weekend seem to be very pleasant and most certainly gracious to open their home to us.

We've also had a couple of conversations with John Ceceri from Adirondack Ultra Cycling, who is the organizer for the Snowball Express ride. He has been extremely helpful with information he has shared about the event, as well as the surrounding area. The Adirondack Ultra Challenge series fills in the months between other Adirondack Ultra Cycling events with centuries, so that a cyclist can accomplish the goal of riding a century every month for an entire year.

With this year's mild winter enabling us to continue riding on the road without any lengthy interruptions, we've decided to focus on improving our overall fitness and riding skills, and setting goals is exactly our strategy! Dave has been exploring the possibility of getting into bicycle racing again. I want to be be more fit and lose weight for an overall sense of well-being. We're prepared to take on each challenge and enjoy the journey and new adventures along the way!

Preparing for a Century... and Unexpected Happenings!

2012-02-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

David took a vacation day from work today so that we would have an opportunity to get some serious miles under our belts before this Saturday's 100 mile century ride. The plan was for 54 miles and we did it!

However, this was not a stress-free ride.

A strange thing happened to me with my heart rate monitor. It beeps when I am out of my "zone". The zone is where Polar suggests my heart rate should be when I want to have an effective workout. My watch alerts me when I am not within in the targeted range.

At roughly the 12 mile point, my watch was beeping. We were climbing a pretty steep hill, so I assumed I was over my zone ~ which goes up to 149 on the high end. I couldn't resist catching a glance to see where it was. To my disbelief, it was reading 111 at the peak of the climb! The watch was alerting me that I was under my target zone. Now that was strange. Then, as we leveled out, my heart rate dropped to 48. Wow, that's really low. What was going on?

That triggered a pattern of scarey thoughts about what could possibly be happening with my health.

I had a health scare back in April 2010 that began with an assortment of unusual symptoms. The doctors eventually discovered a blood clot in the portal vein of my liver. They also found gallstones. My symptoms leading up to the diagnosis ranged from an itchy rash on sun-exposed areas of my skin, to dark urine, to light-headedness, to vomiting and fainting, and then severe abdominal pain on the right side. They did not do a gall-bladder operation because I needed to be on blood thinners to resolve the blood clot. After being hospitalized and fed only liquids through an IV for a while, most of my alarming symptoms faded away, and I was discharged from the hospital. I was left with lingering symptoms of a different sort. Mainly, occasional bouts of dizziness with a sense of my heart racing. This happened most often when I was standing for prolonged periods of time, for instance, when shopping. If I immediately left the store and sat in my car in the parking lot, it would sometime subside. I was referred to a heart specialist who determined that my heart is perfectly fine, but my blood pressure was low. I may have been on too much of a dosage of my blood pressure medication (I lost weight and since I was exercising, the dosage prescribed to me when I was heavier and not as active was too much).

That feeling of dizziness happens less frequently now, and it is much less intense. I do occasionally get episodes of abdominal pain -- approximately every 6 to 9 months. Sometimes vomiting comes with it. A pain-killer eliminates the discomfort and puts me to sleep, and then it doesn't happen again for a while.

Now I am losing weight again. While I am on a different blood pressure medication, I've been told it is a very low dosage. But since my diseased gall bladder is still inside of my gut, I live with an ever-present fear. Also, I have never been given an explanation as to why I was experiencing the dizzy spells... although fewer and far more milder now. This all leaves me with my mind running through strings of possible traumatic health conditions I might have whenever something unusual seems to be going on.

David advised me to pay no attention to my heart rate monitor. It was probably just missing beats.

Hmmm... it's never done that before.

Eventually, my heart rate does seem to return back to normal ranges. But suddenly, I need to pee. We pull into a nearby cafe. It is closed. There are no other stops nearby. We end up riding another 10 miles or so until we reach a gas station where I can use a bathroom. I am relieved and we continue on our way.

The day was cloudy, yet mild -- temperatures in the mid-40's -- for most of our time spent riding. Occasionally, the sun would peek through the clouds, and eventually it did warm up a bit. I was feeling overheated. We pulled over to stop so I could remove my gloves, my outermost jacket, my neck-warmer, and knit headband.

Concerned about my daughter arriving home on the school bus at a specific time, I express concern over the length of our route. We had about an hour and a half and about 20 miles to go. David modified the original planned ride to give us more of a comfort zone in getting back to our house in time.

The ride went well until we were roughly 4 miles from home... and facing three sizable climbs, with about 20 minutes before the school bus drop-off time. David asked me if the rear tire seemed soft. I hadn't felt anything unusual. But preferring to err on the side of caution, I suggest that we pull over to inspect the tire.

It was soft. David pumped it up. We continued onward towards home.

At the top of our first lengthy climb, we pulled over to check the rear tire again. We had 8 minutes before drop-off time, and David needed to inflate it again! We had a slow-leaker on our hands that wasn't quite slow enough.

We descended two gigantic hills on the main road before the turning point onto our street. As we began our final 3-part climb at the base of our road home, we get the obvious flat tire sound of, "blumb, blump, blump...".

David pulled over again to re-inflate the tire. I was getting panicky. The bus would be at our house any minute! I phoned a neighbor to escort my daughter off the bus in case we didn't make it back home in time. Whew! What a relief to know we have wonderful neighbors. : )

David had the tire ready to go again, and we hopped back on the tandem.

We weren't three houses further when that familiar, "blumb, blump, blump..." was happening again. Fortunately we made it into our driveway before the bus arrived! I phoned our neighbor to let her know we were safely home. The bus was four minutes late, and my little girl was cheerful and happy -- blissfully unaware of any unusual circumstances.

That was the conclusion of our ride. It was 54 miles. Being mid-February, I'm glad we had a chance to ride. And being that we have a century ride to tackle in a couple of days, I'm really glad we were able to put on a few base miles. Now, we just need to get that tire fixed!

Looking Beyond Limitations

2012-02-14T15:43:00.001-05:00

Last night David and I went to a spin class at the gym, and we shared our plans to do a century ride (100 miles) this Saturday in New York. The collective reaction of our friends was astonishment!

Here we are after finishing our first ever century ride, in 2010!

It's funny. If anyone had asked me (even a few months ago) if I could see myself doing a century ride in the month of February, I'm pretty sure my answer would have been, "No way!"

I think back in time to 1999 when I had just moved to a rural area of Johnston, Rhode Island from a more city-like neighborhood. I'd often see groups of cyclists ride by my home in sweeping blurs of spandex colors. I remember watching in amazement. I was in an unhappy marriage, raising four kids, working long hours, and not nearly as active as I am today. If anyone asked me back then if I could ever see myself as one among those riders, my reply would have most certainly been, "No way!" as well.

But here I am now, in a place and time that has turned so positive. I am grateful.

I am in a close and loving relationship with a man I adore. We have a good home and wonderful family. Life has thrown a lot at us, with a health scare, financial stresses, and a horrible loss with the death of my oldest son. But, we've been there for each other as we seek out to gather strength in the lessons of it all.

David's support and encouragement has been steadfast, and it has shown me that there is much ahead for us -- much of which is beyond what we ever could have imagined for ourselves!

Case in point, earlier this year -- with lots of hope, pure desire, meticulous planning, and incredibly generous family and friends -- we were able to have the cycling honeymoon of our dreams in San Francisco!

And somehow in our lives today, we are losing those extra pounds, eating healthier, exercising and accomplishing goals we've set. We're feeling more energetic and positive, and we are loving this life.

The road ahead is unknown, but it is sure to be an adventure. We're up for it.
After all, I'm a stoker who has great trust in her captain!

A Century in February? YES!!

2012-02-10T15:40:00.000-05:00

Our opportunities for wintertime cycling have been great this season. With the exception of one snowy weekend in January, we've been out riding on the road at least once or twice per week. In addition to that, we are now attending a new spin class designed especially for cyclists. Some participants use spin bikes, others bring in their own bicycles and trainers, and a few even use their own bicycles on rollers -- David included! Instructor Chip O'Lari has designed the classes with focus areas, such as high intensity interval training and improved pedaling techniques. We are learning a lot, and the group enthusiasm is keeping it interesting!

I continue to record everything I eat in an online food and exercise journal. I've also been doubling my workouts and doing two different activities each day. It might be a brisk walk, time on our elliptical machine, attending spin class or cycling outdoors, or doing a workout DVD using hand weights (or a kettleball) in our living room. I am considering taking a yoga class as well.

Dave's weight loss has been steady, and mine has finally budged a bit in the right direction! We feel really great about that.

Dave secures our tandem with bungee cords.

Another new happening is that we traded in our old Dodge Caravan for a newer model. As evident in this photo, our tandem fit nicely into the rear cargo area of the old van. The back seats came out, giving us lots of room! With the rear tinted windows, we also had a good space for changing out of our riding clothes after a ride. Additionally, it was great for allowing us the freedom to do after-ride activities such as shopping or getting a bite to eat, without the worry of our bike being seen.

Our new minivan is the same make and model, but a much prettier color -- red! We are very pleased with the longevity of the Grand Caravans (our old van had over 200,000 miles on it!) and we realized that most of the other minivan models were not long or high enough in the back. One feature we really like is the Stow n’ Go Seating. It's so much more convenient than lugging seats in and out of the vehicle and storing them when they're not being used.

We are looking forward to taking our first road trip with our new van -- to New York next weekend. Last month, we reviewed our calendar together and planned out our cycling goals for the year. As crazy as it might sound, it all starts with a century ride in February!

The ride is called the Snowball Express, afigure 8 loop that travels through scenic Saratoga County and featuresrolling terrain, with just enough climbing to help keep us warm. Dave and I spoke with the event's Director, John Ceceri, by phone, and he was very informative and helpful in providing details on the route itself as well as things to do in the surrounding area.

To be honest, I'm not 100% confident that I am up for a hundred mile ride at this time of the year. I've done only one century ride ever. But heck, we've been riding continuously (although not as frequently) throughout the colder months, and it's not like we've been hibernating by any means. Plus, it's happening on my birthday weekend. In the spirit of celebration, I want to make an attempt to reach beyond my own limitations. I watch The Biggest Loser on television and those contestants truly inspire me! They are pushed to go way beyond what they ever thought they would be capable of doing, and many have found their hidden athlete within!

Here's a call out to all of our cycling friends -- if you're brave enough, join us and plan to ride 100 miles on a Saturday in February!

The Ups and Downs of Our Weight Loss Progress

2012-01-26T16:15:00.000-05:00

David and I have been super-focused on weight loss these days. I've been using MyFitnessPal online and recording everything I put in my mouth and everything I do for exercise. At the same time, we seem to have relapsed with the colds we've been coping with. I've been feeling run down, but still trying to ensure I workout in some manner two times a day.

I must admit to having a 3-day period of time when I put the diet on "pause". It was my daughter's 8th birthday last weekend, and I had a big day planned for her. I was bummed because it snowed ~ about 6 inches worth. Not only did that mean we were not going to be able to get our tandem on the road, but I was concerned that many of Katie's friends who RSVP-ed to attend, might not.

As it turned out, we had five out of ten children who came in spite of the winter weather. We started the celebration at The Trampoline Place in Plainfield. We continued it as a sleepover at our home. I thought all that bouncing would tire them out, but... Wow! Even with only five girls, the stress of planning activities, keeping them on track, and hoping everything would go off smoothly had an effect on me! I ended up eating some of the food bought just for the kids ~ pizza, chips, cheese doodles and punch... and even cake!

It left me feeling disgusted with myself. The girls were active and chatty and awake until almost 1 am, and so not only was I disgusted about my eating, but exhausted that night AND the next day!

I can honestly say I was glad to have had this celebration for my daughter. She will cherish the childhood memories. But I absolutely needed a day of recovery (I did not exercise on the snow day or the following day.) to catch up on rest. I realized that I needed to better focus on my health, and get back on track with making efforts towards better eating.

Katie went to her father's house the following day, and I sent all of the leftover birthday cake with her. We got rid of the leftover pizza, punch, and chips too. And, both David and I saw the doctor this week to help us to shake the cough and fatigue.

Time off resulted in my gaining back the three pounds I had lost. (It came back on very quickly!) Now, even with three consecutive days of extra exercise and careful monitoring of my calorie and fat intake, the scale has not budged. I suppose it's not the best idea to be hopping on the scale every single day, but I would have been excited to see that my efforts were making even a slight difference.

On the other hand, David has been doing extremely well. He is steadily progressing in the right direction. He seriously has the desire to win The Biggest Loser Contest! He's committed, and he just might have a chance to beat out a lot of the competition! I am most certainly hopeful for myself, but I am wholeheartedly cheering him on!!

Working Out Around Life

2012-01-18T15:46:00.000-05:00

Our washing machine broke yesterday afternoon. First it made a strange noise during its spin cycle, and then when I opened the door to unload the clothes on the next load, it was smoking! And smelling of burnt rubber. It was upsetting for both David and me.

Yesterday's well laid out plans included trying out a new spin class. But with preparations David needed to attend to for his work last night, and me not feeling too great for most of the day, and then feeling frustrated and overwhelmed with mounting laundry and a smoking washer, we gave ourselves a downtime break -- once we caught up with those pressing issues.

Today is a new day, and I awoke feeling a lot better. I've been watching my six month old grandson for the past six weeks while my daughter was finishing her schooling. It was wonderful, but consuming. The normal rhythem of my old daily routine had escaped me.

Now I have open days ahead and much to catch up on. I had an appointment this morning to get my coumadin level checked (blood thinning drug I must take because of a clot discovered in my liver). And, I am job hunting. (We need more income.) I have a household cleaning routine I had fallen back on... and, today I also needed to wait for the washing machine repair man to show up.

I did get in a little exercise yesterday -- a half hour on our elliptical machine. After that workout, I felt nauseated. But today since I am feeling better, I set out to make a sincere effort for more serious exercise.

I considered going to the gym. But then, realizing that I needed to be at home for whenever the repairman was going to show up, limitations are placed on my time. I then considered exercising outside. It is cold and windy, but the sun is shining. I couldn't let that be an easy excuse. After I was done with my blood testing, I decided to do a maximum effort walk outside from home.

Dave and I had recently purchased a new heart rate monitor. Our local Olympia Sports store was closing, and they had a great clearance sale going on. It was a great deal we might not have otherwise splurged on. While I routinely wear a heart rate monitor when cycling, I had never worn one before when walking. We have a new toy, so I thought I would see how effective walking can be as an exercise.

I was quite surprised! With a conscientious effort to move at a speedy pace for maximum results, I was able to attain a heart rate average of 132, which is only slightly lower than my average when cycling! Not too bad.

I have one more half hour workout on my to-do list for today -- on the elliptical machine. The purpose of that is to jump-start my metabolism two times each day AND to mix things up ~ as my doctor recommended. (I also saw that advice on a recent infomercial for P90X.) Let's hope it makes a difference!!

Draft that Tandem!

2012-01-17T12:26:00.000-05:00

We met Chris Gazzola at Midtown Fitness where he leads a spin class designed especially for cyclists. He invited Dave and I to join a group ride last Saturday with the Quinebaug Valley Velo Club. With temperatures in the low 30's for the projected high, we bundled up and left home on our tandem a bit after 9 am. We rode 8 miles to the starting point. It was surprising to see that there were over 20 riders gathered in front of Simon's Bike and Brew waiting for the start of the ride!

We chatted with fellow cyclists as we departed, and pretty much all along the way. Some of the others on this ride are racers -- that's a class of bicyclists we don't often hang out with!

The route consisted of mostly rolling hills through Plainfield and Canterbury. At times the climbs were challenging for us on the tandem, but for the most part we were able to maintain a good pace within the group. There were a few stops along the way too, which allowed us short breaks. At one stop, there was an alpaca farm and the animals came up to the fence to greet us. I was delighted and snapped a couple of pictures. As the route progressed, we actually passed other riders -- nine times out of ten, going downhill!

Every now and then, someone would shout out, "Draft that tandem!" as we passed. We get that a lot, and we certainly don't mind if anyone wants to hang onto our wheel.

Wrapping up the ride back at Simon's Bike and Brew, hot coffee was served. We had a chance to talk at length with more folks from the group. We were invited to join next Saturday's ride, but it's my daughter's birthday -- and it looks like snow or rain could be in the forecast. This was a great ride, and we are definitely planning to join up with this great cycling group again soon!

Karate for Kids / Spin Classes for Adults!

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Both Dave and I both signed up for Midtown Fitness' Biggest Loser Contest on Thursday. We are number 66 and 67 of over 100 participants! Dave ate up all afternoon to start off at his maximum weight for the week. I had already been monitoring my food and activity, so my attitude was, 'I weigh whatever I weigh'... I did not want an extra pound on me -- not even to have any kind of an edge for a contest.

After our registration and weigh-in, we hurried over to another gym in the area that put out a great offer. My daughter, Katie, who is 7 years old, has expressed an interest in taking karate classes. The gym we checked out offers karate classes for kids and allows parents to workout while the kids are in class. I love that idea! I have spent countless hours waiting for my kids in their activities, and if I could make that into productive time for me -- what a fantastic way to multitask!

However, the gym atmosphere there was not what we expected. It was in an old farm building and... well, you can let your imagination run with it, and you'd probably be pretty close to reality. The karate class with the nifty introductory offer had only two other students that evening -- and there weren't any other kids in the class. We watched Katie interact with the instructer for a while. After seeing that she was doing well, Dave and I hopped onto a couple of treadmills for a quick workout.

Afterwards, in the car, Dave suggested that we return to the Midtown Fitness facility. When we were signing up for the contest earlier, we saw that they had a very busy martial arts class going on. We also saw a flyer there about a spin class specifically designed for cyclists. That was intriguing.

Upon our return, we had an opportunity to speak with the karate instructor at length, and we also met up with the instructor for the specialized spin class. Both impressed us!

The philosophy of the martial arts classes there is based upon respect, and the methods utilized are designed to instill not just smarts about self-defense, but confidence. Katie was signed up, and she had her first introductory class for karate scheduled for the following day.

Dave and I were given a look at the spin room and the bikes. We were also invited to join a Saturday group ride on the road that wasn't too far from our home.

What a great group of people! It was very much worth our time to check out Midtown Fitness further.

Setting Goals

2012-01-12T09:03:00.000-05:00

Today I will join the local Biggest Loser Contest. It's weigh-in time.

However, it was last week when I set it in my mind that I was going to commit myself to losing weight. As of today, I'm down 3 pounds since last week, so those three pounds won't be reflected on my starting point for the contest. But it's not about the contest, it's about attaining my goal. Being involved in the contest is simply to keep me motivated.

Second item on my list to keep me motivated is recording my food intake and exercise. I'm doing this through My Fitness Pal online. I highly recommend this site to anyone on a mission to lose weight. If you are using the site and you would like to friend me for mutual support, go to Find Members and my username is KMEtchells. I need all the support I can get!

Lastly, David and I are going to schedule out spin classes and important cycling events on a calendar. I'm looking into taking group fitness classes during the week, maybe zumba or yoga. David is interested in participating in a few road races this year. Together on the tandem, we will decide upon a century (or two!) and possibly a couple of fundraiser rides. If I am able to increase my fitness level as much as I hope, there could also be a 5K road race in the mix! (That is a highly optimistic goal for me!)

Getting Serious About Weight Loss

2012-01-08T21:17:00.002-05:00

This weekend has been another two wonderful days! It's January and yesterday's temperatures reached into the mid-50's. Today was 40-something. Both days bathed us with glorious sunshine.

Yesterday we joined a group ride and it was amazing to see 18 riders show up -- including one other tandem! The ride was 30 miles with a lot of climbing. Today, Dave and I rode on our own for 41 miles.We have done 98 miles in a week!

I lost two pounds overnight from Saturday's ride. Dave and I are still not quite over the nasty virus that's been going around, and I was feeling slightly nauseous. David was still suffering with a terrible cough. In spite of that, we rode strong. But we chose not to eat at the rest stop. (That is unusual for us.) Afterwards, we split a Subway sandwich. A small dinner of leftovers, and that was it for the day.

I want to get serious about my weight loss. Today, I decided to join My Fitness Pal online. I know that keeping track of what I eat and my exercise level will help. My progress will be posted on this blog in the sidebar on the right.

I also decided to go ahead with the local Biggest Loser Contest. Even though the first weigh-in isn't until January 12th, I am getting serious with my journey now.

David has been encouraging, and he is trying to convince me that I can eventually run with him. I want to, but I have doubts about my abilities. I'm a fast walker (a skill acquired years ago when I used to be a City Letter Carrier with the USPS), but I quickly get breathless when I attempt to run. I need to keep in mind that when I first tried bicycling on the roads of Eastern Connecticut, the hills killed me, and I whined about it because I wasn't able to breathe. I can now. We both believe incorporating running into our activities will shed the pounds.

David is looking great, but he has a desire to lose more weight because he is hoping to race on his bicycle again. I know how good it feels to weigh less, and I want to be truly healthy. I know we can do this, and of course, I know we will support each other!

Sick Days... and Feeling Fat

2012-01-05T20:44:00.000-05:00

Ugh. I've been sick.

Yesterday was the worst. I was achy and congested, with a sinus headache and sore joints. David has been up all night coughing for days in a row. Even though I'm not coughing, when he gets up with the hacking in the middle of the night, it wakes me up. That makes us both sleep deprived too.

Today has been better than yesterday. Not that I've felt well by any means, but better. Now I'm also feeling sluggish from a lack of exercise for past three days. As I was paging through an issue of an advertising publication that arrived in our mailbox this week, I noticed that there are lots of ads for town recreational programs and gyms -- obviously targeted to all of us with New Years resolutions.

We have a gym membership that is expiring this month. The gym is close to my former place of employment, and that is 45 minutes west of our home. With the relatively mild winter (so far) and facing a good amount of driving, we've cycled or walked outside and haven't taken full advantage of that membership in a while.

So, I've been considering options for winter exercise closer to home. Costs, scheduling, etc.

There's something else I'm considering too. One of the gyms closer to where we live is offering a Biggest Loser Contest. There is an entry fee and weigh-ins, but you don't need to be a gym member to participate. Half of the entry fee will be divided between the winners, and the other half will be donated to two local charities. The contest also awards prizes provided by local sponsors to the man or woman who loses the greatest percentage of body weight.

The first year I started cycling seriously with David, I lost about 40 pounds. But then, I had a health crisis and got a desk job, and much of the weight returned. I figured if I rode enough miles, it would naturally go down again, but it hasn't happened. My doctor says I'm getting older, and that it will be harder to come off. Another bit of advice from another doctor was that I should mix it up -- that my body is used to the movement of cycling and it needs new challenges.

So maybe, now is as good a time as any to act seriously about shedding the extra weight. And maybe anticipated weigh-ins and the lure of prize money can entice me to stay on board with a program.

New Years Day

2012-01-02T23:43:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was New Years Day and unbelievably, we had a choice of different group ride routes and miles! Temperatures topped at 53 degrees, and the sun was shining. There were two rides posted that we were considering. One was 54 miles and a good portion of those miles was up hill. Dave's been sick with a lot of congestion and a cough with a sore throat, so when we saw another ride posted by the "C" riders from the Thread City Cyclists for 38 miles, we thought it would be a better option.

The TCC "C" Riders took a quick break along the way.

We met at a school parking lot and there were 12 of us in all. We started out at 11 a.m. I was surprised to find as we went along the route, that much of this ride was up hill too! With all that climbing, Dave and I were peeling off the layers. One thing that's evident on a sunny and unusually warm day in January, is that no one was quite sure how to dress appropriately. Dave was actually down to wearing just a jersey by the midpoint of the ride!

We stopped for lunch at a cafe-general store, Coriander Cafe, in the small town of Eastford, CT. By that time, many of us had felt the effects of the climbing, and we lingered inside, relaxing a little longer than usual. By the time we were back outside (I was putting my outer layer back on!) we suddenly realized that we had only about an hour of daylight left!

We ended up splitting into two groups for the race back to the parking lot before dark. Dave and I made it back at the front of the pack, and feeling glad to have had the opportunity to enjoy such a day at this time of year!

Here I am, smiling at a point when we took a break from climbing!

Gotta Get that Pedaling Thing Down Pat

2011-12-30T19:26:00.000-05:00

December continues to offer us mild weather days, and we have taken every opportunity to get outside on our bikes whenever our schedule allows us! As today's temperatures approached 50 degrees, we decided to let Katie try out her new Raleigh bicycle she got for Christmas.

Katie posed with Dave before our ride in the photo above.

What we thought would be easy and exciting didn't turn out to be that way. We had plans to meet up with family later in the afternoon at an Italian restaurant in Rhode Island, so we figured the bicycle path in Cranston would be a great place to squeeze in a quick ride beforehand. The bikes were loaded into our minivan, and we all piled in with excited anticipation.

As we started off on the path, Katie had difficulty with pushing off to pedal. She claimed her knees came up too high when she went to pedal, so David raised her seat. Then she had troubles because she could only reach the ground on her tippy-toes. Her biggest overall challenge was in pushing off to start pedaling. It simply felt too different compared to her old bicycle.

Then, once she finally got going, she needed to stop because... she needed David's handkerchief to blow her nose. Then she needed a drink. And we hadn't even gone a mile yet.

Finally after pedaling away from our parking area, we decided to turn around. On the return ride, heading back towards our vehicle, Katie got the knack of it, and she went a good distance!

Off ahead of us, she successfully rode quite a ways going back to the minivan.

Katie and I stop for a photo as we neared the end of our ride.

We gave Katie a break, and we went out to lunch, enjoying wonderful pasta and great conversation! The bike riding thing will get another chance.

Smiles and Close Calls, but so Worthwhile!

2011-12-26T22:39:00.000-05:00

It's the day after Christmas and David had the day off!!! We had no kids with us last night, so... We slept late. We walked around the house freely and comfortably. We enjoyed a breakfast of french toast with butter and syrup and leftover brown sugar glazed ham from our holiday dinner, and sweet delicious orange juice. Then, we went outside, and we stacked more wood that was retrieved from David's brother's house in Massachusetts. And, somehow we worked together and managed to figure out how to get an extremely heavy wood stove so generously given to us off from the trailer and inside our home. It weighed a ton!

And then... we dressed in layers, with double socks and booties, and we took a 30-mile tandem ride from our home to The Brooklyn Fairgrounds and back. The sun was shining. It was a little bit windy. The temperature ranged somewhere in the area of 35 degrees to the low-forties.

David wore a Christmas gift from me. It's a Winter Thermal Fleece Jersey that I found on eBay. He was very happy with it. It kept him cozy, warm, and comfortable while riding. I was very happy to see him happy!

There are some things I especially like about tandem bicycling. People smile when they see us! This is especially true with small children who may be playing in their yards or looking outside from a back seat window in a car going by. Some seem amazed to see a two-person bicycle. Sometimes they wave at us, and we wave back. Some just smile and stare in amazement.

Today we saw one other cyclist on the road. Had we not braked coming down a steep hill on a side road, we could have had a collision with him. But we did brake, and he waved and smiled, and yelled out to us, "Nice bike!".

Then, as we rounded a corner and worked our way up a steep hill, a motorist slowed and shouted from his car window, "Nice work!"

That has happened before. I like when people offer encouragement. Oftentimes, they give us the 'thumbs up". That same hill used to be very challenging for us, and it has become easier with practice.

It was a very good ride. We are so glad to be able to ride on the roads in December, even though we both experienced some soreness in our muscles today from not having had an opportunity to ride over the past 10 days or so.

However, on the tail end of today's ride, our positive mood was brought to a sudden moment of panic. Cycling through the small town of Moosup, a white SUV pulled up to the main road we were traveling on and barely stopped before pulling out into the road with less than a foot of space in front of us! The windows were blacked out, so we couldn't see the driver. We assumed he saw us -- he should have. David's colors were bright, and the jacket I was wearing was the screaming fluorescent yellow color that's really hard to miss!

That near-miss caused my heart rate (monitored by a strap I wear that I can view on a watch) to skyrocket to 205. I've never seen it get to that point before -- ever. How can we possibly encourage motorists to be more aware of cyclists on the road? Why don't they realize that we're clipped into our pedals, and we can't come to a abrupt stop as quickly as they might assume?

It took us a couple miles to regain our positive attitude, but it did resume. The fresh air, exercise and togetherness makes it all worthwhile!

A Christmas Surprise!

2011-12-22T22:53:00.001-05:00

We have finished making payments on Katie's new bicycle, and we actually picked it up this week! It's exciting to realize that she worked hard all summer long and well into Autumn on her riding-without-training-wheels skills, and finally she has it down pat. In honor of that accomplishment, Dave and I agreed to put out for a very nice bicycle for her for Christmas!

Waiting for Katie to awake Christmas morning, under the tree there will be a beautiful 24-inch girls purple Raleigh bicycle, 7-speed, with three chain rings in the front. She will now get to learn about shifting!

To make it extra special, we added a few fancy accessories to sweeten the surprise. After getting a price of $40 for just a wicker basket from a bicycle shop in Norwich, I decided to check out our local Benny’s Home & Auto Store. These stores are something like a retro, scaled-down version of a Walmart store, but with small town flavor. I was able to get a white basket, a bell, and even a simple cycling computer -- all for around $20 total!

We're optimistic that this is a bicycle Katie can grow with as she gains new skills, and hopefully she will acquire a deeper affection for the joy of cycling!

The Challenge of the Tree Stump

2011-12-19T15:03:00.001-05:00

Sometimes life's responsibilities can get in the way of riding.

It's a week before Christmas and while the sun was shining over the weekend, we had wood to unload and stack, and then -- of all things -- we started into more yardwork! That wasn't the original plan. Before we got outside and started stacking wood, we thought it was too chilly and windy for a road ride, and we were considering going to the gym instead to get in a good workout.

In the process of doing the woodwork, we warmed up, and the sunshine was wonderful -- although it was definitely cold. Sunday's temperatures maxed out at 33 degrees. We decided to take care of the wood in the morning, and then planned to get on the tandem in the afternoon, so long as the wind wasn't stirring too much. However, our idea for riding wavered as the day progressed.

We stacked our wood pile, and we started to clear out some brush at the edge of our yard. We chatted briefly with a neighbor who ooffered us the wood from an old oak tree that fallen behind his property. And then I mentioned to David about a stump in the front of the house alongside our old stone wall. I came up with this nifty idea that it would come right out of the ground if David tied a chain around it and then pulled it up and out with the pickup truck.

But that stump sure was stubborn! At our first attempt, it looked as if our old Ford pickup was going to drop it's bed in the street! The stump didn't budge an inch. So David got a pick ax and a shovel. Probably a dozen large rocks needed to be dug out from around the root system. Then, David took his chainsaw to those roots! We tried the pickup truck pull-out again two or three more times, and finally -- after two or three hours time -- he got that big old stump to release itself from the earth!!

That was it for our idea to go for a tandem ride. It was after 3:00 in the afternoon, and by 3:45, it's dark around here. I was chilled and needed to be warmed up too! I went inside and stood next to the wood stove for a bit. We washed up and changed, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed out to the stores for some last minute Christmas shopping. Next weekend, we'll enjoy family get-togethers and delicious dishes brought to share. We may not find much time to ride outdoors this week, but we'll at least try to get in a walk or some time on the elliptical machine or rollers, as we gear up in preparation of a wonderful family holiday. We may not find the time we'd like to have for ourselves right now, but these days pass quickly, and we are looking forward to spending much needed and cherished time with family!

5 Great Holiday Gifts for Tandem Cyclists!

2011-12-14T16:06:00.000-05:00

Looking for unique holiday gift ideas for your favorite cycling couple? I suppose because tandem bicycle riding is a specialized niche, that explains why it's not so easy to find tandem themed items we would love. Some of the best gift ideas I've found are on websites like eBay and Etsy where creative individuals market their own creations.

Here are my favorite gift giving suggestions for tandem bicycle enthusiasts. Many of these items are things I couldn't pass up, and we've actually bought them for ourselves.

1.) Matching Jerseys -- to be worn while riding.

2.) Bicyle Glasses ~ the kind you drink from, not the kind you wear. These are nice sturdy 16 oz. size, four to a pack.

3.) Tandem /Cycling Jewelry -- I purchased this fun necklace on eBay for myself this year! Tandem Bike Pendant - stainless steel cyclist charm. There is also a sweet selection of jewelry, pins, necklaces, and earrings and a big variety of tandem related gifts on BicycleGifts.com.

4.) Bi Polar Bears T-Shirt -- to be worn anytime!

5.) Tandem Bicycle Christmas Tree Ornaments

And...
My idea for great for stocking stuffers for any cyclist would be sports nutrition items such as GU Energy Gel (Mocha is my favorite! hint-hint!) and CLIF SHOT BLOKS Energy Chews which are semi-solid, easy-to-chew sources of carbohydrates and electrolytes -- the body's preferred source of fuel during activity.

Reaching Milestones and Recognizing Amazing Cyclists

2011-12-12T16:02:00.002-05:00

What a fantastic weekend of good friends and great cycling too!

On Saturday, we weren't able to join the Thread City Cyclists morning ride due to other commitments, but Dave and I did manage to squeeze in a 20 mile tandem ride on our own from our home before dark. The temperature was in the low 40's and the wind wasn't too bad. It felt good to get in the exercise.

The evening's highlight was TCC's Annual Christmas Party. We were excited to go, because for the last couple of years we had conflicts, and we weren't able to attend. It was held at a fire station, and the event had a good showing of members.

One nice thing is that this is the end of our second year with TCC and by now we have ridden with a majority of members at one time or another. Plus, there have been other club sponsored activities where we've been able to mix with some of other members in various capacities. One of the most positive aspects of being involved with a bicycle club is the way social connections are formed. The mix of people and professions makes for interesting conversation and healthy interaction with people you may not have otherwise had the opportunity to meet. There were a whole lot of familiar faces at the gathering!

Pizza was delicious, and there were plenty of gluten-free options for those bothered by wheat. Cake, cookies, and brownies were offered for desserts.

An entertaining slideshow highlighting activities and people of interest throughout 2011 was put on, with awards given. We were glad that the club's regular tandem riders were acknowledged: Dave and I, Glen and Sue, Joe and Lisa!! It's growing in popularity, and we think that's a very positive thing.

We were given special recognition with the Two's Company Award!!
Granted, they failed to realize that my last name is now Etchells, but a new certificate is in the making. : )

Sunday morning brought us colder temperatures, low 30's! But the sun was shining and we were excited that Judy Borrman was leading a 40-something mile ride. Seven cyclists with six bicycles met up at a shopping center parking lot in Manchester, Connecticut.

Some of us were working towards mileage goals for the year. Judy reached 6,000 total miles at the 25 mile mark of this ride, and Dave & I met our goal of 3,000 tandem miles at mile 35.

Karen & Dave and Steve & Judy celebrating MILEstones in attaining our mileage goals for the year!

Judy is an absolute inspiration! Not only in reaching 6,000 miles for this season, but she and her husband, Steve, have completed 21 cycling centuries this year!! Amazing.

Another club member who stands out with high mileage numbers is Dave Waldburger. He commutes to work each day, and he has tallied a total of 7,500 miles for 2011! Wow.

David Waldburger with Steve Shongut and Walter Treschuk

Trimming Calories to Increase Climbing Effectiveness

2011-12-09T14:16:00.001-05:00

As soon as I had gotten both of my daughters off to school this morning, I brought my hot chai latte into our home office, and I settled into my black leather chair for a moment of reflection. This is a time when I'm not fully awake, but it's my first opportunity to organize my thoughts as I move forward with a productive day.

Just then, David came into the office with the newest issue of Bicycling Magazine in his hands. Apparently he's been inspired, and he wants to share the joy. There is an article in there by Selene Yeager entitled Stay Lean - And Fast. David reads to me a line in the article stating that five extra pounds will make you 30 seconds slower on a 5K climb.

I know. I need the inspiration. But I hadn't even had my morning shower yet.

We've been dreaming of someday somehow getting ourselves a lighter tandem bicycle. Ours is a steel Burley Duet, and while it's a solid ride, it's 48 pounds heavy even before we add on our four filled water bottles. However, the reality is that it's worth serious consideration of how our own weight greatly affects our riding.

I lost quite a bit in 2010, but regained much of that last winter. And while we've tallied up almost 3,000 mile in riding time this year, I've lost only about 10 pounds -- even over the hottest summer days. David, on the other hand, has done incredibly well! He has lost about 30 pounds this year, and so far, he has kept it off. He looks fantastic too!

I consulted my doctor about why my increased physical activity has not made much of a dent towards my weight loss goals, and his explanation is simply that I am getting older. I'm 48 years old. It's frustrating.

We need to put out more effort to ward off the extra pounds piling on, especially as wintertime is approaching, and we need to make this a daily effort.

We plan to ride outdoors as long as the weather and conditions allow. And when it's not possible, we have a elliptical machine downstairs, and rollers and a trainer for spin training on our bicycles. I can always take a walk in the middle of the day too.

More than that, we know one of the biggest challenges is watching our food intake. Selene's books and articles are inspiring. And, of course, my husband is most influential over my day-today challenges. He's wonderfully supportive. I will make the commitment.

The Difference Between a Cyclist and Your Everyday Bicycle Rider

2011-12-07T20:05:00.001-05:00

I came across this on Facebook and wanted to share it here. Very amusing!

Cycling Explained
by: nofinishline

Mild December Weather Brought Us Out!

2011-12-07T08:34:00.001-05:00

It's been amazing weather in Connecticut lately! Kind of crazy, actually. In October, a freak snowstorm hit our area, leaving a large number of residents powerless for up to a week. I was thinking that we were in for a rough Winter... again.

Last year, we had a Winter for the record books with so many severe snowstorms hitting us one after another. Working full-time with a long commute, and having a daughter in elementary school that was repeatedly being cancelled, I was lucky to have been able to make it to work many times -- never mind ever getting to squeeze in a bike ride or even hit the gym. It was depressing, and I gained back weight I had worked so hard to lose the year prior.

Fortunately, November gave us Indian Summer weekends, and Dave and I took full advantage of it! We keep track of our cycling mileage on DailyMile, and it's interesting to note that last year in November, we had in a grand total of 23 miles. This year has tallied up to 352 miles!

And so far, for December, we have 50 miles in.

On the road just after sunrise on December 6th, 2011!

Skies like this might have scared us away from riding in July,
but in December, 50 degree temps lured us out.

Twenty three of this month's mileage so far has come from two early morning rides. I've been providing childcare for my grandson, Carter, who just turned 6 months old. My daughter leaves for school a little after 8 a.m. each weekday, so Dave and I got up extra early and we were in the driveway, on our tandem at 7 a.m. to squeeze in our 11.5 mile loop.

To be able to ride in December, yesterday morning's gray skies and drizzle did not hold us back. We were grateful for the chance to get some time for US!

Riding with Champions!

2011-12-05T20:23:00.001-05:00

It isn't always easy maintaining balance when it comes to exercise if you're a cyclist. So our weekend consisted of two different kind of workouts. Saturday was a lower body workout and on Sunday, we had an upper body workout.

Saturday was a day David had been anticipating for a while -- Bike Ride & Book Signing with John Allis.

(John Allis (born May 31, 1942) is an American cyclist who entered into international cycling competition in the 1960s. He was one of the strongest competitive cyclists in the United States in the early 1970s, winning the United States National Road Race Championships in 1974. He was inducted into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1993.)

John Allis shows off his vintage cleats!

Bill Humpheys watches as John Allis signs a copy of Bill's book, The Jersey Project, for Dave Etchells

And, while I didn't know anything about the man previously, I have to say that meeting this man was actually very exciting for me too!

Peter Mooney is in the background while David chats with John Allis before the ride.
David's cap and jersey were both vintage and kept in good shape over the years!

The event on Saturday was held at Belmont Wheelworks -- a bicycle shop near Boston that is familiar to many area tandem owners because this store has a wide variety of tandem bikes on display. (Wheelworks Too which is located just around the corner from their main store, serves as the TANDEM CENTER OF NEW ENGLAND - with a selection of tandem bicycles by Cannondale, Co-Motion, Santana and Trek.)

Bill Humphreys hosted Saturday's ride and book signing celebrating the launch of his new book, The Jersey Project. It was an honor to ride with both John and Bill. Although we weren't aware of it at first, we also met and rode with Peter Mooney, a custom bike frame builder. The stories they told and the memories they shared clearly conveyed a love of the sport of bicycle racing. It's a passion David shares, and it was a joy to hear of their experiences and reflections of the training, dedication and the suffering! What was also evident was the pride and satisfaction of having been a part of it all.

Dave and I were surprised that there was another tandem in our group as well. As a couple, these riders were strong. We learned afterward, that the captain was an employee of the bicycle shop and he was an expert in properly fitting couples to their tandems. He had a great deal of knowledge and superior riding abilities!

Right off the start, Dave and I were hanging on to the back of the pack. There were a few steep hills, and while we are good with speed on flats, climbing with our 48 lb. steel tandem is another story. I didn't voice my concern, but I had my doubts about us keeping up with this group. These guys are considerably older than us, but they are way more experienced -- and on top of that, extremely comfortable with the Boston area and this particular route.

John Allis

As the route progressed, we caught up, and we were better able to stay within the group. Our fellow cyclists were very supportive, and they took turns on upcoming hills in lending us some of their pedal power with a firm hand pushing on my back. For those efforts, I was extremely touched and appreciative.

We enjoyed engaging conversation with them along the way. Both John and Bill spent considerable time riding with our tandem for good stretches, and we chatted comfortably. Their stories were captivating and inspiring.

After the ride, everyone regrouped back inside the shop where Bill and John were available at a table display. The relaxed atmosphere continued, and we all enjoyed looking through the pages of The Jersey Project book. David was surprised to have owned a couple of the jerseys pictured inside the book!

David and Karen Etchells with Bill Humpheys and John Allis

After the event, Dave and I headed over the Quincy Market, where we enjoyed people watching, the hustle and bustle of the holiday shopping, and getting a bite to eat!

That was our lower body workout -- a very memorable day of cycling, and walking to and though one of Boston's most visited tourist attractions.

Our upper body workout came the next morning in the form of harvesting wood from some fallen trees on the property of Dave's brother, Marc. Dave brought along his trusty chainsaw, and he cut the trunks into manageable sized logs. We split those right there and then in the woods, and then we loaded two vehicles. Phew! That was a bit of work. But it was so great to spend time with Marc and Maureen! Dave snapped a great photo of the two of them coming out of the woods after we loaded our pickup truck.

Marc and Maureen

The end result of Sunday's efforts neatly stacked in our back yard.

Exciting Weekend Ahead!

2011-12-02T12:26:00.001-05:00

Saturday will be an exciting day for David.

David loves bicycle racing. He has fond memories of group rides and racing himself when he was a young man. He still holds onto a great collection of old yellowed Velo News issues from his teenage years. He has met Greg Lemond twice. And he has his autograph. It's framed and on the wall in our living room. We upped our line of cable channels when the Tour De France was televised, and it when it is televised, it is on our TV while David is dressing for work, and as soon as dinner is finished until he goes to sleep at night. He really loves bicycle racing!

Several weeks ago, when we were invited via Facebook by Bill Humpheys to attend a Bike Ride & Book Signing with John Allis, this Saturday (December 3, 2011), David was thrilled, and most definitely we are going!

Until we were invited to this event, I did not know of the name John Allis. I googled him. But David surely knows who he is, and we will be at Belmont Wheelworks in Belmont, Massachusetts tomorrow morning to meet John Allis, ride with him, and of course, to buy ourselves a copy of Bill Humphys' new book, The Jersey Project.

As described on Bicycling.com:

The thick, four-color pages show from one to 12 jerseys each, some of them captioned with the name of the rider who wore the specific jersey photographed, some merely identified by team and nationality.

If you would like to meet a three-time Olympian who has ridden in five world championships and been inducted into the Cycling Hall of Fame, join us tomorrow morning at Belmont Wheelworks!

If you can't make it, but you think Bill's book would make an awesome gift for your favorite cyclist, check out Bill's website, http://thejerseyproject.com, where you can buy a copy online.

Sharing the Joy of Cycling... Sore Butt and All!

2011-11-30T21:28:00.001-05:00

Not only were we able to ride early on Thanksgiving morning, but since David had the following day off from work, we joined a group ride on Friday too! For the last two years, Dave and I took part in Ron Manizza's day-after-Thanksgiving spin class at the gym to work off the excess calories, but this year it was another unseasonably warm day, with temperatures eventually approaching 60 degrees! Who could pass up that opportunity? There were ten of us who met up at a shopping area parking lot in Manchester, Connecticut.

The ride was great, speedy, and a good workout for us. Again, we did about 40 miles. Our average speed was just under 17 mph.

With a weekend forecast just as wonderful, we decided to share the joy of cycling with my daughter, Katie, on Saturday. She has just recently learned how to ride on her own bicycle without training wheels! On Saturday, we loaded three single bikes into our minivan, and we headed east to Rhode Island where they have a nice kid-friendly bicycle path along flat ground.

Upon arrival to the path in the Warwick area, the three of us put on our helmets and started out. While there were piles of crunchy fallen leaves along the way, Katie was pretty confident. She was hesitant at times, but through the piles of leaves and into tunnels and over bridges, with people walking dogs and moms with strollers unaware that we told Katie to stay to the right at all times... she did very well!

Katie was doing great for the first few miles of our ride!

The part of the path we covered was approximately 8 miles one way and 8 miles back. As we approached each intersection, I asked Katie how she was feeling ~ Did she want to head out further or turn around for our return trip?

Somehow it didn't click with her that the distance she had already covered was going to be done again in reverse... She claimed she was fine at each intersection, she was happy, and we went on further. Finally, we reached the end point in my mind, and we changed direction. About 1/3 of the way back, Katie stopped unexpectedly. She got off her bike and started to walk.

I asked her what was wrong, why did she stop? She told me that her butt hurt.

Well, at 3:30 in the afternoon in late November, we had only about an hour of daylight left. We tried to explain to Katie that walking those miles would not get us back to the car in time. I encouraged her to get back on her bicycle.

She pedaled ahead maybe another half mile. Then she stopped again. Then she got on again, and pedaled ahead further for a while.

This happened a few more times, and it was trying our patience to get her to continue to pedal to make it back to the van before dark. But, all-in-all, she did it. I've told her that she should be very, very proud of herself!! I don't think many 7-year-olds can say that they have ridden a bicycle for 16 miles in an afternoon!

A Cycling Day to be Thankful!

2011-11-30T08:28:00.001-05:00

I am still in amazement over the great weather we've been having in Connecticut this month. It's late November, we've enjoyed lots of riding days!

Niantic Bay Bicycles hosted a 40 mile ride from their shop on Thanksgiving morning. Since we were eating dinner at Dave's parents' home, and dinner time wasn't until mid-afternoon, we woke up extra early and bundled up for the 8 a.m. ride.

David wears his vintage wool jersey for
the 40 degree temps!

Even with glorious sunshine, the temperature was still a bit cold at that time of the morning. David looked sharp in his vintage Molteni wool jersey; I actually wore 6 layers on top! This group was comprised of approximately 20 riders of varying abilities. We took off with the pack up front, since our average speed has been considerably faster in our most recent group rides. We were the only tandem riders. Within the first couple of miles, a few people off the back fell out of sight. We were glad to find ourselves still with the pack.

The ride was enjoyable and the scenery was exceptional, mostly rolling hills on tree lined roads. We crossed a bridge alongside a hi-way which brought us into a waterfront town. The view was stunning with glints of sunshine playing off the ocean. (This is one of the pluses to being a stoker! I'm able to soak in the incredible views and take photos, while David keeps his eye on the roads.)

After turning off a stretch of road with amazing views, the route brought us through a residential area with many turns. It was around the 23-mile point or so, and with a headwind, we started to fall behind. A couple of other riders were off the back too. We caught up once or twice, but then with so many turns, we lost our way.

As we rode on, we passed another cyclist riding alone. Initially, we weren't sure if he was from our group, but in fact, he was! At 15-years-old, he was riding without clip-in pedals, and we learned that while he had done some off-road riding with the bicycle shop, this was his first group ride on the road. Dave took him under his wing and led the way back over the bridge by the hi-way and then back to the shop. (I'm grateful that Dave knows Connecticut roads pretty well, because if it were me out there on my own, I'd have been lost for sure!)

Eventually, we arrived back. It still came out to be just over 40 miles, and the rest of the leading group somehow arrived back just about 5 minutes after us.

David chatted for a while with fellow cyclists, while I peeled off layers, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine streaming in through the windows of our mini-van.

We drove home, and I gathered up a side dish and desserts we were contributing to Thanksgiving dinner at Dave's Mom and Dad's house. It was a wonderful way to spend the holiday, enjoying the company of family!

Tandem Tires Wearing Thin

2011-11-23T12:03:00.001-05:00

Dave & I have been a tandem couple for just three years, but we've gone though a whole lot of tires! In fact, I'm pretty sure we get new bicycle tires far more frequently than we buy tires for our vehicles.

A fellow cyclist pointed out the condition of our back tire a couple of weekends ago. The overall wear was clearly evident, and it had actually worn through on spots. Ever-fearful of accidents or even having a breakdown being far away from our home or vehicle, I carried a sense of awareness about it over every bump in the road. However, once safely on our way home in our Dodge Caravan, the bicycle tire's condition was unfortunately, quickly forgotten... Busy with work and kids, we hadn't taken the time to get the tire replaced. We actually rode on it two more times, and we were lucky it lasted. As I recall, that tire was brand new this year and it was quite pricey!

Now, our rear wheel is again at a bicycle shop.

Earlier this year, we experienced a stretch of time where we were constantly popping spokes. Since the Spring, we've naturally dropped a few pounds, and that issue eventually resolved itself.

Come to think of it, it seems that issues we've had to deal with regarding the functionality and smooth operation of our tandem bicycle seems to hit us in cycles.

For a while last year, we experienced difficulties with our chain. Broken links, dropping while shifting, etc. On one memorable ride, we were caught in a rain storm climbing a steep hill when the chain let go. Not fun.

Then for a series of rides we experienced a series of flats. In fact, there was one particular ride from home on our own when we flatted out 4 times in a row!! That 30-mile route was shortened to about 15 miles and it took us almost 4 hours to complete with all the time spent on the side of the road.

Let's hope that our new tire is good and strong and holds us well. We plan to ride tomorrow for an early morning Thanksgiving Day group ride from Niantic Bay Bicycles!

Who has a Saddle Fetish?

2011-11-22T13:31:00.001-05:00

Last Friday's post about David's cherished Cinelli #2 Unicanitor red suede saddle triggered a curiosity within to check out the current availability of one of those rarities today.

Well, guess what? There actually was one on eBay!!

New Old stock Cinelli Unicanitor saddle

suede #2 padding
New in original bag

There was no way Dave could let it slip away. He had to have it! And I love the way he lights up when he has his hands on a bicycle part he adores.

Somebody has an early Christmas present!

Is it Really November??

2011-11-20T19:15:00.001-05:00

Hard to believe it's actually November! I'm loving this Indian summer weather.

Dave & I rode with groups both yesterday and today, and we've logged in 101 miles over the two days! Wow. In looking over our stats (We keep track of these things on DailyMile.com. Please friend us if you use the site too!) we did only 23 miles for the month of November a year ago. For this month alone, we are now at 254 miles.

Saturday's ride was an end-of-season Thread City Cyclists ride. Our group was comprised of riders at varying ability levels and we broke off into two smaller groups. This ride turned out to be a spontaneous route put together on the fly to Coriander Cafe & Country Store in Eastford, Connecticut. We like that rest stop. Their rest room is clean, the staff is pleasant, they sell unique country craft items, and they whip up super-delicious food choices!!

We did try something different this time. It was lunchtime. So I ordered a lunch item. The tuna on whole wheat sandwich with lettuce, purple onion, and tomato, was thick, fresh and tasty! At $6, Dave and I split it, the chips and a pickle. For me, it was great. For Dave... well, he confessed to having an urge to vomit as we pushed up hills on the return ride. I guess a huge lump of tuna and mayo might not have been the best option for him.

We did 43 miles, hills and flat sections, it was sunny and with the wind a little bit chilly, but not too bad, temperatures in the mid-50's.

Today we did 58 miles. This ride was called the Tree Farm Road Ride, departing from Manchester, Connecticut, entering into Massachusetts, and back. There were 10 bicycles, 11 riders. We were the only tandem -- as it was yesterday too.

This ride was slated to be 17-19 MPH Average Speed. We rode with this group last week, and we did great. However, we weren't so sure we could keep up at the pace posted this week. I emailed the ride leader, and she assured us that based on our ride of the previous week, we would do fine.

We did do fine, but honestly, this was 58 miles of us pushing really hard, all the way! I'm not complaining. Today's weather was in the 60's with sunshine. And this ride pushed us both to ride harder and faster. My heart rate was steadily in a higher range. Plus, I'm really hoping that it will nudge my weight loss plateau to budge too.

Best Loved Saddle!

2011-11-18T11:05:00.001-05:00

It's funny how particular many cyclists can be when it comes to their bike seat. This is a cute shot of David's Cinelli #2 Unicanitor red suede saddle. It's been his #1 preference in saddles since his teenage racing days. He still has an old one I doubt he'll ever let go, even though it's battered and torn.

These days, vintage seats like this one in great condition are very hard to find. We actually purchased this one on ebay 2 years ago, and it was new and unused, arriving to our doorstep all the way from Japan!

Donut Overdose!!

2011-11-16T20:27:00.001-05:00

What a great ride David & I enjoyed last Sunday! It was an AMC Road Bike Ride, a 55 Mile Fall Foliage Tour of the Farms ~ Manchester.

These rides have been posted throughout the riding season, but we've been hesitant previously because we weren't so sure we could keep up -- especially on the hills. Their average speed is posted at 15-18 MPH. Closer to 15 MPH, we can handle but if the group was quicker, we could have had issues.

However, although we've been blessed with an extended Indian Summer, the weather is much cooler. That means more comfortable. Add to that the fact that Dave and I have roughly 2700 tandem miles tallied up so far this year -- AND -- that we've had a few faster-than-our-average rides on our own familiar routes in recent weeks. The hills can still be challenging, but we are handling them a lot more efficiently!

So we were pleasantly surprised that we were able to prove to ourselves that this ride was within our capabilities!

We passed through miles of scenic, mildly familiar territory. We rode by tobacco fields and dairy farms. But all along, there were piles upon piles of branches and debris along the roadside - a result of October's freak Connecticut snowstorm. Winds from that storm left many residents without power for over a week in duration and the cleanup efforts were still in the works. Heck, we even saw a man up on a ladder alone operating a chainsaw! That made for interesting conversation during the ride.

Finally, we pulled into a parking lot for a rest stop / bathroom break. I was very grateful to see there was a Dunkin Donuts in this plaza. I needed a rest room urgently! (While Dave is able to hop off the bike just about anywhere there are trees, I usually wait until we find suitable facilities.) So since I was carrying our money for the day, I asked Dave if he would get us a bite to eat, while I visited the ladies room. I pulled out a folded twenty dollar bill from my jersey pocket and rushed inside.

Inside the ladies room, I am fascinated to see the depth of instruction necessary for Dunkin Donut employees to properly wash their hands. <--

Since the technique is fresh in my mind, I most effectively wash my hands and head out to the doughnut counter. ; )

I see Dave directing the young lady to fill a bag for us. The variety of kinds he is ordering surprises me. Normally, we share an ice coffee and a single goodie that we split in half. Then I realize, he was special ordering Munchkins -- phew!

We head outside to sit with the other cyclists and Dave proceeds to peek inside our bag. Inside there is a bagel stick, two jelly sticks, AND a pile of munchkins! Then we have an ice coffee to share and a Vitamin Water to fill our empty water bottles.Wow!

I think Dave was also having a conversation with a fellow cyclist while he was placing his order. But he did admit to being hungry! We offered up the extra sweets to others who were happy to help us out with the doughnut overload.

On the way back, we did especially enjoy this speedy rolling downhill which we were encouraged to lead. Dave loves these things! I love it too, but my love for speed on unfamiliar roadways is mixed with a strong sense of trepidation. : )

Make it or Break it

2011-11-11T22:20:00.001-05:00

Ha! Here's a funny Craigslist ad I came across recently...

They say when a couple gets on a tandem together, it will either make or break their relationship. I guess this one didn't make it.

A Gaggle of Geese and a Rafter of Turkeys and a Murmation of Starlings

2011-11-09T16:32:00.000-05:00

With daylight savings time in effect and an Indian Summer forecast on a mid-November day, Dave & I were given reason to try to squeeze in a quick 15 mile loop tandem ride at sunrise. We were rewarded with a few spectacular wildlife sightings.

Our most recent tandem rides before the daylight savings time shift took effect were near dusk, when we've had occasional close calls with deer. Those encounters were somewhat scarey for me.

Our area is quite rural, and our route brings us around numerous farms. During the first part of our ride, it was the cows who seemed most interested in us as we pedaled past them. Many followed us with their eyes as we rode by.

On Route 49, a scenic road fairly close to home, we pass by a Turkey Farm... Surprisingly quiet. It is getting closer to Thanksgiving.

As we continued on, we noticed a tractor in the distance on a turf farm. That's funny, we didn't realize there was a turf farm on that road before.

Then to our left, I point out to Dave a group of wild turkeys feeding in a corn field. There were maybe a dozen or so. (Is that enough to be considered a gaggle?)

As we went on further, we both commented to each other that we could hear geese. We looked far and wide, and even upward... as we went further ahead past a cluster of trees, finally we could see the geese - throughout a huge cornfield - possibly thousands of them as far as an eye can see! What an amazing sight. (Did you know a group of geese is called a rafter?)

And then, wow... starlings! As we turn the bend passing yet another stretch of farmland, feeding here was a murmation of starlings! With our approach, they rose into the sky all at once.

Birds of different kinds all found early morning feeding abundant in cornfields, but each kind of bird collected with their own on different stretches of land.

This entry on our blog has inspired me to research the proper terms as to what various groups of birds are called. Even though I am officially a grandmother this year, I continue to experience new sights with wonder and learn new things everyday!

Sunny & Cold November Weekend

2011-11-06T16:44:00.000-05:00

It's November. It's cold. Last night we had to turn back the clocks. I hate that. It means darkness before 5 pm. That's the end of weekday after-work rides. Blah!

BUT... What a great weekend this one was for bicycling!

On top of our list, my 7-year-old daughter, Katie, has mastered BICYCLE 101 --

No more training wheels!!

WE ARE SO PROUD OF HER!!

Her accomplishment was on top of two great days of cycling for Dave & I -- We rode with fellow Thread City Cyclists on Saturday morning for 35 miles. Although it was cold, there were 9 of us all layered up for warmth, and the sun was shining. It was a great group of friends with a stop in Eastford at Coriander Cafe & Country Store. There we enjoyed a great break with coffee and tasty treats. The route was mostly rolling hills, quite an enjoyable ride!

For Sunday, we met up with fellow tandem riders, Joe & Lisa. Somewhat warmer but still sunny and cold, we took a 25 mile route through Scotland, CT. This was a hilly ride, but the uphills meant thrilling downhills! We spent some time afterward at Joe's home, and we relaxed with great conversation and delicious pizza.

While we are sad to see these ride-able days slip away, we'll bundle up and brave it so long as there is no snow or ice on the roads.

On a side note, some residents of Connecticut are still -- unbelievably -- with out power 8 days after last weekend's freak October snowstorm. My thoughts are with them. While Dave & I were out for just over 24 hours this time, with the not-too-long-ago storm, Hurricane Irene, that hit us in late August, we were out for a full week, and I know how frustrating it is to be without light and modern day conveniences -- and now, throw in the cold temperatures too.

Some of our fellow TCC members gave of their time today to help clear a bike path of fallen tress which resulted in the aftermath of the storm. I had no idea it was as bad as this! Wow.

Keeping Up Connections

2011-10-28T13:08:00.000-04:00

It feels good to know you've made a difference in someone's day. Maintaining family connections is important -- not only for your own well-being, but for the impact on those you love.

Over the weekend, Dave & I visited with elderly relatives.

Sometimes we get so busy in our day-to-day activities, and in keeping up with the demands of work and home, that our days are a blur. Modern technology has impacted face-to-face interactions too. With voicemail, email, texting, and online calendars jammed with appointments and commitments, it's with us always, right in the palms of our hands. These devices may have been developed to make our lives easier, but we feel compelled to respond immediately, so we end up more stressed than ever!

Every now and then, we should stop to take a quiet moment, and consider elder family members and others we know whose lives are not so intertwined with modern technology. Imagine what it might be like to have failing senses -- eyesight and hearing diminish, and oftentimes there are other health conditions in the mix as well. The world closes in as driving privileges are lost, friends pass away, opportunities for social activities are fewer.

On Saturday, we visited my grandfather who is 94 years old. He lives alone in a apartment. He was suffering from a migraine headache when we arrived, but still so happy to see us. We brought him donuts. We also changed the batteries in his hearing aids, read him his mail, and took out his garbage. We sat and talked. We had my 7-year-old daughter, Katie, with us and she gave him a big, big hug!

On Sunday Katie went to her Dad's house. We were free to get in some cycling, and although the weather was a little on the cold side, we had made that our day to get out on the tandem and get some exercise. But where to ride?

Our visit on Saturday was very gratifying. In fact, we enjoyed the time spent as much as I'm sure my grandfather did. So on Sunday, we decided to visit David's elderly aunt in Rhode Island. It was 30 miles to see her and 30 miles back. We got on the tandem and made it our mission -- not only to gain the benefits of pedaling -- but to brighten her day!

The smile on her face made all the pedaling all the more worthwhile!

Small acts of kindness can mean a lot.

Taking Off the Training Wheels!

2011-10-24T06:04:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, we picked up where we left off a couple of weeks back in our efforts to teach my 7-year-old daughter, Katie, to ride her bicycle without training wheels. This has evolved into a longer-than-summer-long process for us. In fact, we have had several periods of on-and-off training sessions with Katie over the past three years or so.

For Katie, this has not been an easy process. But she has not given up -- she has fallen, we've wiped away the tears, and she has gotten back on the bike. She is very close now, but still there's progress to be made before she'll be free to ride independently!

There was a unique kind of bicycle race happening on Saturday, and David wanted to attend -- It was the CCNS Donut Derby at Devil's Hopyard State Park in East Haddam, CT. (DO-NUT Just Have One! The CCNS DONUT DERBY is like no other cycling race you've done this year. You get rewarded for eating Donuts. The more you eat the faster you will be! For every Donut you eat, 1 minute and 30 seconds is taken off your total time. The person with the fastest total time wins!) And since this event was held at a park, there was plenty of open space around, so we figured it would be an inspirational environment where we could work with Katie on her riding skills!

It proved to be an excellent spot for her to gain new skills! Not only was this a fun cycling event where David had the opportunity to chat it up with his racing buddies, but we were approached by two different people there for the event who are experienced teachers. They were both super-nice to offer a bit of coaching for Katie.

David and I worked with Katie together for a stretch of time. Then I worked with her alone while David met up with some friends who had just finished racing. Our drills were for Katie to practice balance. She was on a gradual downhill and not pedaling -- working on rolling and staying upright only.

Then we were approached by a racer named Lars. He had just completed the race and was heading back to his car when he spotted us. He introduced himself and explained that he teaches children and even some adults how to ride a bicycle. His first bit of practical advice: Remove her knee pads and take off her pedals!

Lars went to locate the proper wrench to take off Katie's pedals. Upon his return, he demonstrated to Katie how to effectively "row" with her feet. He lowered her bicycle seat, and looking like a crab in the sand, he "paddled" with his feet to push off on the bicycle.

This worked better because now those pesky pedals were not in the way. It wasn't too long before Katie's confidence level was up, and she wanted her pedals put back on. But as it turned out, with pedaling in the mix, the whole combination of new skills was too much.

A mom with her young son were nearby. She was on roller blades, and her child who was just 4-years-old, was riding a small bicycle without training wheels! Katie seeing this little boy going so fast on his bike gave her reason to believe it was possible for her to do it too!

The young mom was great with Katie. She asked Katie if she would like if she acted as a guide from behind and she would roll along with her while Katie attempted to pedal. This went on for a while and Katie made more improvement, but she fell twice. On the second fall, she cried. I gave her a hug, wiped the tears, and we gave her a break. That was a lot of concentration and effort, and she was clearly tired.

On our way back home, we passed a bicycle shop, so we decided to stop. The lady on the roller blades suggested to us that Katie's bicycle might be just a little too small for her. Since we had purchased her bike at a yard sale last year for just a few dollars, we thought that browsing new bikes might also help to give Katie a sense of added excitement for this learning process. After all, Christmas is coming up soon!

The following morning, Katie and I went out to the driveway together. She asked for the pedals to be removed again. Dave removed them and we worked on perfecting balance once again. We told Katie if she can ride on her own by Christmastime, a brand new bicycle could be hers!

Exercise & Finding Motivation... When biking isn't always an option

2011-10-21T05:46:00.000-04:00

Whenever I have an opportunity to get on the tandem, I jump at it! I am excited and happy about getting out and getting the exercise. The whole experience, with the easy flow of conversation between us, the sunshine and the wind, and the changing scenery from turn-to-turn makes for an enjoyable adventure -- time after time!

When I have an opportunity to ride my single bicycle, but David isn't available, I enjoy that too. But it requires somewhat more motivation. I know I will have to prepare my own route, and I anticipate the hills with a hint of anxiety. I'm not so used to shifting on my own. And, I must keep my eyes more glued to the road, without soaking in the changing scenery quite as much.

It's late October and the riding season is closing in on us. The days are shorter and colder.

On days when the weather isn't cooperating or it's suddenly dark out when I finally have some time available, I need to resort to Plan B. Why is it that I have such great difficulty with my Plan B options?

I have a gym membership. But the gym is 45 minutes away. It was great when I was previously employed nearby. I would get out of work and go. But now, there is a drive to consider -- 45 minutes there, an hour class plus changing time, and 45 minutes back home. Well that's a 3-hour commitment.

There are a few options that are closer, mostly evening fitness classes held at local school gymnasiums. But then I think, "Why should I spend the money for those classes when I have a great gym membership?"

I do have an elliptical machine in the basement. I feel super relaxed afterward, and I wonder why I sometimes dread getting on it beforehand. Maybe it's because I have so much to get done -- either with the house or my computer work upstairs. I find myself weighing the value of time spent this way... or that.

Then, even if it is getting a bit dark outside, I can always take a walk. It's not a bad option, and it's good for me because my doctor told me that even with all the cycling I do, the reason behind the stall in my weight loss is because my body is "used to the movement of cycling." Apparently, I need to mix it up.

I am also considering Yoga classes for the winter season. There is a great studio about a 15-minute drive from our home. They have evening classes David and I could both take. However, they charge a $15 per-person drop-in fee. Hmmmm... that's $30 for both of to attend a single class.

There is another option available -- a drop-in yoga class at a different studio, about 20 minutes away from our home. Their charge is just $5 per class. That's affordable. But those classes are held on two weekday mornings. That's time out of work. And David would not be able to go at those times. So, I would need to motivate myself to get there.

Our bicycle club does offer some wintertime group activities that we are interested in trying this year -- cross country skiing and snowshoeing. However, if they do these on a Saturday, I have my 7-year-old daughter with us, and I'd need to find childcare. That creates another dilemma -- if I have my daughter on Saturdays and she is with her father on Sundays, then I really should find some kind of activity that we can do together to get her involved in as well for Saturdays. After all, we have Sundays to ourselves.

We tried indoor roller skating with her. It was a decent workout that was a change of pace. Katie likes it. But Dave & I did were not comfortable in the skate rentals, and we were not loving the loud, rap-style hip-hop music either. We put in a special request for some of our old favorites, but the young lady we asked was unable to find alternate tunes. After circling the rink so many times, we were mildly bored within about 45 minutes time.

Downhill skiing. Now THAT is something we have all enjoyed in the past! Problem there is the cost. It's way too steep for our budget.

Still considering the options. I know for sure that if I don't find some kind of exercise to do on a regular basis, I will gain weight over the winter.

We're Getting Faster!

2011-10-17T17:35:00.000-04:00

The corn fields have been chopped down, the trees are shedding their leaves, and the days are shorter with the sun setting down on the horizon a whole lot sooner than it did just a few short weeks ago. It's mid-October and the humidity is gone, but the winds are up. The temperature is comfortable for cycling, and we are faster than ever!

I'm not sure if it's the comfortable climate or the threat of darkness closing in on us... or maybe it's just that we have six or more months of regular cycling invested to this point in 2011, but Dave & I were averaging over 17 mph on tonight's 23 mile ride -- that is until we reached the elevation point of our very own road home! That measly 4% climb brought our over avrage speed for the ride to 16.99. Rats!!

Our Cycling Honeymoon Adventure - Part 1

2011-10-14T05:50:00.000-04:00

While we were way too busy experiencing our honeymoon for me to blog about it then, I wanted to post about our experience. As we had the time of our lives, we also learned a great deal, and we met incredible and inspirational people!

The idea of having a honeymoon centered around our favorite activity of cycling came to us almost a year prior. But the reality of the whole trip came together just a few days before we left!

Dave & I are optimists and dreamers. We are on numerous mailing lists for bicycle adventure tours. We page through pages of glossy images within the catalogs we receive in the mail. Those vacations offer structured days away in lovely and far-away places. They sometimes included meals, group tours, SAG support and lodging. They costs thousands -- per person.

We saw one such get-away to Napa Valley in California. It looked amazing and sounded wonderful. We were exited about the idea. But we knew we could not afford such a trip.

As we thought about our honeymoon options ~ even discussing whether we could afford to get away at all ~ I wondered, if we could physically get ourselves to a destination and ride our bicycle on our own, maybe we could do it without a Bicycle Tour Company, and save a lot of money.

I researched sites like Trip Advisor to find out what it would cost for lodging in the San Francisco area. And then, I recalled a website I learned about through other cyclists, Warm Showers.org. I joined and made contact with several host cyclists living near our destination. Some were not able to host within our time period or had work obligations, minimal accommodations, or cats (I'm allergic).... but many of those who responded were very helpful.

We learned that (Yes!) there was a way we could travel and actually find lodging for free! What's even better about that is that we would have an opportunity to get acquainted with locals -- locals who are into cycling (as we are)-- and with knowing locals there is a distinct advantage over traveling as a tourist. We learned how to best spend our time, the most suitable cycling routes, where the great little bicycle shops are located, and where the stars hang out! (Although we weren't on the lookout for sightings of the rich and famous, we actually spent our first two night in a home owned by George Lucas, and we chit-chatted with waitresses who had served him, Ron Howard, and Robin Williams!)

Once our lodging was set -- the first two nights in San Anselmo with a lovely retired couple who are living an active life of adventure together that most of us can only dream about -- and the remaining time with a couple around our age (mid 40's) living in Pinole, who had actually taken two years off from their careers for a cycling adventure of their own on a tandem from Alaska all the way down to Chile!! Absolutely amazing people!!

Our next hurdle was our tandem. After all, the whole purpose of this honeymoon adventure for us is to be able to experience our destination together on our tandem! We've heard horror stories of others who have traveled with their bikes. And ours, is a very long bicycle. A 10-year-old Burley Duet. Oversized. Heavier than most.

I researched the possibility of renting a tandem upon our arrival. I did find a touring company that was willing to accommodate our special request of simply renting us a bicycle for two. David Blue from GoTandems! was great to talk with us in depth and cater to our needs. However, when we added up the daily cost of renting ($89) with their delivery fee ($300 to drop the bike off to us and pick it up later), we seriously considered traveling with our own bike. We weren't sure if it would save us money, but at least that way, we knew we would be on a familiar and comfortable ride.

The Eastern Tandem Rally was held in August at UConn, and we took part. It was a blast for us to be involved and amazing to see over 100 tandems taking off for a mass start that weekend too! As part of the activities, the ETR held a swap meet. There we met a couple who was selling a large tandem case for travel. That was a wonderful thing for us, and at just the right time! For $20 the case was practically given to us. All we had to do was travel to New Hampshire to pick it up. Don and Carolyn from Salem, NH, were just two of the many generous people we have met along the way who have helped to make our dream vacation a reality!!

More to come...

Sharing in the pain -- and pleasure!!

2011-10-11T12:18:00.000-04:00

Dave & I enjoy riding along with other cyclists. We like meeting up with others, sharing in good conversation, and oftentimes -- sharing in the pain!

We've especially loved two recent rides we've participated on with the newly formed Connecticut Tandem Club. Those rides were fantastic -- not only because they were well planned routes -- but we had an opportunity to ride with other couples who are also experiencing some of the unique features of tandem riding. One of the most obvious issues happens when we are with fellow cyclists who are on single bikes: They pass by us going uphill and we pass by them going downhill!

Our other favorite group of people we like to ride with are the Thread City Cyclists out of Windham, CT. Joining them does require that Dave & I drive 45 minutes or so to the starting point, but it gives us exposure to other roads and the social connections we cherish.

Because we have my 7-year-old daughter with us on Saturday mornings, we missed a lot of TCC group rides this past summer. My daughter has Sundays with her father, so Dave & I will usually plan a nice long route for ourselves then. This weekend, Doug, a fellow TCC member posted through their email list that he was looking for some company if anyone was free on Sunday and wanted to ride.

Dave & I had just mapped out a 60-ish mile ride for ourselves from our home in Sterling, CT to Mystic. Mystic is a lovely area with many scenic roads by the sea. We invited Doug to join us!

Doug had not been riding for a 3-week period of time due to a back injury. However, we agreed to keep a reasonable pace and take it easy. I hadn't ridden in a week myself, between a few days of straight rain and a lack of free time with my daughter being in my care , so I was happy to agree to the relaxed pace too! The plans were set.

Doug posted our ride to the TCC email list and we had another rider, Dave S. join us too!

The guys met up with us at our home and we departed. The weather was sunny and spectacular. I believe it hit 85 degrees or so (unusual warmth!) and the foliage of October in New England is absolutely gorgeous! We throughly enjoyed this ride from start to finish, and I believe our fellow riders did too -- in spite of their brief instances of self-doubt on the mostly uphill return ride. : )

Dave S. can celebrate having successfully completed his longest ride yet, which made it a century weekend for him -- since he had ridden over 40 miles with TCC riders on that Saturday. And Doug discovered that even after 3 weeks off from cycling, he was able to tackle 64 miles!! All-in-all, a spectacular and memorable day of riding!

Dave S. -- still smiling near the end of Sunday's 64 mile ride!

A Very Happy Birthday!!

2011-10-03T08:38:00.000-04:00

Connecticut Tandem Club Ride from Storrs, 10/2/11

Yesterday was David's 48th birthday! And it was fantastic!!

It started off looking like questionable weather, very cloudy and even a little rainy. But we put our vote of confidence with the television weatherman, as he predicted that the clouds would part and sunshine would peek through within an hour or two!

A little after 8 a.m. we had our minivan all packed with our tandem, helmets, gloves, cycling shoes, food -- and my 7-year-old daughter, Katelyn. She was going to her father's house, so we dropped her off on our way to Storrs. The sweetest thing was her wish to David to "Have a Happy Birthday!" as she hopped out of the van. She had given him a beautiful painting she made for his birthday the night before, but it was so very special that she remembered and acknowledged the significance of this Sunday without a single reminder on his actual birthday date!

On our way from there, the sky was looking considerably brighter over the hills ahead of us! David was so joyful about that, as it was looking to be a lovely Autumn day.

We arrived and met up with several other riders. We went 36 miles in all, with a surprise stop at the Coventry Farmers Market, and a final gathering afterward at the UConn Dairy Bar for ice cream.

The Farmers' Market was impressive! It was larger than most I've visited in Connecticut. (In California, we stopped at one that was huge in comparison!) We were there for about a half hour, which was quite enjoyable. We ran into a few familiar faces and also chatted with other attendees who were happy to recommend some of the creative food offerings which included gourmet pizza with toppings such as kale and butternut squash!

The ride itself was pretty easy-going aside from two flat tires which both happened just after the first five miles or so and were fixed quickly. Although the roads had spots of wetness and a few muddy puddles, as the day progressed, it became sunny and dry, with an Autumn crispness in the air -- perfect conditions for cycling! For the most part, we stayed together as a group and shared in our excitement for the rolling hills.

We took a group shot at the end of the ride and then regrouped at the dairy bar. The ice cream there is homemade, and that clearly came through in tasting! I had a scoop of Coffee Expresso Crunch (coffee ice cream with chocolate coated espresso candy) and it was very creamy and intense in flavor.

Our group gathered outside at a picnic table and everyone burst into song to wish David a "Happy Birthday!" He was pleasantly surprised. We sat for a while in the sunshine. We couldn't have hoped for a better day!

Life is good!

2011-09-27T13:25:00.000-04:00

It's been a wonderful and incredible whirlwind! The wedding and the honeymoon and all of the moments and experiences along the way have collectively given us a huge treasure box of memories to cherish.

And now, we are back to real life and there is so much to do! In a sense, easing back into reality has been an adjustment of sorts. The future awaits us and 'today' is the first day of the rest of our lives... but really, we've been living together and we've been a family unit for a while! It's just that at this point in time, I'm feeling really good and happy that it's official. And there is so much excitement for what's ahead! : )

I am anxious to post all the details about our dream honeymoon and the great people we met along the way in California! As time allows, I will blog about our experiences and what it was like for us to meet up with our Warm Showers hosts -- fellow cyclists who were incredibly kind to invite us into their homes!

These last few days since we've returned home have been crazy busy! We've had unpacking to tend to, thank-you notes to write, bills to pay, business to catch up with, school issues to take care of for my daughter, house cleaning, dog grooming and so many small details to attend to... and the lawn needs cutting, and there is still a pile of wood to split in our driveway... lol!

David is on his way home from work now, and we are hoping to squeeze in a short ride before dinner as darkness is moving in on us a whole lot earlier these days! I'll try to input more words (& photos too!) into my laptop tomorrow.

All in all, we're exhausted and excited, and what it says on our favorite soft and comfy cotton t-shirts holds true... "Life is good!!"

2011-09-14T04:47:00.000-04:00

Here's what we're dealing with now...

Many thanks to our Facebook friend, Michael for giving us a link to a very informative article on traveling with a tandem bicycle!

Napa Valley Here We Come!

2011-09-13T12:48:00.000-04:00

It's been a whirlwind of excitement over here in the Etchells' household as we just lived through a dream of a wedding, and visions of Napa Valley are dancing in our heads. :)

The weather here in Connecticut has been nothing short of perfect these days, and last night when David came home from work, we took a tandem ride 'around the block' -- our rural block is just under 12 miles. It was short and sweet, but just enough in that we've been finding it challenging to get all we've needed to take care of done before our departure on Wednesday!

After our ride, we took a drive down to the store to get David some shorts to wear on vacation. He's lost so much weight & he is looking fit and handsome! He is down 2 pants sizes, so he really needed to pick up a few things, and since Kohls was having a big Clearance event for the end of the summer season, it was great timing too!

Then we caught a little something to eat... and yes, it was 8:30 pm by then... and then we went through Walmart to stock our pantry with favorite foods for our house sitter. She will be staying in our home and taking care of it and our dogs and fish while we are away.

We also phoned our hosts in California to let them know of our flights and schedule now that it has been set. Both couples seem like delightful people and they sound excited to have us, as much as we are excited to meet them!

Whew! That was yesterday.

Today, my son Ryan -- who drove up from North Carolina just for his Mom's wedding -- joined me and my daughter, Kayla, and her baby boy, Carter, for lunch. It was great to have them together.

I have one more errand to run today, and Dave will be home shortly. Tonight's task: to figure out how to get our tandem into the travel box.

Many thanks to Don & Carolyn who we met up with at last month's Eastern Tandem Rally at UConn. They sold us their hardshell tandem travel case at an extremely affordable price, which is enabling us to bring our own tandem bicycle along on our trip. Now, what we'll be charged at the airport remains to be seen -- We see what it says regarding flying with a bicycle on the airline's Web site, but we've been told of unexpected surprises and charges that can be assessed at check-in time.

We'll see what happens!

An Amazingly Wonderful Wedding Day!!!

2011-09-11T07:53:00.000-04:00

Our Wedding Day Tandem Ride ~ after the ceremony!

We had a beautiful day with family and friends!! We are very grateful to have such good people in our lives.

We're off to pick up a box to travel with for our honeymoon, so I haven't time to write right now, but I will soon!! Here are a few photos from our Wedding Day Celebration Ride!

Getting Ready for the Big Day!

2011-09-08T05:39:00.000-04:00

It is pouring buckets outside! It's our third consecutive day of nothing but rain, but still that's better than last week's seven days without electricity. Our wedding day is Saturday, and I'll take the rain now if we have to -- just to have a lovely Saturday. : )

So much going on in attending to all of the many small details in getting ready for the wedding!

My ex - Katie's father - dropped a bomb on us the day before yesterday. He had agreed back in May in an email that was sent to me and my daughter's court appointed GAL... "What also was mentioned was the week of your honeymoon and me wanting take Katie on your days. Of course i will take care of my daughter."

Well, I guess that was his way of gaining some power to enable him to cause havoc in my life this week. Here is the actual complete message I received from him via email on Tuesday of this week: "Katie tells me your getting married this weekend i am not going to be able to take her so you will have to make other arrangements."

Nice guy. He really cares about his daughter and wanting her to have some continuity in her life.

Anyway, we have put together a route for Saturday afternoon's celebratory cycling ride. It will bring us around a horse farm and then over to scenic Route 49 and back. About 20 miles total.

It looks like this might be a relatively small gathering for our Wedding Day Ride & Backyard Cookout & Bonfire, but that will be fine. It will be a good opportunity to relax and enjoy the company of friends. If you'll be joining us, please just send me a quick email so that we can plan for food. I know life gets hectic for so many of us these days, and it's hard to keep on top of everything, but knowing this much in advance will make things easier for us on the big day!

Dave and I have not yet purchased our plane tickets for the honeymoon. We're still not sure we can make it happen, but we've been going over the details for our dream get-away to California.

Last night we phoned two couples in the San Francisco area who have offered to host us next week through the Warmshowers.org web site. WarmShowers.org is hospitality site where cyclists offer space in their homes to host touring cyclists. Now that David's son has left for college, we will make space available in our home too, so that we can return the favor to other traveling cyclists who might be in our area.

It was exciting to speak with our prospective hosts. Their willingness to acquaint us with their area and share their slice of life has given us a sense of excitement (and gratefulness for their generosity!). We hope to spend a couple of days at a time with different hosts. One couple we spoke with are retired and they are still quite active, as they regularly plan cycling adventures far away for themselves! Now, that's the kind of "retired" we would like to be someday. : )

Please RSVP! : )

2011-09-06T05:31:00.000-04:00

I have a backup of blog postings in my head, but we had no power for a full week as a result of Hurricane Irene. Dave & I have been busy catching up with our to-do list around the house now as well as getting ready for our big day on Saturday!!

We've received a few more RSVPs for Saturday's ride & back yard cookout & bonfire. If you are coming, please drop me a note by email (karenmetchells@gmail.com) so we'll have an idea about how much food to plan. If you'll be bringing a dish to share, let us know that too so we can have a good variety for all.

Our ride route will be posted sometime today. The highlight will be Route 49 by the Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm. The scenic views are incredibly beautiful with far stretching acres of farmland meeting up with blue sky. So far, the weather for Saturday looks to be perfect!!

The group ride will depart from our home at 295 Pine Hill Road in Sterling at 4 pm, and we are planning to light the grill at 6 pm. If you wish to bring a non-riding spouse or kids, feel free. This is just a casual gathering, a chance to join us in celebration, relax, and share good food! Hope you can make it!!

Two Schools of Thought

2011-08-19T13:07:00.000-04:00

We have discovered that there are two schools of thought when it comes to hosting a honeymoon fundraiser.

Some of the feedback has been wonderfully positive and supportive. But some has not. At different points in time, we've been considering letting go of the whole idea... the negativity from those who consider the event to be of poor taste has left us feeling uneasy and yes, even embarrassed.

But then we'll hear from friends who are excited about it and they say it's a fantastic idea, and they'll be coming! That has gotten us excited about it again.

The wedding day has been in planning for over a year now. This is not the first time around for either of us, and so we've decided to keep our ceremony small. It's not about the big party, it's about the promise Dave & I are making to each other. Neither of us has had it easy, and we've surely learned from mistakes of our past. We have a true commitment and heartfelt optimism for each other and the future we will share together.

The idea of incorporating our favorite pastime -- cycling -- into our special day has been there from the start. We have been considering having each of us ride into the ceremony on single bikes, and leaving together on our tandem. I love that idea, but I'm still mulling over how that might work in my dress and heels.

Dave has continually expressed a desire to invite friends who we ride with (NBW & TCC members, as well as the newly established CTTC - CT Tandem Club) for a celebratory group ride on our wedding day. I really wasn't sure how that could be coordinated, because our finances are tight (especially now, since I was recently laid off from my position as Marketing Director for an automotive group in June), and there was no way we could accommodate more people at the location of the ceremony... plus, we did have a desire to keep that part small and intimate.

Fast forward to June of this year, when I am suddenly and unexpectedly out of a job. We had already placed a deposit on our our venue and confirmed the plans as we discussed a year prior. We were making ends meet adequately prior to my job loss, but with the abrupt decline in our combined income, we realized that covering the expenses of even a small wedding was going to be extremely tight.

In looking over everything, the honeymoon part of the picture was not going to happen. We had always dreamed of a cycling vacation of some sort, but with obligations of work and kids, we've never been able, and this realization was disappointing.

I started doing a little research online, and I came across the concept of a honeymoon fundraiser. The way it works is that a couple can set up a page online and friends and family can offer support. You can read more info about this at http://www.gofundme.com/honeymoon-registry.

I've attended Jack & Jill parties for other couples in the past, and we all know of gift registries where couples and expectant parents specify a wish list of sorts, and it seems to be pretty common and socially acceptable now-a-days. I couldn't see how this was much different.

But rather than simply asking for monetary support, it dawned on me that we could hold an event by incorporating the group ride with friends on our wedding day -- as we had always envisioned. And a back yard gathering with a bonfire afterward seems like a perfect way to wrap up the day.

It also occurred to me, that if Dave & I are taking part in wedding day festivities and then riding, our ability to put out a fantastic spread with a variety of foods for our bonfire gathering might be limited. We'll certainly have hot dogs & burgers for the grill and a salad or two I can make ahead of time, and marshmallow toasting for smores -- but wouldn't it be great if we incorporate a potluck aspect into the event? That way, we can all share good food and have a wide variety of dishes to taste. Encouraging deliciousness can be awarded with prizes.

Making a donation is not mandatory. Cycling is not mandatory. Bringing a dish is not mandatory. No one will will be approached with any kind of pressure. It's not about that. If friends want to offer support, it will be greatly appreciated -- but by no means is that the sole objective.

Well, that's how the idea evolved. I hope in explaining more about our event and our intentions and the reasons behind it, it is better understood.

We are passionate about cycling. It has absolutely changed our lives for the better. And we've found that others who share in this pastime have been some of the greatest people we've had the pleasure to know! If you are able to come to Sterling, CT (near the CT/RI line) on 9/10/11 for a 4 pm cycling ride with the bride & groom (20 miles in duration) and/or a 6 pm gathering of friends around a bonfire -- Please join us!!

It's getting closer!!

2011-08-17T08:21:00.000-04:00

A reminder about our Wedding Day Honeymoon Fundraiser
Ride & Cookout to be held on SEPTEMBER 10, 2011 @ 4 PM...

Help us celebrate our Wedding Day as we raise money for a cycling honeymoon!

The route will be 20 miles of some of the most spectacular views in eastern Connecticut for riders of all levels. The ride will depart from our home at 295 Pine Hill Road in Sterling, CT, and it will wrap up with a backyard cookout & bonfire gathering in our backyard.

If you don't know us yet, come get to know us and meet up with other cyclists too! Non-cyclists are welcome to participate too! The
cookout and bonfire will start at 6 pm. We are accepting donations online at http://www.gofundme.com/TandemTeam-Honeymoon

Since we are also culinary enthusiasts, bring a dish to share and prizes will be awarded for the best main dish, side dish & dessert!!

While a monetary donation is not required, we are hoping for a donation of at least $20 per person to support our goal. Money collected will go towards our airfare to California, lodging and food, and rental of a tandem bicycle once we get there. We would love to ride a tandem throughout the wine country of Napa Valley. Details on the fundraiser ride route will follow soon and will be posted here.

This is sure to be a great event for everyone! Please RSVP by visiting our donation website in advance or email us at
Karen@SocialPowerline.com to let us know you will be coming!!

Our First Ever Tandem Rally!

2011-08-16T14:48:00.000-04:00

Dave, Karen & Katie with the Tag-a-long on the Tandem

The Eastern Tandem Rally was held on August 5,6, and 7, 2011 at the UConn campus. There were over 100 tandem and triplet bicycles all gathered at once for a mass start on Saturday morning, and it was amazing!! The people were very friendly and they arrived in Connecticut from all over the country and even other parts of the world. We really enjoyed learning from other riders and sharing stories and experiences.

One of the greatest parts of the Rally for us was bringing my daughter, Katie, along. The farthest distance Katie had ever ridden with us before the Rally was 18 miles. But with the sights and the activity and interesting happenings all around us, she rode 32 miles on the tag-a-long bike attached to our tandem!! Yea Katie!!!

To see more photos of the ETR 2011, click to our ETR Album on Facebook!

ETR at Storrs, CT

Katie really enjoyed the Rally and she did over 30 miles with us!

Rise & Shine!

2011-08-03T09:57:00.000-04:00

My view looking over Dave's helmet from the stoker position!

Sometimes it takes planning ahead to squeeze in enough riding to make a difference in our overall fitness abilities. We both want to be more fit and lose weight. If we can lose weight, cycling will take less effort, and we'll be faster -- that's the part David really likes!

We've been getting up very, very early now ~ as soon as the sun is up ~ at least 3 times a week to allow us to squeeze in a ride of sizable duration when work and additional responsibilities would otherwise eat up our day. In spite of the loss of sleep, these rides are sometimes really spectacular!

The sunshine glinting off of dewy blades of grass gave one recent morning an unusual freshness and glow. That same morning, a family of wild turkeys was standing all across one roadway, and cleared to make way for us as we approached.

With the morning exercise, we find we have more get-up&go throughout the day as well. It's definitely a win-win situation... I just wish we could do this all year long. I realize that our days will soon grow shorter and coldness will settle in. Until then, we'll take advantage of the opportunity and the beauty of the rural roads of Eastern Connecticut!

Scares the crap out of me!

2011-07-18T09:58:00.000-04:00

Some things about being on the road scare the crap out of me!

I wish the possibility of something terrible happening could escape my mind, but it's there whenever I'm on a bicycle. When I am on my own, I always stop at intersections -- even on the most rural streets. I'm a lot more cautious now than I remember being as a kid pedaling all over city streets. Safety wasn't at the forefront of my thoughts back then. I just wanted to get to my destination, and bicycle was how I got there.

Maybe it's that I haven't spent much of my adult life on two wheels -- with the exception of time spent on a designated bicycle path. There, I felt pretty safe, in spite of the numerous walkers with dogs, rollerbladers, and children happily unaware of the rule about staying to the right. It's just that on the bike path, there's the comfort of knowing there wasn't going to be heavy objects on four wheels whizzing by, easily capable of flattening out me and my bicycle like a pancake.

My other fear-factor is revolves around the fact that I am now taking a prescription for a blood thinner. I've seen Facebook photos of cyclists after a fall, and the full length body scrapes I'm sure would be a larger problem for me.

But all-in-all, when I balance the overall health benefits of cycling with the inherent risks, I don't want to give up the riding. I don't want to live in fear.

On the back of our tandem, I place my utmost trust in my Captain. He brought me into the world of serious cycling, and I've hungrily accepted his guidance all along.

However, David is a speed enthusiast by nature. Although I was scared crap on our first few fast and straight downhill descents on the tandem together, I made a promise to him and myself that I would not scream. And I will not ever, ever punch him in the back! I will admit to closing my eyes on occasion. :)

Three years into it now, whenever I am with David, I feel a greater sense of safety than when I am riding alone. But still, we have had a few close calls. In recent weeks, these have been with motorists making a right-hand turn in front of us. I've held my breath while David makes a split second decision on how to react.

Ride safely. Encourage motorists to be aware.

Challenging for sure!

2011-07-14T08:28:00.000-04:00

I have a weekly appointment to have my blood checked. A year ago, after considerable weight loss, I experienced severe abdominal pain. Initially, it was assumed to be a gall bladder issue. But a MRI revealed a blood clot in the portal vein of my liver. Eventually, the pain subsided, I was placed on blood thinners to help my body to dissolve the clot.

A year later, I thought I would be over this health crisis. But the clot is still there. Now the blood doctor wants to watch me more carefully to assure that my blood is consistently thin enough. I'm told my gall bladder is sick too. But since it hasn't given me much trouble, they are cautiously waiting before removing it. They want to be sure I have no clotting issue before going ahead with a "routine" surgery.

While I was getting my blood drawn yesterday morning, the lab technician was very interested in my cycling activity. I shared with her how many miles Dave & I ride each week, and our great enthusiasm for tandem riding. She wanted to learn more. I offered her some encouragement to get involved in cycling. I enjoy spreading the word about the sport as a pastime -- it's a way to gain all the benefits of regular physical activity without the drudgery. It's challenging for sure ~ more at some times than others ~ but it's exhilarating and afterward, the feeling of being refreshed and relaxed is so worth the effort!

Last night, we joined in with an after-work group ride of cycling club members. The first part of the ride was a lot more challenging than we anticipated! When it comes to hill climbing, it's a lot tougher on a tandem! Dave & I struggled as our ride leader explained to us that there was approximately 4 miles of uphill facing us... Wow, that was 100% pure effort in our combined output for a prolonged period of time! During those climbs, we find ourselves questioning what we ate that day, was it too much stress, etc. And we feel pressured to keep up with the others, not wanting to hold them back. Dave becomes very verbal. I prefer to quietly focus. We're good together! : )

The second half of last night's ride was better. The longest stretch of road was rolling with generous ups and downs. On the tandem, we were invited to lead the pack so that we could maximize our momentum on the downs to carry us forward on the ups. It worked out beautifully!

Overall, it was a 34 miles ride with 11 fellow riders, and a 14.4 mph average speed.

Amazing what your mind processes while your body is working

2011-07-12T09:43:00.000-04:00

Dave & I have been getting up at the crack of dawn these days. We've been heading out on our tandem at daybreak to assure that we make the time to get in a ride whenever we can -- daily if possible! And since it's mid-July, it's also the coolest part of the day.

Sometimes I feel a little groggy first thing in the morning, but I find that the early morning rides are beneficial in so many ways! Not only does it get me going so that I feel energetic and ready to accomplish a lot throughout the hours ahead, but at the same time, it leaves me feeling relaxed. The quiet of the morning while exercising offers an opportunity to sort out what needs to get done in my own mind, and lets me prioritize. It's a good thing!

The Sweet Story of How We Met

2011-07-11T13:27:00.000-04:00

David & I met on Halloween night of 2008. We met on Match.com. Our first date was on November 1st at Riverview Restaurant & Lounge in Moosup, Connecticut. The most memorable thing about our first date was how it was so comfortable and natural to be in each other's company... our first kisses, and oh... how David's teenage son called him around 11:00 p.m. and yelled at him for not being home from his dinner date by then!

Anyway, one of the things I was attracted to in Dave's profile on Match.com was that he was into cycling. I lived near a bicycle path at one time in my life, and I rode on it almost daily for exercise. I loved it. But I was still a casual rider. I had never been on a bicycle that hadn't come from a department store or a yard sale. I had never worn spandex. I used to watch the riders in spandex wiz by me when I lived in Rhode Island. I envied them, but I never, ever thought I could imagine myself as being "one of them"!

Lovin' Life Together!!

Well, now I am "one of them", and I believe it is one of the most positive life changes I have made. The other -- of course -- was becoming David's other half! Without him, it's probable that I'd still be riding on the bike path only - on my Walmart bicycle.

Fast forward: Dave & I naturally talk a lot while riding our tandem bicycle. It's one of the greatest advantages of riding tandem. We can hear each other and communicate easily. But we also enjoy each other's company while sharing quiet, thinking time too.

Yesterday, while riding on our tandem, I was pedaling along, deep in thought. I've recently been laid-off due to "reorganization" in my workplace. Our wedding date has been set for over a year now, to happen in September. Other financial set-backs have occurred as well, each one contributing to the economical stresses many of us are facing these days.

Our wedding date is September 10, 2011 -- The ceremony will be very intimate, with immediate family in attendance. It will be held at a local winery, casual and relaxed, yet eclectically elegant! Keeping it small has allowed us to make this affordable. It's all very nice, but we aren't your average, everyday kind of couple. We love cycling and it's part of our lives. In some way, shape or form, it's gotta be incorporated into our special day!

We have discussed various possibilities over the past year... Maybe we can ride into the ceremony on separate bicycles, and depart together on the tandem? That is a good possibility! But, it would also be a joy for us to be able to share our happiness with our cycling friends too!

Then I came up with an idea for establishing a Honeymoon Fund. With the goal of hopefully raising enough money to enable us to travel, I thought about the possibility of organizing a celebratory Wedding Day Group Cycling Ride. I can envision a wonderful route -- like the everyday rides Dave & I get to enjoy on a routine basis -- with some of the most breathtaking views of old country barns, fishing ponds, and rolling farmland extending out to a vivid blue horizon!

In researching how to do this, I discovered GoFundMe which allows a group or individual a simple way to establish a fund to benefit a good cause. Maybe this could work for us? And maybe we could actually celebrate our happiness with fellow cycling buddies, and maybe we can really make a honeymoon happen for us!