Racing Buddies Reunite!

Dave and Chris, during the Saturday morning ride

As we age, a look back to our younger years ~ when pressures of work and responsibilities weren't at the forefront of our minds ~ takes on the sweet, golden glow of nostalgia.

My husband, David, speaks fondly of his teenage years when he hopped on a bicycle with a carefree attitude, and he pedaled for miles upon miles effortlessly. He took part in bicycle races and he participated in group training rides led by Ron Manizza, who owned Rainbow Cycles in Willimantic at the time.

Dave enjoyed the comradery that existed among fellow team members. So when news hit town that a former fellow rider, Chris Lacey, was returning to Connecticut for a family visit, a cycling reunion took place. Ron invited Dave and I to meet up at his home an hour before our regular Saturday morning group rides held by the Thread City Cyclists. It was great for Dave and Ron to catch up with Chris, sharing stories about life adventures. And then, Chris joined our ride!

Dave Etchells, Chris Lacey, and Ron Manizza

It's funny how some tendencies stick with us. Dave laughed aloud as Chris bunny-hopped over railroad tracks and speed bumps, just as he remembered him doing as a kid!

It was a great 42 mile ride on a sunny weekend morning, and a whole lot of fun for the guys to get together again!

Getting Started in Bicycle Racing... Again!

The starting line...

We had an hour and a half drive to get to the race on Saturday morning. We got up early, and I made David one of my most famous and healthy smoothies along with a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich on an English muffin. We hurried around gathering belongings and ate in the van on the way.

When we first pulled into the parking lot, David immediately approached another rider for information on where the registration area was located. That rider actually gave him direction to the starting point of the race.

It was extremely cold! Even with the wind whipping, David was starting to gear up into his cycling clothes outside of the van! Then I noticed there was a table set up far across the other end of the lot. Wondering who else in their right minds would be sitting at a table set up outdoors on such a day, we realized that it was likely that the registration spot was right there! It was a good thing we didn't head right over to where that other rider suggested because we would have wasted valuable time.

This was a criterium training race. It was the first of this year's Plainville Spring Cycling Series held at the Farmington Valley Corporate Park. Basically the course consists of forty half mile loops -- twenty miles total.

Although David has racing experience, it was many years ago. This was a good race for David to ease into now, to familiarize himself with the feeling of pushing himself to the max and riding super close!

David comes into the finish!

At the starting point, David tossed his extra pair of gloves over to me. It's not always easy to know how to dress with the changeable weather conditions we've had lately.

He stuck with the pack for a few loops, but then he fell behind. With training races such as this, lapped riders don't get pulled. As the race progressed, David once again found himself within the pack, and for a few laps he was again able to hang on. Although he was eventually lapped again, I'm proud of him for sticking through to the finish.

The plan is to continue these weekly training races so that David can work to improve his skills and overall fitness level. This commitment assures that he will take advantage of every opportunity to work on his skills throughout the week -- with early morning or after work rides or spin classes, attacking challenging climbs, and monitoring his heart rate to ensure optimum performance.

We'll be there again next week!

Good articles to check out!
How to Race a Criterium
10 Tips for Beginning Road Racers

Following the Dream

This will be an exiting weekend! David's USA Cycling license arrived in the mail yesterday. Tomorrow, David will test the waters as he re-enters the world of bicycle racing as more than just an observer!

David raced as a teenager, but with becoming a grown-up and having stresses and responsibilities, his own desires were put on hold. Now that David's (with me!) in a supportive relationship, he's on the right path with his career, and his son is off to college -- it's time to do those things he didn't have the freedom to do previously.

I'll be ringing a cowbell on the sidelines to cheer him on!!

The Plainville Spring Series is held on the roadways of The Farmington Valley Corporate Park in Plainville, CT. The course consists of a flat, 0.5 mile circuit on smooth pavement with two, wide 90 degree turns.

I discovered this video clip online of a previous year's race.

Working Out Around Life

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!!

Is it Really November??

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.

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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!!

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!!

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!

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!!"

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!

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!!!

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!

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! : )

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!!