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!