Two Wheeling West

Kampersville and VT Photos

Posted by Andrew on June 12th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Kampersville was amusing.  It was by far the most expensive tent site I’ve ever encountered at $29 for the night, very clean and well organized, but I try to avoid places like it when I can.  They tent to be very noisy…

I was in a far corner of the campground (as the tent sites normally are) between 2 families with kids and a very tent that appeared to be empty.  Things quieted down in the evening at a reasonable hour, but the morning was wild.  Turns out the empty tent’s owners came back late at night and their puppy and rabbit were up early to run around.  Yes, they brought a rabbit with them.

So, puppy gets up, barks, then the rabbit gets up.  The dog triggers the young children in the next site to wake up and cry.  Kids cry, then the dogs barks more - back and forth, back and forth.  When the kids emerge from the tent, they assume it’s a wild rabbit and follow it around for a while.  The rabbits owner pokes her head out of the tent and says, “oh, hi, that’s bugs bunny and he’s my pet.”  The kids run away, and the dog barks some more.

Then someone fires up a generator and someone is dumping something because the whole place stinks.  Anyway, not a bad campground, but I’ll try and avoid those when I can in the future.

A few photos - view more on flickr…

Kampersville, Salisbury, VT
view on flickr»

Moose
view on flickr»

My friends in VT
view on flickr»

NH Recap and Photos

Posted by Andrew on June 12th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Kancamagus Pass looks like a beast on the elevation profile, but I didn’t find riding it (from the east) to be too terrible.  The last few miles were rough, but not impossibly steep.  It was a nice day too, which certainly helped things out a bit.

NH Day 1: Fryeburg, ME to North Woodstock, NH. I stayed at Maple Haven Resort and Campground (emphasis on the campground, no emphasis on the “resort”), and tented under a tent.  A lot of hikers come through the area, so the owners set up a party tent near the road - works out well, it’s cheap, and you don’t have to deal with a wet tent if it rains, which was good…

NH Day 2: North Woodstock, NH to West Hartford, VT.  Woke up to intermittent rain, which changed to steady rain as soon as I got out of my tent (of course).  I have never been so cold in my entire life.  I rode up route 112 into Kinsman notch into more wind and rain, then down the other side at 45 mph with rain stinging my face the whole way.  Odd tradeoff: go faster which is painful, or draw out the cold misery.  The rain  finally let up in Haverhill, NH, and I eventually regained the feeling in my toes.

Had a great night in West Hartford, VT after visiting RSG in WRJ, VT; great end to an otherwise lousy day.  Staying in West Hartford was fun - I used to live out there and the house is right on the AT.  I don’t remember the house from my hike, but I do remember breakfast just down the road.  After a several year hiatus, the Village Store is open again, which made for a great 2nd breakfast.  Thatcher, Julie, Kev - the shower, dinner, and fire were fantastic, thanks!

me
view on flickr»

ME Photos

Posted by Andrew on June 11th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Nothing terribly interesting here - I only spent 1 night in Maine.  I rode from Portland to Fryeburg, then  entered NH early the next morning.  I’ll get some photos from the start from Amy and post those later - I didn’t take any with my camera, I was busy worrying about what I forgot (nothing so far!).

Swans Falls Campground is excellent if you’re ever in the area - easy to get to, very well maintained, and great access to the Saco River.

Chocolate Chip Cookie
view on flickr»

I like to think that I learn quickly…

Posted by Andrew on June 8th, 2009 - 7 Comments...  

2 days, just over 100 miles down, 4,200 to go.  Things I’ve learned:

1. Watch out for mailboxes, especially the ones placed way out into the road or hanging (keeps them away from the snowplows).  Almost got beaned by one of those yesterday.
2. The sun is intense, especially going up the Kancamagus Highway without a cloud in the sky.  My gloves have a hole in the back of the hand, and I’ve got brown spots there now.
3. Blackflies seem to be impervious to wind.
4. Eat more and always order the large - doesn’t matter what it is, just order the large.

Sitting in the library in Lincoln, NH right now using the Internet ($2 for 30 minutes, maybe I should have told her I’m a resident).  The Kanc wasn’t as bad as I expected - top top 2-3 miles were rough, but otherwise it was a fairly pleasant ride.  Nasty headwind coming down into Lincoln, so I only made it up to around 35 mph.

Oh yeah, I have a new “goal” for this trip: sampling cookies across the country.  I was working on a giant chocolate chip cookie from Hanaford yesterday and realized two things, why on earth did I get a cookie from Hanaford instead of one of the dozen bakeries I passed, and I think I should look for the best cookie on my travels.  No rules, any type of cookie is eligible, and I’m the only judge.

cookie 1:  Hanaford giant chocolate chip cookie: tasty, big, soft in the middle, plenty of cookie for the $$, but I don’t want to know what’s in it.  I’m always wary of cookies that can sit out for days and remain soft, just doesn’t seem like a good thing.

Staying at a campground in North Woodstock tonight, the on to West Hartford, VT tomorrow night.

Shakedown success, new kickstand mount!

Posted by Andrew on June 6th, 2009 - No Comments;  

I spent last weekend, May 30-31 on a two-day shakedown ride to test out the bike, gear, and my body.  Success!  I forgot a pair of shorts and flip-flops, but otherwise, everything worked out very well.  I’ve got the shorts packed, I bought a pair of flip-flops, so I’m all set.

I was happy with my saddle, but not thrilled.  The Specialized Avatar saddle I used has been on my mountain bike for 2 years and I’ve been very happy with it.  Of course, riding a mountain bike off-road is very different than having my ass parked in the saddle all day long.  I would venture a guess that I spent less than 50% of a mountain bike ride actually sitting in the saddle (I ride a hardtail with cheap/lousy front suspension).

Back to the Internets for some research…  The tourers say Brooks, but I really don’t want to baby a leather saddle all the time.   I would much rather set it up and forget about maintenance and keeping it dry, not to mention the break-in period for stretched leather.  More to come on the saddle front…

In other news, I have a new and much improved mount for my Pletscher two-leg kickstand.  I noticed that the Pletscher web site had a picture of a different mount than I have, so I emailed them about it.  A few days later I got a response from the CEO cc-ing their US distributor, KHS Bicycle Parts (note: not KHS Bicycles).

Thorsten at KHS Parts helped me out - I spoke to him on the phone and he spent some time rummaging around the warehouse that afternoon.  I had the new top plate and bolt in 2 days, just in time to head out for my weekend ride.  The old top plate was a simple piece of angled metal with a bolt down the middle.  In order to get the kickstand stable, several people reported having to tighten the bolt until the kickstand deformed the chainstays.  Obviously not a great idea, and the new mount will stay put with much less force.

New Pletscher kickstand mount
view on flickr»

(click “view on flickr” to view more photos)

Surly Long Haul Trucker

Posted by Andrew on June 2nd, 2009 - No Comments;  

Surly Long Haul Trucker
view on flickr»

I’ve been lazy in adding new pictures… Got a new camera last week, more pictures on the way!

These pictures were taken in early May the day after I picked up the bike from FitWerx.  I immediately added fenders, racks, handlebar bag mount, a kickstand, and other odds and ends: bottle cages, computer, frame pump, rear light.

Yes, I’m using a kickstand, it’s amazing, and more to come on that front…

Goodbye Vermont

Posted by Andrew on May 22nd, 2009 - 2 Comments...  

I’m finally leaving Vermont on Friday, May 22 for NJ.  I was hoping to leave on Sunday the 17th, but got hung up having my car painted (long story). I’ll spend the next two weeks in NJ/NYC relaxing, packing, re-packing, fiddling with my brakes (front brake is a little too touchy right now), and eating.  On June 6th, Amy and I head up to Portland, ME to wander around the Old Port for a night, then on the 7th, I’m off!

Vermont’s been good to me for the last 4.5-ish years.  I moved up here in January 2005 during a pretty nasty snowstorm - a fitting welcome to the great white north.

1. East Thetford, VT: I was lured out of “town” by a large and really inexpensive apartment. In retrospect, it was a mistake, but I managed to fix it after 8 months.  Too far removed from any signs of life.  We did have an issue with an escaped cow one afternoon  - cow got pissed, head-butted a truck, wandered around my front yard for a while, nothing out of the ordinary.  The local Troopers were just a few minutes away from fixing the situation with a shotgun when a tranquilizer gun appeared and the cow was carted away.
2. Norwich, VT: 3 bedroom house with several housemates, right in the middle of town.  32 Jones Circle is within shouting distance of the Norwich Inn, which led to plenty of time on the porch with plenty of Whistling Pig.  1 year later…
3. WeHa, AKA West Hartford, VT: probably has even fewer residents than East Thetford. No TV, good times spent hanging around Kev’s house with some great folks.  Of all places to live, I ended up in a house on the Appalachian Trail, right down the street from Podunk Road.  Just 6 months, since I knew I was on my way to…
4. Bedford, MA: telecommuting!  During the 6 months in MA, I’m sure I was more productive in fewer hours than at my desk in VT.  For anyone from RSG: I spent most meetings sitting outside in the backyard with a headset - highly recommended.  Another 6 months, then abruptly back to VT…
5. The Junc,  AKA White River Junction, VT: I’m not a huge fan of condo developments, but Hemlock Ridge wasn’t bad.  From my back porch I could wander about a mile through the woods to the Appalachian Trail.  I slept on the floor for a few weeks when I got here, so I guess it’s fitting that I’ll spend my last night on the floor before I leave tomorrow.

My kitchen is packed, so I ate half a pizza (other half is breakfast: metabolism++) sitting on the back porch staring at the nearly perfect Christmas tree behind my condo.  I knew I wouldn’t stay in Vermont forever, and it’s time to leave for me.  Funny that I find myself thinking about things I would have liked to do, or do more of: Ben and Jerry’s, more time in Burlington, Presidential Traverse, more grilling, kayaking, skating on Lake Morey, Hanover->Moosilauke, keg on the back deck, drag some Boston people up here for a weekend, finish the half-complete web projects.

Last picture on the porch in Goose Green, VT
view on flickr»

These crazy people used to party up here, something else we all should have done during the last few years: July 4th party in the lower field!

Launch!

Posted by Andrew on May 20th, 2009 - No Comments;  

Phew, finally.

Still working on The Gear, mostly in the details and random odds-and-ends.

Maps are up and running - check out the Google map and let me know if you have always wanted to have a smelly cyclist sleep on your couch!

Let me know if you have any questions, or if I missed something important in here!

Bikes, Gear, Gear, Gear…

Posted by Andrew on April 29th, 2009 - No Comments;  

The majority of the gear I’ll bring biking is new to me - boxes arrive daily lately.  I end up sitting on my floor figuring out how everything fits together, then I “organize” everything, and by “organize” I mean create piles that are at least somewhat related.  So far piles for:  sleeping bag/tent, cooking, tools, clothes, panniers and racks (big pile).

Of course, I steal things from the piles daily - the clothes pile gets robbed every morning when I ride to work, and the tools pile has been steadily losing tools to various jersey pockets and backpacks.   So much for organizing.

Road bike - Trek 1500
view on flickr»