Week of 09/27/09 - Flu and Work Strike Major Blow - 0 Miles!

Things have been too good on the bike ... meeting goal almost every week with great rides.  Well, this week that came to an end.  Work was insanely busy with the FDA proposal, but the real culprit was a nasty cold (maybe the flu) that zapped my energy and had me hacking, coughing, and blowing all week.  I did not get out once ... first time all year.  Hoping to feel strong enough to ease back in next week.  Man, I hope this kind of thing does not happen next summer.

Week of 09/20/09 - 145 Miles

Work continues to make scheduling rides a challenge ... another big proposal effort underway for FDA. Still managed to find time for 145 miles including some repeats at Columbia Gateway and a fast run to Patapsco State Park and up Bonnie Branch Road. Total miles year to date is just shy of 4,900.

Week of 09/13/09 - Just shy of 150 miles

Even with a busy proposal for the Shriner's Hospital in progress, I logged almost 150 training miles this week. The weekend included 100 miles in western Howard and southern Caroll County.  One of my favorite destinations and turn around points is Sykesville, a small historic town in southern Caroll County.  The town sits along the Patapsco River and was a big stop on the old B&O railroad route.  To reach Main Street you descend in and must climb out (a few great options for that include River Road, which follows the river and some nice horse fames or Forsythe Road, which is less scenic, but a tougher grade).  The old train station was converted to a great restaraunt called Baldwin's Station.  It is one of our favorites and the place we head for anniversaries and special nights out.

Week of 09/06/09 - Leah Rides 50k

Leah completed her longest solo ride to date ... a 50k (31 mile) adventure on the Western Maryland Rail Trail. We started in Fort Frederick at the Big Pool trailhead and went 15.5 miles out and back though Hancock and past some scenic mountain ranges and old mills. "Casey Cannondale" averaged an impressive 11.5 miles per hour.

With the ride, I logged another 140 mile week of training. Saturday saw a solid 56 mile ride to Sykesville with some hilly stretches in Caroll County.

Week of 08/30/09 - Post Vacation Blues

Drove home to Maryland from my sister's house with Leah on Monday.  Traffic was pretty good, with only a few delays in NJ.  We stopped at the Town & Country Diner in Bordentown, NJ.  A classic diner ... Karen and I stopped there back in 1997 on the way back from getting her engagement ring in New York City.  Great food for the money and huge portions. Photo courtesy of Angel Rodriguez, Trenton, NJ.

The rest of the week was pretty much spent catching up from two weeks of vacation.  That meant a lot of work and almost no time for riding.  The break from the bike was actually positive.  I ended the week with a strong 45 mile ride to Glenwood in western Howard County.  Glenwood is home to a large number of higher end homes with 3-5 acre lots.  Lots of riding options with minimal traffic.  The area has a new community center , library, and park. Back to 140-150 mile goal next week.

Week of 08/23/09 - 150 Miles in Beautiful Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park

Wonderful summer weather (hot), great company, and the perfect cottage steps from Main Street in Southwest Harbor.  My birthday (49th) included an enjoyable 10 mile carriage trail ride around Jordon Pond  (passing the Jordon Pond House) and Bubble Pond with Amy and Joel.  They both did very well and pushed up some challenging grades.  The carriage trails are so perfect and had only marginal people traffic.  While I will always prefer the pavement, the carriage trails are one of my favorite off-road places to ride.  After the ride, the siblings took me for a nice birthday lunch at Rupununi's in Bar Harbor.  I got the Crab Quesadilla and was treated with a piece of key lime pie cheescake with a bithday candle.

Joel and Amy headed home late afternoon and I jumped on the bike for a quick 30 miles on the quiet side of the island.  From Southwest Harbor, I went past Seawall, Bass Harbor Lighthouse, Tremont, Pretty Marsh, and Great Long Pond.  Virtually no cars, great views, and a perfect chance to escape!  Ride back on Route 102 was a little busier past Echo Lake.  Spent a quiet night alone awaiting the arrival of the girls.

Tuesday morning brought another spectacular weather day and a meandor to Northeast Harbor via Sargent Drive.  Perhaps one of the top 10 bike roads in Maine (ok, no shoulder) ... for scenery at least. It hugs Sommes Sound and passes some pretty fancy "cottages" as you get to Northeast Harbor.  Returned via Town Hill, Indian Point Road, and the quiet side. 40 miles in total. The girls (Karen, Leah, Carol, Lindsay, and Jane) arrived around lunch time. We enjoyed Southwest Harbor, Bar Harbor, another great lobster at Thurston's, and some great tidepooling near Seawall.  On Wednesday the twins and I retraced the carriage trail ride (10 miles) from earlier in the week after a frustrating delay due to a flat and brake issue with Carol's bike (she had fun descending without rear brakes!).  Before dinner I took a fast 25 mile spin around Bernard and finshed up with a quick husband and wife team who caught me after I initially flew by them (they must have been really crusing).
While Thursday was not a long ride (a little less than 30 miles), it included the route I have wanted to complete for so long ... the Park Loop Road and a climb to the top of Caddillac Mountain.  I did the climb at the end and kept a slow, but steady pace the whole way. Cadilac is roughly 1,500 feet, 3.5 miles, and has an average grade of around 8%.

Everyone but Leah and I headed back on Thursday.  It was a great 3 day Dad and daughter vacation!  We immediately headed to the Sand Beach parking lot and climbed Beehive Mountain.  While Beehive is only 520 feet high, you ascend exposed cliffs with iron rungs on very narrow ledges. It was an amazing experience.  Leah was a star, and led the entire way.  The views were great, and watching Leah gleam from ear to ear when we reached the top was worth the drenched tee shirt and risk (Karen would never have allowed it!).  We hiked back a more conventional way and spent a few hours relaxing and hunting crabs on the beach.

Friday included a short 5 mile carriage trail ride around Eagle Lake and another great hike.  This time we retraced the route from last week up to Bubble Rock.  Leah was up for the challenge of the return via the rock slide path.  A fun day contiuned with an 18 hole championship at Pirate's Cove golf. Leah took the title with some steady handed putting.  The day ended with a fun dinner at Geddy's and perhaps two of the coldest beers I have had in quite awhile.

Saturday came ... after a nice arts and crafts show and stop at the George Door Museum at the College of the Atlantic, we said goodbye to the island and slowly returned to the lake via the coast.  We made a few shopping stops including Marden's (a Maine institution), Rennys, a new school back pack at LL Bean, and a browsing session at the Big Chicken Barn (a huge antique and book store).  The vacation ended as it started ... a lazy day on the lake.  We headed to my sister's Sunday night and engorged on great Chineese food from Chinatown in Stoughton.

All in all ... a great and memorable week with 150 miles of varied riding.

Week of 08/16/09 - 160 Miles in Maine

Settled into a quiet (if that is possible in Winthrop) and fun vacation routine ... up early and off to bed early ... group lunches and dinners ... swimming at the lake (Lower Narrows Pond) ... kayaking ... canoe tipping ... tubing ... yard sales ... and of course, biking.  I went on a couple great paddles with Karen (across the lake) and Leah (through the culvert and over to Upper Narrows Pond).  We took in a fun rendition of my favority book "Wind in the Willows" at The Theater at Monmouth.  The theater runs a great schedule of top notch productions and is based out of Cumston Hall (see picture).  The building has been amazingly restored and maintained.  Toad was played to perfection. The actors were a little taken back when Leah told them I had over 200 different versions of the book ... hence my pen name "MrWiilows". 

 We spent a fun night with Leo's Legacy riders Ed & Cheryl Webber ... another great set of Ed stories, although none will top the time an inner tube flew off a truck and landed on his head!

I had no scheduling issues other than a few thunderstorms and one rainy day.  My rides included:

*  Solid 2 hours (almost 30 miles) around Marranacook and Annabessacook ... great lake shore views

*  Great 50 mile tour to Mt. Vernon and Belgrade ... one of my favorite loops ... great views, lakes, and a     few good climbs

*  Hilly 2 hours (almost 30 miles) up Ridge Road in Monmouth ... awesome decsent with no cars for most of the ride

On Saturday I was up and out by 6AM and drove toward Mount Desert and Acadia National Park to meet Joel and Amy for a sibling weekend.  While they were hauling up 95 for five hours, I took a rolling and often hilly loop (almost 55 miles) from Surry to Blue Hill to Sedgwick to Deer Isle.  The route was a little longer and hillier than I expected and it was pretty warm and ... drum roll ... I must admit the climb out of Blue Hill had me walking for about 100 feet ... first time that has happened in a long time.  A good humbling experience.  The ride was scenic in spots, but the roads were a little beat up.  I still enjoyed the challenge and chance to log a longer ride.  Blue Hill is an eclectic town with a big arts and music following.  The route included crossing the Deer Isle Bridge, which was only running alternating traffic one way due to repainting.  That enabled me to have an entire lane to myself for almost the entire span, as they were only paiting at the end of one side. Deer Isle was a small quaint stop with a few galleries and shops.  The return trip had me pushing hard to get back to meet Joel and Amy.  I ended up about an hour late, so they had a nice lunch in Bar Harbor before meeting me at the cottage in Southwest Harbor.  Spotty cell coverage made it interesting telling them where to go, but we finally met up.  The cottage was perfect and only four houses from Main Street.

Amy and I hit a small arts and craft show in town then grabbed a drink before we all headed to tour the Park Loop Road and into Bar Harbor for an evening strolling about.  We caught a fun late night dinner at Route 66.  Great atmosphere and reasonable prices ... food was pretty good too.  On Sunday we went for a hike up the South Bubble to Bubble Rock.  Great views all around.  Joel and I took the challenging rock slide "path" (if you can call it that) down.  It was heavily rocked with cliffs, ledges, and numerous tight turns.  We met up with Amy and drove back to the cottage before heading to my favorite lobster pound on the island, Thurston's.  A typical 45 minute wait rewarded us with top notch lobster, although, it was soft shells only.  They were still awesome!  More fun planned for tommorow before they leave and the girls arrive.  Hey, I turn 49 in the morning.