Smarter than your average Bear Gravel Grinder

After working around the house one Sunday I headed out on the CAADx for a little Gravel Ride in the Lower Litchfield Hills. I needed to get some gravel miles because D2R2 was next month and there was that looming question of whether or not I would ride this bike then. I started this ride at the I-84 Exit 14 commuter lot, hit Flood Swamp road and then climb Flat Hill, which is anything but flat!

Last Call ...

Woke up Tuesday morning to discover it rained overnight.  Really rained, there was standing water all around the parking lot.

Heading out at Sunrise once again

Loving the salty air coming off the ocean

Ayup!  People will try this anyway and get stuck

Heading west on the old Railroad bed now road

Somebody drop a Clouser's Minow?

Lobster Shack spelled correctly - not for tourists

Visiting the old Goal (Jail)

Finished the ride at the Cape Neddick Light House

Beautiful ride

See you Maine, 

142 miles of riding in four days!
A great vacation!

Tandeming to Ft Mc Clary

Unlike last year where I dragged the tandem all the way to Newport but never rode it with Elliot, this time we were riding.  Elliot didn't want to go to the beach so it became the perfect father, son activity. We first rode to the Bagel Basket for breakfast.  By far the best place for breakfast in the York Beach area.  Besides the bagels, he had lemonade and I tried the dark roast ice coffee.

Looking for Wally Moose

Another glorious sunrise greeted me on York Beach before the rest of the family awoke.  This morning's ride goal was to head inland and do some climbing, and see if I could find Wally Moose, if that is even possible for Coastal Maine.

With my D2R2 Kit on I headed out north to Cape Neddick and the early morning sun kissing the houses along Route 1A and the only people up this early were the beach walkers, doggers and few other fitness nuts out running.

Flat as a board and saw no Bush

My family and I headed north at the end of July for our annual summer get away, this time to York Beach, Maine.  Unlike past summer vacations we were only staying a few days and opted for a hotel rather than renting a house, which for a cyclist presented a different set of challenges.  For thing, it meant my bike had to stay on the bike rack and endure the elements.  I kept it, along with the tandem well secured to the bike rack but seeing all the other bikes in the racks at the hotel, some not even locked up I wasn't terribly afraid of theft.

Being the early riser, the first morning at the beach, I was up and out of the hotel at the crack of dawn and heading out to ride with the sun rising was truly brilliant.   My first ride of the vacation I rode south towards Portsmouth but once I came to Route 1, I headed north.

It was still early enough that riding such a busy thoroughfare was not as scary as one would imagine.  For the first couple of miles there was even a bike lane, which then gave way to a pretty wide shoulder. 

You know you are in Maine when every other sign is for lobster and the peculiar way in which the locals spell yard.

Kennebunkport was quaint to say the least.  Downtown was really nice and when I stopped to refill my bottles I found everyone to be quite nice and really chatty.  Didn't see any of the Bush family, though.

On the way back I rode along the shore from Ogunquit to Cape Neddick.  I sort of rode with this other guy for a bit, or should I say we rode together at a distance. He wasn't very chatty so I assumed he wasn't from around there. This route was was like a roller coaster and I was making pretty good time despite a little headwind.

Once there, I stopped at this coffee shop called The Daily Grind for a little ride nosh. Apparently it got some great reviews but if you ask me the food was kind of meh.  On top of that, they had outside seating but you had to be seated and waited on. I felt that was BS and decided I wasn't coming back.

Mt Greylock Century

Back to Mount Greylock for the July 16th Century Ride and my third Century for 2016, only this time on the road bike and a real century ride.  Last year, Will and I road the dirt Century which was only 75 miles but grueling to say the least. This year's dirt course got nixed due to not enough interest. 

The route from Notch View was pretty straight forward, over last year, we simply took Route 9 to Lanesboro and then picked up Route 8 for bit but then jumped on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail  On the rail trail we could see Mount Greylock off in the distance enshrouded by clouds.  The rail trail was nice because it was a nice respite from the nearby busy road.

Look what the Cat dragged in!

The one thing that I haven't been quite comfortable with on the Surly Cross Check and with the recent acquisition of the Specialized Tri-Cross is the frame size.  All spring I had been looking for 61 cm project frame to build up into another gravel grinder/commuter bike.  I found a few candidates on Craigslist but the sellers either never got back to me (which seems to be the case more and more with Craigslist) or they were sketchy characters, perhaps selling something they didn't acquire legally. Then I found this brand new, 2015 Cannondale CAADx Disc for sale and the guy back to me!