Lunartics NewSylum Petit Roubaix

This is the second time this year to do this ride and might start becoming a thing. Friday, after work, we meet at the NewSylum Brewery in Newtown, CT and go on a short, mixed surface ride that I like to call a Petit Roubaix. There's singletrack, grass fields, paved and dirt roads, and old rights of way on the route. 

Pink Super Moon 4 Handle

Last month, my friend Scott invited me to join a great group of guys that rode Tuesday nights in Easton, CT. There isn't a lot of traffic on the backroads in and around here making it the perfect location for a night ride. I have done rides from here after work, pre-covid, but not as regularly as this, and it's perfect because Tuesdays I am in the office and this is kind of on my home. 

Photo Credit: Scott Davidow

Continuing to improve the CAADX

After Saturday's ride to OOF using the 34T chainring and getting dropped I decided to see if I could get a bigger chainring. I found a green anodized 38T Amazon Prime deal for $4.95 it would be delivered the next day! That's insane, so I pulled the trigger on it and also got a 40T, in black. I found a green one but the delivery didn't match my timeline.

Cold and slow to OOF on the CAADx

I had on winter kit for this morning's ride to Ovens of France.

CAADx Rebuild

For the past year, I have been running 50c tire on the front of the CAADx and I have really loved the Monster Cross feel of the big tire upfront but I couldn't do the same in the rear, unfortunately, so I have been thinking about changing this bike up and making it my primary gravel bike. I don't plan on selling the Sex Machine but I think I am going to use it for commuting and bike packing, as well as the occasional gravel ride.

Kent Falls Roubaix

The weather boffins predicted that Sunday would be the best day of the weekend and that meant it would be a great day to ride some gravel roads in the Litchfield Hills.

Riding up Old Mount Tom Road

Today's script was to ride the old Shepaug railroad bed, through the famous Shepaug tunnel, and up to Romford; ride all the available dirt roads to Goshen; come down through Mohawk State Forest to Waren; try a closed road that I have been wanting to ride near Wyantenock State Forest; skim the top of Lake Waramaug; stop at Kent Falls Brewery for a pint; ride another dirt road that I just discovered the other day, Sawyer Hill; then fly back to Roxbury.

Scott, Mike and I met at the Roxbury Town Hall around 9:30 AM. It was nice not having to wake up early for a ride and having a later start meant it would be warmer, too.  I think everyone else we passed on bikes, with the exception of an unfriendly Tri-Dork at Lake Waramaug, were wearing tights.  Of course Scott was wearing tights but at least he had the option of taking them off at any point during the ride.

Newtown Lunartics OOF Metric+

The Newtown Lunartics Saturday Morning Ride to OOF started out with some twists and turns. Someone, who shall remain nameless, said they would meet us at the end of Flag Swamp Road at 8:40 AM. Scott, Gavin, and I left Cover 2 at 8 AM and I knew that we would probably get to the meeting point early, which we did. So we rode up Flag Swamp to find our cycling sister who was riding over from Gaylordsville.

eMTBs at Waldo

On Friday Scott decided to join me on a mountain bike ride at Waldo State Park in Southbury. We headed out on the main trail and as we neared the big climb these two females were on what looked like eMTBs coming the other way, but I could have been mistaken.  This is the first time I have been out riding in the woods and seen others riding, too. 

A 3 Handle Ride

The temperature on Thursday topped out around 70 degrees and it was too nice to pass up. I headed out on Just Good Beer wanting to get a 3 Handle because I took a rest day on Wednesday. Granted it was worth it because the last brake I took from cycling was one day off in mid March.

Getting Bolder

I am finding that riding dirt on skinny tires is not as bad as I imagined

and I find I am doing it a lot more now

 

The Dirty Bunny Roubaix

 

Will contacted me last week and wanted to know if I wanted to ride Westchester Dirt Roads. His wife had the car for the weekend and he suggested we meet somewhere along the train line.  Since Easter is no longer a big celebration at my house I suggested that we ride on Sunday since the weather was supposed to be a little warmer than Saturday.