RuppRider Returns ... Again

Well, the last time I posted was nearly a year ago. No promises to keep posting, but thought I would give it a go.

Lots of events since last January - numero uno is moving from our idyllic location for road cycling, mountain biking and snowboarding to an even better locale about 20 minutes north. Donna and I rented a four bedroom farm house for 13 years unable to move because it was so economical and so well located for our activities. We received many signs that it was time to make a move: old pets dying, home prices falling, interest rates doing the same, even a $8K incentive from Uncle Sam. We looked and looked but really struggled to find a home in our price range that offered the same location for easy access to our Ridn. Finally, on the day we had to put our beloved greyhound Liberty (Mr. Tiny) to sleep, Donna, trying to relieve some of her grief, went on a ride to check out a site we looked up on the Internet. With Mr. Tiny's guidance we found the ideal house for the right price where it would be half the commute for Donna and with plenty of opportunities for Ridn.

The road cycling is even better than before being close to some of the climbs that are sought out on MHCC Rides. Our five acres offers terrain that is perfect for mountain bike trail building and is adjacent to 600 acres on the north slope of a small mountain that is only used by locale deer hunters. We are now 20 minutes closer to West Mountain, Gore and most importantly now only 50 minutes from Killington!

We moved in March and it was shaping up to be a great snowboarding year with lots of early snow and, even with a January thaw, more snow in February and March. However, moving took too many free days from work and I did not get in the days I thought I would. As we got settled in the spring cycling season unfolded. It was very easy to get in some major climbs for this area without having to ride far and I could come up with 20-mile circuits that had 2000 or more feet of climbing without any problems at all. So, there was not any excuse for not getting into good cycling shape early on. The mountain biking was another story. The rains started coming in June and got worse in July and then, when you thought it could not get wetter in the woods, August came and the deluge turned up a notch. Since riding in the woods was not a viable option at most established trail locations, I used the opportunity to build a small network of trails on our five acre lot. It took some practice to not make the trail too difficult. But with stone walls, steep climbs, mud, rocks and roots there was plenty of technical terrain and leg-searing climbs in a small distance of singletrack. Thirty minutes of looping through my trails forces me to stop at least twice to try to get some oxygen back into my blood!

Another advantage to our new location is the proximity to a co-worker that has been interested in cycling. Terry lives about five miles away on our most used road. We started riding together in the spring and kept each other motivated to ride more. Soon Terry bought a new bike and was getting fitter and fitter. Not much later, he got his son interested in the sport and now the three of us ride together. I started out as the leader of this trio, but now I am the one they have to wait for at the top of the climbs! I don't mind as it is very satisfying to watch two more people get the cycling bug and their enthusiasm inspires me to keep going for more.

Our Fall weather has been mild and road cycling continues to be on the Ridn menu. Work will always intrude, but the nearly car-free pavement with the best scenery and terrain you can get in the northeast is right at my door. Today I did a 2 hour/35 mile ride in 46 degree weather. The first third is a descent through the clay farm land to the Hudson River, the next third is the flat paved and dirt roads right along side the river, followed by the climb back up through the rolling hills and Cossyuna Lake to home.