SO LONG 2014
APPROX TOTALS:
RUN 486.2 mi
RIDE 2000.2 mi
SNOWSHOE 113.3 mi
HIKE/WALK 627.9 mi
PADDLE 22.3 mi
XC SKI 14.1 mi
DAYS OUTDOORS 353/365
Event Totals
Run 196.4 mi, 44 hr 44 min
Bike 338.3 mi, 29 hr 10 min
Snowshoe 47.5 mi, 14 hr 38 min
Kayak 4.0 mi, 1 hr 3 min
states/provinces visited: AB, CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT
10 snowshoe races
21 trail races
4 road races
5 duathlons
2 paddle triathlons
3 bicycle rides
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Friday, December 26, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
MADE IT!
16 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Monday, December 22, 2014
Another grey, chilly day for a ride (though not as chilly as yesterday.) I toyed with the idea of trying either the bike path west of Schenectady or the Zim Smith trail, but I'm glad I went to the Colonie-Niskayuna path instead... from what I saw of the unplowed sections there, the other two options wouldn't have been rideable on my road bike.
I went into today's ride with just under 16 miles left to hit 2000 miles for the year... that sounded pretty easy. But during parts of today's ride I considered stopping after about 10 miles... what can I say, riding back and forth on the same stretch of path gets pretty tedious, especially on a dreary day like today. The ducks, gulls, and pigeons on the river provided small bits of distraction, but for the most part it was more a day to grind out the miles.
Funny thing was, during my last two miles there was a small break in the clouds and I got a bit of sunshine for 20 minutes or so... that was remarkably symbolic, since that's when I just barely broke the 2000 mile mark for the year. The sun made a noticeable difference in my mood, too... sticking out the entire 16 miles would have been a lot easier if it had been sunny, and I might have even done a few more to boot.
Don't know if I'll be riding again before the end of the month, but regardless this has definitely been a banner year for my cycling... I did several rides over 50 miles for the first time in longer than I can remember, rode my first century, rode over 2000 miles for the year, and rode every month. Nothing to write home about for the hard-core cyclists out there... but all pretty significant for me.
JMH
16 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Monday, December 22, 2014
Another grey, chilly day for a ride (though not as chilly as yesterday.) I toyed with the idea of trying either the bike path west of Schenectady or the Zim Smith trail, but I'm glad I went to the Colonie-Niskayuna path instead... from what I saw of the unplowed sections there, the other two options wouldn't have been rideable on my road bike.
I went into today's ride with just under 16 miles left to hit 2000 miles for the year... that sounded pretty easy. But during parts of today's ride I considered stopping after about 10 miles... what can I say, riding back and forth on the same stretch of path gets pretty tedious, especially on a dreary day like today. The ducks, gulls, and pigeons on the river provided small bits of distraction, but for the most part it was more a day to grind out the miles.
Funny thing was, during my last two miles there was a small break in the clouds and I got a bit of sunshine for 20 minutes or so... that was remarkably symbolic, since that's when I just barely broke the 2000 mile mark for the year. The sun made a noticeable difference in my mood, too... sticking out the entire 16 miles would have been a lot easier if it had been sunny, and I might have even done a few more to boot.
Don't know if I'll be riding again before the end of the month, but regardless this has definitely been a banner year for my cycling... I did several rides over 50 miles for the first time in longer than I can remember, rode my first century, rode over 2000 miles for the year, and rode every month. Nothing to write home about for the hard-core cyclists out there... but all pretty significant for me.
JMH
Sunday, December 21, 2014
COLD WITH LIGHT SLEET...
12 Mile Ride Through the Corning Riverfront Preserve
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Two things this year have made it very clear to me that I enjoy biking but I don't love it in the way I love running and snowshoeing... the first was finding stretches of the Maine Lighthouse Century ride just plain tedious. Hours of riding along country roads with the prospect of hours more to go... sigh. Thank heavens a good chunk of the 2nd half was along the seacoast so at least there was some interesting and (for me) unusual scenery.
The second was getting out of the car today at the Corning Preserve, setting off into the damp cold and mild sleet, with my hands burning after I'd barely started, and thinking how nice it would be to cut the ride short and go back home. Honestly, if I wasn't struggling to hit 2000 miles before the end of the year, I probably would have done just that. Riding on a grey, damp, cold winter day just isn't all that appealing to me.
The ride did get better once I'd warmed up, enough so that I did a second loop down through the riverfront park before loading the bike up, cranking up the heat, and heading back home. But if it wasn't for needing the miles to hopefully make that goal - I would have been much happier going for a run today.
JMH
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
THE SNOW SURE IS PRETTY...
4 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
OK, 90+ minutes to ride 4 miles is definitely nothing to brag about... but there were extenuating circumstances, like the 2-3 inches or of very wet, dense snow I was riding through... and the wind blowing even more snow in my face for half the ride. It was slow, tough going and had me seriously questioning my decision to drive all the way to the bike path for what I quickly realized would be a much shorter ride than I had hoped for.
Actually, I was lucky to be riding at all... I tried going off the section that had been been plowed the day before, where the snow was more like 8 inches deep and found myself making no headway at all.
But on the plus side, the snow-covered trees were very nice to look at, and it sure was peaceful... if I had started earlier (it was getting dark by the time I finished) I probably would have stayed out for a few more miles.
JMH
4 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
OK, 90+ minutes to ride 4 miles is definitely nothing to brag about... but there were extenuating circumstances, like the 2-3 inches or of very wet, dense snow I was riding through... and the wind blowing even more snow in my face for half the ride. It was slow, tough going and had me seriously questioning my decision to drive all the way to the bike path for what I quickly realized would be a much shorter ride than I had hoped for.
Actually, I was lucky to be riding at all... I tried going off the section that had been been plowed the day before, where the snow was more like 8 inches deep and found myself making no headway at all.
But on the plus side, the snow-covered trees were very nice to look at, and it sure was peaceful... if I had started earlier (it was getting dark by the time I finished) I probably would have stayed out for a few more miles.
JMH
Tuesday, December 09, 2014
Sunday, December 07, 2014
Saturday, December 06, 2014
A THOROUGHLY UNPLEASANT
AFTERNOON & EVENING
Saturday, December 6, 2014
I had hoped to stop somewhere along the way to CT for another short walk, but the rain got heavier pretty quickly as I headed south... I'm glad I went out earlier today, and I was lucky that it had eased off at that point. Even the drive wasn't particularly pleasant, between the rain and the idiotic way many of my fellow drivers behave behind the wheel.
I find traveling at this time of the year somewhat frustrating... I got to my motel in CT a little after 5 PM and even if it hadn't been raining steadily, I wouldn't have had many options for being outdoors, since it was already dark. Two more weeks and we start regaining a few minutes of daylight each day...
JMH
AFTERNOON & EVENING
Saturday, December 6, 2014
I had hoped to stop somewhere along the way to CT for another short walk, but the rain got heavier pretty quickly as I headed south... I'm glad I went out earlier today, and I was lucky that it had eased off at that point. Even the drive wasn't particularly pleasant, between the rain and the idiotic way many of my fellow drivers behave behind the wheel.
I find traveling at this time of the year somewhat frustrating... I got to my motel in CT a little after 5 PM and even if it hadn't been raining steadily, I wouldn't have had many options for being outdoors, since it was already dark. Two more weeks and we start regaining a few minutes of daylight each day...
JMH
COLD & RAINY... BLEAH
0.6 Mile Walk at Six Mile Waterworks Park
0.8 Mile Walk at Buckingham Pond
Saturday, December 6, 2014
I couldn't summon the motivation to go for a run or a ride in the cold, steady rain this morning... guess it was just as well I cancelled my trip to NJ to run the 1st of the Winter Series trail races, though it would have been nice to run through Lewis Morris Park in a different season (I ran there back in June.)
Instead I took care of some errands and then went for two short walks... first along the shore of Rensellaer Lake, at Six Mile Waterworks Park, and then one lap around Buckingham Pond. I would have done at least one more lap around Buckingham, but it was getting late and I didn't want to get on the road to CT too late in the afternoon.
One plus to the lousy weather - not many people out on the trails!
JMH
0.6 Mile Walk at Six Mile Waterworks Park
0.8 Mile Walk at Buckingham Pond
Saturday, December 6, 2014
I couldn't summon the motivation to go for a run or a ride in the cold, steady rain this morning... guess it was just as well I cancelled my trip to NJ to run the 1st of the Winter Series trail races, though it would have been nice to run through Lewis Morris Park in a different season (I ran there back in June.)
Instead I took care of some errands and then went for two short walks... first along the shore of Rensellaer Lake, at Six Mile Waterworks Park, and then one lap around Buckingham Pond. I would have done at least one more lap around Buckingham, but it was getting late and I didn't want to get on the road to CT too late in the afternoon.
One plus to the lousy weather - not many people out on the trails!
JMH
Wednesday, December 03, 2014
8 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Well, that was annoying. I was about 6 miles into a fairly pleasant ride when it started raining lightly... which had me questioning if I wanted to continue on past the lot where my car was parked. The question became moot about a mile later when it started raining pretty steadily - and I was riding into the wind, no less. It's one thing to keep riding in the rain during the day... doing so at night is just masochistic. So I ended my ride after doing about half the distance I'd planned and headed back home a bit earlier than I'd expected.
Hopefully the weather will be decent enough this weekend that I can get some riding in after the races I'm running Saturday and Sunday mornings...
JMH
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Well, that was annoying. I was about 6 miles into a fairly pleasant ride when it started raining lightly... which had me questioning if I wanted to continue on past the lot where my car was parked. The question became moot about a mile later when it started raining pretty steadily - and I was riding into the wind, no less. It's one thing to keep riding in the rain during the day... doing so at night is just masochistic. So I ended my ride after doing about half the distance I'd planned and headed back home a bit earlier than I'd expected.
Hopefully the weather will be decent enough this weekend that I can get some riding in after the races I'm running Saturday and Sunday mornings...
JMH
Monday, December 01, 2014
20.9 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Monday, December 1, 2014
In theory this was a great December afternoon for ride, with temperatures in the low 40's... until the wind was factored in. Heading west was tough going... but on the flipside, turning around and heading east was great...
Riding today meant that I've now been out on my bike at some point during every month of 2014. I don't know that I've ever managed to do that before... January and February are usually tough months for me riding... I also rode far enough tonight that I have 75 miles left to ride in the next 30 days, to hit 2000 miles before the end of the year. It's definitely doable... if the weather cooperates and the bike paths remain clear.
JMH
Monday, December 1, 2014
In theory this was a great December afternoon for ride, with temperatures in the low 40's... until the wind was factored in. Heading west was tough going... but on the flipside, turning around and heading east was great...
Riding today meant that I've now been out on my bike at some point during every month of 2014. I don't know that I've ever managed to do that before... January and February are usually tough months for me riding... I also rode far enough tonight that I have 75 miles left to ride in the next 30 days, to hit 2000 miles before the end of the year. It's definitely doable... if the weather cooperates and the bike paths remain clear.
JMH
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