SO LONG 2013
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
RUN 189.1 mi
RIDE 1836.4 mi
SNOWSHOE 91.8 mi
HIKE/WALK 566.3 mi
PADDLE 15.4 mi
XC SKI 12.3 mi
DAYS OUTDOORS 315/365
2013 Event Totals
Run 83.6 mi, 21 hr 2 min
Bike 32.6 mi, 2 hr 26 min
Snowshoe 49.9 mi, 15 hr 15 min
Kayak 4.6 mi, 1 hr 13 min
states visited: HI, MA, NH, NY, RI, VT
11 snowshoe races
9 road/trail races
2 paddle triathlons
Monday, December 30, 2013
BAD NEWS FOR THE HONDA...
Monday, December 30, 2013
Dang, hadn't even considered this possibility - the insurance company gave me the option of totalling the car (in which case they write me a check and take the car) or writing the repair estimate at just barely under the totalling value (in which case they write me a check but leave me the car.) Needless to say I went with the latter option.
So now I can try to find somewhere that will fix the car for what they paid me, or I can drive the car as is for as long as possible and apply the insurance payment toward a new car. Initially I leaned toward the former (since I'm not sure it's legal to dive a car with one of its tail lights held on by duct tape) but as I consider the work that eventually needs to be done (even before the car was hit, there was over $1000 worth of stuff that needs to be fixed) it probably makes much more sense to plan on the latter. Just when I was enjoying not having car payments...
JMH
Monday, December 30, 2013
Dang, hadn't even considered this possibility - the insurance company gave me the option of totalling the car (in which case they write me a check and take the car) or writing the repair estimate at just barely under the totalling value (in which case they write me a check but leave me the car.) Needless to say I went with the latter option.
So now I can try to find somewhere that will fix the car for what they paid me, or I can drive the car as is for as long as possible and apply the insurance payment toward a new car. Initially I leaned toward the former (since I'm not sure it's legal to dive a car with one of its tail lights held on by duct tape) but as I consider the work that eventually needs to be done (even before the car was hit, there was over $1000 worth of stuff that needs to be fixed) it probably makes much more sense to plan on the latter. Just when I was enjoying not having car payments...
JMH
Sunday, December 29, 2013
@$*&$@**!!!
Another Crash Into My Parked Car Means
No Viking Run for the Turtle
Sunday, December 28, 2013
I don't know what it is about my Honda Civic... I parked my Subaru here for seven years without a hitch, but in the time I've had the Civic it's been hit twice (while parked), had a side mirror smashed, had the rear window broken, and had a small side window broken so someone could break into the car. This morning I went out to check the temperature so I could decide how to dress for the Viking Run down in Rosendale - and noticed one of my rear lights sitting on the sidewalk. Went around to the other side of the car and found the rear end smashed in and the driver side mirror smashed. @$*&$@**!!!
Fortunately it's driveable but now I have the hassle and expense of getting it fixed to deal with. 2013 continues to wind down with both bangs and whimpers.
JMH
Another Crash Into My Parked Car Means
No Viking Run for the Turtle
Sunday, December 28, 2013
I don't know what it is about my Honda Civic... I parked my Subaru here for seven years without a hitch, but in the time I've had the Civic it's been hit twice (while parked), had a side mirror smashed, had the rear window broken, and had a small side window broken so someone could break into the car. This morning I went out to check the temperature so I could decide how to dress for the Viking Run down in Rosendale - and noticed one of my rear lights sitting on the sidewalk. Went around to the other side of the car and found the rear end smashed in and the driver side mirror smashed. @$*&$@**!!!
Fortunately it's driveable but now I have the hassle and expense of getting it fixed to deal with. 2013 continues to wind down with both bangs and whimpers.
JMH
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Friday, December 27, 2013
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
HURRAY! IT'S THE WINTER SOLSTICE!
Saturday, December 21, 2013
... and so, starting tomorrow, we begin gaining a few minutes of daylight each day, and moving toward a time when I can get outdoors after work in daylight rather than in darkness. Not that I dislike being outdoors at night - far from it! - but I prefer to have it as an option rather than a necessity.
JMH
Saturday, December 21, 2013
... and so, starting tomorrow, we begin gaining a few minutes of daylight each day, and moving toward a time when I can get outdoors after work in daylight rather than in darkness. Not that I dislike being outdoors at night - far from it! - but I prefer to have it as an option rather than a necessity.
JMH
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Sunday, December 15, 2013
WINTER WONDERLAND
1.9 Mile Snowshoe At Thacher Park
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Woke up to a bit under a foot of snow... at least I'd shoveled last night so clearing the walk was easier than it might have been. Didn't have to do much more than brush the car off to get out, though parking is going to be a mess if the city doesn't do something about the snow sooon.
I was really struck by how much I've missed Thacher this year... ordinarily I'd have gone there once a month or so to run, but this year I've only been there a couple of times to walk.
I bypassed Hop Field - too many XC skiers - and headed over to the lots near the park office, figuring I'd walk along the escarpment. No one there at all - a plus in terms of having the trail to myself - but a minus in that I was breaking trail the whole way out. So it was a slow slog.
I had planned to take the trail behind the Haile's Cave picnic area back, but breaking trail slowed me down too much and I didn't want to risk getting locked in. Instead I backtracked - definitely easier going than the way out.
One plus to all that unbroken snow - I wasn't even the slightest bit tempted to try any sort of running, so while today's walk was hard work, it wasn't my usual start to snowshoe season ("Geez, this is so much harder than I remember!") Hopefully the snow will stick around long enough for me to build up a bit more gradually and determine whether running on snowshoes is in the cards this season.
JMH
1.9 Mile Snowshoe At Thacher Park
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Woke up to a bit under a foot of snow... at least I'd shoveled last night so clearing the walk was easier than it might have been. Didn't have to do much more than brush the car off to get out, though parking is going to be a mess if the city doesn't do something about the snow sooon.
I was really struck by how much I've missed Thacher this year... ordinarily I'd have gone there once a month or so to run, but this year I've only been there a couple of times to walk.
I bypassed Hop Field - too many XC skiers - and headed over to the lots near the park office, figuring I'd walk along the escarpment. No one there at all - a plus in terms of having the trail to myself - but a minus in that I was breaking trail the whole way out. So it was a slow slog.
I had planned to take the trail behind the Haile's Cave picnic area back, but breaking trail slowed me down too much and I didn't want to risk getting locked in. Instead I backtracked - definitely easier going than the way out.
One plus to all that unbroken snow - I wasn't even the slightest bit tempted to try any sort of running, so while today's walk was hard work, it wasn't my usual start to snowshoe season ("Geez, this is so much harder than I remember!") Hopefully the snow will stick around long enough for me to build up a bit more gradually and determine whether running on snowshoes is in the cards this season.
JMH
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Thursday, December 12, 2013
WELL, THIS IS DISAPPOINTING...
No Gail's Trail Run for the Turtle
Thursday, December 12, 2013
It's funny, really... I originally started running December's Gail's Trail Run because it was an opportunity to run the Leatherman's Loop course when there weren't 900-1000 other runners crammed onto a little over 6 miles of trail in the beautiful Ward Pound Ridge Reservation down in Westchester.... and was drawn back by the added appeal of running it in December, when sometimes there was snow on the ground and ice on the surface of the stream crossings. When the park managers denied the permit application and forced the RDs to move the race to Collis Huntington State Park in CT, I figured I'd run it once and that would be it. Except... I've been there three times now (the last two Decembers, and a one-shot March running that apparently established the current course) and have found that it's grown on me. I remember thinking during my first run there that it was kind of neat that the race was finally developing its own identity, rather than simply being "the winter Leatherman's." I think I was especially looking forward to doing it this weekend because this year my damn knee (and, in all honesty, my own issues with getting myself out the door) have kept me from many of my usual runs - and it seemed like an especially good way to wind down my year of very little running.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature has thrown a monkey wrench into the works, with anywhere from 6-12 inches of snow forecast for the area between Saturday and Sunday. Since much of the parking is done in the field next to the small dirt lot (not a possibility if there's more than a couple of inches of snow) the RD's decided to move the race up a day. Which means I no longer have a room reserved for the night before (a minor problem, I could probably get one) and more importantly the work I have scheduled for the Honda is now in direct conflict with the trip to CT. Factor in my anticipated semi-fried state after work tomorrow (it's been a long week) and the result is - I'm staying local this weekend. No race for me.
Sadly, about par for the course this year.
JMH
No Gail's Trail Run for the Turtle
Thursday, December 12, 2013
It's funny, really... I originally started running December's Gail's Trail Run because it was an opportunity to run the Leatherman's Loop course when there weren't 900-1000 other runners crammed onto a little over 6 miles of trail in the beautiful Ward Pound Ridge Reservation down in Westchester.... and was drawn back by the added appeal of running it in December, when sometimes there was snow on the ground and ice on the surface of the stream crossings. When the park managers denied the permit application and forced the RDs to move the race to Collis Huntington State Park in CT, I figured I'd run it once and that would be it. Except... I've been there three times now (the last two Decembers, and a one-shot March running that apparently established the current course) and have found that it's grown on me. I remember thinking during my first run there that it was kind of neat that the race was finally developing its own identity, rather than simply being "the winter Leatherman's." I think I was especially looking forward to doing it this weekend because this year my damn knee (and, in all honesty, my own issues with getting myself out the door) have kept me from many of my usual runs - and it seemed like an especially good way to wind down my year of very little running.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature has thrown a monkey wrench into the works, with anywhere from 6-12 inches of snow forecast for the area between Saturday and Sunday. Since much of the parking is done in the field next to the small dirt lot (not a possibility if there's more than a couple of inches of snow) the RD's decided to move the race up a day. Which means I no longer have a room reserved for the night before (a minor problem, I could probably get one) and more importantly the work I have scheduled for the Honda is now in direct conflict with the trip to CT. Factor in my anticipated semi-fried state after work tomorrow (it's been a long week) and the result is - I'm staying local this weekend. No race for me.
Sadly, about par for the course this year.
JMH
BRRR...
12.6 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Managed to get out of work while there was still daylight, so I bundled up and headed over to the bike path to try and get a little closer to that next century mark. Between snow in the forecast and some really cold temperatures sweeping in - it's not clear at all how many more times I'll get out to ride before the end of the year.
I was worried about the cold and wind so I really layered - two pairs of thermal tights below, a thermal shirt, pullover, fleece-lined jacket, and windbreaker up top, double neck/chin gaiter, and hat/180s under my helmet. I have to say, for the most part I was pretty darn toasty once I got going. Only points of trouble were my feet - even with thermal socks and the toe covers on my shoes, my toes froze - and my pinky fingers. Maybe I'll try doubling the socks next time...
Parts of the bike path were fairly clear, and parts had a light layer of snow - no problems there. No surprise, didn't run into too many other people out there and no one else on a bike.
It was just starting to get dark when I wrapped up - I would have loved to turn on my light and stay out for a few more miles, but my feet were just too darn cold.
Hopefully I can get out a few more times before the end of the year!
JMH
12.6 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Managed to get out of work while there was still daylight, so I bundled up and headed over to the bike path to try and get a little closer to that next century mark. Between snow in the forecast and some really cold temperatures sweeping in - it's not clear at all how many more times I'll get out to ride before the end of the year.
I was worried about the cold and wind so I really layered - two pairs of thermal tights below, a thermal shirt, pullover, fleece-lined jacket, and windbreaker up top, double neck/chin gaiter, and hat/180s under my helmet. I have to say, for the most part I was pretty darn toasty once I got going. Only points of trouble were my feet - even with thermal socks and the toe covers on my shoes, my toes froze - and my pinky fingers. Maybe I'll try doubling the socks next time...
Parts of the bike path were fairly clear, and parts had a light layer of snow - no problems there. No surprise, didn't run into too many other people out there and no one else on a bike.
It was just starting to get dark when I wrapped up - I would have loved to turn on my light and stay out for a few more miles, but my feet were just too darn cold.
Hopefully I can get out a few more times before the end of the year!
JMH
Sunday, December 08, 2013
13.5 Mile Ride on the Erie Canalway Trail (Danube to Mindenville)
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Left Syracuse early enough, and the weather was decent enough, that I was able to get in some riding before dark. I parked at the Herkimer Home State Historic Site - the former home of Revolutionary War hero General Nicholas Herkimer. No surprise, it was basically deserted, though a couple of people showed up while I was getting ready to ride - one to walk his dogs, the others looked like they were checking out the site.
I was hoping to complete the section of the Canalway Trail that runs from Fort Plain to Little Falls - I rode about half of it back in early November. Today I headed east to Mindenville, overlapped a bit of what I'd ridden a month ago, then headed back west part of the way to Lock 17. I turned back before I made it all the way to the end, mostly because it was getting late in the day and I wasn't sure how early the gates at the historic site would be closed.
Riding wasn't too bad, though my mountain bike makes for harder work than my road bikes... but with the snowy sections, patches of soft stone dust, and so on, the wider knobbies were a definite necessity. Along the way I saw lots of evidence of the trail's previous uses as a rail line (lots of old ties buried in the ground along the sides) and remains of some concrete structures - not sure if those were from the railroad or from earlier times when sections of the Erie Canal ran through the area.
On the way to Lock 17 there's a wetlands with an overlook marked as a birdwatching area - I'd definitely like to get back there in warmer weather. For that matter, I'd like to ride the entire trail during a warmer, greener time of the year.
Other than a couple of miles in Fort Plain which are tough to access because of a bridge that washed out during the flooding last June, and the last few miles of this stretch, I've ridden all of the offroad sections of the Canalway Trail between downtown Albany and Rome this year, and a good chunk of the sections between Rome and Rochester. I guess that's one of the pluses to spending a lot of time on my bike this year - and it's also research for an adventure I'm considering for a couple of years from now...
JMH
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Left Syracuse early enough, and the weather was decent enough, that I was able to get in some riding before dark. I parked at the Herkimer Home State Historic Site - the former home of Revolutionary War hero General Nicholas Herkimer. No surprise, it was basically deserted, though a couple of people showed up while I was getting ready to ride - one to walk his dogs, the others looked like they were checking out the site.
I was hoping to complete the section of the Canalway Trail that runs from Fort Plain to Little Falls - I rode about half of it back in early November. Today I headed east to Mindenville, overlapped a bit of what I'd ridden a month ago, then headed back west part of the way to Lock 17. I turned back before I made it all the way to the end, mostly because it was getting late in the day and I wasn't sure how early the gates at the historic site would be closed.
Riding wasn't too bad, though my mountain bike makes for harder work than my road bikes... but with the snowy sections, patches of soft stone dust, and so on, the wider knobbies were a definite necessity. Along the way I saw lots of evidence of the trail's previous uses as a rail line (lots of old ties buried in the ground along the sides) and remains of some concrete structures - not sure if those were from the railroad or from earlier times when sections of the Erie Canal ran through the area.
On the way to Lock 17 there's a wetlands with an overlook marked as a birdwatching area - I'd definitely like to get back there in warmer weather. For that matter, I'd like to ride the entire trail during a warmer, greener time of the year.
Other than a couple of miles in Fort Plain which are tough to access because of a bridge that washed out during the flooding last June, and the last few miles of this stretch, I've ridden all of the offroad sections of the Canalway Trail between downtown Albany and Rome this year, and a good chunk of the sections between Rome and Rochester. I guess that's one of the pluses to spending a lot of time on my bike this year - and it's also research for an adventure I'm considering for a couple of years from now...
JMH
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
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