Tuesday, February 01, 2011

When Life Gives You Lemons

You make guacamole (assuming life also gave you avocados, onion, garlic, tomatillos,  tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper as well.  and, of course, assuming that you're using lemon juice instead of lime juice (which does work in a pinch)) because making lemonade this time of year would be stupid. 

This week I'm served up some lemons in the form of Marcy and her friend Leslie heading to Boston for two days and a night to see Linkin Park in concert (damn her having a life of her own!), putting the kibosh on my typical Tuesday commute/night ride.  To make my guacamole, I decided to say the hell with the frigid temps (in all honesty I didn't know it was going to be so cold when I hatched my plan) and rode to work Monday, rode to the board meeting after work and then rode home after that giving me roughly 2 hours of ride time.  All seemed good until the ride to the board meeting when I noticed on the bank next to the Children's Center that the temp had dropped to 10 degrees already from the high of mid 20's.  When I left the meeting 1.5 hours later the temp was a frigid 3 degrees and here I was with a 1 hour commute ahead of me and no bar mitts (those are on the mukluk).  Thankfully, with copious pinwheeling of the arms to restore circulation I was able to make it home without any permanent damage to the fingers.  Yay for me!

Some non lemons that were served up was the news that the town of Carrabassett Maine will be hosting a single loop 50 mile xc race this summer.  The Carrabassett XC center used to be the home of one of the most fun mountain bike race courses around before they shuttered the race a few years back so I'm super stoked to be able to race there again this summer.

In fact, this summer's New England endurance race season is looking pretty sweet with at least 5 races happening within easy driving distance of da crib.

Pats peak 6/12/24 (NH) June 11

carrabasset 50 (ME) July 24
12 hours of millstone (VT) July 31
hampshire 100 (NH)Aug 21
bradbury 12 (ME) Sep 17

Yay for New England endurance racers!

5 comments:

Dan said...

You got a link for the Carrabassett 50? My July is looking pretty empty.

Laps said...

Yeah, me too!

rick is! said...

no link yet, just got an e-mail describing it yesterday.

Here's the e-mail:

2011 Mountain Bike Race News!


Carrabassett Valley invites you to the wilds of Western Maine to participate in the inaugural running of the Carrabassett Backcountry Cycle Challenge on July 24, 2011.

The Challenge is an endurance race designed to bring together mountain bikers from near and far for some great fun, adventure and competition. The approximately 50-mile course will wind through the beautiful, unspoiled forests and mountains of Carrabassett Valley and its surrounding communities. The single loop race will offer participants a great mix of mountain biking terrain, consisting of technical single track, double track and dirt roads, with steep climbs and exciting down hills.

The Challenge will showcase the amazing trails and scenery to further promote mountain biking in the area. Bring the whole family for a weekend of outdoor recreation, fun, adventure and camaraderie.

For questions or to be added to the email list for the event, please contact Emmy Monahan at duchess.of.dirt@hotmail.com.

Alby King said...

Ha! "Copious pinwheeling of the arms" Been there and kind of wonder what folks make of it.

Steve S said...

I've pulled the fingers into the gloves a few times. It makes breaking a little difficult, but I've only had to do it early morning when no-ones on the road.

I'm contemplating a Vermont double the weekend of 8/20-21. The Pittsfield 6hr on Sat. and the Millstone Grind (marathon flavor) on Sunday.