From NY Post

Olde Salem Green 5K

Today was the first day of spring and the first race of the year. I met Rick and Megan at the Olde Salem Green 5K cross country race, and as you can see from the elevation profile, they pack some ups and downs in that short race. It's a fun course, and the spongy, muddy grass was an extra bonus.

There were even some dudes out there running barefoot. I hear that that is supposed to be better for you, but for now, I'll keep my Brooks.

Anyway, I have to give "mad props" to Rick, as he was clearly representing the Racer-X t-shirt. I tried to be prepared, so I washed mine the night before, but I neglected to take to the next phase, which is the drying...

Race results? Yep...
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/10/ma/Mar21_8thAnn_set1.shtml



GPS Data? Sure...
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27671803


Let the racing begin!

Spring Ride--Bradley Palmer & Willowdale

So, a few of us ventured out to Bradley Palmer & Willowdale for a ride. The VAST MAJORITY of the trails were in great shape, which was what I told by my eye-witness reporter, Mr. Flawless. There were, however, some sections which were wet, and by wet, I mean rivers. We made it through one such river crossing (twice) without a problem, but there was another, MUCH longer, section--maybe 50-60 meters, that I alone tried to cross. The water was DEEP, and COLD, and I got probably 85% of the way across before the soft bottom finally sucked me to a stop. The water was over the bottoms of my shorts. Zoiks! Jean, Tim and Rick wisely went around.

My epiphany came when I was contemplating the ease of post-muddy ride maintenance with a fully rigid singlespeed, but that was short lived as I then remembered that I'd have Jean's bike to clean AND we had let Rick borrow one of our bikes... Sunday was a day of cleaning and lubing.

Anyway, if you click on the slideshow above, you can link to the photos directly.

GDWSO2010

Jean and I took the bikes up to Willowdale, and, well, to say that there was some wind damage and some trees down would be, in my opinion, THE understatement of 2010.

I'm calling that storm a couple of weeks ago the GDWSO2010 (the Great Destructive Wind Storm Of 2010). There were some MAJOR trees down. Someone (NEMBA?) has already done a significant amount of clearing, but wow, there's more to go. Get your chainsaws ready...

On the plus side, we did find some new singletrack!

Pearl Izumi Field Trip

As I mentioned earlier, we have an opportunity to take a "team field trip" up to the Pearl Izumi outlet in North Conway, NH, and get deeper discounts on their already discounted clothing/shoes. Jean and I usually make at least one trip up there each year to load up on gear... Anyway, I'm currently looking at May 15th. Stay tuned for details!