This Year's Magic Carpet Ride
- Thread starter Norm
- Start date
The Weekend
So this whole WFH thing really allows me to get as much riding as I need to during the week so when the weekend comes I can do other things, which comes in handy when the kids are around. I mean I could train myself to get up at 5:00am again and ride before anyone wakes up. But why bother when I can get my hours in on the weekend? To that end, I more or less took the weekend off the bike. I rode around a little at the Grasshopper race but really it wasn't much. A bit of riding, some walking, and that was that.
Saw this guy in the woods:
After the race we went to CR with the kids - not on bikes but in bathing suits. We parked on Gilbride and took a dip in the stream. Man that was totally awesome and something I'll keep up my sleeve for future hot days. Funny thing is that the next day KatieM posted an Instagram pic of the exact same spot, a hidden swimming hole. Good stuff.
After that we took the kids to dim sum. Julia has been here before but she ate more things this time than ever before. And Zac was almost as much of a machine as I am there. Simon of course looks at this stuff like we're feeding him octopus brains but 4 out of 5 ain't bad. This is pretty cool to finally be able to bring the kids to eat food we like, as opposed to endlessly going to Panera with the occasional dip to the CR Inn.
Then Sunday we went to the beach for most of the day.
Monday
I started painting the dungeon orange.
Later, I just wasn't feeling the FunMonday ride. I wasn't sure how the meat paw was going to feel so I did my own thing. And honestly, after the Watchung drama all day, I really didn't feel like being around humans or talking politics anymore. So I set sail to LewMo and did a bit of riding there, then rode home. In all about 36 miles on the mountain bike. A bit too much road for @JimN but the middle was a dirt road cut-through of the swamp.
Last night we did more politics behind the scenes with the Watchung stuff. In the end I think this guy has given the pro-biker cause more momentum and a lot of people apparently voiced their opinion to the county in the last 2 days.
Tuesday
The weather looked like crap so I made no plans. When the rain did not materialize I decided to hit the road after lunch for just under 2 hours. I got out there and felt fine, so I decided to do one of the "bring it over 20 and hold on for dear life". Last Friday I made it 19.5 miles before I dipped under 20. Today I made it 28.1 miles and still managed to be in shouting distance until 31. So despite the 3 hour ride yesterday, I was able to hammer this one out today fairly well. I want to make sure I keep adding these to my routine as well as extending this distance as I am able to.
I tried my sprinkles kit on today.
Round Valley
The park called me back today and confirmed we can have more sessions this year.
For those of you who want to give back to yet another park that welcomes bikers and pro-biking volunteers, we are looking to do a TM on September 25th. It's a Sunday so it's not an inconvenient weekday like last time. I think we are doing a basic 3 hour session and are going to try to clean up the Eagle Trail, which is open from now through the new year.
I also have a date in October in mind where I want to work on maybe 2 more of the turns on the switchbacks but let's see how this one goes before we get too ahead of ourselves.
Dealing with the park has been nothing short of a pleasure. Super friendly people there now. Hopefully we can continue to make this park better and maybe even one day we can encourage non-masochists to go there.
One can only dream.
So this whole WFH thing really allows me to get as much riding as I need to during the week so when the weekend comes I can do other things, which comes in handy when the kids are around. I mean I could train myself to get up at 5:00am again and ride before anyone wakes up. But why bother when I can get my hours in on the weekend? To that end, I more or less took the weekend off the bike. I rode around a little at the Grasshopper race but really it wasn't much. A bit of riding, some walking, and that was that.
Saw this guy in the woods:
After the race we went to CR with the kids - not on bikes but in bathing suits. We parked on Gilbride and took a dip in the stream. Man that was totally awesome and something I'll keep up my sleeve for future hot days. Funny thing is that the next day KatieM posted an Instagram pic of the exact same spot, a hidden swimming hole. Good stuff.
After that we took the kids to dim sum. Julia has been here before but she ate more things this time than ever before. And Zac was almost as much of a machine as I am there. Simon of course looks at this stuff like we're feeding him octopus brains but 4 out of 5 ain't bad. This is pretty cool to finally be able to bring the kids to eat food we like, as opposed to endlessly going to Panera with the occasional dip to the CR Inn.
Then Sunday we went to the beach for most of the day.
Monday
I started painting the dungeon orange.
Later, I just wasn't feeling the FunMonday ride. I wasn't sure how the meat paw was going to feel so I did my own thing. And honestly, after the Watchung drama all day, I really didn't feel like being around humans or talking politics anymore. So I set sail to LewMo and did a bit of riding there, then rode home. In all about 36 miles on the mountain bike. A bit too much road for @JimN but the middle was a dirt road cut-through of the swamp.
Last night we did more politics behind the scenes with the Watchung stuff. In the end I think this guy has given the pro-biker cause more momentum and a lot of people apparently voiced their opinion to the county in the last 2 days.
Tuesday
The weather looked like crap so I made no plans. When the rain did not materialize I decided to hit the road after lunch for just under 2 hours. I got out there and felt fine, so I decided to do one of the "bring it over 20 and hold on for dear life". Last Friday I made it 19.5 miles before I dipped under 20. Today I made it 28.1 miles and still managed to be in shouting distance until 31. So despite the 3 hour ride yesterday, I was able to hammer this one out today fairly well. I want to make sure I keep adding these to my routine as well as extending this distance as I am able to.
I tried my sprinkles kit on today.
Round Valley
The park called me back today and confirmed we can have more sessions this year.
For those of you who want to give back to yet another park that welcomes bikers and pro-biking volunteers, we are looking to do a TM on September 25th. It's a Sunday so it's not an inconvenient weekday like last time. I think we are doing a basic 3 hour session and are going to try to clean up the Eagle Trail, which is open from now through the new year.
I also have a date in October in mind where I want to work on maybe 2 more of the turns on the switchbacks but let's see how this one goes before we get too ahead of ourselves.
Dealing with the park has been nothing short of a pleasure. Super friendly people there now. Hopefully we can continue to make this park better and maybe even one day we can encourage non-masochists to go there.
One can only dream.
rlb
Well-Known Member
It's great to hear that RV is receptive to the MTB community and appreciative of the effort. I know these 2 parks are night and day in terms of location, who's using the trails etc. but at the end of the day I'm amazed at how some organizations put up silos. From the outside they don't seem to take seek advice from the countless other parks that benefit from the organized MTB presence in NJ.
My apologies if this is going to lead to a parks debate in your thread (so feel free to kill this). I'm betting that most of the folks we're talking about aren't looking to make waves against the status quo, they're just trying to show up to work and do their jobs like the rest of us. Flipping the switch on an access issue is IMO "easier" for a politician (freeholder, etc.) who is likely doing so for political reasons or to address a problem. When the parks department is trying to allow more users in the park they're putting their necks out a bit. They might hear some blowback from users, but I'd guess they're more concerned about catching the attention of the elected people that they have to answer to.
My apologies if this is going to lead to a parks debate in your thread (so feel free to kill this). I'm betting that most of the folks we're talking about aren't looking to make waves against the status quo, they're just trying to show up to work and do their jobs like the rest of us. Flipping the switch on an access issue is IMO "easier" for a politician (freeholder, etc.) who is likely doing so for political reasons or to address a problem. When the parks department is trying to allow more users in the park they're putting their necks out a bit. They might hear some blowback from users, but I'd guess they're more concerned about catching the attention of the elected people that they have to answer to.
kuhndog
Member
@Norm get your ass out here. @JDurk thanks for the love and kind words. #IIGOX this weekend. Solo to four person. @Carson gets you tons of handicapping points so get a team together and bring his ass along. MTBNJ team. MASS XC and Endurance on sweet fun 8ish mile course on Sat. If you like smooth twisty trail interspersed with some fast riding farm roads and fields at a beautiful farm setting then we might have some flow you're after. Freakin' NIGHT TT on Friday, start time is at least 8:30 so you guys way over in Jersey could even make it out. Camping next to the course. Huffy Tossing. Slow DH. Dual slalom tricycle racing. Band. A slip-n-slide in the cross relay. Get your asses packed and get out here.
Things in Motion, Things not in Motion
This is in response to @rlb and talking about the parks and the people working there. It is my experience, and I have said this before, that there are 2 ways to look at an action, or a proposed action to be more specific.
1. The action is in motion
2. The action is not in motion
Either way, anyone you talk to in the course of trying to do something is going to try to keep the status quo. If something is in motion, the official is not going to stop it. If something is not in motion, that same person is not going to start the motion. Basically it boils down to people not wanting to be on the hook for something that happened.
So take the Round Valley TM I want to run this fall. The super is on maternity leave and there is an interim super. There are 2 ways I could approach this:
1. Hey let's keep this going!
2. So what do you think about this idea?
Obviously I chose #1. And his response was, "Great, sounds good." The interim super didn't want to stop any progress the permanent super had put in motion. So to him it was a no-brainer to keep it rolling.
Of course this is an easy example and sometimes they're not this easy. Watchung is a different puzzle and as far as I see, one of the tougher ones to really think about. But if you take a situation where there is no motion, you need to find the best way to frame it that there is actually motion, and approach people that way.
Example: if you are trying to do something new, figure out what the process is. Maybe you need to fill out a form and give it to the right people. It's a start, if nothing else. So you show up and say: hey here's the standard form I need to do x-y-z so now what do I do?
Round Valley Session
Speaking of, we're doing a session on September 25th. Right now it's just me, @fidodie, and a bunch of ghosts of eagles. It would be great if you could join us.
Canada
We are off to Canada in the morning. Gonna drink maple syrup for 8 straight days.
This is in response to @rlb and talking about the parks and the people working there. It is my experience, and I have said this before, that there are 2 ways to look at an action, or a proposed action to be more specific.
1. The action is in motion
2. The action is not in motion
Either way, anyone you talk to in the course of trying to do something is going to try to keep the status quo. If something is in motion, the official is not going to stop it. If something is not in motion, that same person is not going to start the motion. Basically it boils down to people not wanting to be on the hook for something that happened.
So take the Round Valley TM I want to run this fall. The super is on maternity leave and there is an interim super. There are 2 ways I could approach this:
1. Hey let's keep this going!
2. So what do you think about this idea?
Obviously I chose #1. And his response was, "Great, sounds good." The interim super didn't want to stop any progress the permanent super had put in motion. So to him it was a no-brainer to keep it rolling.
Of course this is an easy example and sometimes they're not this easy. Watchung is a different puzzle and as far as I see, one of the tougher ones to really think about. But if you take a situation where there is no motion, you need to find the best way to frame it that there is actually motion, and approach people that way.
Example: if you are trying to do something new, figure out what the process is. Maybe you need to fill out a form and give it to the right people. It's a start, if nothing else. So you show up and say: hey here's the standard form I need to do x-y-z so now what do I do?
Round Valley Session
Speaking of, we're doing a session on September 25th. Right now it's just me, @fidodie, and a bunch of ghosts of eagles. It would be great if you could join us.
Canada
We are off to Canada in the morning. Gonna drink maple syrup for 8 straight days.
I put this TM on my calendar to block the day so I think I will be there...So I may qualify as a ghost I guess, I'm pretty pasty you know...but not that eagle bs part
rick81721
Lothar
I'll be in Canada too during the TM session. No maple syrup tho - mostly beer and the dreaded Yukon jack
At the beginning of every month, or the end depending on which way you look at it, I set myself down and review what I had written down on a piece of paper some months ago. Of course, these days, nobody uses paper much; nor pens for that matter. But the expression persists. Maybe in some future conversation people will have replaced it with some electronic version of the same. If it already exists I am not aware of it.
Having previously, like so many of my fellow Americans, given up on my stated yearly endeavor, it seems somewhat pointless to sit down and review where I am in regards to this. But as luck would have it, every month I get an electronic cuckoo reminder that I am supposed to do exactly that. So here I am.
In review, I have still given up on my monthly goals as stated earlier in the year. So it goes.
*****
Much has happened since the last time I sat down here and written anything. If you are reading this you know I went to Canada and back, not entirely unlike a goose but with a much shorter round trip and with considerably less grass-fed shit lying around all over the place. I have created a blog to chronicle our travels and I am currently working on the Canada 16 piece of it. As I sit here I also realize how poorly named that trip is, as we currently have 2 more Canada trips planned in 2016.
In all we were away from home for 10 days and instead of pictures and words I made videos each day we were there. I am in the process of uploading day 3, which is not even 30% of the way to being done with this project. One might ask why I didn't upload them when I made them, as I finished each video before I went to bed every night. The answer is much less interesting than my claiming beaver gas as the culprit. So I'll do that.
When I am done with this project I will post the link. In all likelihood nobody but D will watch them all as it is going to be roughly 35 minutes of videos in all. In this day and age of short attention spans I understand that this is a long time. I imagine some fantasy time in the future when our kids will watch this and think how cool we were to do all this stuff with them. But more likely they will be creating video productions that use the moon as a picture screen by then. The crappy iPhone movies will seem like crayon drawings I imagine.
The day 3 video has been muted by YouTube because I used Radiohead. So it goes.
*****
There is this long bike path in Canada:
http://www.mtlblog.com/2016/09/cana...ar-free-bike-path-across-the-country-in-2017/
For those too lazy to click the link it is a 22,000 km bike path that crosses the entire country and connects all the major cities. As luck would have it, we were on part of it during this trip. This is something entirely within the reach of the US because it is just a set of connected trails that go from point to point to point. In fact, there are many more points than just 3. But for me to list them all out would take all night, if not longer. Suffice it to say that it connects all the major cities, like Montreal and Vancouver and the other ones.
Did you know that London is the 11th biggest city in Canada at 474,000 people. In comparison, the 10th largest city in China has over 7 million people. I digress. The point is this. Canada has a bike path that crosses the whole of the country. The US probably has more paved roads in NJ than the entire country of Canada does.
I digress. Swamp gas. So it goes.
*****
A quick fact check tells me that Canada has nearly 20 times the amount of paved roads that NJ does.
*****
In October we are going to Quebec City for a 4 day weekend. In reality we will spend 2 nights in Montreal and 2 in Quebec. The point of the trip is to go explore the "Kingdom Trails of the North", otherwise known by the locals as Valle Bras du Nord. Basically the north arm of the valley. Or, perhaps it is the North Valley Bra.
I have never been to Quebec and am looking forward to the long weekend.
*****
@Carson has set me on this path, it is his fault. I picked up Slapstick earlier this week and I cannot help but be influenced by his sardonic writing style. I don't remember which of his books he read but he mentioned it in his blog, which is what the kids now call a web log, which in effect is shortened form of the expression "world wide web" log. In his world wide web log he mentioned that he had read one of his books, I do not recall which and frankly I am too lazy to look. It doesn't really matter.
I do wonder if he realizes that both the Carson clan and the Vonnegut clan hail from Indianapolis. I have to imagine that he does. It further makes me wonder if there is some relation between the 2. Perhaps they share some ancestry beyond what we all share in the primordial ooze gene pool. A quick Internet search comes up with Julia Carson, who was a member of the House of Representatives from Indiana and commemorated Vonnegut after his death in 2009.
Julia Carson was black. I wonder if Carson is part black.
*****
I do not much care for this post but it is too late now.
So it goes.
Having previously, like so many of my fellow Americans, given up on my stated yearly endeavor, it seems somewhat pointless to sit down and review where I am in regards to this. But as luck would have it, every month I get an electronic cuckoo reminder that I am supposed to do exactly that. So here I am.
In review, I have still given up on my monthly goals as stated earlier in the year. So it goes.
*****
Much has happened since the last time I sat down here and written anything. If you are reading this you know I went to Canada and back, not entirely unlike a goose but with a much shorter round trip and with considerably less grass-fed shit lying around all over the place. I have created a blog to chronicle our travels and I am currently working on the Canada 16 piece of it. As I sit here I also realize how poorly named that trip is, as we currently have 2 more Canada trips planned in 2016.
In all we were away from home for 10 days and instead of pictures and words I made videos each day we were there. I am in the process of uploading day 3, which is not even 30% of the way to being done with this project. One might ask why I didn't upload them when I made them, as I finished each video before I went to bed every night. The answer is much less interesting than my claiming beaver gas as the culprit. So I'll do that.
When I am done with this project I will post the link. In all likelihood nobody but D will watch them all as it is going to be roughly 35 minutes of videos in all. In this day and age of short attention spans I understand that this is a long time. I imagine some fantasy time in the future when our kids will watch this and think how cool we were to do all this stuff with them. But more likely they will be creating video productions that use the moon as a picture screen by then. The crappy iPhone movies will seem like crayon drawings I imagine.
The day 3 video has been muted by YouTube because I used Radiohead. So it goes.
*****
There is this long bike path in Canada:
http://www.mtlblog.com/2016/09/cana...ar-free-bike-path-across-the-country-in-2017/
For those too lazy to click the link it is a 22,000 km bike path that crosses the entire country and connects all the major cities. As luck would have it, we were on part of it during this trip. This is something entirely within the reach of the US because it is just a set of connected trails that go from point to point to point. In fact, there are many more points than just 3. But for me to list them all out would take all night, if not longer. Suffice it to say that it connects all the major cities, like Montreal and Vancouver and the other ones.
Did you know that London is the 11th biggest city in Canada at 474,000 people. In comparison, the 10th largest city in China has over 7 million people. I digress. The point is this. Canada has a bike path that crosses the whole of the country. The US probably has more paved roads in NJ than the entire country of Canada does.
I digress. Swamp gas. So it goes.
*****
A quick fact check tells me that Canada has nearly 20 times the amount of paved roads that NJ does.
*****
In October we are going to Quebec City for a 4 day weekend. In reality we will spend 2 nights in Montreal and 2 in Quebec. The point of the trip is to go explore the "Kingdom Trails of the North", otherwise known by the locals as Valle Bras du Nord. Basically the north arm of the valley. Or, perhaps it is the North Valley Bra.
I have never been to Quebec and am looking forward to the long weekend.
*****
@Carson has set me on this path, it is his fault. I picked up Slapstick earlier this week and I cannot help but be influenced by his sardonic writing style. I don't remember which of his books he read but he mentioned it in his blog, which is what the kids now call a web log, which in effect is shortened form of the expression "world wide web" log. In his world wide web log he mentioned that he had read one of his books, I do not recall which and frankly I am too lazy to look. It doesn't really matter.
I do wonder if he realizes that both the Carson clan and the Vonnegut clan hail from Indianapolis. I have to imagine that he does. It further makes me wonder if there is some relation between the 2. Perhaps they share some ancestry beyond what we all share in the primordial ooze gene pool. A quick Internet search comes up with Julia Carson, who was a member of the House of Representatives from Indiana and commemorated Vonnegut after his death in 2009.
Julia Carson was black. I wonder if Carson is part black.
*****
I do not much care for this post but it is too late now.
So it goes.
Not completely true it's a east coast thing. Go Rockies and west and you don't see any chubbies. When in Utah everyone had bike rack, I mean everyone. Unlimited riding hiking and skiing.
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
Fat, Lazy, Greedy & Entitled... .I hate generalizing but it't just too damn easy with this one.
Canada may be the retirement spot for me
You almost have Vonnegut's staccato down pat. Pretty impressive but you are supposed to be doing pushups.
I've read Slaughterhouse, Breakfast of Champions, and I'm working on Galapagos now. Sirens of Titan is on the shelf now based on your recommendation. Galapagos has my attention and looks to be my favorite so far.
Go back far enough and eventually, we all come from Africa. Kurt and Kirt and you and me. And so on.
I realize he's from Indy. I'm heading to Indy for a cousin's wedding in October. I'll ask around. Carson's are kind of a big deal there.
These homes are on the family farm. The developer retained the name because most of the area residents at the time knew the tract of land as our farm. Well that and my great grandfather was such a drunk that he wasn't allowed "in town". He also allowed people to dump their trash on the back of the farm for a few bucks. Then he'd just pour gasoline on it and light it up. My dad, at the age of 12, was given a rifle and charged with shooting the rats that came out of the trash pile fireball.
http://www.highgarden-indianapolis.com/indianapolis/carsons-farm-homes
My dad's cousin (so technically my cousin-once-removed) was one of the coolest guys I know. He truly was a big deal in Indy. We would go to dinner in the downtown area and he knew just about everyone who walked by. Senators, congressman, Hoosiers, Colts, cops. Everyone. He was destined to play professional baseball before he was injured in college. He grew up next door to my dad and they were very close. I think my dad always saw him as a success story and he always saw my dad as smart for getting out of Indy, having a great career with Western Electric/AT&T and wanting something more than Indy could offer at the time.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/indystar/obituary.aspx?n=august-w-carson&pid=152867543
Not all that relevant but I like Indy.
I've read Slaughterhouse, Breakfast of Champions, and I'm working on Galapagos now. Sirens of Titan is on the shelf now based on your recommendation. Galapagos has my attention and looks to be my favorite so far.
Go back far enough and eventually, we all come from Africa. Kurt and Kirt and you and me. And so on.
I realize he's from Indy. I'm heading to Indy for a cousin's wedding in October. I'll ask around. Carson's are kind of a big deal there.
These homes are on the family farm. The developer retained the name because most of the area residents at the time knew the tract of land as our farm. Well that and my great grandfather was such a drunk that he wasn't allowed "in town". He also allowed people to dump their trash on the back of the farm for a few bucks. Then he'd just pour gasoline on it and light it up. My dad, at the age of 12, was given a rifle and charged with shooting the rats that came out of the trash pile fireball.
http://www.highgarden-indianapolis.com/indianapolis/carsons-farm-homes
My dad's cousin (so technically my cousin-once-removed) was one of the coolest guys I know. He truly was a big deal in Indy. We would go to dinner in the downtown area and he knew just about everyone who walked by. Senators, congressman, Hoosiers, Colts, cops. Everyone. He was destined to play professional baseball before he was injured in college. He grew up next door to my dad and they were very close. I think my dad always saw him as a success story and he always saw my dad as smart for getting out of Indy, having a great career with Western Electric/AT&T and wanting something more than Indy could offer at the time.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/indystar/obituary.aspx?n=august-w-carson&pid=152867543
Not all that relevant but I like Indy.
What Carson said-
I read that post imagining Vonnegut narrating it while wearing swim fins.
Random thing- I used to have Vonnegut's address in NYC.
When I was living in Queens, NY1 had a report one night about him being hospitalized for a heart attack or chest pains.
The graphic/label on the video listed the street (E 48th), and then the footage of him being wheeled out on a gurney
clearly showed the street number on the building.
So I jotted it down.
Bear in mind this was almost 20 years ago, before all the world was in the Googly smartphones.
Anyway, I always thought I would go hang out on his block and just say Hi sometime.
I never did though.
True story.
The last book of his I read was Slapstick.
I read that post imagining Vonnegut narrating it while wearing swim fins.
Random thing- I used to have Vonnegut's address in NYC.
When I was living in Queens, NY1 had a report one night about him being hospitalized for a heart attack or chest pains.
The graphic/label on the video listed the street (E 48th), and then the footage of him being wheeled out on a gurney
clearly showed the street number on the building.
So I jotted it down.
Bear in mind this was almost 20 years ago, before all the world was in the Googly smartphones.
Anyway, I always thought I would go hang out on his block and just say Hi sometime.
I never did though.
True story.
The last book of his I read was Slapstick.
stalker!