Week 47-Seriooously behind in POSTS and handstands!

This is a mish mash of photos. I am going back to what I think is my best handstand so far and my friend Tracy's perfect handstand. Still working on perfection! And a photo of my B2B buddies just before we left Boston.

Alright, it's just no fun when I am behind in my handstand displays. It's like when I haven't called my mother in the last few days or when I keep putting off playing the bills, but hey, I rode 148 miles in one day last Saturday, so I am going to use that as an excuse and promise to get back on track.

On June 19th I did the B2B which is an epic ride from the Harpoon Brewery in Boston to the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, Vermont. To even enter the ride you have to guarantee that you will ride at 16+mph. I declared that I would go out with the 17 mph riders with a couple of friends, Chad and Mark. Over the course of the ride there is 4500 feet of elevation climbing. The 90th mile brings a ~5 mile climb of which one of the Harpoon beers is named after, a beer that is an _ _ _ kicker, known as Leviathon. As I approached that hill I was thankful my friend Amy got me out to the White Mountains to climb the Kangamangus Highway because Leviathon seemed a breeze compared to that. I am sure they are very similar, but once you have conquered something like that it just doesn't seem so scary the next time around!

I finished in 10 hours with about an hour and a half of rest/water&food stops. I rode at just over 18 mph average for the ride, which is very cool, very happy about that! My legs were tired and a bit sore for the next few days, but no more sore than after some of my grueling training rides. The last few days I have been enjoying some easy rides on my single speed, riding back and forth to my summer job. Not sure what my next big ride will be. I am thinking about maybe riding to NYC, but not all in one day.

Week 46-Handstand with Arley and My 1968 Schwinn

My daughter Arley and I are in a handstand next to my/Jack's new vintage bike. Arley is know stranger to handstands. During her first year of track in high school she did some training with the pole vaulters and spent a lot of time working on handstands. She says she is a little out of practice, but she is workin' it here and looks pretty darn good! She is home from college for the summer. We are going to practice doing a back to back handstand. We haven't tried it yet. Hopefully it will be a success before the 52 weeks are up so we can include it in the blog! I might have to get my handstand coach back for some dual handstand training.

The bike is a 1968 Schwinn Racer. Check out the hunkie men who used to ride the Schwinn Racer back in the 60's http://www.re-cycle.com/images/Schwinn/1968cat/12w.jpg Jack had asked Danny to look for a bike at the dump that he could tootle around on and ride down the bike path on. This is what Danny came back with. I fell in love with it. Had to have it! Now, Jack and I are working out the terms of ownership. I have purchased some new tubes, tires and brake pads. I have been scrubbing off the rust and grime with some steel wool. It will be ready to roll soon! It has a shifter on the handle bars with three gears that are a mystery to me. I have to read up on this type of shifting mechanism, it appears the gears are hidden inside the hub. There are no chain rings that create the shifting.

Photographer: Jack Donovan

Location: backyard

Week 45-Handstand with my dog.

Just a handstand in my backyard with my dog Gypsy. I can't imagine what's on her mind. Probably, "I think you should cover your belly." or "You should really try using both legs and arms on the ground, like me. It's really much easier than walking on your hands."

Photographer: Dan Donovan

Location: My backyard

Week 44-Cranking the Kanc-White Mountain Adventure

"Crank the Kanc" is actually a well known hill climb Time Trial well known to cyclists in New England which my friends Amy, Renee and I did not do! However, we are all preparing for cycling events that require a lot of hill climbing. Amy and Renee are training to complete the Mount Washington Road Race which is a 7.6 mile climb up Mount Washington with an average grade of 11.5%, extended grades of 18% and it finishes up with the last 50 yards at 22%. People pay good money to do this! Remarkable isn't it? I am doing something a little more sane. I will be biking 148 miles in one day for a good IPA at the end. The beer is free and I did not have to pay nearly as much as my friends to enter the event.

Amy mapped out an 80 mile ride that took us on our adventure over the Memorial Day weekend. There were some great mountain climbs and beautiful vistas of the White Mountains, waterfalls and rivers. We climbed Bear Notch Hill Rd, the Kangamangus Hwy, then into Loon Mtn area, through Franconia Notch and the Flume, past Twin Mountains and down through Crawford Notch! It was a specatcular and challenging ride!

My very first handstand photo for this blog was taken at the top of Mt Hale at Twin Mountain in the White Mountains last August. I have gone all the way back to the seed of this blog which is kind of cool. I had no idea I would be climbing these mountains by bike at the time I planted this seed last year. I will try not to get too philosophical here, but I love how life plays out as you go. I embrace the unexpected. I love having friends who expand my already adventurous spirit. I don't think I would have done or thought to do this. I was very nervous about this ride, but Amy planned it as if it was the most natural next step in our training, she got us out there and the next thing I knew I was doing it! It was more amazing than I ever could have dreamed!

Top of the Kangamangus

Mount Washinton (elev 6288) in the background, Mount Washington Hotel is to the left.

Elephant Rock, just before heading down Crawford Notch.

Photographer: Amy Gothorpe

Location: White Mountains NH