Lake Ridin'

Got no mountains, got no trails, got no problems as long as the ice holds.

Ride Bikes

Skiing is nice and everything, but it's not bike ridin'. After a few hikes in nearby parks, I started to yearn for the MTB again. The problem is, everything is ice and snow. So I bit the bullet and bought some Nokians. There are two ways to get Nokian studded tires. Apparently the first option is to deserve them. I opted for the second, which is to pay a shit load of money. Bikeman sent them down from Maine pretty quickly and I was able to get out and ride Friday. A quick 10 miles in town started with a sustained 750 foot climb in town up to Boyton/Cascades park. That's a huge piece of public property managed by the city and the local land trust. As far as I can tell it's even bike-legal, but dominated by dog walkers and hikers. A few pugsley tracks let me know I wasn't alone. There was a total of maybe 100' of trail that wasn't covered by snow or ice, so I knew that the decision to go with winter tires was a good idea. After that, a quick cruise back to town included a nice ride up the big hill in Elm Park (Olmstead designed - first public park in US??) on old carriage road, then a few laps on the frozen pond there. A nice ride - don't let anybody talk smack about the WormTown.

Ohhhh - Bicycling likes Athens

Well you Georgians must be awfully proud that Bicycling Mag wrote up Athens (again). Don't get so comfy down there with your tasty pastries, quiet roads and over-hopped beer. I just heard that Athens was written up just because the planned story on the Worm-town missed deadline, so they pulled out the weary old "soulfoodrockmusicawesomeridingcollegetown" schtick. Fortunately I think I can get a copy of the planned story on Worcester and will put it up here when I can. I think you will be amazed.