Basic blog

Yesterday morning, my wife suggested that we hike up to the summit of a local mountain. Even though I had just done the 2-day bike ride, I was up for it so we started preparing. We loaded the kennel into the back of my truck and secured it with some straps so our Husky would have a safe and secure ride. We also packed a lunch and plenty to drink into a backpack, and packed some water, food, and collapsible bowls into a saddlebag for the dog. We gathered some extra clothes, my camera, handheld amateur radio, and whetever else seemed like a good idea and we set off for Rollins State Park.

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I went to the Spring edition of the Near-Fest hamfest today. The weather was on the raw, cool side but the rain held off until late afternoon or early evening, at least. I toyed with the idea of bringing my camper down but it doesn't have a furnace in it yet and I was expecting it to be pretty cool so I decided against it. I'll go down again tomorrow morning to scout for any deals and be there for the door prize drawing at 1:00. My chances are twice as good as they would normally be - I found someone's ticket on the ground when I was walking around. They had only put a first name on it and it was in a spot where there was nobody around so I had no way of knowing who it belonged to, so I filled it out with my info and dropped it in the barrel with the one I got when I paid admission. I felt bad for the person who lost their ticket, but I guess they should have taken better care of it.

I didn't really need anything ham-related, but the hamfest is as much a social gathering as anything. It's sometimes the only time you get to see people face to face that you may talk to frequently and you never know what you're going to find, anyway. As is often the case, I spent more on food than I did on other things. I had a cheeseburger and a cup of coffee for $6 and later on a bowl of apple crisp for $4. Admission was $10. I bought a selection of 7 good quality hand tools out of box with an assortment of mostly cheap junk for $1 each:

1/4" x 6" Master Mechanic flat-blade screwdriver
6" Proto adjustable wrench
7/16" Proto 12 point combination wrench
13 mm S-K 12 point combination wrench
21 mm S-K 12 point combination wrench
12 mm Craftsman 12 point combination wrench
19 & 17 mm Craftsman double open end wrench

Hard to pass up good tools for cheap. I also grabbed a 12V fluorescent work lamp that needs the cigarette lighter plug on the cord fixed and a Yaesu belt clip out of a freebie box.

Important things I've learned to bring with you to the hamfest are:

Comfortable shoes
A good-sized backpack
Cash - preferrably a variety of denominations
A 2-meter HT to keep in touch with your friends and in case one of you finds what someone else is looking for
Extra clothes, including rain gear and warmer/cooler clothes than the ones you're wearing
A wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun off

I hope the weather is better tomorrow. I'll have to jot down the number of the battery in the bike computer that was on the Trek MTB when I got it - I saw a vendor that had a very good assortment of button batteries and I haven't been able to find one that fits it yet. Late in the event is also a good time to score deals, because sellers are much more motivated to sell stuff so they don't have to drag it home with them.

Fun times. The Fall edition of the hamfest is in October.

Thanks to Geoff for pointing this one out to me:

Roadside Treasures

One of my favorite pastimes when out cycling!

My best find to date is probably the very bright anodized aluminum multiple-LED flashlight I found half-buried in the muddy shoulder last March.





Yeah, it was cold that day, by the looks of my hands. I put a new set of 3 AAA batteries in it and made the mistake of looking at the business end when I turned it on. I saw spots for a little while after that.

Other than that, I've found loads of bungee cords, different types of balls, assorted tools, and what have you. Not everything I pick up is good, but my rule is that if I pick it up, I take it home and either keep it, give it away, or dispose of it. It's roadside cleanup, if nothing else!

Oh, yeah, the pictures remind me that I found an awesome set of gloves on the side of the road, too. I use them when I ride on the coldest days. They are so good that I'm going to buy a couple of new sets.

Kinco #1938

I signed up for the 2008 Seacoast Bike Tour again this year, to be run on May 17th and 18th. Last year, I did the 25 mile course on Saturday and the 35 on Sunday. This year, I signed up for the 42 mile on Saturday and the 35 on Sunday. As long as I can get going with some training and pace myself, I don't think I'll have too much difficulty with the additional mileage. I hope the weather is better this year than it was last. The rain was kind of miserable. If anyone is interested in pledging support for me this year, here's a link to my fundraising page.Again, I started early this year so as to give people plenty of warning because I know how hard it can be to scrape up some extra cash on short notice.

The organization has changed it's name and dropped it's affiliation with the National Lung Association - it's now known as Breathe New Hampshire. The reason for the change is that the Lung Association was going to combine some States' chapters into regional ones and as a result NH was going to lose control over the way funds were raised and distributed in the state, so the decision was made to continue on on our own. The purpose of the organization is exactly the same, though - to promote lung health in NH.
Here's a blurb from Breathe NH's website:

NEW NAME. SAME MISSION. LONG-STANDING NEW HAMPSHIRE HISTORY.
By Daniel Fortin, President & CEO

On July 1, 2007 we changed our name from the American Lung Association of New Hampshire to Breathe New Hampshire. We also adopted a new slogan “Improving lung health since 1916.” We believe our new slogan best explains what we stand for and what we do. Simply put, we address the issues that affect the ability of the people in our state to breathe.

A long-established New Hampshire organization, Breathe New Hampshire was founded under the name The Society for Prevention of Tuberculosis at a time when its sole mission was to eradicate tuberculosis. Over the years, the organization has changed as its focus shifted to other respiratory issues, including asthma, COPD (an umbrella term for bronchitis and/or emphysema), clean air, lung cancer, and nicotine addiction.

This organization’s commitment to both the elimination and prevention of lung disease, and the care and assistance for those living with lung disease remains unchanged. Breathe New Hampshire’s mission, staff, and office location remains unchanged. What does change is the complexion of the threats to our breathing, as most recently illustrated by the news story about an individual diagnosed with an antibiotic resistant strain of TB traveling globally. Breathe New Hampshire will continue to fund medical research that may some day uncover a cure for such lung diseases. We will continue to provide technical assistance to individuals, health care providers, educators, and business leaders; Breathe New Hampshire will continue to launch public awareness campaigns about emerging lung diseases as they become apparent.

Public health advocacy, educational outreach, and scientific research are all necessary to help prevent, eliminate and treat lung disease. Breathe New Hampshire’s vision for the future includes an emphasis on these areas, as well as an expanded commitment to initiatives such as support for those living with lung disease and their caregivers, a youth-based advocacy movement, and statewide grassroots outreach.

As the Granite State's oldest nonprofit voluntary health agency, our board, staff, and volunteers are best prepared to directly address its needs. Our organization has a proud history of serving the people of New Hampshire for over 90 years in matters of lung health, including tuberculosis, asthma, COPD, healthy air, and nicotine addiction. We have been improving lung health for the residents of New Hampshire since 1916, and we look forward to continuing this important mission.

The way I see it, anything that promotes smoking prevention is a good cause. If I can get in better shape, have fun, and help support the event all at the same time... so much the better.

4 months to go.

My poor, neglected blog. Life has been very busy for me lately and I've had to let this slip. I'll consolidate some postings I had made elsewhere right after the event, here.

I completed both days' rides with no major problems. Yes, it was wet, but fortunately I missed the major downpours, though not by much at all.
I thought my pocket camera died on me, so no pictures, which bummed me out. There was a professional photographer covering the event, though, so when those are released I'll put some up. It turned out that the power cord to my USB hub had gotten unplugged and the camera acted like it had a dead battery because of it. Arrgghh!

Well, I got up a little later than I wanted to on Saturday morning, but I got to the starting point for the ride with plenty of time to spare. Driving down, I passed through some pretty heavy rain which did nothing to lift my spirits. By the time I got to Portsmouth, though, the rain had stopped. I met up with the other hams then went inside to check in for the ride and attend a safety meeting. After that, I got my bike off of the rack on the truck and started setting it up and packing. Since it wasn't raining, I packed my rain pants and jacket, along with the tool kit, spare tube and patch kit, air pump, spare T-shirt, sunglasses, (just in case) 2 bottles of water, plus my handheld ham radio, a spare battery pack, headset and PTT button, and an antenna for the radio. I attached my 1/2 wave 2-meter antenna to the mount I fabricated for the back rack and connected it to a length of coax run along the frame and into the handlebar bag, where the radio was kept. I added enough weight to the bike that I could tell the difference. I passed my suitcase on to one of the other hams who was driving the course, which had a spare pair of sneakers plus another set of clothes and other extras.

When I left, I was wearing sneakers and socks, boxer shorts, a pair of skintight poly long underwear bottoms, jeans, a T-shirt, cotton blend pullover sweatshirt, and a water-resistant lined nylon jacket, plus my helmet of course. I'd estimate the air temp was in the 50s with plenty of humidity.

The beginning of the course was kind of confusing but the organizers had done a very good job of making up bound course notes with total miles and miles between turns as well as descriptions and advisories. There were also painted arrows of different colors denoting different courses on the road - where the rain had not washed them away. Between the notes, my bike computer for distances, markings on the road, and other riders who had done the event before, I was able to find my way out of Portsmouth and onto the main part of the course. I started out riding with two other hams - one who has done the event for many years but who had done zero training and another older woman who was riding for her first trek. I stuck with them for a little while but eventually drifted away as my pace was considerably faster. Before long I joined up with a woman about my age but who was used to riding 35-40 miles on the weekends with her husband. It was nice to ride with someone who was closer to my abilities and we helped each other out in navigating the course. Before long we crossed over the State line into Maine.

Saturday offered 4 different routes; 25 miles, 42 miles, 56 miles, and 100 miles. My companion and I took the 25 mile route which offered 2 rest stops, the first at the 6.8 mile mark and the second at the 17.4 mile mark. I stopped at the first rest area for about 10 minutes and had some Powerade and a snack - some granola and a Hershey's kiss, I think, but my partner bypassed the stop and kept going. Just as I was leaving, the female ham I started out with was just pulling in. I touched base with her and found that the third ham was last seen by her some distance back. He ended up making it to about the halfway point before he had to get a ride to the finish line, which was better than I thought he was going to do.

I left the rest stop and continued on by myself. I caught up to a group riding together and passed them, but further along at the top of a long hill I had to stop and strip off a layer. I removed my sweatshirt and kept the water-resistant jacket, and had a drink from my bottle of water while I was stopped. The group caught up to me and passed me while I was stopped, but I then passed them again once I got going. It was not long after that I ran into a rain shower - it was light to moderate rain but luckily only lasted about 10 minutes and didn't completely soak me to the skin.

As I continued on, the road began to hug the coast. There was evidence of the strong storms which had swept through the area lately - I saw dozens and dozens of smashed lobster pots just off the side of the road and quite a few buoys as well, with the broken ropes still attached to each. Further along, by Long Sands in York, the concrete sidewalk had been completely washed away and there was some gravel and sand in the roadway that I had to avoid as best I could. I stopped at the end of the beachfront straightaway, knowing that I had a good steep hill ahead of me, and had another drink.

After climbing the hill in granny low and riding along a bit more, I came to the second rest stop, at Nubble Light. Here, I only stopped for a few minutes as it was beginning to rain and the wind was gusting pretty well out on the point - bad enough that the rest stop crew had to take down their shelter and were instead handing out refreshments from the back of their van. I ran into my former riding partner there and we rode the remainder of the trip together. it spit rain on and off all the way to the finish line, but not long or hard enough to be too much of a detriment. There were a series of rolling hills but in general we were gaining elevation all the time. I was in the lead and her increased fitness level over mine was beginning to show - she was wearing a heart monitor that beeped, and as I would ride along I could hear the beeping getting louder as she got closer to me, which would make me turn the wick up to match her pace. By the end, I was pretty much beat. In hindsight, I should have ridden at my own pace and let her pass or whatever. Live and learn...

At the finish line, we had people cheering us on and there was someone to take down our number. We went around to the side of the motel where there is a door into the walk-in basement, where the bikes are stored for the night. I had to wait for one of the hams to show up who had my suitcase - in the meantime I had a bite to eat; Bugaboo Creek provided a light lunch which consisted of salsa and chips, a roll, two kinds of salad, what I think was strips of boiled chicken, and chocolate chip cookies. My suitcase showed up, I grabbed a key to one of the two suites provided for the hams, and I staggered upstairs. The heat had not been turned on, and I think you could have hung meat in there. Because I had been standing around in the cold, soaking wet, I was not amused. I kicked on the heat in the bathrooms and the combo A/C and heater units, then took a very long, very hot shower - so much so that I ran the hot water out. Sorry to whomever else on the same circuit that was trying to take a shower... When I got out and got dressed I sat down on the couch to watch some TV and I promptly fell asleep.

Eventually the two other hams I was sharing the room with showed up and before long we went across the street where supper was being served at a restaurant with a large room upstairs. We had salad, a roll, a couple of kinds of pasta with and without meat, and chocolate cake for dessert. After dinner, there was a meeting where awards were given, people were recognized, and fundraising totals as of that time were read out. After that, there was a live band but we didn't stick around for that. Instead, we went back to our room where some adult beverages and discussion were shared. We called it a night around 10:30 or so.

My numbers for Saturday:
26.8 miles, 2 hours 10 minutes, 30.2 mph max, 12.3 mph avg.


Forgot to mention for Saturday - the only real trouble I had was during the last push, when I was riding harder than I should have. On one hill, to take some load off of my thighs, I used my calves more than I had been, and got a cramp in my left calf, right up by the back of my knee. I slowed down some (not that I had much choice) and worked through it.

On Sunday - up for breakfast at 6:30. The restaurant was serving scrambled egs and home fries with juice and coffee. After that, I had some time before the scheduled start at 8:00 so I took a quick shower and packed up my stuff. Today, I wore much the same as on Saturday except that I started out with a T-shirt and the water-resistant jacket. We had a group photo and I stuck around until most people had left, with the idea being that if anyone was having problems I might be able to call in help for them.

Sunday offered two routes; 35 miles or 53 miles. I rode the 35 mile route. After leaving the motel, there were some gentle ups and downs then a left turn onto Berwick Road - uphill almost all the way for about 6 miles. Ugh. After that there were more rolling hills, some fairly steep, but with a corresponding downhill to complement them. For this stretch of road I passed a few riders and was passed by a few. There were two rest stops on the 35 mile route; at the 14.2 mile and 26.5 mile marks. The weather was noticably colder than Saturday - much of the time I could see my breath. I'd guess it was in the mid-40s or so. It had rained during the night and the roads were soaking wet, so I did get damp from the spray and the heavy fog or drizzle that was falling but I cruised into the first stop absolutely drenched - from the inside out. I don't think I could have gotten any wetter from the waist up if I had taken a shower. I stripped down to my T-shirt and had some refreshments.

We have a team of 4 people, 3 of which are mentally challenged to one degree or another and I wonder about the fourth. Nice people, just a little annoying sometimes, especially to the hams and organizers since they are always bringing up the tail end and have a certain knack for getting lost. One of the guys walked up to me and asked me, no kidding: "Are you sweating?"
Uhh... All I could think of to say was, "Yeah."

After tanking up on fluids and some snacks, I passed my drenched jacket to one of the hams and put on a poly fleece pullover. I had also been wearing an orange vest with reflective stripes, and I retained that. From this point on until nearly the end, I rode alone, and as such I could ride at my own pace without feeling the need to step it up. Somewhere along the way, my left knee began to hurt a little, but nothing too bad - just enough that I could feel it wasn't quite 100%. The road was again a series of rolling hills with some flats; nice terrain. I rolled into the second rest stop after stopping only once to drink some water from my bottle. I had drained it, so I refilled it at the rest stop after drinking my fill and snacking on a chunk of PB&J sandwich on whole grain bread and a cup of trail mix. It was relatively flat from there on to the finish line. After walking over the memorial Bridge as we were all required to do, I caught up with a pair of middle-aged women and rode along with them to the end. One was pretty tired and I did my best to encourage her along the way.

After getting back to where we started and where I had left the truck, I started breaking down my bike and had to wait for the ham who I had loaned my bike rack to to return so I could load up my bike. After that, I went over to the Red Hook brewery, where they were serving burgers, dogs, salads, and fare of that nature. After having some lunch and saying my goodbyes, I headed for home. Didn't make it too far before the skies opened up and it really began to pour rain. I had the heater cranked up in the truck and I bet I got it up to 90° inside before I got the chill out of my bones.

Today's numbers:
35.33 miles, 2 hours 52 minutes, 28.6 mph max, 12.3 mph avg. My cumulative odometer on the Trek is up to 566.8 miles now.

Interesting to note that my average speed was exactly the same on both days.

When I got home, my knee really started bothering me, especially going down stairs. I've been taking it as easy as I can and I hope it feels better tomorrow.

After seeing the event from the perspective of a participant, I appreciate more fully what all of the volunteers do for the riders. We certainly couldn't do it without them.

Yes, I fully intend to do this again next year!


One more thought.

I didn't print out a picture of John to bring along with me on my ride because I figured with the rain I was expecting to encounter it would just get ruined and I didn't want that to happen, but I did keep him in mind as I rode along. I'd like to think he was keeping me company, especially while I was riding alone. So, if there is an "up there" and you're there, John, thanks for keeping me company. If not, I toast your memory and give thanks for the inspiration.