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| First morning light |
It was an exhausting travel day that saw us finalize the storage of our team equipment, make the drive to the Munich airport, complete the trans atlantic flight to Boston, take the bus to Cape Cod, catch the last boat to the island and finally get a pick up for the short drive home. Impressive once again to experience the rock solid travel infrastructure that is in place on land, sea and air every step of the way!
Traveling across time zones to the west brings on a reverse jet lag that mandates going to sleep and waking up incredibly early. It can take a few days to re-acclimate and has done little for our late night social life but but in the mean time it has been handy for the pre dawn wake up call that has lately been leading us to one of the local beaches for some kind pre dawn mission.
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| A peaceful paddle |
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| Mike shredding some small waves |
Massachusetts is at it's best throughout the autumn months and this year's warm dry weather has made for an exceptionally sweet October. Mary and I are happy to take a bit of time away from our mobile mode of living and to soak up some time at home. We are pretty much staying away from sleeping in anything with a motor, although I have been spending a good amount of time under the hood of the majority of our trusty vehicles. It takes a lot of work to keep those lofty dreams alive but for sure you have to work even harder when your version of the dream involves a vintage winnebago.
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| Mary happy with her cyclocross set up! |
Mary and I have recently been re acquainting ourselves with our long dormant
Seven Cycles Mud honey cyclocross bikes. Transitioning directly into cyclocross from the xc mountain bike season actually feels pretty natural as the fitness requirements are similar but the specific moves and style of racing always takes a bit of getting used to. And although the tools are similar, as a mechanic, it is also a big adjustment to go from race tuning world cup XC mountain bikes to dialing in all the equipment necessary for pro level cyclocross. Preparing the multiple bikes, tech zone equipment, spares and all the rest of the basics for keeping both Mary and I up to speed throughout the weekend (despite all that might go wrong during a cross race) takes a lot of time and consideration.
These Days the local cross racing in New England is vibrant, the pro and amateur fields are deep and the whole scene feels as if it has really arrived. A day or weekend spent at a major New England cross race is exciting even if you are just there to watch, heckle and soak up the scene. Mary and I just made the return trip in time to take part in the what has become a New England staple and personal favorite, the The Providence CX festival.
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| Awaiting the start gun, Day 2. |
The Providence race weekend was the first major meeting of the bike community after the tragic news of Amy Dombrowski's passing and the news weighed heavy on many at the event. Mary and I were glad to be there to take part in the silent lap that was held in Amy's honor and to pay our respects to this fallen athlete alongside great number of our peers. We send our condolences to Amy's Family along with so many in the cycling community.
There is No Doubt that Amy would demand that the racing go on and the Providence CX Festival did so in a spectacular fashion. Likely that it went on record as one of the most successful and largest CX race/ bike festivals on the east coast. The event promoters really got the formula dialed with a solid outdoor venue interwoven into the race track with on site food and brew pub, vendors and spectators got the opportunity to be simultaneously involved in the
action, racing and festival.
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| Fun to meet up with the "Little Bellas" girls cycling club to sign jerseys and share some experiences. :-) |
Mary and I were happy to be able to head back to the island directly after the weekend for some much needed time at home. This is the time of year that we really love being able to get out and hit the trails on our mountain bikes to rack up some single track fun! Mary and I are happy to have the opportunity to be doing some testing and experimenting with some exciting new equipment from various sponsors that will come into play immediately to give us the advantage in our racing for the upcoming year. top of the list----Stan's NoTubes Carbon wheels!
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| Minus Low Tides & tail wind on beach = an amazing experience! :-) |
The past Season has been an incredible journey for Mary and I. With the desire and reality of getting ready to go out and do it all again for 2014 already lurking, it feels especially great to be home for a while!
Best wishes for safe rides and lots of them!
Mike and Mary
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| Aquaman |
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Waskoskims' Rock has super mtb trails
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