NYRAD Vol 2... No Go

So.. it rained alot on New Years Day so... NYRAD wasn't going to happen this year. The trails were mud soup so instead we hung out in the basement and watched Jackass 2. Owell... maybe we'll have a chance for a rain date sometime soon.

However, on New Years Eve we started a trail over at FlatTires house... Turns out it's about .6 miles.... all in his 'yard'. Its going to be *sweet*. He took a trip around with the dog and the gps so I'll get a snapshot of the loop up here soon. After a long day of building the hot tub was looking fantastic, but I had to head home to help Mrs 40 with the new years party preparations.

So.. its now a week later, I didn't make any resolutions(I never do) but eh.. whatever.

Anyhow.. time for dinner.. more later. Cya.

One Hundred Posts Later..

Well, its been a year since we started the blog, and this turned out to be the 100th post. Not much compared to the high volume of Gizmodo or those other 20-posts-a-day blogs but.. eh.. it's a start.

I think we've stuck to the original intent for the most part... chronicling the goofy adventures around here, starting the year off with NYRAD


Then, the wide variety of "Gotta get outside or I'll go crazy this winter" trips up north ... snoe.down


Then onto spring, when most new englanders brains get scrambled with the excitement that all the frozen water turns back into LIQUID!

Then it rains. Alot. Of course, all that rain has to go somewhere, and it becomes the perfect time to take a River Trip.. aka FARTAB! FARTAB Vol 2 , FARTAB Vol 3
after which, of course, its time for my epic summer vacation to well, nowhere

After my vacation, summer flew by while Mrs 40 and I looked for a new place to live after we sold our house.

In mid August we found a place in the woods in the Alps of RI near Crayons Taste Like Purple and Flat-tires. The Beermuda Triangle was formed, into which brain cells drown and house projects get sidetracked on an almost daily basis.

Of course, we couldn't end a summer without the now internationally famous RAMHADAB
RAMHADAB Part 1
RAMHADAB Part 2
RAMHADAB Part 3

BaldBoyWonder and I couldn't get enough of bike trips, so we planned a trip along CT's Airline Trail. It was a good trip, a whole lot longer and tougher than we had figured on: The AirLine Trail

After that, we all started to slow down for the winter and get focused on house projects etc.. of course we needed a Firepit

Now that we're into the holidays we get back to thinking about NYRAD again, and all the stuff that goes along with it.

BBW is heading down to RI today, we'll kick off the weekend with a trip to Hooters with CobraKai and CTLP, then tomorrow we'll mess around in the woods, then over to CTLPs for UFC night, the back here for New Years Eve. Then, of course, on Monday we'll have the 2nd Annual NYRAD!

Stay Tuned... Thanks for reading all this....

40-

Season of giving.

So, I thought I would get you all a
present


From my heart to yours.

Hope you have a happy, safe and memorable holiday!





editor's note: depending on where you work, video may be *slightly* nsfw if you have your speakers on...

long night

You florida and warm-weather folks can just bite me with your, "What? It's *dark* already up there??? We're still in the pool and it's 75!" Hehehehe

So every year around this time i get two thoughts stuck in my head. First, 'why is it so f'ing dark out...' and second, ' Whew! It's *finally* the darkest it's going to get...'

Anyhow. The second thought.

tomorrow is the shortest day of the year. It's something to think about....it only gets better than this from here on... more light every day until summer.

I'm missing my self enforced summer vacation during the longest days of the year. In a single day in the summer around here you can Get up and go surfing/kayaking/mtbiking... then eat breakfast... then go surfing/kayaking/windsurfing/sailing..... the eat lunch....etc you get the picture.

Though, around the holidays I'd prefer to hibernate. Next week I hope I can do some of that. Can't wait.

Don't forget, NYRAD about a week away. that's right... New Year's Ride And Drink. Mtbiking down to the river to do some backwoods recuperating and whatnot on New Year's Day. Head on down if you can.

40-

The City.

I like Gotham. Sometimes I wish that I had gone down to NYC to live for a couple of years before settling in the 'Middle of Nowhere'. I can't see wanting to live my whole life there, but I understand the draw for friends of mine who can't imagine living anywhere else. Regardless, I would have never been a Yankees fan. Mets- perhaps. Yankees- hells no.

Traveling to The City from RI is pretty nice. Taking the car is stupid- the effort, traffic, burning of fuels, parking costs... No thank you. Taking a plane? Granted the flight is only a half hour, but you need to get to the airport two hours prior, they gate check all your bags for the little planes, a much larger amount of burnt fuel, and the cab ride to Manhattan from the airport which takes forever and is $50 each way. The best route? The train- by far. $20 more gets you in business class on the Amtrak service where you have a ton of room, less people, and all the cran-apple juice you can drink for free! Okay- so the juice thing does not make it worth while, but having a lot of space to yourself is pretty key. So long as they do not combine trains in New Haven and screw you out of your peace and quiet. Grrrr...

The ride from Kingston station south takes me across the Wood River, which always brings back fond memories of FARTAB's past. Making me think more about goofing off than the long work days ahead. Once you clear Westerly, you hug the CT coast and have great views of the sound, beaches, salt water marshes, beautiful houses and sailboats at the marinas. Just sit on the left side of the train on the way down, and the right side on the way North.

If you leave at the right time you also get a nice sunset to watch while shuffling your work papers.


(Okay- so the scenery in this particular picture is not that great... Think of it as a contemporary juxtaposition of the natural world with man's desire to reshape the landscape. Or something that sounds even more hoity-toity.)

Train takes you straight into Penn Station at MSG which is a pretty central location to most things south of Central Park. (And also two blocks away from Kang Suh - Broadway between 31st and 32nd- where great Korean BBQ can be had)

Speaking of Central Park, there is a reason why it is wonderful. I mean- the value of that real estate is unfathomable in a time where single buildings downtown are selling for a billion plus. But the value to New Yorkers (and the value to those whose property borders Central Park) keeps it as a little green oasis where one can be mugged if not careful at night and enjoy physical activity in the outdoors in the heart of The City during the day. I keep hoping to meet some of the mountian bikers who use the park to get an idea of their loop. I know that they ride there...

And well- seeing as the site is not letting me add anymore pictures, I guess I will have to do it later to illustrate my point...

Additional Patch Aaawg Pics:

Maggie doesn't like to sit still when there is water to be played in...



Game time! A Stone Ruination 22oz'er to the first person who can tell me what is missing from the picture above. (Hint: it looks like it is also not present in the first picture either, and it is not CTLP)

Patch Awwwg

This weekend CTLP, Flat-tires and I headed to CT to check out Pachaug State Forest .Unlike RI, CT does not allow hunting on Sundays. In RI, It's not only hunting season, it's shotgun season ....on public lands. I'm not one of those anti-hunting nuts that goes on and on about it, but I don't like riding while hearing *boom* just a few hundred feet away. Kinda takes away from the peaceful experience of mtbiking. KWIM?

So, we got in our vehicles and headed west. After an excruciating journey across the vast Beach Pond, we were there. One whole state away.

I gotta say, I've never been in Patch Awwwg before, but I was pretty impressed. It's kinda like Arcadia, everything goes. Horses, twisty throttle dirtbikes, hunting during the week, mtbiking, and hiking. It didn't help that it was almost 50F out... we saw a ton of people.

CTLPs and Flat-Tires dog-ters, Maggie and Ingrid came with us. Maggie, a black lab mix, has been 'riding' with us for a while now.. she does really well out in the woods, and doesn't like being the lead dog. Ingrid, a great dane/bull mastiff likes it.. She'll get up there and run exactly 9.9feet in front of you. No more. No less. I gotta say, a little different riding in the woods with dogs. Its kinda like hiking with a kid... they gotta stop at every stream, every rabbit hole to give it a good *sniiiiiiifffff*! Well, it slows down the ride just a bit, but not as much as some of the annoyingly rocky strewn trails we picked. It's okay tho, It gave me time to check the map I brought with almost obsessive-ness.

By the way... the ground isn't *quite* frozen yet. I stepped in a mudhole. Went up to my ankle in icy cold, stinky, mud. It *rocked* riding like this for another couple hours. Nah... It sucked.

Yep.. Hopefully I'll get more posts up here soon. Sorry the blogs been.. um... empty. I've been having a busy time at work and been really distracted. The company I work for is in the midst of being bought out, and i'm doign everything I can to stay, well, employed. I'll get some posts up here soon enough. Yep.

And In Other News.....

...there's been a recent sighting of the infamous "Special Olympics Cartman" in the southern Rhode Island area. We'll keep posted as the story develops...

GUDG reporting.

Ingrid NO!

Hey, It's been awhile since the last post.. sorry about that. Mrs 40 and I have been pretty busy getting the new casa pulled together and ready for the holidays. We have tons of company coming over the next week.

We had a party this weekend to kick things off for thanksgiving week, and the entire Pandapas gang was there with the exception of Mr and Mrs GUDG....unfortunately they had a family commitment and couldn't make it.

BBW and I spent the day before raking up leaves and getting the house in order. We had to drag all the scrap wood to a pile for CTLP to light with his flamethrower:



In addition to the Pandapas folks, we had some work friends over to hang out around the fire and consume some fine barley beverages. Some of us had a few more than others with varying results.



We rode mtbikes around the yard, through the woods and then Sleepy busted out a really cool housewarming present.... flying discs that have LEDs built in so you can play Frisbee in the dark. This got things really going with a round of Night Disc Golf. Seriously, a HUGE hit. We wandered all over the place, smashing them through the woods and into other people (oops.. my fault)... having a blast.

Later, Mr and Mrs FlatTires joined the party and brought the latest addition to their family, a 2 year old puppy, Ingrid. Ingrid is part Great Dane, part Bull Mastiff. She's awesome and very friendly. She was very curious to BBWs "results" from overconsumption of barley beverages, prompting all of us to scream... "Ingrid NO! Don't eat that!". Nuff said.

The party started to wind down after that as we all were getting tired. BBW, CTLP, and Sleepy all stayed over to go mtbiking on Sunday. I was *dragging* Sunday morning from my own over-indulging on malted beverages.... until Sleepy cured us all with 3 egg omelets and blood mary's. Yum!.

We went for a quick ride down to the river this afternoon, and that helped shake out the cobwebs. Nothing cures a hangover like a bike ride.



Anyhow.. I'm planning on taking some time off next week to catch up on... well... everything. Hopefully I can post some progress on the BFB, and other projects I've been working on. My sisters and their husbands are coming to stay with us later in the week, and on Tuesday I'm heading to Jersey to see Mr and Mrs KungFooFish and the latest addition to their family, Young KungFoo. I hear he's adorable.

Anyhow.. Have a good week if I don't talk to ya... -40.

Riding on Election Day

So tomorrow we get to vote. I'm not going to get all political, but just go vote.

Vote for anything, whatever you want.

I'm going to ride my bike to the polling place before work. In a sense, voting twice.

This past weekend Bald Boy Wonder headed to the RI Alps to help dig firewood out of the woods around my house. Our very generous neighbors let us drag dead wood off their land...so we do. CTLP headed over to help out. Thanks!

After that we built a HUGE firepit in the backyard. Check it out:





Tomorrow night is the local mountain bike club meeting at Famous Pizza in West Warwick at 7:30. We'll be riding before the meeting. Cya there.

-40