Finding What Matters Most in Life: The One

I’m talking about the right bike saddle, of course.  My apologies to those who arrived here thinking I was going to be writing about love and relationships. Don’t go away just yet. I have noticed that if you substitute "relationships" for the word "saddle" below there are strong similarities between finding the right bike saddle and finding that The One. So if you are still looking for The One, or want to make sure you have the right One, keep reading and insert  “relationships” anywhere words are underlined. The key to two of life's most important decisions in one blog post.*  

110 Miles on the Long Trail

In my failed attempt to hike Vermont’s 270 mile Long Trail this fall I learned a couple important lessons.  First, you can’t plan around the weather.  I learned this hiking the AT, yet when Hurricane Joaquin was threatening to hit New England I decided to wait and see what would happen.  It never came, but the days got shorter and colder, and I caught a cold from my nieces.  Second, any kind of weather is possible in October in Vermont.  Third, a stove is a necessity if water sources are frozen.  Fourth, boots are much better than running shoes in snow, even with YakTrax.  Fifth, it’s bad luck not including my bicycle on an adventure.

A Map and Numbers: Appalachian Trail / East Coast Hike & Bike

Blue is my bike route down to Georgia, white is the AT, red is my bike route back to CT. Click on map and zoom in for more detail. The bike routes are my actual GPS tracks using my Garmin Forerunner 410 watch. The AT GPX files are courtesy of www.guymott.com. I wasn't willing to carry my watch and deal with keeping it charged while hiking.

Mile 2189.2

As expected, New Hampshire and Maine are the hardest and most beautiful sections of the AT, by quite a bit, I think.  Lots of the sections looked familiar, and I remember my dad and I slogging up some of those ridiculously steep rocky trails with 40-50 lb packs when I was a teenager.  My pack was much lighter, but still the terrain seemed just as hard. Probably because I got used to being able to hike at 3 mph doing 20-25 miles/day. I felt like we were moving at a snail's pace, which didn't really matter except for the psychological component of progressing slower.

Mile 1790.5

The last 300 miles of hiking has been a good stretch. The temperature and humidity dropped once we hit Greylock and the bugs have largely disappeared. We've also had lots of company and support from friends, family and strangers. Now the weather has turned back to heat wave status so we are laying low and extending our break in Plymouth, NH with Effie's family. Only about 400 miles to go with the biggest most beautiful mountains to come.

Hiking out of CT. Rands View looking at the ridge along the MT Everett state reservation.