Windy Day

With the forecast with rain for Saturday and a warm but windy day for Sunday I put together an off the books ride for Sunday. I originally had 4 people but ended up with only 2 others beside myself. 

Since it was going to be blowing at 15-20 mile from the west I planned to go into the wind from MCP towards Princeton so we would have a tail wind on the way back. We did this route which had a couple of my unusual features. We started out on the Trolley line path for a little while before heading through Plainsboro and through College park to get to Kingston. The goal was to get to the Blawenburg Bistro since Jim likes that place and wants it to stay open I figured I would give them some business. I thought about trying some how to hook up with Jim's ride but it would have been hard to time since we started an hour earlier than his ride and our routes were a lot different. 

We stopped at the Bistro which does have a good selection of baked goods. Jim asked me to make sure I left his group some. I can assure you that there was plenty left when we departed so I hope he had a good stop. 

It is spring which means I need to start getting in shape for the season ahead. Although I tried to keep the route relatively easy I did add a couple of hills to try and get my hill legs working. 

The wind grew stronger as we were riding so when we turned back towards home we had a good tail wind to push us home. At the end I felt better than last week so I hope the trend continues.

On a completely different subject because of the rain on Saturday I was able to finish my latest project. As I reported in this post I got some live edge walnut a couple of months ago. I finally used some of it for a plant stand. When we moved we didn't need my wife's old desk as the office in the new house had a built in one.

So I repurposed it as a plant stand by an empty spot we had by a window. 

I built a frame and then pieced the walnut into the frame. The wood I got was really rough so it took a lot of sanding to get it looking good enough to use. 

To bring out the beauty of the wood and protect it from the water that will drip off the plants and be spilled on them I put some deep coat epoxy on it. 

I filled to spaces between the different pieces of walnut with blue sand and glass beads. This was to reduce the amount of epoxy I needed to fill the gaps and coat the wood because epoxy is expensive. The sand and beads actually look pretty good with the wood in the epoxy. This it the first time I tried to create a piece like this. I'm happy with the way it came out but it was a lot of work. There is a lot more to creating an epoxy table then mixing the epoxy and pouring it in. I learned a lot from this project that I will apply to the next one I do. I have 3 more piece of walnut so now I just have to decide what I will do for my next project.

Spring is Here!

After spending a couple weeks in Florida where is was in the 80s it was a little tough to come back to NJ where is has been in the 40s. Luckily last Saturday it warmed up into the upper 50s. I managed to convince most of the Insane Posse to follow me out of Etra Park for a 42 mile ride. Here is the route. 

Although it was warm it was a little windy but it felt good to be out riding again after being off the bike for almost 3 weeks. It was also good to catch up with everybody and talk about my vacation. By the end of the ride I was feeling the effect of not being on the bike and was a little worn out. 

Spring officially arrived on Monday so that means the weather is getting warmer and there shouldn't be much chance of snow so I should be able to get out more and start build some miles. This past Wednesday I decided to do a solo ride on the Henry Hudson trail. I started from Freehold and headed out the Keyport and back on this route. 

The Henry Hudson trail is paved so I used my road bike. It was an overcast day but warm. The trail was mostly empty so it was a relaxing easy ride. The trail does cross a number of streets where you have to slow down and check for traffic. I know some people find this annoying but I was in no hurry so I didn't mind it. The trail is not completely finished so there is one part that you have to take to the streets. There are a couple of streets you can take to get back to the trail. I didn't like the way I took last time so tried a different route which was much better. This also brought me by a garden center which was obviously ready for Easter.

The trail goes all the way to Sandy Hook but I stopped at Keyport and headed down to the bay  for a look at Sandy Hook and the Verrazano Bridge before heading back. 

I'm sure there will still be a few cold days of riding ahead but I'm glad spring has arrived and I can look forward to some warmer and longer rides. 

Winter Get Away

CLICK HERE to SEE More PICs

My wife and I have been thinking about getting away to a warm place during winter but have not had a chance to do it over the past few years. A couple of weeks ago we finally did it. For the past couple weeks we have been in Florida. We drove instead of flying because our trip was open ended as we had no definite plans or date we needed to return. We spend two days driving down to Florida and found a condo in Cocoa beach to stay at for a few days. 

I got some good sunrise pictures from our condo. 

It was on the beach not far from Cape Kennedy which meant we got a chance to see a launch. There were two launches scheduled while we were in Cocoa beach. The first one was to send four astronauts to the international space station. I actually drove 10 miles to view the launch from a place I could see the launchpad. 

The launch was scheduled for 2am so I had to stay up late to see it.  Unfortunately 2 mins before the launch there was a problem with the ignition system so the launch was scrubbed. Fortunately the next day there was a satellite launch that went off without a problem. We were able to see it from the beach where we were staying. Although we couldn't see the actual launch pad we saw the flash when it launched and followed as it went over head.

In order to really get a good picture of a rocket in flight going over 1000 mph you need a large telephoto lens and a radar guided camera. However with a little luck I go a reasonable picture with my camera.

Besides seeing the rocket streak through the air I also felt and heard it as it went by and rattled the building.

With my binoculars I was actually able to see the first stage separation and ignition of the second stage. I'm glad I got a chance to see an launch in person it was as cool as expected.

After 3 days of  Cocoa beach we headed south. Since it is spring training time for baseball we were able to take in a Met's game before heading to Hollywood Florida just north of Miami. Our original plan was to go down to the Keys but we could not find a good place to stay and some of the stuff we wanted to do was north of Miami any way. We spent 3 days in a penthouse condo on the beach.

Which had amazing views of the sunset.

Besides hanging out on the beach we also checked out some gardens and safari parks. I really enjoyed the flamingos. The way the strut around, honk and play with each other are cool and makes for some good pictures.

We also fed some lorikets which climbed all over us. 

From Hollywood Florida we started on our way home stopping at Hilton Head on the way back. Amazingly we had only 15 mins of rain on the entire two week trip and that while we were in the car on our way back. It was nice to feel the warm humid air in the middle of the winter. It actually hit close to 90 a couple of days so it was almost too hot.

I was able to work part of the time we were away so I won't have to burn a lot of vacation days which worked out as my wife was fine hanging out on the beach while I worked. This vacation was a good get away and something we might do again if we want to get away from the cold in the winter months.

Winter Beach Rides

The past couple of weeks as I try to make it through the winter weather I have been doing rides along and to the beach. Last weekend I used the Edgar Felix path from Allaire to get to Manasquan and back on the mountain bike. It's a good ride for a cold day and I even spent some time exploring the Allaire village by bike. 

My Wednesdays off have been coinciding with warm weather so I been able to get some 30 something mile rides in to supplement my weekend ride. This is definitely increasing my winter mileage and hopefully will keep me in better shape for spring. 

This weekend I did a one way trip to Avon to check on our place. We try to go there few times in the winter to make sure the heat still works and the roof is still on. 

Although I have done these rides to the shore a lot I still like them as they are relatively easy and I always seem to find something new along the way. The picture up top is a tree that someone turned into a dolphin totem pole. It's not particularly good but is was something worth stopping for a picture on the way to the beach. 

This winter has been on the warmer side with out any snow but now that it is towards the end of February I'm hoping for an early spring and and some warmer weather to ride in. 

Fine Woodworking

 

Because it is harder to bike during the winter I usually have some projects to keep me busy. I did list a ride for this past Saturday out of Etra. It was almost 50 degrees but the wind made it a little unpleasant. You have to suffer a little if you want to ride in the winter. 

Last weekend I attempted to summit Forked River Mountain. Yes there is a mountain in Forked River. It's more a mound of about 180 ft but it does provide a view of the surrounding pine lands and the ocean. However the fire road I tried to take on my mountain bike was too flooded. This was unexpected as its all very sandy soil and one of the higher points in the area. 

In my down time one of the things I like to do is a little wood working. In my old house I had a small workshop and enjoyed building some furniture. I like it the hands on nature of it and creating something original. None of the things I make could be considered works of art like the pieces the master wood workers make at Winterthur but they are nice enough and fit the space they are made for. 

The picture at the top of the post is a new clock I made for my office. I made it from some maple and African rosewood. I also used some epoxy resin to put a blue stripe down the middle and also for the final finish. I have been wanted to experiment with epoxy for a while and so this project gave me a chance to try it out. Epoxy finish takes a lot of prep work and is a bit expensive but I like the results so may try it again on some other project. 

 In my new place my work shop is in my garage so I don't have the room I use to. Because of this I got rid of some of the tools I use to have including my table saw. What I learned though from this project is that I can do a lot of what I use to with a good miter saw and router jig. 

On of my other projects was redesigning a bookshelf to better fit into my new office. I had a large bookshelf I made for my old office in my old house which fit perfect in the space. 

My old office was in a 12' X 15' room and the shelf and recliner fit on one wall. My new office is only 12' X 12' and although I was able to fit the bookshelf and recliner in the room it was a little crowded. I also don't need that much room for books anymore since almost all the ones I buy now are electronic. Because if this I decided to take the middle out and just use to curved ends to create a display shelf for the wall in my office between the door and the closet. 

It now fits the room a lot better. 

I do enjoy being able to work with my hands and create some furniture and other things from wood. I recently acquired some live edge walnut. I'm not 100% sure what I will make with it but wood like this is hard to come by so I'm sure I will find some good uses for it.

 

Hiking Instead Biking

It's harder in the winter months to get out on the bike because of the colder weather and the possibilities of ice and snow. That is why I will sometimes choose to do a hike instead of taking out the bike. This winter I will probably do a little more hiking than previous years. This is because one of the people that we have become friends with in our community has a monthly hike and also because there are some good close places to hike where I live now.

Turkey Swamp and Manasquan Reservoir are a quick 10min drive away and during the winter I can hike the local golf course. Before I moved I didn't really walk around the neighborhood a lot but because where I live now is quieter I usually walk a couple time a week. I don't plan to reduce my biking but just want to supplement it with some other exercise. I'm finding that I enjoy a walk after work to help me unwind from a hectic day.

So far this winter I have hiked Turkey Swamp and Brendan Byrne state park. The hike through Brendan Byrne was over 10 miles and the longest hike I have done in a long time. I was stiff at the end but didn't have any blisters or other problems that would prevent me from doing this long a hike again. After the hike one of the people that was with us wanted to stop at the high point of Ocean county as it was on our way home even though it required about half a mile hike to get to. Apparently these people like to visit high points as one of their last hikes hit the high point of Morris county. I guess whether you hike or bike high pointing is a thing you do. 

This past Saturday was going to be cold and windy so I decided to invite the posse over to hike the golf course instead of a bike ride. It is usually hard to get the entire posse to attend any event but I guess I picked a good day because most of them and their spouses took me up on the offer. 

We did this hike around all 18 holes of the golf course. According to my GPS it was 4.4 miles but I've done this hike a few other times where it said it was 5.1 miles so I think the GPS shut off for part of the hike it set for bike mode. During the hike I felt a little like a real estate agent as I was explaining the different type of houses and explaining why this is a good place to live. We also when through the club house a couple of times and I showed them all the amenities we have here. 

It was a good hike as much for the exercise as it was just hanging out and talking to everyone especially some of the spouses who I don't see that often. After the hike we had some snacks and pizza out my house. Usually after a bike ride we all go our separate ways so it was good to have some social time the group. I don't plan to become an avid hiker but it is a good change of pace during the winter months.

Working Four Days a Week

 

I don't make New Year's resolutions. If I want to improve or change something in my life I don't wait for the new year and make some public declaration. I just do it. There are always ways to make life better. This year I decided to cut back my hours at work. I'm not ready to retire but would like more time to relax and enjoy my hobbies. 

It's going to be nice to have the extra day off. It will allow me to get more riding in and let me spend more time outdoors. Most people working four days either take Monday or Friday off but I decided to take Wednesday's off. This way I work two days get a day off and then work two days and get the weekend off. 

During the Christmas break I had the week off. It was a little cold at the start of the week so I did a hike on Monday, the LHT on Wednesday with the pose and another ride on Friday with the pose out of MCP. It was a good break after a long year. 

This Wednesday it felt a little weird going out for a ride instead being at work but it was 60 degrees so I'm glad I had the day off. Its going to be a little bit of adjustment getting use to the mid week break but I think it is a good way to kept a steady income while improving my work life balance.