Sunday, February 27, 2011

On the Road Quote of the Day

27 February 2011

Just Plain Jim said, "This hill needs a banister."

Towards the End of Winter

Burnaby waits for spring in a warm place.



27 February 2011

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First things first:

On September 10 we will hold the Ride for McBride, in honor of Big Joe, with proceeds going towards a scholarship for a Masters of Social Work student at Penn, where Joe taught for many years.

The ride will start from Tall Cedars on Sawmill Road in the rural section of Hamilton (yes, there still is one). There will be a 25-mile and a 50-mile route, both with a rest stop in New Egypt.

We're still working out all the details, but you can be sure I'm going to mention it here again and again. If you'd like to donate as we ramp up, checks can be made out to "Ride for McBride Memorial Fund" and mailed to 2161 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ 08638.

Meanwhile, if you're into Spinning, there will be a Spin for McBride on April 16, from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. at PEAC in Ewing. Admission, $25, is your donation towards the scholarship.

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A few weeks ago, as the roads began to clear, we still had snow on the ground.

Princeton University made a valiant attempt at clearing walkways, but at what price?

We had a huge icicle by our front door. I documented its growth:


Judy McBride had some good ones on her back porch. We were there for our first Ride for McBride organizational meeting:

The ice storm on February 11 was a nuisance, but it sure was purty. Here are the maple trees between the Schultz and Lewis Thomas laboratories on Princeton's campus:





(Did I mention these trees before? In October they were bright red, which prompted my boss to comment on them to me. I don't remember what he said, but whatever it was, I remember saying, "Penn has trees.")

I gathered a few Hill Slugs together on February 13 for our first road ride of the year. The streets were clear but there was snow everywhere else, even on the Dinosaur Hill dinosaur:


The cows at the top of Mount Airy found some clear ground:

Mighty Mike said, "Can you take my picture? I want to send this to my mom. She won't believe I'm doing this."

As we headed towards home on Rocktown Road, I took my last few snapshots of winter:


Just Watch This!

27 February 2011



This guy has amazing skills and control. Even if you're not into bike tricks, this video is worth watching for the scenery.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Hill Slugs Sunday Spring Thaw CANCELED...

19 February 2011

...because it's gonna be too cold in the morning. Yeah, I'm a wuss. See you in the spring.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Hill Slugs Spring Thaw POSTPONED to Sunday

18 February 2011

Yeah, um, forget about Saturday. We'll go Sunday instead. It'll be cold, so we'll start at 10 a.m. at the Hopewell YMCA parking lot on Main Street in Pennington. We'll keep it on the short side. Extra-milers can meet at my house at 9:30 a.m.

Hill Slugs Spring Thaw UPDATE

18 February 2011

The weather forecast has changed for the worse. Now NOAA is predicting a sustained 24-28 mph wind with gusts in the 40 mph range.

I can handle a stiff headwind, but this is more than I can handle.

Stay tuned. I'll check the forecast again tonight and early tomorrow morning and make the decision by 7:00 a.m.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Hill Slugs Spring Thaw, Saturday, 19 February

17 February 2011


Okay! It's the first official Hill Slugs ride of the year. It'll be a windy one, but you knew that already. We'll go about 40 miles. Meet at 9:30 a.m. at the Hopewell YMCA parking lot on Main Street in Pennington (look for the huge, red, brick building with white pillars on the end; the parking lot is next to the pillars).

Extra-milers can meet me at my house at 8:30 a.m.

Pace pushers can go elsewhere.