Hiking the snow, with a little Riding

February first, I'm finally getting sanity back and the itch to ride more, not quite at the point of training, but definitely getting out for some good old fashion fun on the bike. Today I met with Jake and Tom and we rode a little bit at first in the snow, but as the tracks from hikers dissipated the riding became near impossible. We reverted to some hike-a-bike. A few feeble attempts were made at riding, but were generally unsuccessful.

After hiking to the top of the hill we followed a trail that plenty of people had hiked on so riding was possible. It was also downhill, and a lot of fun.

Here is a video clip from a portion of the ride.

Riding the Snow from Scott Frison on Vimeo.

Skiing Stowe

The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend took me to the Stowe ski resort, near the town of Stowe, VT. I joined a number of friends at a house that we rented in Morrisville, VT. We spent two quality days on the mountain skiing, despite extremely cold weather. The first day we pulled into the parking lot with sub 0°F temperatures. The second day was warmer at 11°F when we pulled up.

The skiing was fantastic, especially on Sunday after an overnight snow left some fresh white stuff on the mountain. While it can be relatively easy to just glide down the mountain, we didn't take it easy. We really worked the turns at a fast pace, leaving my legs rather tired by the end of day two on the mountain.

There are a few pictures here.

I also captured a video during one of our runs. I almost had a giant yard sale on the mountain when I hit a small patch of ice followed by some bumps. Skiing with both poles in one hand and a camera in the other, not the easiest.

I suggest clicking on the option in the lower right of the video screen for HQ (high quality) when watching. It takes a little longer to load, but allows you to see a much better image.

Lots of Car Time

There's been rather little bike riding since the final race. In fact, there hasn't been any for me, I didn't even bother to take a bike with me on my Christmas trip to my home town. There was quite a bit of time spent in cars during that time though.

Tuesday, December 22nd found me home-bound after work. 6 Hours 36 minutes after leaving work I arrived in Port Allegany. With little time I made good time.

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The only traveling on Christmas Eve and Christmas day was around town to places like my grandparents, church, and my friends' houses. Then, the day after Christmas, I traveled with my parents to the Buffalo airport to pick up my brother.

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After a weekend of family fun it was back to the Buffalo airport early Monday morning to drop off my brother. The warm weather that had arrived with him, seemed to be going back to Florida with him as well. I stopped in Smethport to see my grandfather on the way back from the airport and then in the evening I went skiing with some friends at Holiday Valley. This was my 3rd appearance in the town of Ellicottville, NY for the day. Conditions were on the icy side after the big melt and refreeze.

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The rest of the week was spent relaxing. Then, Saturday, January 3, 2009, I made the return trip to Connecticut. Thus ends my Christmas vacation and its travels.

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I suggest clicking on the option to 'view larger map' and zooming appropriately to get the full picture of the travels. To some, this would be hell. For me, it can be rather enjoyable, the traveling about. I hope to place some pictures on a map soon. I'll be sure to post a link for your enjoyment.