Baking, booze, mowing

In no particular order:

I only had to cut the grass two times in my four-week blogging hiatus, only the 11th and 12th times this year.

Wines:

Lucas Vineyards, Cabernet Franc (2005) – (RS)² rating: 2.

Thirsty Owl Wine Company, Pinot Noir (2005) – (RS)² rating: 1.

Wagner Vineyards, Merlot (2002-2003) – (RS)² rating: 1.

Baking:

August 25: Cinnamon rolls

September 1: Cherry and blueberry turnovers (one batch each)

September 8: Cream cheese cookies

September 15: Chocolate pie and coconut cream pie with whipped cream topping. Not from scratch; store-bought cracker-crumb pie crusts, Jello-brand filling; follow directions on the box!

 

First Ride Across a State Border

After yesterday’s tough ride, I needed an easy day. I put in decent miles—just over 30—but it was on gentle slopes. I got a early start today; 7:30AM while there was still a little fog in the area.

Today’s ride took me south on Pennsylvania Avenue in Apalachin to just over the PA border. That’s the first time I’ve ridden in another state. Pennsylvania Ave rises gently; just a little more than 200 feet over the 6 miles from NY434 to the PA border. That’s a lot easier than the hill I tried riding up yesterday. [View Route]

Pennsylvania Ave has a smallish shoulder, but with very little traffic on an early Sunday morning, I never felt uncomfortable. It was interesting to see the should totally disappear once I hit the PA border. I was heading out into a more rural area, but it still surprised me. Is all of PA this bike-unfriendly?

Also, mowed the lawn and trimmed the bushes. We got some rain a couple days last week; the grass is starting to look green again. The river in Vestal is up over 4 feet for the first time in quite a while.

 

Lawn Maintenance

Mowed the grass today. Only the ninth time this year, unless I’ve miscounted. It’s been a very dry summer so far. The grass is more brown than green.

 

Boilermaker Sunday

This past Sunday marked the 30th running of the Utica Boilermaker in my former hometown. Before knee troubles lead me to bicycling, I was a runner and had run in the Boilermaker a number of times. The picture to the right is of Thing Two and my Niece J running the Boilermaker Youth Run in 2001. Thing One and Thing Two ran in the Youth Runs several times.

The Boilermaker can be fun if you can put up with the crowds—there were over 10,000 finishers this year. There is a huge post-race party with food, bands, fireworks, and beer. But between the crowds, hilly course, and typically warm and muggy weather, it is not a great race to try to set PRs.

My Nephew J and Niece J ran the race this year. Nephew J posted a good, sub-70:00 time. Niece J finished just over 66:00 (a PR for her I think) and was in the top 100 females (based on gun time). Congratulations to both of you on your runs!

Also on Sunday, H and I drove Thing Two to camp. After unloading all of her stuff, we said our goodbyes and then spent a few minutes with Thing One. Thing One is having a great time and has so far avoided getting Counsellor-in-Training duty in the Bunk House with all the little kids. The picture above is from a bunch of pictures we downloaded from Thing One’s camera while we were there.

That leaves H and I kid-less for two weeks. H will be keeping me busy with some minor kitchen and dining room remodelling. Nothing major—new stove and fridge, new dining room table and chairs, and some painting. The new appliances and furniture arrived yesterday. The painting will start this weekend or next week when I am on vacation.

Mowed the lawn for the eighth time this year on last Saturday. It has been very dry here; that was the first time in just over three weeks!

 

Grass and Grapes

Mowed the lawn again. In my quest to count the times I do that this year, I think I forgot to log last week’s cutting. Note to self: count this as two.

H and I finished a bottle of Salmon Run Meritage (2003) from Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars. We liked this one and would buy it again. It’s a strong 1 on the (RS)² rating scale.

 

Memorial Day Ride

25.3 miles out to the Marshland Road boat launch and back. With no work today due to the holiday, I was able to ride in the morning while the weather was perfect for riding; low 60s, overcast, not much wind. There was not much traffic as well. [View Route]

I almost had my first road kill. A chipmunk tried playing chicken with my front tire and almost lost.

Did a few errands with H and Thing Two afterwards, as well as some lawn maintenance.

Dinner tonight will be typical holiday-fare; hamburgers cooked on the grill.

 

Ride to Apalachin

Repeat of May 13th’s ride; 18.6 miles out to Apalachin and back, mostly over Rt 434. [View Route]

It was also another grass-mowing day.

 

Today’s Ride – Old Vestal Rd

This is the first time I’ve ever ridden on Old Vestal Rd. It was pretty busy, but the road is generally wide so I never really felt threatened by the traffic. There was also quite a bit of heavy truck traffic. I’m not sure if I’ll do this ride again; it just was not very enjoyable. Along the way, I am pretty sure I saw friend and NYSP Trooper C driving west on Old Vestal Rd in his squad car. Being the observant Trooper that he is, I don’t think he saw me wave. [View Route]

It was also time to mow the lawn. Again, not exciting news, but I do want to keep count of how many times I have to do that this year. This was #3.

 

It’s not Fair

Sit down for this announcement. I mowed the lawn today for only the second time this year. Maybe you’re not excited about that, but I’ve always been a little curious as to how many times I mow the lawn in a year and how early and late the mowing season is. Now with Bike Bake and Beyond maybe I’ll remember to keep track of how often I do that accursed chore.

I was talking to good friend R in Atlanta today and he mentioned that he’s only had to do his lawn twice so far.

It’s not fair.

It’s warmer down there. The mowing season should be longer there than here. He doesn’t have to shovel in the winter and now it turns out his mowing season might not be much longer than mine!?

It’s not fair.

Property maintenance chores—mowing and shovelling—should even out.