You may have noticed that on the right there are two links to the NOAA sites about the CT and Farmington Rivers' activities. You should check them out. Shit's pretty real. (that phrase is still cool, right?)
I'm expecting this year's Eel, if along the river, will be entirely different from last year.
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When you ride a bike, you often find yourself off the beaten path. And, if you ride in a more urban environment, that often involves being under bridges, semi (or fully) abandoned roads, organic paths, etc.
As winter has been setting it, there's been a lot of discussion about the homeless in and around downtown Hartford- mostly regarding a no-freeze shelter near Stone Field Sculpture or not near it. As you can imagine, homelessness increases when the economy becomes crappy. Conversely, the money available for organizations who help the homeless when the economy becomes crappy, so there's a lot of scrambling to secure services for a larger customer base. There State also seems to have an intense desire to cut mental health services.
Now, I don't claim to have any more than a cursory understanding of homelessness and its trends, but, without a doubt, there have been a lot more people living and hanging out under bridges or other less traveled places this year than I've ever seen- not just a couple, but a rather profound increase.
It hasn't been super cold yet this year, but sleeping under a bridge with a burning trash can probably isn't sufficient if the temperature drops below 20. Do the service providers know how to reach these fellows? Most temporary encampments are within two miles of the no-freeze shelter on Lafayette, so it's not that hard to get there.
So, I guess the Eel 4 route is something of a depressing tour of economic collapse. Although, I'm really trying not to be some poverty tourist. But, even being a weirdo riding by on a bike makes you feel privileged. I suppose the best I can do is say hello and treat people like people.
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While 50 or so people did some exciting driving in Shelton yesterday, only three decided to participate in the fourth Eel. The overriding theme was obviously the weather. It started off cold, but just in a cold way, then it warmed up and started raining. Although, it only warmed up to 32°, so it got a lot worse when the rain started falling. But, I know that there are places elsewhere where the weather is considerably worse and people still ride in it for fun. We're still not prepared for this stuff around here.
Dario, Salem and I arrived in Bushnell Park at 11 with a good diversity of bikes (respectively, a skinny-wheeled fixed gear, a single speed mountain bike and a geared mountain bike). There was some kind of bagel explosion, trash cans were frozen into the pond and the port-o-john was tipped over. I guess it was a crazy night in the Park. Shortly before leaving, we ran into Johanna's dad, which isn't all that remarkable, because he lives right nearby.
We up through the Keney Trail and then across the river to South Windsor, etc. We didn't go as far as we hoped, but there was good reason. In essence, the ride is still in progress. Dario and I also had a rather hilarious crash on the iced-over bridge over the Hockanum River near its confluence with the Connecticut (I think you can only make light of crashes when no one is hurt. No one was hurt in Shelton, thankfully). That whole thing about bridges icing before everything else is very, very true.
The winnings from Saturday were thusly enjoyed after the ride.
So, yeah, weird poses, huh?
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It is supposed to be nasty and disgusting tomorrow (Eel 4 day). I would like to go for a ride, but I don't want to catch my death. I'll get up and post my intentions on here by like 9:30. I'll also still probably end up going to the park and seeing if anyone comes. Maybe we'll do a really short ride or just go get a beer.
In other news, I did that Beer Cross race today. Nice course, rideable snow. I came in third... though there were only seven or eight riders. I had first for the the first lap and a half or so. I should have held on to it for longer. Maybe making a gap is a good idea. Oh well. I'm still not very good at this stuff.
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So, with rare mechanical skill, I installed some Deore XT Dual Control lever/shifters on my Stumpjumper and ran new cables. I didn't think I could do it, because I can't do much, and there were some hiccups along the way, but it's done and working. However, I'm not so sure I like these levers. Using the brake lever to shift on a mountain bike? I dunno... Maybe I should have put those thumbshifters on instead.
Anyway, on to the weather that's been occuring. I'm not sure what all this snow is going to do, so Eel #4 might have to be truncated or something. Stay tuned.
This isn't really the best blog post ever. Sorry.
Update: here's some truncating.
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So, how does this sound for Eel #4?
Sunday, Dec. 13 at 11am we meet in Bushnell Park. We follow this route. It won't be a race, but points will be awarded for style. It'll also be free. It'll conclude with either going to a bar or having some kind of pot luck. There's a logical bailout point, if you only want to ride 30 or miles. Does that sound like fun? It'll pretty much incorporate all of the dirt in Hartford and adjacent areas. Recommended bicycles are mountain bikes and 'cross bikes. However, it's pretty much all rideable on whatever you like. Horrifically adverse weather'll cancel. Anybody wanna come?
Look! I can grow something.
Last Sunday, Salem & Peter Waite organized a ride off into the hinterland off towards Lake Pocotopaug. It was fun, friendly and ended with a pot luck (and it was quite wet). Maybe that's what the next Eel should be like. Or maybe not. Competitive is cool, too. However, the problem I'm having figuring out to do a competitive Eel is that people may get lost with what I'd to do.
A view from the Keney tennis courts.
Another view from the Keney tennis courtsOn Saturday, we had The Eel 2. I don't know why it has taken me this long to post the results. Turnout was slim, but those who didn't race missed the awesomest weather/day of the year to race this year. Honest!
1) Orion - he got the money
2) Ken - he got the wine
3) Alex - he got a firm handshake
4) Chris - he got some bald eagle eggs
5) Russ & Scott - they got respect
Ken, Chris, Russ, and Scott also got the secret bonus check point that was figuring out my license plate number.
Special thanks to Johanna, Joel, Josh, and Rich for (wo)manning the checkpoints.
Brendan wants to get drunken noodles.
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Unnamed sources close to The Eel have leaked these photos:
Just kidding! Anyway, the weather is supposed to be awesome tomorrow. Come down to Goodwin Park at 2. $5.
We'll be over by the pond house.
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All weekend I was terrified about the over-hyped snow storm that showed up yesterday. Not so much because I was worried about whatever it is that makes snow storms scary and cause people to stock up on canned goods, but because it would threaten my ability to mountain bike. (Remember all those other posts about me either being self-centered or a weirdo? I wasn't lying.)
On Saturday, I only kind of wanted to go mountain biking. I could have also taken a hike. Johanna wanted to buy a cool car. At first we were going to go car hunting and then go for a hike. Johanna decided that she'd rather do some extensive research on cars instead, which paid off because she made a good offer. It subsequently was not accepted, but car dealerships are crooked anyway. So, while she did her extensive research, I hopped on the 'cross bike and went down to Rocky Hill for the reverse version of what I'd done earlier in the week. Nothing really exciting to report.
Riding back home on Fairfield, I spotted a pink purse in the road. I stopped and picked it up. There was a woman nearby in a parked car and I tapped on the window to ask if she dropped it. She shook her head and strangely reacted as if I had done the rudest possible thing. Very strange. Upon arrival in my apartment, I opened it up and found some IDs and a few bills, which I didn't count. I checked on 411.com and whitepages.com, which yielded nothing. I don't have a regular phone book, so I took the wallet with me to go the car dealership and to my parents, because they have a phone book. I found the owner, called her, and she was much relieved. She was concerned about the cash in the wallet, so I checked to see how much was left in there and it turned out to be a lot of money. She was now very, very relieved and I was glad to have found it for her. I told her my address and she came by later to pick it up.
The moral is that you should ride a bike so that you can return peoples' wallets (or shut their trunks and gas doors).
On Sunday, it was colder and snowed a tiny bit. I also had no encumbrances, so I went to the reservoir. Waiting for a colder day was a smart move on my part because judging by all the ruts (which you'll have to take my word for because there are no visible ruts in these pictures), it had been nasty the days before.
My bike is there to prove that I brought a bike with me.
This picture is scary, though.
First, and most important to those who love donuts or doughnuts, Tastease Donuts has sold 500,000 donuts and on Friday, March 6 they're offering a free cup of coffee and donut to anyone who comes in between 7am and 11am. Tastease is at 70 New Park.
Second, it being the last Friday of the month, it's Critical Mass day. Come to the Bushnell Park Carousel at 5:30pm and we'll go ride somewhere.
Third, make sure to block out time on your calendar for The Eel on March 7. 2pm reg and 2:30 race. $5.
Fourth, I didn't go to Ice Bike to work this morning because I was running too late. I hope it was good.
That's it. Ride safe this weekend.
Oh, always carry a pump and patch kit, even if you're just riding on your lunch break. It prevents you from having to make a sad walk back from East Hartford.
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