Way Out West - Camp Week

The Purpose: March 5, 4:00 p.m.: As I step out of Tucson International Airport, I am greeted by a dear friend … “sunshine”. Marianne points to Tara who is standing in a sunny patch on the sidewalk. I step next to Tara and roll up my sleeves, tilt my head up and take in all that I can. I feel the sun and a gentle breeze that touches my arms in a way that is familiar but not been felt in a long time. As cyclists, we enjoy so many sensations that add to the beauty and excitement of riding a bike. In winter, many of these sensations are muffled and bound by the cold and all the many layers we wear to fend off the cold.

Finally I was here in the land of sunshine, standing on the sidewalk with 100 smiles burning inside of me. As I looked around, I realized Marianne, Tara, Patti and I were all in sync with each other, in sync with our surroundings and in sync with our purpose for being here; 500 laughs a day, sunshine and riding our bikes.








The Riding: Tucson has some good riding, but most importantly, the weather in March is wonderful. This year the weather was a little funky. They had been having a bit more rain than usual and frequent snow down to about 4000 ft. Although these conditions made for some beautiful snow topped mountains, the run off of rain and snow melt was much more than usual. Our access out the back yard previously took us across a sand pit or a few trickles of water, but this year we had a full river with current. Each day’s ride began and ended with some sort of adventure and wet feet. Our first day, I may have resisted that concept a tad, but after some great riding, some sunshine and laughs, the doubts dried up as quickly as my socks.

We experienced a good variety of riding, from rolling to long climbing and from swoopy to big drops and technical. Some trails were popular and some secluded. Different areas had different vegetation. You could ride whatever you pleased, just don't get too close to the vegetation. Out there the plants have an attitude all of their own, and need to be respected. One thing I did learn is that if you hit the cacti past the apex, you are less likely to take on as many needles. The cholla are a PIA, and I only got two chunks of them stuck to me during the week. One chunk stuck to my little toe through my shoe. They are barbed, and when I went to pull it out, it just pulled my toe back in forth in the shoe, until it finally let go. Although the plants can be intimidating at times, the whole riding experience is a perfect mix.

Ski to Ilgenstein

Last week the snow gods were good enough to gift us another snow storm. After 2 days of shoveling, it was time for me to get out of the house before I went crazy. The mountains, just north and west of us had received two to three feet of snow. This is an incredible amount of snow for New Jersey. Many of the parks had not plowed their lots and some were just plain closed from snow damage. The thought of riding through the woods on a bike was becoming a lost dream.

Ringwood had a few parking lots plowed, so I declared a new route ski mission: XC ski to Ilgenstein Rock from Skylands Manor. Normally this route is too rocky to ski, but there was close to three feet of snow up there with drifting in the higher elevations. Art and Nate were the only skiers to show up for my mission. I really had no idea how far it was or how long it would take. Art guessed 4+ hours and was skeptical about the whole mission.

10:15 we set out on skis behind the gardens on the crossover trail. A set of tracks was already set from the day before. It was slightly glazed, offering little kick but plenty of glide. Up hills were tough without much kick. Once we reached the intersection of the Ringwood/Ramapo trail, the ski tracks stopped, so we broke our own. It may have been a little bit slower, but seemed easier to me.

By Ice Pond Rd, we were able to pick up my friend Nancy’s tracks from the day before. We took them all the way up Pearson Ridge to where the Blue trail turns off the road. Huge snowdrifts crossed the road creating a roller coaster affect as we rolled through the drifts. Nate pretty much dropped us on this climb. You can tell who has been keeping up with their secret training.

Once reaching the blue, we broke our own tracks all the way out to the lookout on Ilgenstein. As most mountain bikers know, the trail underneath is very rocky, but today we sailed over a blanket of white snow without a rock in sight. Trail markers were partially buried, and even the blueberry bushes were all under the snow. We had to stop several times to find our way, by searching familiarity, and contours, with no rocks or bushes to guide us.

The biggest problem was getting back up after you fell. The snow was so deep that you could not push off the ground with your arms. At one point I cramped my leg trying to get up. It is somewhat of a comical and helpless feeling. Actually much of XC skiing feels comical and helpless.



On our way back we skied more single-track and added in Warm Puppy to complete the ski mission at four hours. It was an amazing day. I don’t know if we will ever have this much snow at Ringwood again, so I am glad to have experienced this epic ski.


Today it is warm and the sun shines. The snow is melting fast and an old friend peeks out.

Snow, Water and Trees

Big Snow continued ...

Waway ski



Finally enough snow to ski Harriman, and it was a beautiful sunny day as well. Nate and Art joined me, but I found myself mostly skiing alongside my shadow. The sky was deep blue and the late afternoon sun sparkled off the snow like candy for my eyes. We do not get this much snow that often, so it was great to be able to take advantage of the opportunity to ski in a winter wonderland.

The soup chronicles:

CJ soup

I have been on a bit of a soup kick lately. I roast a chicken each week, and use the carcass for making soup base. I started making soup because most processed soups contained too much MSG and garlic. I got a little tired of the typical chicken soup, so I have been spicing it up each week. The first week was "potato leek". The second week was "squash ginger" which also contained sweet potato.

Today I was inspired by a soup called "Tortilla Soup" that WOW host, CJ made when we were in Arizona. I had to wing it a bit, as I could not remember exactly how it was made. I mainly remember that it was really good and he crumbled chips and a mild cheese on top. My version was basically chicken soup with yellow pepper, corn, rice, southwest spices and fresh cilantro. He may have used mesquite smoked chicken, which I did not have, so it was missing some of the traditional local flavors. Although my soup was good, it was still not the real thing. Maybe because of the spice and maybe because I was eating it here in New Jersey looking out over a foot of snow. I look forward to returning to Arizona to taste it's flavors and feel the sun.

Big Snow 2010

Wednesday's snowstorm dumped a ton of snow on New Jersey. I spent my day making soup, shoveling snow and skiing through town....



skiing mount onto the rings ...



past big snowmen and little girls ...



and back home for Squash Ginger Soup.

Cycling Through the Seasons

Just when you think things are looking gray, Mother Nature covers our little world in snow, making everything look clean and new again. Two inches of snow may just have been a tease, but it renewed my spirit enough to get me out on the road bike once again. Yes, I know many may think that riding a bike in winter is nuts, but winter riding can be quite beautiful and an enlightening experience. I think it has less to do with any immediate training goals, but has more to do with feeling alive through the long haul of life. If you can imagine having the cold take your breath away and still be breathing hard, being chilled while sweating, and loving the sun and hating the wind all in the same time. It makes me feel alive in a way that only a few take the time to experience.



As I neared the lee side of the mountains, I was surprised to see so little snow. I noticed water running down ice-lined crevices in the hillside. One particular branch lay suspended across a stream, draped with a curtain of ice. The higher I climbed, the more the snow there was. By the time I climbed up to the lake, snow covered the ground and the frozen lake. The sun was almost blinding as it reflected off the lake. It was a whole new world up there, well worth the effort of climbing. The effort may have actually made it better.

I enjoyed the accomplishment of the climb, but descending down out of the park was quite cold. I ended up riding my brakes in hopes to avoid any extra wind chill, which allowed for some extra sight seeing along the way. Everything looks different in winter. There are longer sight lines, animals are easily visible, and the landscape takes on a less cluttered and honest look. Throughout most of the descent, I was just bracing myself against the cold that had crept into the sweaty nooks and crannies in my under layers.

Finally, I reached a little uphill to pedal myself warm again. It was just a matter of time before muscle memory kicked in and it was business as usual pedaling home. Just like in summer, the sun was getting low in the sky on my return. Whether I dreamed of summer, or embraced the cold, it felt good to be outside taking it all in. It is good to ride a bike in any season.


homemade soup of the week: chicken, potato, leek

January Thaw

sunset from warm puppy rock


checking in on grampa turtle at "no-duck pond"


green...


... and more green


resident hawk's dinner table


remains of a pigeon

Snow Bike

New Year's Day

Six Teammates ....



Three Flats .....



And a Trash Bag.



Although many New Years are spent pondering resolutions, I prefer to spend a little more time just to appreciate what I already have. Sure, we all want to do better for ourselves, but much of that comes from things that we already may have, like our health, our family and our friends. As secure as these things may seem, they can be taken away at any time. So this year I am taking a moment to appreciate what I have. As for resolutions: my theory du jour, which begs dispute, is derived from the simple habit of preferring to think of a glass as being half full, rather than half empty. Take a half full life, with space to add more stuff and throw in riding a bike, and I think many of us could be pretty happy. Welcome 2010 ….

My New Years Day ride plans began with apathy, mostly because the weather was uncertain. The day shaped up nicely as teammates began to wake up and feel each others energy. The cast of characters for the day would be: Marianne, Art, Laura, whose car would not start the morning she was supposed to depart for Oregon, Dar, whose car broke down in Vermont and was pretending to be stranded at Marianne’s house and Willy, who had finally gotten a day off of work.

Although snow covered the ground in the morning, temperatures were rising fast, and I wagered on the snow melting off the roads by mid-day so that we could do a team road ride. Just as expected, the snow melted quickly, and six Campmorians gathered for a ride to welcome the New Year. Laura, whose clothes were still packed in the car at the gas station where it would not start, rode her bike over to the start with a trash bag under her skinsuit. She made crinkle, crinkle noises as she moved in her resourceful wardrobe. As “un-green” as trash bags are made out to be, they come in handy now and then, and many a cyclist have been caught out in bad weather, and found a trash bag to get them home. With the current growing unemployment rate, I think this wardrobe worthy of recognition.

Within a quarter mile of the start of the ride, Art pulled out of the pace line with a flat tire, and like whales in a pod, we followed in unison and huddled together in sympathy. Every cyclist hopes that if a tire needs to be changed in winter, that it be quick and uncomplicated. Unfortunately, Art had a stubborn wire bead tire. After a tiresome 15 minute tire change, Art was a bit frustrated, but we all hung in there with him to get through the change. Sharing tools and co2, all with words and laughter, got the job done, and we were on our way again. About two miles down the road, Art pulls out of the pace line again announcing he is going flat and is done with this ride; about faces and rides away.

The group was feeling a bit sad about the split, but we agreed to all systems go and pushed on with our ride, but deep inside, we all missed Art, the head whale (insert whale noises). 30 minutes go by, and the phone rings. This was a thankful for technology moment, as Art was on another bike and wanted to meet us en-route somewhere. Hooray! We set up a meet location and greet him with whale hugs. The happy whale pod was back together and continued on with the ride. Oh yeh, Dar gets a flat too, but I think you all know the routine by now. ....team work!

Six teammates, three flat tires and a trash bag later, I realize how lucky I am to spend the first day of the year with such special friends. Each and every one of them is there for the other, and always ready to lend a hand, and be a friend. Looking forward to many more of these rides in 2010!

December Snowfall

Photo by Art White