Sweet Sixteen

Need I say more?

Squid on Wheels: So Smart ... Yet so Dumb!

A couple of months ago I bragged about how good I was getting at layering up for cold weather riding.

Well today I got dumb.

Early in the day I went for a walk with Little Squid. We wore our winter jackets and, without a hat and mittens, I was o.k., even a little warm.

But just a little.

A few hours later, Squidette walks in the door, returning from Sing! rehearsal.

"It's beautiful out, I have to go for a ride! Anyone coming with me?"

Without really thinking about it, Little Squid and I quickly agreed. (Mike was already out for a run.)

Squidette donned capris, a t-shirt and sweatshirt.

I looked at her. "That's all?"

"Yeah, it's nice out."

So, instead of checking temperatures for myself, I put on regular riding tights (not my uber warm Col d'Lizard tights), a regular short sleeved jersey and my Col d'Lizard fleece. I also wore full fingered gloves.

Little Squid wore jeans, a t-shirt and his new, green, fleece jacket.

Off we went with an agreement to meet up at the turn-around point.

Squidette quickly out paced Little Squid and I and, when we reconvened, 6.25 miles later, she was trying to warm up her hands. My ear was aching and I was getting a cold-weather induced headache because I had forgone an ear band.

The kids went into Fairway to warm up (and do some grocery shopping) and I stayed outside, watching the bikes and playing Angry Birds.

For the return trip, Little Squid took possession of my gloves. (Hey, isn't that what moms are supposed to do?).

By the time we got home my hands were so cold that I could not undo my helmet clasp.

I think I've finally warmed up but I am now so tired that staying awake until bedtime is almost unthinkable.

That said, it was a very nice ride.

Miles for the day: 12.5 miles

Squid on Wheels 2011: 12.5 miles.

Clean Sweep!

The New York City high school application process is fraught with stress.

First there are months of test preparation for those who want to try for the prestigious specialized high schools. (Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech and their newer, smaller, somewhat lesser brethren.)

Then you have to take the test.

Weeks of tours and open houses follow. You wait on long lines in the cold and sit in hot, overcrowded classrooms rooms, trying to catch the flavor of the schools. Interviews, in-house tests and auditions stretch over months and, finally, the students and their parents spend hours putting the contenders into just the right order on the application.

Finally, just as one has almost forgotten the pain of the process, comes the count down to The Day.

The Day is differs, depending on whether one applied to a specialized school or not. For those who took the test and, or auditioned for LaGuardia High School of the Arts (Performing Arts of Fame! fame), The Day is today. For everyone else ... it's another month or so away.

And so, it is with a mother's deepest pride that I must present for your admiration, Little Squid.

Class of 2015 -- either LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts (accepted in both vocal and instrumental studios), Stuyvesant High School (alma mater of Mama Squid, Papa Squid and all sorts of Squid aunts and uncles and, current home school of Squidette) or Eleanor Roosevelt High School.

Way to go kid!

Eighteen Pairs of Socks

Over the break I had some major nesting issues. I was like a squirrel who needed to stock up on all sorts of stuff for the winter. I placed a huge Col d'Lizard order and a less expensive but even larger Knitpicks order.

I do not usually order yarn on line. I only do it if there is something very specific I need for a project and can't easily get locally. When I knit Squidette's last blanket, I special ordered the yarn from one of my LYS's and paid a premium for it instead of going for the cheaper option on line. I'd really rather support my local businesses but ...

I'd been "window" shopping at Knitpicks a few weeks ago and saw a couple of sock kits that were calling out to me. All of the patterns looked really nice and I'd heard good things about the yarns. I put them in a shopping cart and let them sit there until the urge passed.

Then I got the email.

Two of the kits were now on sale.

I went to the site and discovered that all of the kits I'd picked out were still in my shopping cart. (yea cookies?!)

At that point I decided it was meant to be and hit "complete purchase."

I am now the proud owner of enough yarn to make 18 pairs of socks (not counting the couple of skeins I already had in my possession).

I immediately picked a pair for myself and let each kid pick a pair (Mike has more hand knit socks then the rest of us combined).

On the needles is my pair and Little Squid's pair. Mine has cables so it is an "at home" project and his is a "purse" project. Squidette's pair is the next in line.

One sock (mine) is finished.

Only 35 more to go!

Squid on Wheels: Guess our Mileage!

After taking a brief hiatus last year, the Squid on Wheels mileage contest is back!

Guess how many miles Squid on Wheels will ride for the period encompassing January 1, 2010 through October 31, 2010. Any mileage accumulated after October 31 will count in our totals but will not count for contest purposes. (We figure that the riding season (for the kids) really ends once outdoor temperatures stay below 60 degrees.)

Closest guess will get a package of goodies tailored specifically toward that person.

So far this year we have ridden 507 miles as a family. (The term family is defined as at least one adult and both kids on the counted ride -- the adults do far more mileage just commuting to work.) There are some Squidette-alone and Little Squid-alone miles that will be mashed together and added in once school begins.
Entries are due August 30 which means that you will really only have to guess our September and October mileage. Feel free to submit initial guesses and change them any time up until the deadline. I'm curious as to what people think we can do.

Starting tomorrow, I will post whenever we ride and what the mileage is so you can keep track if you so wish. We have some nice rides planned for the month of August so if you want to stay up to date, check back frequently. There will, hopefully, be lots of small posts with pictures from interesting locations sent from my phone. I will only post the mileage once a day though there may be several blog entries in a day. (Now you kind of know the reason for all the test posts over the last month.) Those of you who are Facebook friends will see different pictures and updates since posting the same picture to both is kind of silly.

Anyone wanting a slightly different take on these rides can check out Mike's blog.

Now to just decide what knitting to take on all these rides ...

Super Mommy Strikes Again

When in doubt, take a step back, give up for a little while and then try again. Me.

That's kind of been one of my mottos for a while now but tonight proved the rule.

Little Squid has been frustrated by how quickly his bike GPS eats batteries. Basically, he has to replace them (rechargeables) before every ride or risk the gadget losing power before the end of the day. He's also been a little peeved that we always go with the mileage that Squidette has on her bike computer instead of what the rest of us display on our GPSs. So, to avoid the inevitable frustration on our upcoming bike trip, we offered to get him a bike computer just like Squidette. Less technology for our techo-geek but hopefully greater accuracy. He readily agreed and we ordered post-haste.

It arrived last night but we put off the installation until this evening, guaranteeing that we'd be under pressure to have it working by tomorrow's ride.

Mike futzed with it for about half an hour, then I joined him for another half hour.

Finally, I suggested that we just pack up the blasted thing and return it and go to our local bike shop, get what they suggested and have them install it.

Then I took a break.

And then I tried again.

And got it on the first shot.

I'm feeling a little smug right now ... where's the anvil that's about to fall on my head?

Performance Season

May is student performance month.

For us, it started off with the New York City All City High School Concert (Squidette on clarinet), moved on to the Wagner Middle School production of Annie (Little Squid in an assortment of minor roles) and continued last night with the Manhattan Borough-Wide Salute to Music concert (Little Squid on oboe).

Still to come ... the Stuyvesant High School spring concert (Squidette with a potential Alto solo) and the Wagner Middle School Spring Concert (Little Squid on oboe for both 7th grade bands).

And, inserted with in there may be Little Squid giving a go at a Klezmer jam (on oboe).

Add to that our obligations within our own school communities (awards ceremony for Mike, 2 graduations and a prom for me), we are putting on our roller skates to get to the end of the school year.

But let me pause for a minute to reflect on last night.

***

Roughly 50 students, primarily from two Manhattan middle schools, came together to put on an awesome performance. They played classical, jazz, marches and Broadway tunes. They made a delightful sound and smiled through every note of it.

The few glimpses I had of Little Squid (tough to see the oboe player as the conductor stands right in front of him) were of a kid who was thoroughly enjoying himself. I smiled so wide that I practically split my lip. I clapped so hard that my hands hurt. And they were good! Not just middle school good, but GOOD! No, they will not be a threat to the New York (or Boston) Pops, but they were good just the same,

I'd like say that these are the best kids in the borough, but frankly, unlike the All City programs, no one gets rejected from the Manhattan program. I can't speak for the other boroughs.

What you do have, however, is the most dedicated public school students. The ones who want to play. Who are willing to get up early on a Saturday morning and play for three hours. The ones who are willing to schlep to East Harlem, or who are schleped by patient and loving parents, when the subways are at their worst -- and the school is a good half mile or more from the nearest station.

I had the pleasure of listening to many of their rehearsals in bits and pieces. (They practice in my school so I often worked in my office while the kids played in the cafeteria.) On the rare occasions when I wandered down during their break, I'd hear kids just tooling around on their instruments in between bites of granola bars and drinks of water. Sometimes they'd be playing the ensemble music, sometimes they'd just be playing with music. It was such a delight to witness!

***

As school budgets get tighter and tighter, music gets squeezed out. Instruments are expensive to obtain and to maintain. Evening performances, while a source of revenue to schools for their programs, cannot pay for teacher salaries and the overtime required for the concerts.

The Manhattan Borough-Wide program ran all this year with just two instructors. They are supposed to have three but the missing teacher was never replaced. There were a few days this year when the program ran with only one instructor. I offered my services but, with no musical training or talent, I was useless. They didn't need a crowd control person -- the kids controlled themselves.

***

I wish there was a way to really express all that I saw each week but it boils down to kids doing something they love while being taught by people who love what they teach.

The Borough-wide program has been running for 52 years. 52 years.

Mike and his siblings played in the program. He and I are racking our brains trying to think of professional musicians who came out of the program but, aside from the concert master during Mike's second year, we are clueless.

What it comes down to is that while I do not think the program is in danger of being cut just yet, there are fewer and fewer kids in the Manhattan program each year. Why? Because fewer and fewer elementary and middle schools can afford to teach instrumental music. As far as I can tell, only two middle schools in Manhattan have serious instrumental (band) programs, Wagner and Manhattan East.

Instruments cost money. Lots of money. My kids' elementary school required the parents to rent / lease / buy the instruments and only provided school instruments for kids who qualified for free lunch. Their middle school provides instruments but they are hard used and, by the end of each year, sounding it.

When a school has to decide between books and instruments, books are winning out. Schools shouldn't have to decide. They should be able to provide books AND instruments.

Kids who are exposed to music are just so much more well rounded. Their brains are challenged to work in different ways. Neuropathways are formed and nerve connections made that just would not happen otherwise. They experience the frustration of trying to get a nice sound, and the joy that comes with finally doing it. They learn to play with music, to learn rules ... and break them with impunity. They are given yet one more thing to care about and to appreciate.

So ... if you have a few bucks to spare, donate it to your local elementary, middle or high school music program. Or, if you don't have one, contact me (email button on the right) and I'll provide you with an address or two -- the Salute to Music Program and Little Squid's middle school. I promise you, they will do the right thing with the money.

Goals: Update #3

This was not one of my goals. Nor was it executed by my nimble fingers.

What is it? It's the mascot of the Stuyvesant Computer Science teachers. It does not have a name but there is a school-wide contest in full swing to name it.

And this handsome fellow is a red green velvet whoopie pie.

Mike and Squidette have been on a whoopie pie tear for about 2 weeks now. Yum!

Finally, I give you Little Squid who is mostly back to his fairly sunny and strange self.
I love my family!

(And as to my own goals -- more weaving has been done and the end of the road is in sight on the spinning front. I've even made some progress on Little Squid's sweater.)

Performing in Public

It's performance season here at chez squid. At least for Squidette.

On Wednesday she performed with the New York City All-City High School Concert Band (All-City to those in the know) at the MetLife atrium.

As real New Yorkers know, the MetLife building is really the PanAm building but that is rather irrelevant to our tale.

The important thing, is that the atrium of the MetLife/PanAm building is a major entry way to Grand Central Station and hence a venue from which one can be seen by hundreds of people over the span of the concert.

While the families, and some lucky bystanders, got to sit, most of the commuters experienced the concert as they strolled by or above the venue. Many took video or pictures on their phones and most gave huge smiles to see and hear the teens performing classic concert band standards with a few classic holiday tunes tossed in for good measure.

I just thought it was awesome that so many people got a taste of what can happen when kids are taught to play and enjoy music.

And then I got sad as Mike told me that All-City was just so much bigger in his day.

We debated the reasons for this but my side is that fewer kids are being exposed to music in school. We spend so much time on reading and math that art and music, subjects that truly expand ones world view and exercise the brain in so very different ways, have gone by the wayside. And then I got sad when I thought of how badly these programs have been gutted financially.

Boro-wide (the junior high version of All-City) started at the very end of October this year instead of two weeks earlier so that the city could save the money on the instructors' salaries. And, there may not be a Carnegie performance for whichever boroughs were scheduled to play there this year because they couldn't get the down payment in on time. Again, due to budget cuts.

Makes me want to run a fundraiser for them. I already gave them money from my own wallet so it is time to get others to do the same. But after the holidays.
Meanwhile ... I give you Squidette and friends. No, she is not dating her stand partner (though he's a nice boy and I wouldn't object). And yes, he does kind of look (and act) like Little Squid (hence the reason she will probably never hook up with him). Doesn't really matter since she's not allowed to date until she's 30 ...

The performance, by the way, was awesome! And she has her first ever singing solo this Friday followed by a reprise of the MetLife performance at the All-City rehearsal school on Saturday.

And Little Squid? He auditioned for his school play last week and had a call back on Friday so you can expect some kvelling about him in the future.

Happy Hanuckah, folks!

Long, Productive, Weekend

I'd love to show you what I've done this weekend but I keep losing my camera! It reappears, briefly, but disappears when I most want to photograph something. Like, say, the sweater that my mother-in-law made for Mike which I have now mostly ripped out in order to reknit the wool for a sweater for Little Squid.

(The sweater was huge on Mike, made when he was ... um ... huge. He is 60 pounds lighter then when the sweater was knit and mom never got around to reknitting it for him. And, since I am in the process of spinning and then knitting a new, custom sweater for Mike, Little Squid will reap the rewards of the recycled yarn.)

And you also don't get to see the weaving that I finally finished. And the rewarped loom, now set for scarves for holiday gifts. Or the gallon of yogurt that I made.

In addition, you do not get to see the wonderful cleaning and waxing job that I did on my Minstrel. She's so nice and shiny -- and no longer dusty and dingy. And spinning a bit better, too.

Nor do you get to see the lesson plan I wrote. Tho I suppose you could if you asked nicely. But it's really not that exciting -- thought it does include some neat pictures of nerve cells. (I love google docs! So easy to share things!)

And you really can't see the grades that I worked so hard on.

Oh wait ... I didn't actually work on those ... well, you won't get to see them after I finish them on Wednesday night ... right before they are due. Or maybe Thursday, well after they are due. Rank has it's privileges ...

And you also can't see the cute knitting sheep that the kids gave me for my birthday.

But I got a lot done. Really!

The Acid Test

I spent much of yesterday working. Partly on my own class lessons and partly on the administrative stuff that makes up the rest of my work day.

Yes, yesterday was a school holiday. Yes, I was home. Remember that the next time someone criticizes teachers for having a short workday / year.

With my trip back to the classroom this year has come some seriously teachable moments at home. Yesterday, I was preparing red cabbage pH indicator and decided to run through the lab exercise with Squidette and Little Squid.

The deep purple in the lower left is the unadulterated cabbage extract. The bright red was extract plus lemon juice, the fuscia was vinegar, the green -- baking soda. The pale pink was some lemon-lime soda and the pale purple was milk. The sudsy one? Dish soap.

The rest of the extract was absorbed into melita filters, dried and sliced and readied for today's lab.

Yes, I did spend more time prepping the lab then my students will spend doing it.

We didn't, however, just spend the day in the house prepping my lab. A walk was taken uptown to see the U.S.S. New York.
The New York is an amphibious transport dock, the first I have ever seen in New York Harbor. Usually we see battle ships and aircraft carriers for the annual Fleet Week.

The New York has, incorporatated into it's structure, 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center.

Mike and Squidette were lucky enough to see her sailing upriver when she came to town. (She sailed right past their school after making a brief stop opposite the WTC to give a 21 gun salute.)

One More Year

As I sit here and try to compose an appropriate birthday post, I find myself at a loss for words. Instead, tears of happiness and joy cloud my eyes as I try to write down just what about my son makes him so very special to me.

Is it how he always knows when I need a hug?

Or how much he infuriates his dad -- for making the same mistakes that Mike did at that age?

Is it how he constantly takes me by surprise with his talents and his interests?

Or how he is so very like my dad.

Maybe it is because he is so much like his sister, and yet so very, very different.

Or that he is just himself. Our Monster. Our Little Squid.

Happy Birthday, Little Squid.

May you have many, many more!

Just a few more days ...

Summer is over and in a few more days I will have just one more year of being a mother of a pre-teen. Pretty scary. I mean, where did the time go? I swear it was just yesterday that I was holding him and thinking about the true meaning of window-guards. [It was 3 a.m. As an infant, Little Squid was NOT a good sleeper.]

Fortunately, little ones are made cute for a reason -- so that their parents don't kill them in infancy -- and he survived. And in a few short days, he'll be 12.

On Wednesday he goes back to school. For the first time he will be totally responsible for getting himself to and from school. No more big sister to lean on. And no more mom to come running at a moments notice when he gets a mid-morning migraine. He'll have to wait until 11:00 (by which time the migraine may have gone away). I'll be teaching.

Yup. I'm returning to the classroom on Wednesday morning. It's not a new job, just a part time return to my roots. The rest of the day I will still be an Assistant Principal. Actually, I'll be one all day, just one who teaches. I'm nervous and excited. It's been far too long since I had my own class and I miss it. I just hope I have not lost my touch. I'm starting with the egg-in-a-bottle "trick." Wish me luck!

Squid on Wheels: The Great Allegheny Passage ... Day 4

Belle Vernon, PA to Mckeesport, PA

To answer Ina's question, yes, three of us did the ride on Bike Friday folding bikes. The bikes are made for touring and did a great job of it. Little Squid rode a Specialized Dolce road bike simply because he is still a bit too small for a Friday. If we do this again before he is big enough, we will try to get him a bike with fatter tires. He did fine on the skinny ones but they made for a slightly more nerve racking ride on the rough surfaces.

(Bottles of Nuun fizzing away in West Newton)

After a lovely night in the Belle Vernon Comfort Inn and a nice breakfast, we loaded our gear up and took off towards Mckeesport and the end of the trip.

Knowing that there were only about 27 miles ahead of us we figured that we would be back in Pittsburgh by noon or so.

(Hamming it up in West Newton -- the BEST bathrooms on the trail!)

(Ice cream and frozen yougart at the Yough Twister)

What we did not bargain on was encountering another family riding Bike Friday's! Just outside of Boston, after a rather uneventful ride (albeit one that finally featured ice cream) Mike spied two Bike Friday's in a back yard and pulled over to chat. Turns out that the family was in the last stages of a cross country trip. Gulp! They'd already done 2600 miles from Spokane, WA and were headed for Ocean City, MD. They had had 10 flat tires the day before and wound up camping in a kind strangers back yard for the night. Check out their blog, it is really good reading.
We chatted with them for a half hour or more and gave them some inner tubes for their Friday's and a spare folding tire. Hopefully that gave them an "umbrella" against future flats.

(Final bathroom break in Mckeesport)

The rest of the trip continued to be uneventful, even the road riding as we got into Mckeesport. We (thankfully) found the car right where we left it, just as we left it. I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't a little bit worried about leaving it in a strange town for four days.

Once the car was packed up we called my brother and arranged to pick him up so that we could gain access to his home. Warm showers and cold drinks were followed by two lovely days with my brother and sister-in-law touring Pittsburgh and eating fantastic food. The tale of the days in Pittsburgh, however, will have to wait.

Total biking mileage: 137 miles over four days. Also, about 3 miles of hiking in Ohiopyle, a town I highly recommend for a weekend get away if your idea of a good time is hiking, biking, and rafting.

Over all, a highly successful trip, one that may spur other long distance biking trips though perhaps not as long distance as our Friday friends.

Squid on Wheels: The Great Allegheny Passage ... Day 3

Ohiopyle, PA to Smithon (Belle Vernon), PA

After a comfortable evening in Ohiopyle, we set out once again, this time back the way we had come. Our goal was the Fairway Inn in Smithton, roughly 40 miles away.

Shortly after we started, Squidette mentioned that she was not feeling 100%. With that in mind, we took it slow though still at a quicker pace then the day before, simply because the route was mostly down hill. We stopped periodically to rest and to make sure that we were all drinking enough and rolled into Connellsville about 10:00.

In Connellsville, we found a supermarket and bought muffins for a mid-morning snack and sandwich fixings for lunch.

After another break and the consumption of the muffins, Squidette started feeling better and was able to eat her lunch when we stopped at the Roundbottom Campground.

We had a nice lunch and chatted with some day-trekkers. While dining, a 20-something, riding the entire trail with his friend, came over to us to ask how far they were from Connellsville. After providing the information, we gave him and his friend our leftover sandwich meat and bread.

Moving on down the trail (mostly slightly down hill) we traveled for a few miles before Little Squid started complaining that he wasn't feeling 100%. See a pattern here? (It actually started with Mike the night before.) We persevered to the Smithton trailhead and gave him a while to rest. We were way ahead of schedule so time was not a big factor and we knew we still had two miles or so to go.

Since we were running so early, Mike and I wanted to continue to the Ceder Creek trailhead, an alternate exit for our night's lodging, and did what we could to encourage Little Squid to continue a few more miles north.

(Old Overhold Distilary Swining Bridge remnants)

Finally, we resorted to bribing him with a geocache that was 4/10th of a mile from our location on the way to Ceder Creek. It worked and after quickly retrieving the cache, we continued on to Ceder Creek Park. There, Mike called the Inn for directions and was told that the route from Ceder Creek was much easier than from Smithton. So we started climing out of the park. And climbing. And climbing. Squidette and I had to resort to walking our bikes up part of the hill while Little Squid (he of the stomach ache) plowed his way up the entire hill with Mike. Mike later admitted that he had his rear kicked by that hill and barely made it up himself. Just goes to prove how much the gear was weighing us down.

We found our way to Highway 51 and worked our way to the Inn, passing several other motels along the way.

When we finally got there we discovered that it was a tiny, 10 room establishment attached to a bar. And that the proprieter had not started the grill for the day and was therefore not serving any food. This was rather annoying since one of the reasons we reserved rooms there was because the proprieter had clearly stated over the phone that there was food available at the inn.

Figuring that we would have to walk to the gas station for sandwiches, we went to our rooms to stow our gear. And immediately walked out. Both rooms stank. One of cigarette smoke and the other of ... I really don't know but it was gross and disturbing.

What I did know was that there was no way we were staying there and that I was willing to eat the cost of the rooms.

We turned around and carefully pedaled back along the highway to the Comfort Inn where they happily provided us with two clean, odor-free rooms. And then, immediately and pleasently refunded one room when we realized that just one of the two was more than big enough for all four of us. It was HUGE! Plently of room for the bikes, two queen beds and a small table to boot. And ... they had agreements with nearby establishments to deliver food to the hotel!

So, after a dip in the pool (!) we showered and ordered a huge dinner from a local pizza place. Breakfast was included in the room rate so we were totally set for the night.

The next day we headed back to the other inn to drop the keys in the drop box and realized that had we climbed up from the river at Smithton, we would have had an easier climb and we would not have seen the other inns. In this regard, that rear-kicking climb was a true blessing

Squid on Wheels: The Great Allegheny Passage ... Day 2

Connellsville, PA to Ohiopyle, PA
The day started out overcast and dreary. Since we only had about 20 miles to go for the day, we hung back at the hotel for a little bit and played a couple of hands of Uno. Once we saw that things were neither getting better nor worse, we set out.
The first 3 miles were just spent getting from the hotel to the start of the trail where Squidette had a spectacular slide-out. She hit a groove in the trail badly and her bike slid out from under her. She managed to stay upright and literally ran off of her bike as it fell. Riding behind her, I witnessed the entire thing while attempting to not run into her. Truly an amazing save.

That kind of set the stage for a rockier ride than the first day though the trail was still fairly decent.

The day was damp and periodically the clouds would drip on us. First lightly, then a bit more heavily, then lighter again. We donned and undonned our ponchos a couple of times before just giving up. With the "adults" in black and Little Squid in yellow, we looked like three grim reapers and a duck! I do so wish we could have gotten a picture of that.

By the time we'd ridden about 10 miles the sky had stopped dripping and our only complaint was our increasing need of bathroom facilities. Ultimately, the men did as only men can do and Squidette and I decided we could hold out for a bit longer. Finally, with about 6 miles to go, we came upon a raft take-out area with a porta-pottie. Never has one of those smelly closests looked so good to me!

After a few more miles we started seeing people on the trail, day trekkers and folks with young kids out for a stroll or bike ride. And then ... Ohiopyle!

Ohiopyle is a town that really seems to exist for the sole purpose of providing rafting trips on the Youghiogheny River. On one side of the Ohiopyle Falls there are class III and IV rapids and on the other there are class I and II rapids.

Our hotel was all of two "blocks" from the trail. I put the word in quotes because the whole town is only about 3 NYC blocks long and maybe 2 blocks wide. O.k., there are some homes a bit further out from the river, but not many.

Small as it is, Ohiopyle is a cool place. The people were uniformly friendly and the atmosphere calm and quiet. Our hotel--the Yough Plaza Lodge--was clean with large rooms that opened out onto a covered porch. We were able to park our bikes in the wooden rack right in front of our rooms using the "piddly" locks (NOT NYC quality locks!).

After a nice lunch at the Firefly Cafe, we changed our bike shoes for tevas and divested ourselves of anything that couldn't take a swim. Little Squid even changed into a bathing suit. The rest of us figured that our bike clothes would dry quickly enough if we decided to get wet. Setting out on a hike, we noted that it took us far longer to cross the bridges into town on foot than by bike.

We walked through the woods and after some interesting detours found the Natural Water Slides. Only Little Squid was brave enough to try them--and only after I first watched another family do them. We took our cues from the adult male in the group. He would go down a length of river in the slides and then give a thumbs up or down to the kids and female in his group. The mom would then watch as her boys went, one by one, down the slide. Once they had navigated each length of rock, I told Little Squid to go on and I followed on foot. Finally, the gentleman we were watching spun around a few times on one stretch and gave a thumbs down. The mom and I worked together to get the four boys from one side of the river to the other and the adventure ended.

Finishing our hike, we cleaned up and headed out to dinner and then an evening of game playing on the porch and a chat with our neighbors.
Another excellent day on the trail. 20 miles--mostly up hill but at a slow grade.

Squid on Wheels: The Great Allegheny Passage ... Day 1

Several days ago we set out on a little adventure. Our goal was to ride a portion of the Great Allegheny Passage. The Passage is a rail-trail that connects Cumberland, MD with Pittsburgh, PA. The passage is incomplete at the Pittsburgh end so you can only get as close as Boston, PA without riding on any roads.

Driving first to Pittsburgh, we spent the night with my brother and his lovely wife (and cat and dog) before setting out.

Starting in Mckeesport, PA, about 10 miles north of Boston, we immediately discovered the first challenge as we unloaded and set up the bikes--two flat tires.

The tubes in Little Squid's rear wheel and in Mike's front wheel were quickly swapped out and we took to the road to meet our second challenge:
a tree across the trail. We found a way around it and continued on down the trail until it ran out and continued down a road for a bit until the trail began again. The trail from this point until Boston is not very pleasant. It alternates between asphalt and rough gravel over and over again--with some asphalt areas spanning only a quarter mile or less. It really did not make sense! We were begining to think that maybe this was not such a good idea when, after a few miles, the trail turned to a consistently packed limestone and stayed that way.


We were traveling relatively lightly compared to a family that we met a few days later. They are doing a cross country trek and are fully loaded with both kids pulling their fair share. We had with us 5 paniers and a handle-bar bag. Each adult carried 2 paniers and Squidette carried the 5th. Little Squid was in charge of the snacks in the handle-bar bag.
For the first couple of days we were really conscious of how much we were drinking and being really careful to stay properly fueled and hydrated. We've adopted a new sports drink--Nuun-- and it seems to do the job just fine without giving Little Squid a stomach-ache (an unfortunate side effect of our old sports drink, Accelerade), it also has minimal calories so Mike and I were comfortable guzzling it, something I am not good about with plain water.

See our water source? Just a suggestion, if you ride this trail, make sure to fill up your bottles in the towns and avoid the pumps if you can. The water from the pumps is sulfury and not pleasant to drink straight. The Nuun helped but I still had to force it the liquid down.
The pump above is the one at the Dravo Cemetery and Campground. Nope. Not kidding. The boy scouts built and maintain a primitive biker-hiker campground here. Nice place, actually, and there is a toilet of sorts. (One step above a porta-potty but without the flush of a "real" toilet.) Not bad when given the options.
We passed several creeks and waterfalls. This one looked like it was frozen. I'm thinking that it is due to calcite or limestone in the water. Very neat looking.
Then there is this one, the famous Red Waterfall. The red is due to the iron oxide seeping out of the old coal mines. Basically, pollution. Neat but sad. So much damage was done to the area during the coal and iron mining days. There are piles of mine tailings all over the region just waiting to be cleaned up.
Despite the environmental damage, the trail is lovely. It is mostly surrounded by trees and runs alongside the river for most of it's length. We passed bridge after bridge after bridge. Some, the remnants of the old railroads, others, still in service as automobile or pedestrian bridges over the Youghiogheny River.

After riding for more than two hours, we finally stopped at West Newton which has the distinction of having the best bathrooms on the trail. Or so we were told. Not having tried all of them, we can't really say. But ... they were really good bathrooms! Clean, automatic and ... air conditioned!

Right across the road / trail from these wonders of modern plumbing was the Trailside Cafe where we had a very nice, filling lunch before moving on. And on. And on.

At the end of the day, about 4:15, we rolled into Connellsville, PA and, after asking directions, pedaled about a mile, up hill, to the Melody Motor Inn.

It was clean, reasonably sized and the proprietress was very nice. It was also a distance from any food. The diner behind it closed at 3 and we started to worry that we would have to resort to sandwiches from the Walmart across the highway (or really busy street, one of the two). The motel owner did tell us where there was an ice cream and beer distributership a little bit up the road (on the same side as the motel) and that they served sandwiches. We decided to give that a try before resorting to Walmart. Good thinking! They had hoagies on the menu and, I've got to say, those were the best hoagies I've ever had. Homemade roast beef, real turkey, right off the bird and honest to goodness ham. Yum! And we washed them down with milk shakes. Hey, we'd just ridden 45 miles!

Back to the motel for a round of Quiddler, and one of Uno then some reading and off to bed.

***

Tune tomorrow in for day 2

Squid on Wheels: Riding Around Manhattan

It has been two years since we last attempted to circumnavigate our home island and, in reality, on this trip, we actually circumcised the island ... we cut off the tip after encountering heavy tourist traffic at the southern end.

We started by meeting a friend and his dad and rode up to Fairway to buy the fixings for a picnic breakfast for later in the morning. We then made a brief stop at the base of the George Washington Bridge. I am always amazed at the size difference between the Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge! After ascending the hill that starts at the light house, we rode a bit more before stopping to admire the view from Inspiration Point.
At Inwood Park, while the adults schmoozed, the kids ran out and grabbed a geocache that we'd failed to find on a previous trip.

Little Squid discovered a quicker way back to the path.
Squidette got caught trying to sneak up on the adults.

The view from our breakfast spot.
Starting downtown, we paused to admire the only surviving farmhouse in Manhattan. Very strange to think about farms in Manhattan. Very strange!
As I chatted with our friends, we all commented on the fact that we cannot name a single neighborhood in Manhattan that is not gentrifying. Even those areas with a heavy load of low income housing projects are being inundated with upscale residences and the accompanying businesses. Swindlers Cove is an example of that change.Amazing change, isn't it.

We continued our journey but after Swindler's Cove I stopped taking pictures and we, for the most part, stopped playing tourist and just concentrated on riding. We worked our way down the east side of Manhattan, pausing to use the facilities at Carl Shurz park, and rode down and across the tip of the island. The last few miles were arduous, mainly because it was now mid-day and all of Manhattan seemed to be out and about on the waterfront. The crowds were such that we had to ride very carefully and spent the rest of the trip concentrating on not hitting runners, pedestrians, roller bladers and other cylists.

Total mileage: 34 miles bringing us up to 56 for the weekend.

Teens!

They make you laugh, they make you cry, they make you crazy!

At 8:20, after dropping off Little Squid, I said good-bye to Squidette as she pedaled off to camp, 10 blocks further north, and I pedaled home in order to change and make a 9:30 meeting. She promised to call once she had locked up her bike.

I head home, coasting down Riverside Drive, grinding out the miles along the Hudson River and, finally, as I neared the Intrepid, started to worry. It had been too long. Had I missed the call? Pulled over, checked my cell phone. Nope, no missed call. Try Squidette's phone ... right to voice mail.

Pedaling on, I get to my exit, go through the cell phone ritual again and start to really worry. Was she hit by a truck? (Very few trucks on our route.) Did she wipe out on the steep descent to camp? And what about the violin on her back ...

Arriving in the apartment, I decide that calling camp is way more important than arriving at my meeting on time and, as I navigate the various options on the camp phone system ... my phone rings.

She forgot.

Oops.

I've forgiven her ... it is only the second time in over a year that she's forgotten to call. But it is amazing just how panicky I got for those few minutes.

Random Musings

It's amazing how dry my skin gets given that it spends hours and hours each day slathered in greasy sunscreen.

Squidette like humming Schubert's 8th Unfinished Symphony. She says the tune is "fun." How many teens can say that!

I can now say that I have changed the pedals on a bicycle. And the seat (though I'd done that before). And, I have a boo boo on my chest from changing said pedals. Don't ask.

I have survived 3 dinners without Mike and not had to resort to ordering in.

That said, we ate leftovers for two of the nights and I made macaroni and tuna for the third. Tomorrow is a bread, cheese and sausage picnic, weather cooperating. See, I CAN feed my children. Just not well.

It's sugar snap pea season and I'm in heaven! I eat them like candy.

The first skeins of Mike's new sweater are in their final soak in the sink and the next ones are mid-ply on my Journey Wheel. I had to stop to change the water for the skeins in the sink and decided to blog instead of going back to plying.

Squidette now has contact lenses.

The price variation for her lenses (on-line) was huge! There was almost a $200 difference between the highest and lowest priced suppliers for a 6 month supply. Phew!

Little Squid is playing John Adams in the camp musical.

Random enough for you?