Thanksgiving Turkey Trot

I feel good today. Today I went on the Turkey Trot (which raises money for Shepherd's Pantry, a food bank) in Windham, New Hampshire and was surprised to see what looked like half the town walking, running, rollerblading, skootering (if that's a word), and biking in freezing weather; I swear, it was so cold that I thought my hands were going to fall off. I'm sure my aunt, Simo, would have been proud of me. Not only did she love staying active, no matter the condition, she loved doing good deeds.

I did the 5-mile Turkey Trot twice, and 5 more miles. That means that, as of today, I have biked a total of 510.1 miles.

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, Chelmsford to Westford, Massachusetts

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (6.8 miles; 13.6 round trip) is a future bike highway that will take people from Lowell, Chelmsford, Westford, Carlisle, Acton, Concord, Sudbury, and Framingham to shopping malls, restaurants, bakeries, etc. Only the first phase has been built but when the other two are, you will be able to walk, bike, run, or even rollerski to those towns.
The bike trail is beautiful, especially in the fall. The leaves crunch under your feet and the stream next to you has ducks in it.

Windham Rail Trail, There and Back

Forty miles to go. So far I have biked about 460 miles. My original goal was 250. This bike ride wasn't a long one but it was beautiful. I have lived in NH my whole life and yet I've never seen this part of it until yesterday because I'm usually in a car, reading a book. The ride was 18.5 miles but only 8 miles of it was on a real bike trail. The other 12.5 miles were on main roads. Biking on the main roads was easy. My mom had trouble with the crossing. She didn't want to get in the car lane like you're supposed to. Anyway, if you haven't donated yet, please think about doing so.

This is a picture of a dog we saw on the bike trail who looked like she had dreadlocks. She's a Bergamasco Sheepdog.

Breast Cancer Awareness Ride

Saturday, October 9, 2010: I discovered 2 things today. First, Peaslee Road, in Merrimack, NH is a very stupid road. It goes uphill for a fourth of a mile. Second, Nashua, Merrimack, and Amherst are beautiful places. Today I biked 25 miles for breast cancer. This was an organized ride by Trek; about 800 dealers held this ride. I biked past apple orchards, horses, expensive but beautiful houses, and people walking dogs. I never knew there were so many ponds in Nashua and the surrounding towns. I had a little trouble with the ride because I have knobs (a mountain bike). For my Bar Mitzvah, I'm hoping to get a triathlon bike, so I'm excited.

Mack's Apples

Yesterday, 10/3/10, I biked to Mack's Apples from my town. If you don't know what Mack's apples is, it's an apple orchard. The ride there and back was a total of 15.5 miles. The ride was one of my favorites because when I got to Mack's Apples, there was a dirt road I was able to take to my friend's house. Yesterday was a particularly beautiful day; the sun was shining and there was a slight breeze. This ride took me 30 minutes to get there and 15 back. If you don't understand my meaning, it's that the ride there was very hilly and the ride back was downhill. The above photo of my friend and me was taken by setting my camera to "Wait 10 Seconds Before Capturing" and setting the camera down on a pumpkin. I think this was a great ride.

The Granite State Wheelmen Seacoast Century Ride --My First 128.3 Miles

I'm surprised I can move. I just biked 128.3 miles over the course of 2 days. 78.3 miles the first day and 50 the second. I'm very proud of myself. This ride was called The Granite State Wheelmen Seacoast Century Ride. There were four rides within the Century Ride. You could do the Quarter Century Ride, which was 25 miles, the Half Century Ride, which was 50 miles, the Metric Ride, which was 63, and the Century Ride which was 100. The first day I did the Metric Ride, I biked all the way up to the Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine, but, knowing me, I got lost and did 78.3 miles instead. I also met two women who were also riding for a charity. They were riding to fund stem-cell research. My mom did the ride with me the first day. Even though she doesn't think so, she is very strong. The second day I did the Half Century with my brother-in-law, Ralf, and biked 25 mph the whole 25 miles back. I had to draft him but I still did it.

Charles River Reservation, Massachusetts

This weekend, I biked 42.9 miles. On Saturday, September 4, 2010, I biked to Goffstown, NH with my friend Peter and his dad to see his dad's uncle. It was only 23 miles, but it took a lot longer than I thought it would because we had to keep stopping for the walk sign or for the traffic to slow down. Today, Monday, September 6, 2010, I went on a 19.9-mile bike ride along the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts (the "Charles River Reservation Ride" described in Bike Paths in Massachusetts by Stuart Johnstone) with my friends Katrina and Alex and their dad. Along the way, I saw ducks and geese, Harvard College, MIT and the MIT boathouse, the Science Museum, and a small dam (that looked like it would be fun to kayak down, except that it was only a foot deep) with ducks and geese flying off it and landing in the river. When we got to Watertown, and we were there almost immediately after we saw the dam, we ate lunch at "Not Your Average Joe's." All and all, it was a very scenic bike ride.