Bloomin' Metric 2007, CT

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live. --Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"

Hills galore. 100k of ups and downs.

This has got to be one of my favorite rides. Beautiful tree-lined roads, minimal traffic, picturesque New England scenery and, of course, pain-inducing air-gasping stand-on-your-pedals rolling hills. Ahhhh, heaven and hell together once again.

I did the tour with three other friends in just over 5 hours, including 3 food stops (4.14.56 on my cyclometer of actual riding time). Pas mal, I'd say, although we certainly weren't racing like madmen to finish. Just an enjoyable pace to smell the roses but fly on the downhills (15 mph avg and 39 mph max recorded on the cyclometer).

At the registration area, they posted an elevation chart of the course, which I thought was a nice way to get a feel for the terrain. I sent an email to the organizers asking what software they used to create the chart as I'd like to do the same for my personal weekend bike routes.

'Til next year, ride on!

Dig it, man. I've got sole!

"Pain...Love it, hate it, get angry at it. Breathe it with every breath, feel it with every step and use it. It lets you know you are still alive, more alive than most people will ever be in their whole lives." -- Rich Strauss

More foot porn.

Actually, my custom insoles finally arrived at the podiatrist's office--a partial remedy for my PF. (This was last week.) How excited I was to try them on! While the doc was opening the ziplocked package, I felt giddy inside as if I were buying a new car. So how do they look? Sexy, ay?

Now it's been a few days of test driving. I've walked in them, biked with them, and done the naughty with my wife while wearing them even napped with them :-). Call me a believer--they're awesome! While the heel pain isn't totally gone, it's significantly reduced.

So goodbye, Dr. Scholl's. "Custom" is where the phat is at!