Sven Cole's world

Where am I?

2009-01-28T06:26:00.000-08:00

I'm over here most of the time now, or if you are looking for more of the adventures of Team Weak and Feeble then go here.

Thanks for checking in!

sven

It's snowing!

2008-12-09T06:49:00.000-08:00

So the snow is now falling and that gets me pretty psyched to hang up the bike (well not completely) and start thinking about skiing. Shawnee Peak will be opening soon and the XC terrain will be skiable with just a bit more snow.

The girls have already been out xc skiing on the fields behind our house and are anxious to get out more. They are both fired up to hit the big hill as well- so bring the season on!

Out for a hike with the fam

2008-10-29T05:21:00.000-07:00

My youngest decided we needed more family time, so at 5pm on a cloudy late October night we piled into the truck and headed for Hawk Mountain in Waterford. This is a great hike as you get fantastic views for about a 25 minute walk that isn't all that strenuous. It was good to get out and we even beat darkness, just barely, but we never needed the flashlight on the way down.

Top of the mountain (it was lighter then the photo shows)

K and I at the top- Photo my EVC

Our girls during a moment of harmony

Look at the action of the walk

From now until November

2008-09-05T09:48:00.001-07:00

The political game is now in full swing, or course I think it's been in full swing for some time. Especially for those who live(d) in New Hampshire it's been a good solid year. I applaud Sarah Palin, she timed this right- she'll only have to endure a couple of months of campaigning and then either head back to Alaska or head to Washington. So who runs Alaska while she's on the road? It isn't as much of an issue for the Senators- they don't really need to be doing anything right now as it is!

Enough about politics as I know way to little to speak intelligently about them (although that doesn't stop 95% of the media out there!)

On a personal note, I've returned to my "roots"- I'm now working at Bridgton Academy, a great school that has a very specific purpose- take a look at the site if you are curious.

Other then that still riding, still being a dad and husband, and still thinking (or trying to).

We'll try to put up some interesting conversations in the near future.

Summer is almost here

2008-05-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

it's warm, the bugs are out, the trails are dry- time to ride!

yup that's all I've got right now.

Oil Pricing

2008-04-23T06:27:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or have we become numb to what is going on with oil pricing. A friend of mine who works in the oil business is very frustrated as he feels like people are throwing up their hands and just don't care any more. Yet the pricing he feels is being driven up by Oil futures traders, in other words people in our own country are responsible for killing us with these prices. Really bums me out- and I don't know what to do- other then ride my bike everywhere I can and really pay attention to energy use.

Argh.

But at least spring has sprung!

later.

Slacking

2008-01-29T04:04:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how so much time has gotten by me but it has. Winter is back, although as I write this we are expecting possible rain showers tonight and tomorrow, but I don't think it will amount to much in terms of snow loss. It will make Meisters interesting tomorrow!

The Pat's are in the Super Bowl- so that will consume Sunday evening and then we are right into February which means it's time to really start mixing skiing and riding (bikes) to try and gain fitness heading into March and the cycling season. I've taken it very easy this January, so I know I've got some work ahead.

Time to go to work...

January Thaw

2008-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

90 plus inches of snow followed by temps in the upper 50's- welcome to winter in New England.

Cranmore is hositng their Biodesiel day today- should be interesting. If you drive a hybrid you ski for free (what if you drive a gas engine car that gets 40mpg?)

I think I'll park the skis today and grab the bike.

Go Pats!

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

It's 2008- how did that happen?

Here in the east it's been snowing and snowing and snowing- which has made for fantastic skiing!

I don't have a great deal to say at the moment- but that never lasts for long!

The Holidays

2007-12-17T06:19:00.000-08:00

I guess I should get out and do some Christmas Shopping this week, or I could wait until the weekend. There is something about doing my holiday shopping at the last minute that I really enjoy. The fact that you don't have time to really ponder, you shop on impulse and while it's not good for the budget it sure makes it fun! And I feel like I'm doing my part to keep the economy going.

That's it from here, time to go finish shoveling.

Snow

2007-12-06T07:01:00.000-08:00

Snow just changes my attitude. It gets me fired up to be in a winter mindest, and the best part is that there is enough to get out and ski in the woods right out the back door.

All the touring centers are open, the alpine hills are open- and the temps are cold and the snow is sticking around. I hope this is an indicator of the winter to be.

A good weekend

2007-12-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

Got out on the bike (commute to and from work- but still time on the bike) on Friday, spent time in the woods on Saturday cutting wood, and then skied on Sunday. Good weekend I might say....

Big storm coming- here's to hoping!

Hmmm

2007-11-29T17:31:00.000-08:00

Not much going on, well that's not really true- I've been crazy busy between work at Glen Group, RSN, Mt Ear, ESSC, MW Nordic, family and working on the house I've had a lot going on- but nothing really exciting.

Hopefully I'll get out to make a few turns and then also get in a ride this weekend. We'll have to see how it all plays out.

Had a cup of coffee with an old friend today who is building up his first SS bike- ahhhh it just continues to spread.

On the racing front- should hear about the Team Roster for Team Bikeman.com for next season- here's hoping....

I've started posting about Nordic skiing over here

And of course you can always stay up to speed on what is going on over at Team Weak and Feeble (t-shirts still available- just let me know!).

Wow- this was a boring post- I'll try harder next time.

Time to prep skis!

2007-11-25T16:33:00.000-08:00

I didn't get out and ski as planned this weekend, a bit of a stomach bug saw to that- but next weekend looks to be a go. My gear is mostly in ok shape, although I think my alpine boots have seen their best days long ago.

But what does need to be done is all the summer wax needs to get scrapped and brushed out and the years first skiing wax needs to get applied. That will be a good task for Wednesday night.

I spoke with Irene up at Bretton Woods this weekend when I was working at RSN and it sounds like a Crawford Notch winter. I remember a number of years ago Jeremiah Beach had a theory that whichever of the two notches (Pinkham or Crawford) got the best early snow would be the side of the mountain that got the most snow all year- so far is't a Crawford year. Of course Miah has left the Valley for the winter and headed out to Colorado for a good winter of skiing. Just might have to go and visit.

That's it for now- gotta look at the forecast and see if I need to put the studded tires on the cross bike for commuting yet- might be slick in the am.

Transition

2007-11-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

It's style cycling season in my heart but the racing is done and the daylight is gone, and now the Nordic centers and alpine hills are opening up and it's time for me to shift my mind a little bit. Still, I would love to get in another cross race or twelve!

I started riffing on Nordic skiing over here thought it might be fun to have a spot to just talk about skinny skiing.

That's it for now- MNF will be on in a bit and I've got a ski column to get out the door. The Bronco's are playing tonight- could they be my new "home" team? Hmmmmmm

Snow?

2007-11-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

It spit snow today, but nothing of any accumulation, but at least it's cold! Got an email from my sister in Boulder- warm and Eldora is looking at pushing their opening past Thanksgiving- hmmm our eastern resorts should be open before that.

In other news- Trek to Astana? Horner to Astana? Is Kasakhstan the new home base for US cycling in Europe? We'll have to keep our eyes on Astana and Slipstream and see which team gets the "hometown" support from the good'ol USA- I'm rooting for Slipstream.

Cycling season (racing at least) comes to a close

2007-11-13T04:35:00.000-08:00

My racing season is done (last race report here) and now time to think about snow and skiing. What a great life when that's the transition you can make from one season to the the next. Ahhh, now just bring on the snow!

WTF

2007-07-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Are you freakin' kidding me! Argh....

Vino crushes us all

I'm going to go find a beer to cry into...

DEA

Carbon Footprint

2007-07-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

That's the new buzzword out there today, Carbon Footprint. It's a good term and one we'll all get to know and be concerned with, but the issue is that reducing our carbon footprint means a great deal of behavioral change- are we ready for that?

I hope we are but it's going to take some work, a lot of it. It's going to be an interesting decade as we try to figure out our priorities and find ways to live in a more sustainable way. I hate to say it, as I love living up in the mountains, but one of the biggest things I could do to reduce my footprint- move into a city. Now there is a statement I never thought I would make!

Hmmmm, I'll chew on that and riff more later.

Racing

2007-01-18T06:34:00.000-08:00

It's time to start looking at races for the 2007 season. Both JJ and I will be racing in the Team Bikeman.com colors this year, but still throwing down with the Team Weak and Feeble mindset at the same time. A1 and I are looking at going down to Tennessee in April for our first "hundie" on mountain bikes. I'm most likley looking at this as a SS race and I'm hoping to do most of the season (dirt at least) on a SS. We'll see how that works out. I'm not sure about some of the shorter races but for the endurance stuff a SS seems like a fun choice.

Still waiting for winter to really show up. It's cold so the ski areas are throwing down quality snow but the XC areas are hurting. They've got some terrain open but it's a bit dicey. Another few inches and they should be looking a whole lot better.

I finally got out and lifted with A1 this morning at 6am, did legs- and they hurt. But hopefully this will be a worth while process to strengthen my legs a bit and also help out my lower back. Time will tell.

That's it at this point more to come.

2007

2007-01-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

The new year is upon us, and if you follow the team blog you'll see we haven't had much of a winter as of yet. The TWAF crew has been out on the bikes a whole lot more then skis!

I'm ready to get out and ski. The girls are anxious, the oldest is at ski program today and the youngest will be itching to get out. At least they're making snow!

2007- wow, I remember when we were all in a panic that when the clock struck midnight on December 31, 1999 that we were going back into the stone age- guess that didn't happen! Now we're closer to 2010 then 2000 and we've got more technology coming our way then we know what to do with. Five years ago I didn't own a cell phone and I still owned cassettes and a CD player in my car was a luxery. Now it's iPod's, cell phones, navigation systems in the car and Apple just came out with the iPhone that puts more tech in my pocket then they had when Return of the Jedi hit theaters.

Not sure where that line of thinking was going....

Anyway, hoping for snow, dreaming of new Salsa frames, looking at a race schedule for next year and wondering what's for dinner tonight.

later

late nights=fat ass

2006-10-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

Slate reports that staying up late makes you fat, great- half the time I don't ride either my trainer or go out for a night ride starting at 9pm- so while I'm out riding I'm getting fat! That sucks.

New England is in the transition from fall colors to fall doldrums, basically the next month will be full of grey skies, naked trees, lots of rain showers and dark late afternoons. This is a testing time of year. The bike light will be on constant standby and reflective clothing will be always close at hand. If you can keep your fitness through Christmas then you've got a shot at not losing all that hard work from the summer season. By January you can get out and XC ski, which is a great break from riding, and by the end of February the cycling season gets rolling again.

Switching gears, K and I are experiencing wanderlust again- this time (not the first time) Boulder is the bullseye- we shall see. I can tell you Hawaii and Alaska aren't on our radar- freakin' North Korea is going to be putting the hurt on their the economic and tourism trades of our last two states. Not sure what's going to happen with that (is anyone?) but those dudes seem to want to fight and our country seems to doing its best to get them to step outside.

That's it for now.

more then bikes...

2006-08-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

I usually try not to dive into the world of political blogging, as so much of it is filled with posturing and misinformation. I guess I should spend some time posturing and spreading mistruths. Actually I'm not sure I have a posture on the current political landscape, other then the fact that nobody is actually talking about anything- they're just crying about how the other side hurt their feelings.

I'm curious about what the people of this country actually want. How do they want our country viewed, and what do they want our country to stand for. What are the issues that we really face as a country. We've lost sight of these questions, instead we call the democrats "Hezbocrats" and some call Bush a "Nazi". Neither of course is true, and both are cop-outs to the actual issues that exist.

Hence I find myself wanting to just go ride my bike, playing with my kids, hanging out with my wife, doing my job, and dreaming of powder storms.

While there is more to life then just bikes it is often much easier to just focus on bikes....

it's simple really

2006-08-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

I want to tinker, dream, imagine, start and not have to finish- and get paid for it. I'm one of those people who can get 80 percent through a project and then loose all motivation to complete it. I'm not sure why. Fortunately that doesn't happen to me when I'm racing or training, but on other projects it certainly does.

The funny part isn't that I loose motivation, it's that I loose if for that particular task. Somwhere along the project my mind has begun to wander and the outcome of the current task is no longer that important, but the start of the new tangent is. I have always thought that if I could partner with someone who is a detail person who hates coming up with ideas but love executing other peoples visions that "we" could do well. Any takers???

I just got back in from a run. I really don't enjoy running all that much. I used to say that I hate it but I really don't hate it, I just don't enjoy it. There are usually a few moments during a run where my body feels good- but I haven't gotten to a point where those moments happen all to often! I think of myself as somewhat fit, but running still kicks my ass. My wife has talked me into running Vermont City Marathon with her this coming spring, she did it in 2004 and she is ready to do it again. It'll be fun, and I actually look forward to the training aspect as it'll be a good time of year for me to be building for cycling season.

TWAF is looking at our race calendar for next year, I think we would like to add on a couple more 24's and I know that A1 and I would both like to do an E100 race. That would be fun (if that can be called fun, but we seem to call it that!).

This is a fun time of year, I'm starting to think a bit about snow. Wondering how the back country skiing and XC skiing will be. Wondering how my youngest will do with skiing this year and hoping I can keep up with my oldest on the alpine hill. At the same time I'm excited for cyclocross season and really anxious for Porky Gulch Classic in November. A good time of year!

That's it at the moment, if anyone runs into an IF SS frame in a size 19" let me know- I'm in the market;)

Until next time...

Single speeds

2006-08-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

What's up with this SS obsession? I rode my SS mtb in from the shop where my car is being introduced to its new clutch and my truck getting a little sticker that keeps the police happy. Aren't cars fun!

I rode the old Specialized in thinking it would be fun to get a feel for how that gear will roll on the pavement, let's just say I was getting a touch frustrated with how quickly you run out of gear. I'm hoping that a 29'er might have a touch more roll- time will tell.

Josh got rid of his brand new Serrotta in favor of a Cannondale Synapse, I'll have to let you know what he thinks. The Serrotta was a compact frame and he was having some foot/wheel overlap issues that made it a touch dicey in the turns- I think good'ol PJ made the right move.

Hoping to ride Sticks and Stones tonight on my way home- anyone else heading that way around 5pm??? Then for the weekend I hope to get out for a good road ride- any ideas.

Gotta get back to the real world.

Dreaming of bikes

2006-08-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

The basement is full of bikes, my youngest has a bike, my oldest has two, my wife has two, and I have six. Add to that a jogger, a trailer, and a trail-a-bike and we've got a fair number of wheels hanging in our basement.

So why do I jones for more? Who cares why- I need to figure out how to get my next ride. I think I'm settling into a IF Deluxe Steel 29er SS. Yeah that'll set me back a couple bucks but it'll be worth it! With that in mind anyone interested in a Kona Jake the Snake? I've got one (54cm) that I'm looking to unload so I can start stockpiling the cash for the IF.

With that in mind I should also take a look at the ski quiver for the upcoming year. Atomic is taking good care of me for the XC skis, but my tele sticks are in need of some rack mates. Hmmmmmm.

I need to get back to work. Cross season is coming, hope to see folks out there. Great Glen has a new cyclocross series they are kicking off this year, should go well with the Porky Gulch Classic in November.

Keep riding.