I live in a community highly influenced by French-Canadian culture. Old Quebecian lumberjack culture. We have plenty of local maple syrup producers, so we're pretty fortunate there. Even have some friends that invite us over when they make their first batches for the season.
One of the holiday staples of the culture is a food called Meat Pie. It's pretty much what it sounds like: pie crust with meat filling. Good stuff. There is of course more to it than that. My mother's recipe (my favorite) has equal parts ground pork and beef, diced onion, roasted garlic, clove, cinnamon, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning (celery salt, sage, thyme, savory) and; here's the chef boyardee moment, a package of onion soup mix. You cook all this up, skim or drain the fat, then fold in some mashed potatoes. Fill the pie shell, pie shell over the top. Bake.
There are two arguments that go along with meat pie. The first has to do with what you eat with your meat pie: gravy or ketchup. I like both, but ketchup is always more readily available. I had it once with a mushroom gravy that was phenomenal.
The other argument is on the meat used in the pie. Some state that only ground pork should be used, while others state it should be equal parts pork and beef. I prefer the latter. However, this past week I experimented by making one the way my mother did, and the other with ground turkey. I wanted to practice this in preparation for this weekends Christmas festivities with my girlfriend's family. Her parents for health reasons can't eat red meat, so I figured a turkey meat pie would be a nice alternative. Once finished, I could hardly tell the difference, and I thought both were equally delicious.
Both were enjoyed by my co-workers and I the next day.
So for the holiday festivities I'm going to make one turkey meat pie, and the other I'm gonna experiment a little more with. I'm going to make the second one with tofu, caramelized onions and portabello mushrooms to substitute the meat part of the pie, partly cause I'm curious on how well it can turn out and also because of Marjie's sister and her husband are vegetarians, the same ones I mentioned who had the bad experience at the fancy pants restaurant a few months back. I promised I'd make a dish they could truly enjoy, and this former chef intends to deliver.
I have one more present to wrap that hasn't been delivered yet. Otherwise my wrapping is done. Looking forward to the holidays.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Too cold to ride...
This time of year I get a special issue of "Motorcycle Cruiser" in the mail. The 2012 Buyer's Guide is filled with pics and specs of all the new cruisers the big companies are now selling. It provides me with all kinds of eye candy to dream about during these cold months where I can't ride. I like to think about which ones I'd actually like to own, and fight back the thoughts of trading in the VTX for something else. I have a feeling that anything I'd trade the VTX for would in the long run be a disappointment. If I can't ride, I can at least get into some good books.
I completed "Passing Time" by Ron Roy last month. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This fictional story, based on the author's time working in the local paper mill in my hometown of Berlin, NH, gave me a glimpse into the world of working in the paper mill that was the center piece of our town for decades. The characters and dialogue were well written, and it was interesting to read the descriptions of different places in town. He changed some names, but it was pretty easy to figure out where he was talking about. Towards the end there's a twist that I didn't see coming, but made for unique and interesting overall story. Once again, I highly recommend this for anyone from the Berlin/Gorham/Milan area. It's time for Christmas shopping, and I think this book would make a good gift for anyone that worked in or around the paper mills in the north country.
Another book I finished, "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere" by Adele Westbrook and Oscar Ratti, gave me an excellent look into Aikido. The book was published way back in 1970, and I was very impressed with the many illustrations by Oscar Ratti, who worked as a professional illustrator. Simply beautiful drawings that went along with the text. Kept this former comic book geek entranced. The authors go into the core history and philosophy of the art before they show an abundant set of basic aikido techniques, once again beautifully illustrated with style and detail. I only encountered one or two flaws in the illustrations as far as technique goes, but overall very well drawn and described. Anyone interested in the art of Aikido should check this book out. The authors wrote a book on the Samurai that I'll be checking out later, and the illustrator wrote a series of graphic novels that I will also purchase soon , if I don't get said items for xmas or my birthday.
Currently reading the first of Taekwondo Master Doug Cook's books. I read his most recent book a few months back, "Taekwondo: A Path to Excellence". He's a proponent of traditional martial arts focusing on self defense and improvement of self mentally and physically, along with promoting the history of martial arts. Enjoyed his most recent book so much, I wrote him an email to tell him how much I appreciated it. I got a prompt reply thanking me for the feedback and to keep in touch.
His first book, "Taekwondo: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Warrior" is also quite enjoyable for a martial arts geek like myself. It's encouraging to read a book from a martial artist that shows how much he cares about the style he has chosen to devote his life too, along with the respect and admiration he shares for other styles and cultures. He has one other book that I already bought, and I will read this after the next book I'm gonna mention.
"Allegiance of a Soldier", the first part of "The Betrayer" series by a young local author, Kyle Newton. Looking forward to this one. Kyle is only 20, and it's pretty cool to see somebody that young take a bold move and write a series of novels. I haven't gotten to it yet, but soon. I've heard some good things from a friend that finished it.
Once again people, support your local authors! It's Christmas shopping time! "Allegiance of a Soldier" and "Passing Time" would make excellent gifts!
I completed "Passing Time" by Ron Roy last month. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This fictional story, based on the author's time working in the local paper mill in my hometown of Berlin, NH, gave me a glimpse into the world of working in the paper mill that was the center piece of our town for decades. The characters and dialogue were well written, and it was interesting to read the descriptions of different places in town. He changed some names, but it was pretty easy to figure out where he was talking about. Towards the end there's a twist that I didn't see coming, but made for unique and interesting overall story. Once again, I highly recommend this for anyone from the Berlin/Gorham/Milan area. It's time for Christmas shopping, and I think this book would make a good gift for anyone that worked in or around the paper mills in the north country.
Another book I finished, "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere" by Adele Westbrook and Oscar Ratti, gave me an excellent look into Aikido. The book was published way back in 1970, and I was very impressed with the many illustrations by Oscar Ratti, who worked as a professional illustrator. Simply beautiful drawings that went along with the text. Kept this former comic book geek entranced. The authors go into the core history and philosophy of the art before they show an abundant set of basic aikido techniques, once again beautifully illustrated with style and detail. I only encountered one or two flaws in the illustrations as far as technique goes, but overall very well drawn and described. Anyone interested in the art of Aikido should check this book out. The authors wrote a book on the Samurai that I'll be checking out later, and the illustrator wrote a series of graphic novels that I will also purchase soon , if I don't get said items for xmas or my birthday.
Currently reading the first of Taekwondo Master Doug Cook's books. I read his most recent book a few months back, "Taekwondo: A Path to Excellence". He's a proponent of traditional martial arts focusing on self defense and improvement of self mentally and physically, along with promoting the history of martial arts. Enjoyed his most recent book so much, I wrote him an email to tell him how much I appreciated it. I got a prompt reply thanking me for the feedback and to keep in touch.
His first book, "Taekwondo: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Warrior" is also quite enjoyable for a martial arts geek like myself. It's encouraging to read a book from a martial artist that shows how much he cares about the style he has chosen to devote his life too, along with the respect and admiration he shares for other styles and cultures. He has one other book that I already bought, and I will read this after the next book I'm gonna mention.
"Allegiance of a Soldier", the first part of "The Betrayer" series by a young local author, Kyle Newton. Looking forward to this one. Kyle is only 20, and it's pretty cool to see somebody that young take a bold move and write a series of novels. I haven't gotten to it yet, but soon. I've heard some good things from a friend that finished it.
Once again people, support your local authors! It's Christmas shopping time! "Allegiance of a Soldier" and "Passing Time" would make excellent gifts!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Jukebox
For as long as I can remember, I've almost always had a song in my head. Like a radio station that is always on at a low volume, it would almost always go with whatever mood I'm in. I first noticed this back in high school, when my mind was ripe for being overexposed to grunge and alternative rock. Good stuff. Still love it.
It's not a bad thing overall. The only time it bugs me is if I'm trying to meditate. Then it's a conscious effort to turn the subconscious jukebox off in my head. This will annoy me in the fact that I'm trying to empty my mind, but struggling too hard in the process. When I can't turn it off, I go back to some of my favorite music that played in the old School of the Silent Warrior. Jethro Tull, Joan Osborne, or some relaxing Native American flute music will do the trick.
So I can change the song in my head with just a little concentration. And it's more or less a loop of certain parts of the song that are present. I'm glad it's something I can deal with , especially if I get a song from a commercial in my head.
I've only mentioned this oddity to a couple friends. One of them will ask every once in a while "what's playing in your head"? I wonder if anybody else has this odd little tic. Right now I got Tom Petty's "I need to know" going on in my head, mostly the chorus. Good tune...
It's not a bad thing overall. The only time it bugs me is if I'm trying to meditate. Then it's a conscious effort to turn the subconscious jukebox off in my head. This will annoy me in the fact that I'm trying to empty my mind, but struggling too hard in the process. When I can't turn it off, I go back to some of my favorite music that played in the old School of the Silent Warrior. Jethro Tull, Joan Osborne, or some relaxing Native American flute music will do the trick.
So I can change the song in my head with just a little concentration. And it's more or less a loop of certain parts of the song that are present. I'm glad it's something I can deal with , especially if I get a song from a commercial in my head.
I've only mentioned this oddity to a couple friends. One of them will ask every once in a while "what's playing in your head"? I wonder if anybody else has this odd little tic. Right now I got Tom Petty's "I need to know" going on in my head, mostly the chorus. Good tune...
Monday, November 28, 2011
new workout
I have two pieces of strength training equipment I've been using off and on for some time now. I bought the Bowflex Selectech 552 Dumbbells 6 years ago. Great set of dumbbells. You can select the weight from 5 lbs. up to 52.5 lbs. This has made for some great workouts. The other piece of equipment was bought last year to mix things up. Called the Total Trainer, it's a knock off of the Total Gym that Chuck Norris has been peddling for the last ten years. Also a great piece of equipment. You can use your own weight for resistance/strength training.
Both great pieces of equipment, but I'm getting bored with certain workouts. The big challenge I gave myself with the dumbbells was the bench press. Using the max weight of 52.5 lbs in each hand, I could perform up to 50 reps. Incredible burn. Took me a while to get up to that max rep set, and with particular attention to safety and good form. Feel like I've plateaued here, and that increasing the reps would be almost counterproductive.
On the Total Trainer, I'm enjoying the pullup bar stuff, but otherwise don't like the bench pressing exercises on the machine. Now I keep the dumbbells at work, and the Total Trainer at home.
Recently I tried doing some pushups with my girlfriends four year old on my back. I could only do five. Pathetic! Granted that's an extra 45 lbs on me, and I'm way overweight for my 5'10 stocky frame at 275 lbs. (actually, I might be down to 270 now, still...). So with my renewed interest in getting back into what I call "kung fu shape", I'm trying a few new strength training programs, based on using my own weight.
I found a website, http://hundredpushups.com/ that has a handful of programs for increasing your strength with your own body weight. The pushup component has a challenge of being able to complete 100 consecutive good pushups with training in six or more weeks. Starting that, along with the dips and squat component today. I'm also going to alternate using the dumbbells and total trainer for back and bicep exercises like pullups, rows and curls.
I figure these will give me some new goals I can attain, along with trying to slim down and increase my flexibility. Of course, being a former chef, the most difficult part of my training will be eating healthier meals along with portion control.
... in other news
The motorcycle is put away :(
Christmas tree goes up this week :)
Both great pieces of equipment, but I'm getting bored with certain workouts. The big challenge I gave myself with the dumbbells was the bench press. Using the max weight of 52.5 lbs in each hand, I could perform up to 50 reps. Incredible burn. Took me a while to get up to that max rep set, and with particular attention to safety and good form. Feel like I've plateaued here, and that increasing the reps would be almost counterproductive.
On the Total Trainer, I'm enjoying the pullup bar stuff, but otherwise don't like the bench pressing exercises on the machine. Now I keep the dumbbells at work, and the Total Trainer at home.
Recently I tried doing some pushups with my girlfriends four year old on my back. I could only do five. Pathetic! Granted that's an extra 45 lbs on me, and I'm way overweight for my 5'10 stocky frame at 275 lbs. (actually, I might be down to 270 now, still...). So with my renewed interest in getting back into what I call "kung fu shape", I'm trying a few new strength training programs, based on using my own weight.
I found a website, http://hundredpushups.com/ that has a handful of programs for increasing your strength with your own body weight. The pushup component has a challenge of being able to complete 100 consecutive good pushups with training in six or more weeks. Starting that, along with the dips and squat component today. I'm also going to alternate using the dumbbells and total trainer for back and bicep exercises like pullups, rows and curls.
I figure these will give me some new goals I can attain, along with trying to slim down and increase my flexibility. Of course, being a former chef, the most difficult part of my training will be eating healthier meals along with portion control.
... in other news
The motorcycle is put away :(
Christmas tree goes up this week :)
Monday, November 7, 2011
Warmth
Winter is coming , or it's already here, depending on various views. With that comes the bitter New England cold. Planning for keeping warm in the winter is a new thing for me. I've only been a homeowner two years now. Before that I was lucky to always have an apartment with heat and hot water included. Rarely did I have any issues with a cold apartment. Overall I was pretty lucky with my landlords.
The first winter with an oil furnace was an eye opener. I couldn't believe how quickly the tank could get used up. And the price for heating oil was phenomenal when all added up. Now, my house is only 1080 square feet, so when I bought the place I figured it really wouldn't be all that expensive to heat. Still amazed at how often I had to fill the tank in the winter. When I bought the place, the oil furnace was brand new, and used forced hot water to old 1950's styled baseboard in the rooms. No heat in the basement itself.
Recently our town was given a federal grant/office to improve overall home heating efficiency. The Better Buildings program provides 1% loans on projects to increase/improve the insulation, efficiency, and heating sources of homes. Also a part of this is PSNH, the utility company providing up to half the costs for estimated projects up to $4000 on their end.
To get started, I met with Cimbria, the person running the office of the program, which gave me a questionnaire to figure out how much fuel/electricity I was using. Calculations put in, and my home was deemed on the high end of being inefficient.
The next step was to pay $100 to have an efficiency expert come in and find all the "leaks" in my house. This was part of the PSNH step. The expert, Melissa, came in and applied this big door fan to my kitchen door. This door would signal in spots where there could be leaks with noticing the air passing through.
I received my assessment in the mail, and a couple weeks later an assessment from a contracting company that's approved by the program sent me their assessment with what each aspect would cost, with particulars to how much PSNH would cover. I got some free stuff coming to me. As my cost was about $3400, and PSN would cover the remainder at about $3700. Not bad at all.
My good friends Leane and Tracy Rexford had recently had these same contractors in due similar type of work through the Better Buildings program. The results for them were good, as they're already noticing a significant difference in how well their home is staying heated while using less fuel. However, the contracting crews were quite messy when they were done, and actually caused some damage to some of their first floor ceilings. Last I heard, the contracting company is either going to reimburse my friends of simply fix their mistakes.
The same contractors are coming this month on the 21st. I've exchanged a few emails with the owner of the company, and I've been informed the stuff for my house will take two days, three at most. I'm looking forward to this getting done, especially since recently filling the oil tank and using the heat daily again.
With all that insulating/tightening of the house going on, I'm also using the Better Buildings loan to add on an alternative heating source, a wood pellet stove. As I mentioned before, there's no actual heat source in my basement. So I decided on the right spot for a wood pellet stove to go. That's set to be installed on December 14th. The one I've picked out is a Harmon P43, which can heat up to 1500 square feet. With installation that will cost about $3200. A friend of my father's came by to give me some advice and tell me what it'd be like once I got the stove started. which gave me some ideas and only strengthened by resolve to get one in soon.
Now I'm excited. So by mid December I should have a much more efficient home with a better radiant heat source. And when all is said and done will be paid for with a 1% loan of about $6700. This will be like a small car loan, which I can handle a lot better than the ridiculous amounts I was paying for just heating with oil in a badly insulated home. Looking forward to using a lot less oil. Especially with these companies that jack up their prices and show record profits.
The first winter with an oil furnace was an eye opener. I couldn't believe how quickly the tank could get used up. And the price for heating oil was phenomenal when all added up. Now, my house is only 1080 square feet, so when I bought the place I figured it really wouldn't be all that expensive to heat. Still amazed at how often I had to fill the tank in the winter. When I bought the place, the oil furnace was brand new, and used forced hot water to old 1950's styled baseboard in the rooms. No heat in the basement itself.
Recently our town was given a federal grant/office to improve overall home heating efficiency. The Better Buildings program provides 1% loans on projects to increase/improve the insulation, efficiency, and heating sources of homes. Also a part of this is PSNH, the utility company providing up to half the costs for estimated projects up to $4000 on their end.
To get started, I met with Cimbria, the person running the office of the program, which gave me a questionnaire to figure out how much fuel/electricity I was using. Calculations put in, and my home was deemed on the high end of being inefficient.
The next step was to pay $100 to have an efficiency expert come in and find all the "leaks" in my house. This was part of the PSNH step. The expert, Melissa, came in and applied this big door fan to my kitchen door. This door would signal in spots where there could be leaks with noticing the air passing through.
I received my assessment in the mail, and a couple weeks later an assessment from a contracting company that's approved by the program sent me their assessment with what each aspect would cost, with particulars to how much PSNH would cover. I got some free stuff coming to me. As my cost was about $3400, and PSN would cover the remainder at about $3700. Not bad at all.
My good friends Leane and Tracy Rexford had recently had these same contractors in due similar type of work through the Better Buildings program. The results for them were good, as they're already noticing a significant difference in how well their home is staying heated while using less fuel. However, the contracting crews were quite messy when they were done, and actually caused some damage to some of their first floor ceilings. Last I heard, the contracting company is either going to reimburse my friends of simply fix their mistakes.
The same contractors are coming this month on the 21st. I've exchanged a few emails with the owner of the company, and I've been informed the stuff for my house will take two days, three at most. I'm looking forward to this getting done, especially since recently filling the oil tank and using the heat daily again.
With all that insulating/tightening of the house going on, I'm also using the Better Buildings loan to add on an alternative heating source, a wood pellet stove. As I mentioned before, there's no actual heat source in my basement. So I decided on the right spot for a wood pellet stove to go. That's set to be installed on December 14th. The one I've picked out is a Harmon P43, which can heat up to 1500 square feet. With installation that will cost about $3200. A friend of my father's came by to give me some advice and tell me what it'd be like once I got the stove started. which gave me some ideas and only strengthened by resolve to get one in soon.
Now I'm excited. So by mid December I should have a much more efficient home with a better radiant heat source. And when all is said and done will be paid for with a 1% loan of about $6700. This will be like a small car loan, which I can handle a lot better than the ridiculous amounts I was paying for just heating with oil in a badly insulated home. Looking forward to using a lot less oil. Especially with these companies that jack up their prices and show record profits.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Daily meditation
Over the past couple months I've tried a couple new things. First, I gave up diet soda. Now some people don't get this. "No calories, right?" Yes, actually, no calories, but I was starting to feel like all that fake sugar and and additional amounts of sodium could be better replaced with water.
I didn't go completely cold turkey. I might have a regular soda once every two weeks. I've been amazed at how well I've been able to hold back, since I used to have nearly two liters of diet cola a day. About six weeks into dropping the fake sugar kick I tried a diet cola again. It was ok... just ok. This time I noticed how fake the sugar tasted. So that habit is officially kicked.
The other new thing has been daily meditation. I've made it a habit to take about fifteen minutes to sit, close my eyes, concentrate on my breathing and clear my head. Sometimes it's indian style on the floor, sometimes sitting in a chair.
There are variations I use as far as the mindset. Sometimes it's to concentrate on my breathing. Other times I'll focus on an imaginary glowing blue ball of energy in my hands that I can shrink or expand at my whim. And then there's concentrating on my center, the imaginary spot about two inches below the naval that in various martial arts is known as the human center.
Also, once a week I'll do some self Reiki as part of my meditation. For those not familiar with Reiki, it's sort of a spiritual way of "palm healing", with you're palms situated over areas on your body. Some people go overboard with it with the whole "healing hands" thing like it's gonna magically cure cancer or something. It won't. Not by itself really, but studies have shown some higher percentages for curing disease if people are happier and/or less stressed, which meditation and/or Reiki can help with.
As a medical professional, if you're sick, get yourself checked out by an actual medical doctor. Just sayin'...
Anyway, this has been good for me. I've kicked one habit and restarted another I'd only rarely done in the past. I've found myself to be just a little bit more calm, and more centered in my life.
Strangely enough, I've been handing out more beatings to the BOB (my body opponent bag). I'm starting to wonder if I'd be better off filling it with sand instead of water, as I'm finding it easier to slowly push away the bag with my kicks and hand strikes. I use these slow strikes to start as a sort of warm up before I move onto faster hitting. I find it helps with the focus of where and how I strike a particular target on the bag.
Hope everyone out there is enjoying the autumn season, even with the recent snow. Peace, love and all that jive...
I didn't go completely cold turkey. I might have a regular soda once every two weeks. I've been amazed at how well I've been able to hold back, since I used to have nearly two liters of diet cola a day. About six weeks into dropping the fake sugar kick I tried a diet cola again. It was ok... just ok. This time I noticed how fake the sugar tasted. So that habit is officially kicked.
The other new thing has been daily meditation. I've made it a habit to take about fifteen minutes to sit, close my eyes, concentrate on my breathing and clear my head. Sometimes it's indian style on the floor, sometimes sitting in a chair.
There are variations I use as far as the mindset. Sometimes it's to concentrate on my breathing. Other times I'll focus on an imaginary glowing blue ball of energy in my hands that I can shrink or expand at my whim. And then there's concentrating on my center, the imaginary spot about two inches below the naval that in various martial arts is known as the human center.
Also, once a week I'll do some self Reiki as part of my meditation. For those not familiar with Reiki, it's sort of a spiritual way of "palm healing", with you're palms situated over areas on your body. Some people go overboard with it with the whole "healing hands" thing like it's gonna magically cure cancer or something. It won't. Not by itself really, but studies have shown some higher percentages for curing disease if people are happier and/or less stressed, which meditation and/or Reiki can help with.
As a medical professional, if you're sick, get yourself checked out by an actual medical doctor. Just sayin'...
Anyway, this has been good for me. I've kicked one habit and restarted another I'd only rarely done in the past. I've found myself to be just a little bit more calm, and more centered in my life.
Strangely enough, I've been handing out more beatings to the BOB (my body opponent bag). I'm starting to wonder if I'd be better off filling it with sand instead of water, as I'm finding it easier to slowly push away the bag with my kicks and hand strikes. I use these slow strikes to start as a sort of warm up before I move onto faster hitting. I find it helps with the focus of where and how I strike a particular target on the bag.
Hope everyone out there is enjoying the autumn season, even with the recent snow. Peace, love and all that jive...
Monday, October 31, 2011
One of the last good rides of the year
Last week I decided to go for a quick motorcycle ride to the cafe in Gorham. Maybe have a bite to eat with some good coffee. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised by who I might run into at the cafe. This time as I rode by I all of a sudden had an urge for a long ride. Rolling past the cafe, I noticed no vehicles parked there despite the open flag. That did it for me, I'll hit the cafe later.
I decided to take loop that I'd never taken before. I headed towards Bethel, ME on Rte 2 East. From there I took Rte 26 North up through Grafton Notch and back to NH into Errol, where I stopped by LL Cote, the center of the town. Finally I decided to ride past home and to the cafe.
I was taking a chance with a 20% chance of rain. But the skies looked friendly enough. I was covered well in my heavy leather jacket, gauntlet winter leather gloves with fleece lining and my full faced helmet. Temps in the 50's, but my gear kept me warm. Roads were nice and clear. This time of year you especially need to be on the lookout for wet leaves in the road. I've picked up people that have been taken out by such conditions.
Grafton Notch was an excellent route. Riding through the mountains is beautiful any time of year, but the Autumn brings the best colors. Riding through made me want to check out the hiking trails at some point. Thanks to the internet I can get a good idea of what would do well for Marjie and I and possibly the little one.
Granted we're at the end of the riding season, but I'm hoping I have one more good riding day left before winterize the VTX for the winter. Maybe a ride up through Dixville Notch. We'll see. The weather's been wacky lately.
I decided to take loop that I'd never taken before. I headed towards Bethel, ME on Rte 2 East. From there I took Rte 26 North up through Grafton Notch and back to NH into Errol, where I stopped by LL Cote, the center of the town. Finally I decided to ride past home and to the cafe.
I was taking a chance with a 20% chance of rain. But the skies looked friendly enough. I was covered well in my heavy leather jacket, gauntlet winter leather gloves with fleece lining and my full faced helmet. Temps in the 50's, but my gear kept me warm. Roads were nice and clear. This time of year you especially need to be on the lookout for wet leaves in the road. I've picked up people that have been taken out by such conditions.
Grafton Notch was an excellent route. Riding through the mountains is beautiful any time of year, but the Autumn brings the best colors. Riding through made me want to check out the hiking trails at some point. Thanks to the internet I can get a good idea of what would do well for Marjie and I and possibly the little one.
Granted we're at the end of the riding season, but I'm hoping I have one more good riding day left before winterize the VTX for the winter. Maybe a ride up through Dixville Notch. We'll see. The weather's been wacky lately.
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