Show and Tell

I would like to take a second to thank members of bike forums, beginner triathlete, my Facebook friends, twitter followers, and of course any of the Becoming Timberman readers who voted for my entry in the most recent USA Triathlon photo caption contest. To all of you I say thank you very much for the fantastic new gear. Here's a pic of me on the way home from Saturday's ride sporting the awesome Rudy Project Zuma helmet and Noyz sunglasses.

Don't be afraid of the guy in shades, oh no.

The way home from Saturday's ride you ask? Shouldn't I be on a bike instead of a train you ask? We had a nice long 45 mile ride planned for Saturday, and Rach had the great idea to have our ride be by the beach so we could at least look at the ocean if we weren't going to be in it. This meant some planning as our closest access to the ocean is by the shipping area of Boston Harbor. Not exactly the kind of scenery we were looking for.

Instead we travelled Northeast towards Revere Beach, a place we'd heard nice things about but hadn't been to yet as it's a little off our beaten path. So off our path, we had no idea how to get in it's general direction without being on the expressway. "Thankfully", we were able to find our way thanks to Google Maps bicycle directions. 

Thankfully is in quotes because while it might be the only way to get there without riding on the highway, driving back roads by the airport freight district is not what I call a safe cycling environment. The freeway might have been more fun than bad roads surrounded by semi trucks. But we made it over and found gorgeous Revere Beach

I did not take this picture

At only 18 miles ridden at this point, we still had a way to go, so we decided to head further out towards the point you can almost see in the far right of the photo. This meant venturing out towards Lynn, MA. The town area of Lynn, MA has the distinction of being one of the least cycle friendly areas I've seen here in Massachusetts. The main drag is full of cars driving 50+ with narrow lanes, and the sidewalks are crumbling relics of a day long gone.

The journey is a worthwhile one as the far side of Lynn reveals a huge stretch of open beach lined bike path making it's way to Swampscott, the town out on the point. Unfortunately, we didn't go as far as the path does, because Rach had started feeling dizzy from the effort in the heat. Thankfully, right there on the beach was a nice smoothie station where we were able to get some extra cold refreshment, hit the restroom, refill our bottles, and rest for a bit. 

Rach still wasn't feeling 100%, and out of cash, we decided to make an easy ride back to Revere Beach where we could find a place to get some more refreshments (I never leave the house without my debit card), and figure out if we could carry on or not. Back at the beach, and an ice cream cone and some water later, Rach said she couldn't ride the whole way back. It's a good thing Revere Beach is only a mile or so away from one of the stops of the Blue Line, the train that takes people from downtown out to Lynn and Back. Even better, it's one of the trains that allows bicycles.

The blue line ends in the middle of downtown and the Green Line that takes us near our apartment doesnt allow bikes. By then, Rach was recovered enough to ride the rest of the way back to the house. In total 30 miles, but some fun and some worry mixed in. We'll do another long bike this week before the honeymoon.

Notes: 

- I was home sick from work today, but I've been feeling slowly better throughout the day. Shouldn't impact our training too much, but I definitely wasn't ready to run or swim this morning.

- My Team Tyler t-shirt arrived last week, and I'm just now getting a chance to get a picture up. It even fits which is nice. I'm definitely going to wear it the day of Ironman Canada, before and after our race at Cranberry Olympic.