Archives for 2007

A mighty fine day for some XC Skiing

December 5, 2007 by Michael

Yesterday it snowed about 12-14 inches. Overnight we got around another 2 inches of the fluffiest snow you’ve ever seen. All that new snow made me want to XC Ski somewhere so I headed out to one of my favorite spots, Bear Swamp at the south end of Skaneateles Lake.

Bear Swamp is a New York State Forest and has miles of trails, for skiing and snowmobiling. Most are segregated, so you don’t have to worry about getting plowed over by a snowmobiler, but today none of the machines were out, and it was a skiing paradise.

Bear Swamp skiing Since this was new snow, and since there hadn’t been many other skiers out there today, most of the trails were completely unbroken which made things a little more challenging. There was so much snow hanging from the trees and covering the trail markers, it made navigation a bit difficult. But it was beautiful nonetheless.

Bear Swamp skiing

The weather guy says more snow for the next several days so it looks like more skiing is in my future… how about you?

Happy Thanksgiving

November 26, 2007 by Michael

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! My thoughts were focused on the son (David Seaman) of a friend of mine who is serving our country in Iraq. I could not help but to reflect on the significance of his sacrifice while I am my family were enjoying a bountiful feast in the comfort of our home. The reality of what David was experiencing was in such stark contrast to what I was experiencing. I pray for him daily. Our troops need our support.

This Thanksgiving was spent at my In-Laws. It’s sort of become tradition that I am the one responsible for cooking the turkey. This year I decided to try something completely radical and chose to deep-fry the turkey. This was not a decision that was made without a serious amount of consideration because if I were to fail at my task and deliver a less than perfect turkey to the table, I’d have 30 really hungry people to deal with. So yes, I was a bit nervous about this undertaking. I put in my due diligence and researched as best I could the process by which you deep-fry a turkey.

You’ve probably seen the contraptions that are sold just for this purpose. A large aluminum pot sits on top of a propane burner/stand. You put in the proper amount of vegetable oil, heat it to 375 degrees, gently lower the turkey into the oil then reduce the oil temperature to 325 and let it fry away for about an hour. Technically you let it cook for 3 minutes per pound up to 15 pounds, or 3.5 minutes per pound for a turkey over 15 pounds. Our turkey was 19.5 pounds and it took about 70 minutes to cook. Very little preparation was done except for rubbing the cavity and the outside of the turkey with a poultry seasoning. Other than that nothing else was done.

The end result was a complete success. It was one of the tastiest turkeys I’ve ever eaten. Everyone agreed that it was really moist and extremely flavorful. You might think that it would leave some kind of greasy taste in your mouth, but there was none of that whatsoever. I think I’ll have to do that again and can heartily suggest if you’re looking for a different way to cook your next turkey, give deep-frying a go. It’s well worth the effort.

Here’s most of the group that got to enjoy the feast…

Back in the saddle again.

October 6, 2007 by Michael

I love to ride. I bought a Fuji Roubaix road bike in 2001 and log about 1200 miles a year on the thing. I should say “logged”, past tense, because three weeks ago I discovered a crack in one of the chain stay tubes, the one closest to the chainrings near the bottom bracket. This came as a complete shock to me and I immediately stopped riding the bike since to continue riding it would have been to court disaster.

As I began to mull over my options, it occurred to me that maybe the frame was still under warranty. I went to the Fuji website and was elated to discover that their frames have a Limited Lifetime Warranty. Don’t even get me started on legal mumbo jumbo that let’s something like a “limited” “lifetime” warranty even exist. But I was psyched. My elation soon turned to dismay when I discovered that -my- frame, in 2001, only had a 3-year warranty on the frame. Bummer.

Well, I’m a huge Fuji fan and just loved my Roubaix. It was in excellent condition, other than the cracked frame, and I decided that it could do no harm to call Fuji and speak to the warranty department and tell them my story of woe. I figured that since the bike had obviously not been abused and since the crack occurred right along the weld at the bottom bracket, perhaps they would view this as a manufacture defect even though it was technically out of warranty. The person I spoke to at Fuji told me that the bike dealer where I purchased the bike would have to call for an RMA and send the frame in so it could be evaluated. I called the dealer where I originally bought the bike, Swan Cycles, and spoke to Glenn Swan about my predicament. He called Fuji and after discussing the situation with them, Fuji decided that Glenn might only have to email them a photo of the crack rather than ship the entire frame back to them. Things were starting to look up.

So I don’t quite know what the result of all this will be yet, but in the meantime I had bought a new frame on eBay. I don’t know much about frames, especially road bike frames. I had been told that I should look at a Soma Smoothie or Surly Pacer frame. I wanted to get a steel frame as they typically are a bit more forgiving and consequently have a smoother ride than an Aluminum frame such as I had in the Roubaix. I visited eBay to see what was up for sale and stumbled upon a Jamis Eclipse frame up for auction. I swooped in at the last second and put in my bid for $325 and won! It was a frame value at about $950. What a sweet deal!

There was a problem when the frame was received. The all carbon fork that came with the frame was not the correct fork for the frame. So several frantic calls and emails between the seller (who was in Mexico on vacation), Jamis, and my bike mechanic ultimately resulted on a positive note. Jamis sold my dealer the appropriate fork (still carbon) and my dealer kept the old fork for his stock. The old fork was technically a better fork since it was 100% carbon whereas the replaced fork did not have a carbon steerer tube, but otherwise was carbon.

I had my mechanic move all the components from the Roubaix over to the new Jamis Eclipse frame. It’s an awesome fram, with carbon seat and chain stays, and the carbon fork. The bike is built and I picked it up last night from the shop. This morning I took it out on it’s inagural voyage and was just blown away by the difference in handling and the smoothness of ride. Like night and day. The weather today is fantastic, about as perfect a fall day as you could hope for and the ride was great.

By the way, I can’t say enough positive things about Swan Cycles. Glenn is a legend in cycling circles and he is one of the most knowledgeable people around when it comes to discussing bikes. You can’t beat his prices either. If you’re in the market for a bike or just looking for a good mechanic to fix your bike, give Glenn a call: (607) 277-0495.

Here’s my new bike in all it’s glory.
Newly built Jamis Eclipse

The Grape Festival, Naples, NY

October 5, 2007 by Michael

Last weekend, Sept 28-30, was the weekend of the Grape Festival in Naples, NY. This is a really fun event to attend and it is well attended, believe me. Someone told me that the crowd on Saturday was estimated to be 80,000. That’s pretty remarkable especially when you consider that the New York State Fair, on a good day, will get about the same number of attendees.

My in-laws live nearby in Wayland, NY and so my wife and I hopped in the car to visit them and attend the Grape Festival. As those of you who saw me on Bridge Street a couple months ago know, my Mother-in-law makes an awesome Grape Pie. A Grape Pie is largely unheard of outside of grape growing regions such as the Finger Lakes, so for many people, it’s a very unique taste sensation. It was a lot of work but we finally convinced my Mother-in-law to enter one of her pies in the Grape Pie contest. Here is her entry form and pie.

Here are some photos of the whole clan and the judging of the pies.

I need to point out that the dog, Owen, had nothing to do with the judging or eating of the Grape Pie. He was there for entertainment purposes only. Owen is what is called a “designer dog.” I believe a cross between a poodle and a schnauzer. Maybe a “schnoodle”? Are you chuckling right now? Weren’t mixed breeds called “mutts” or something before this “designer dog” business started? Whatever…

Owen is one of the cutest dogs around no matter what he is. We love Owen! How can you not just adore this cute face?

An exciting thing that happened while the family was at the festival. A television crew from a Rochester New York Public television station was there. They followed my Mother-in-law through the process of entering her pie, to her reactions throughout the judging process. It was really fun and will be part of special series to be aired on public television in the Early Spring of 2008.

There are a lot of other things going on at the Grape Festival… a great variety of arts and crafts, grape stomping, food vendors, live music at a number of stages throughout Naples and lots and lots of fun. The weather this year could not have been better.

Oh and by the way, the judging did not go as well as we had hoped… my Mother-in-laws pie did not win the contest. Obviously the judges were off their game and being distracted by the crowd because there was absolutely no question whatsoever, as far as the family was concerned, that my Mother-in-laws pie was absolutely the best pie in the competition. Seriously. I would not lie or exaggerate about something as serious as a grape pie. She does make the best grape pie I have ever tasted. I hope she makes me another pie soon. Please mother-in-law, please make me another grape pie? MMMMMMMmmmmmmmm.

Canoe trip to Algonquin Park: Ontario, Canada

September 8, 2007 by Michael

Dave Olson, my old high school buddy and long-time friend, and I trekked to Algonquin Park for an incredible late-summer vacation. Algonquin Provincial Park is located in Ontario, Canada and the southern edge of the park is about 4 hours north of Toronto.
Dave and I have traveled to Algonquin many times over the years. This was trip number 12 or 13 as best I can recall at my advanced age. On August 15, 2007, we loaded our gear and supplies, put the Canoe on top of Dave’s Ford Explorer and decided we’d take a rest then leave around midnight. Well, after an “alarm malfunction” which was actually operator error on my part, we awoke at 1:30am which put us a bit behind schedule. Grabbing a couple cups of coffee, we headed off to the North country at 2:00AM.

Usually we drive through Buffalo, across the Peace Bridge and then around through Toronto up to the park. This year we drove through the Thousand Islands of New York and found the trip much more pleasant. There was far less traffic on the Thousand Islands route and the trip through Customs and across the bridge to Canada was far less congested as well. We left at 2:00AM to further minimize the traffic hassle and also to enable us to get on the water at a reasonably early time. About three hours into our trip after crossing the border, we were greeted with a magnificent sunrise. Ahhh, what a great way to start a vacation!

We had decided to enter the park on the North side at the Brent entrance. We got to the Park office around 8:30AM, obtained our park pass and continued on to Brent. It’s about a 40km drive down a rough logging road to reach Cedar Lake and although the road has improved greatly over the years, it’s still a dirt road with lots of washboard which makes for a bumpy ride.

Once arriving at “downtown Brent” we walked around a bit just to ease back into the memories. Not much has changed over the years… the train station and tracks were removed 6 or 7 years ago, but beyond that, it was Brent, just as we had remembered it. The small, rustic store was still there and it was basically unchanged. We put the canoe in the water and loaded it with our gear as quickly as possible. We were eager to get underway and make camp. We’ve been on this lake numerous times and were familiar with many of the campsites on it. Our favorite campsite, that we were hoping to stay on, is located on an island at the far end of the lake. It is near the inflowing Petawawa river and we were making a beeline to it. It was a 2 hour paddle and as we approached the island, all the great memories of past trips came flooding back to us. Ah, it was great to be “back home.”

Once we arrived at our island destination, we had a couple hours to make camp and relax. However, it soon became apparent by the thickening clouds, that rain was heading our way. We scrambled and got the tent up just in the knick of time before a fairly strong, but brief, storm passed by. Dave’s tent has seen better days and as the rivulets of water started forming on the tent floor, all we could hope for was that the rain would stop soon. Fortnuately it did and the day ended with an incredible double rainbow appearing simultaneously with an equally incredible sunset.

Our days were filled with day trips to various portages on Cedar lake. One of the best was the trip to the Petawawa river. It’s just beautiful to hike the portage. Soon you hear a roar that is the rapids of the Petawawa river. A short jaunt down a side trail drops you off at the edge of the rapids where you’re greeted by a 35 foot waterfall.

Now let’s talk about food. Dave and I decided long ago that this trip was not going to be a traveling trip. In other words, we could bring a lot of “stuff” with us since we weren’t going to be doing any portages with our “stuff”. So when I say we brought stuff, I mean we brought comfy folding nylon chairs, nylon hammocks, coolers filled with food and generally more food. We had marinated grilled chicken, porterhouse steak, chili, spaghetti with meat sauce, corn on the cob, polish sausage and last but not least, SPAMÂ®. There is nothing like Spam on a stick cooked over an open fire. Ummm Ummm good. And we washed it all down with some wine. Hey, we weren’t messing around, this was serious business.

The weather cooperated with us quite nicely. Rain the first day, then nothing but beautiful weather for the rest of our time there. The lake water temperature was just fine for swimming and swim we did. Night skies were filled with stars and the moon rose late, so it really helped with the star gazing. We paddled to land nearby our island and stockpiled plenty of wood for our morning and evening fires and spent some excellent time reminiscing by the fires at night.

During the days, we either took day trips or spent quality time in our most excellent hammocks. These things are the best camping equipment money can buy, in my opinion. Nothing like spending a few hours in the ‘ol hammock on a nice summer day in paradise.

Ahhh, so relaxing and such a good time. Here are a few more photos of the trip…

New York State Festival of Balloons-Labor Day Weekend

September 7, 2007 by Michael

Click on any thumbnail for a larger version

Wow, what an event! This was the second year in a row that my wife and I were able to attend the Festival of Balloons in Dansville, NY. Last year we did not go onto the grounds but parked in a side lot and viewed the balloon launch from quite a distance away. Although that was nice, this year we went right into the festival and were literally a few feet away from the balloons as they were launching. It was spectacular.

The night we were there was the last launch of the weekend and I believe that there were over 40 balloons in the air at one point. Once the balloon launching started, one, two or three balloons were going up almost at the same time and this continued for quite a while. At first, the balloons are laying on the ground and the crew starts blowing air into them with large fans to partially fill them. Once that has been done, they begin to carefully turn on the propane flame and they begin filling the balloon with hot air which then begins to make the balloon buoyant enough to start rising until it has been fully inflated.

At that point, the crew is holding onto ropes, keeping the balloon tethered until it is time to release it… or until they begin to be lifted off the ground, whichever comes first apparently.

There was a gentle breeze to the North East so as soon as the balloons were air-born, they began drifting towards the ridge just opposite the Dansville Airport. It was kind of scary to watch because as some of the balloons approached the ridge, they appeared to be caught in a downdraft and it looked from our vantage point that they were in danger of scraping the treetops. I’m really not sure whether it was an optical illusion or whether they actually were that close to the trees.

I was strongly considering taking a balloon ride this year but when I checked out the price ($200 per person) I decided against it. Not that I think that is too much money…it just wasn’t in the wallet that’s all. When you think about it, $200 for an hour or so ride is probably a good deal. Seeing as it costs me $15 just to fill up my dinky propane tank for my grill, I’m sure the cost of propane alone for a flight is pretty significant. Maybe next year!

The weather this year could not have been better. There was not a cloud in the sky. It was just a perfect blue and with a gentle breeze. What a great event. I highly recommend you try and attend the Balloon Festival one of these years. It’s always held on Labor Day Weekend and this year marked the 26th Anniversary of the event.

Here are a few more photos of the balloons…