Preserving and Protecting your early Datsun Z

Owning a vintage car is not the same as owning a modern automobile. While modern cars still require maintenance, the maintenance intervals are often less frequent.  You can drive a modern car day in and day out without having  to do all that much and your car's onboard computer will often warn you of problems.

If you own a first generation Z (S30, 1970-1978) at this point your car is 40+ years old, with the earliest 240Zs rapidly approaching the 50-year mark.

The early Z benefits from regular use

Your Z's maintenance and care may not have been such a big issue back in 1972, because by 1972 standards the Z was fairly well engineered and built to be reliable. Daily use would benefit the Z and any problems that cropped up with mechanical components would be addressed as they happened.

Vintage cars are fighting two battles: first they are old, which means that many of the original components and systems may be old and subject to failure, for example, a 40-year old wiring harness. Second, vintage cars are typically driven very few miles and can sit for extended periods of time (including winter storage) and lack of use and storage causes multiple problems. These two battles exist regardless if your car is original or restored, as a restored car will begin to deteriorate over time, and restorations always vary in quality and extensiveness. 

At this point, if you have an early Z, you now have an investment that could be worth $15-50k and its a wise decision to protect your investment. Here are some things that you can do:

1. Look at the owners manual and the factory service recommendations and try to follow them. When your Z is no longer your primary vehicle, it is easy to over look simple maintenance items because the thought train is that "I'm not putting many miles on this car, so it doesn't need much attention." Many service items will specify mileage OR age, which means that you need to replace your antifreeze at 24,000 miles OR two years, which ever comes first.  It's not likely you will drive 24,000 miles, so pay more attention now to the time intervals.

2. Your Z has grease fittings- use them!  At the time you do an oil change, this is the time to inject grease into the grease fittings on the front end and rear axles. You should cover the front ball joints, tie rod ends and rack and pinion grease ports. At the rear of the car, the 4 universal joints. Note that for the U-joints, a needle type grease fitting will be much easier to use than the nipple type. If your tie rods don't have grease ports, you can still inject grease under the boot with a special needle injector.

3. Bleed your brakes and clutch, at least every 2 years. Brakes are a major system on the Z and you will have nothing but problems with your hydraulic system if you leave old brake fluid in for too long. Standard glycol brake fluid absorbs moisture and will eventually damage the master cylinder, calipers and wheel cylinders.  If your Z is driven very little and stored frequently consider using DOT5 silicone fluid, which is a better choice for show cars.

4. Upgrade your alternator and install headlight relays. The stock alternator on the Z was relatively low output (45A) and also used an external (technical) voltage regulator. You will notice on early Z's that the headlights may dim at idle and get brighter as rpm go up. You can actually run down the battery running the blower motor at full speed, with the headlamps on.  If you've added a newer car stereo that will draw more power, as will any halogen headlamps.  I can't promise this will happen to you, but at one point my very old voltage regulator stuck causing very high voltage surge which blew out almost every bulb on the car. This included both headlights, marker lamps, tail lights etc. The worst of this was the instrument lamps. If you've ever replaced the instrument lamps on a 240, you will know what I mean. Do yourself a favor, upgrade to a 60A alternator with an internal voltage regulator.  Adding headlight relays will also save your headlight switch and fuse box from damaging heat and current. These are relatively inexpensive upgrades that will protect your electrical system from future havoc.

5.  Fix little problems before they become big ones. That small oil or coolant leak won't get better on its own. If the car is losing coolant, you risk overheating and warping the cylinder head. Similarly make sure your sending units (temp. and oil pressure) are operating properly and remember to scan them when you're driving. 

6. Replace in pairs. For items that have a left and right, when one unit fails the other is not far behind.  If your LH front caliper goes bad, you should replace both the left and the right. Always do struts in pairs, although you don't need to do the front and rear at the same time, you can space these out over a year or two if you wish. 

7. Replace items at the end of their lifespan or before. If you know a certain component has a limited lifespan, for example a radiator hose, don't wait for it to fail. Just replace it by virtue of the fact that it is old. The same goes for fuel tank hoses, and any fuel hoses under the hood, which are subject to more heat.

8.  Replace or restore multiple systems together if it saves you time vs. doing them independently. For example, if you need to replace your header or exhaust manifold, that is a great time to rebuild your carbs.  Or if you need to rebuild the carbs, and your headers are old, it will be much more work to do them later.  When it comes time to do rear struts, that is a great time to also do the stub axle bearings, and rear control arm bushings.  By combining these jobs you will save time and money in the long run and have better reliability.

9. Refinish assemblies when they are out.  Because your Z has gone up so much in value, and isn't being driven that much, it's a great idea to refinish components (either by power coating, or using POR) on suspension components, subframe assemblies etc.  This is more work, time and money but you will be preserving your car for years to come by refinishing these components. 

10. Get your Z up on a lift. This should be done regularly, at least annually to inspect all systems from under the car- exhaust, engine, trans. , differential carrier, brakes etc. You will see hidden problems before they leave you on the side of the road.

11. Drive your car! Your car will go bad from sitting too much. Fuel turns to varnish. Seals dry out. My '71 was barely driven 1,000 miles in 10 years. Here is what went bad: distributor (lack of regular oiling caused worn shaft bushings), brakes (wheel cylinders, calipers, master cylinder), fuel hoses (dry rot), carbs (gummed up), water pump failed (gasket dried out), oil pan leak.  Tires can also develop flat spots and will go bad just from age.  Try to drive your Z 2,000-5,000 miles a year. I realize that mileage can affect value, but if you let your car sit, you've spent money on something that you don't use, and it's systems will deteriorate further reducing your value!

12. Keep a maintenance journal. Keeping a record of what you have replaced or serviced will help you remember what to do in the future. You should also make notes of known problems that you plan to fix later on, so that you don't forget about them.

My First Concours D'Elegance

A Mercedes 190SL during Saturday's event


It was supposed to be a Datsun weekend. The plan was to drive the 240Z to Saratoga Springs early Saturday for the Hemmings Import & Exotic show.  But a host of mechanical problems including a sticking throttle and wandering steering kept me working on the Datsun through Friday. The final test drive on Friday was revealing; there was still a significant amount of exhaust fumes coming in the cabin, with the windows down. The thought of driving 3+ hours (each way) with fumes coming in the car was not enticing. I might be able to make it there with the windows up (no fumes) and the blower fan, but certainly not on the drive home at 2 pm, with temperatures in the 80s.

The decision was easy then, rather than 6 hours in the Datsun, I would take the SLK to a local Mercedes show in Northeastern CT, which was only a 1 hour drive each direction.  Because it was already past the deadline to enter the Concours as a judged vehicle, I was told I could enter "display class" which allows you to show your car on the same field, without judging and pay only $20, instead of the $85 for the judged competition.  The SLK needed no preparation other than vacuuming and a quick wash and detail.

I set out on Saturday morning with the top down, but it only took a few miles on Route 90, which was busy with summer traffic, including large trucks, to realize that the top needed to go up. I pulled off into Charlton Rest area, pushed a button and 22 seconds later I was driving an air conditioned coupe. Once getting off Rt 90 to 395 South, the traffic lightened and the drive was a bit more relaxing. After exiting the freeway for good, I dropped the top again and drove the final 9 miles on quiet country roads in a rural part of Eastern CT.

I'd only seen coverage of prestigious Concours events on TV or in magazines... Pebble beach, Amelia Island.  To show a car at those events you have to be invited, and only the most significant, rare cars enter.  Even to be a spectator at those shows will cost you at least $100.  All the car shows I'd entered to this point were "people's choice" meaning that there was no real judging and cars won based on votes from the attendees who voted by ballot.   At a typical Datsun show I'd seen a lot of modified cars, which run the gamut of typical mild performance upgrades all the way to radical V8 conversions. As of late though, I have seen more original or close to original cars at the shows.

Doing a factory correct restoration is a different endeavor, it requires time, research, learning and of course finding the correct parts (either reproduction or refurbished original). A few years ago there was a tendency to over-restore (i.e. better than new) but that is mostly gone now, as the judges are looking for cars as close to factory original as possible.  The best, and most valuable Concours quality cars are trailered to the shows and the hobby becomes more focused on events (i.e. shows) than on driving.

The Mercedes SL dates back to the 1950s, the first real SL being the 300SL gullwing. Less than 2,000 of these cars were produced, and it was followed by a roadster version that had standard doors.  When the powerful, racing oriented 300SL was retired, what followed was a much less powerful 190SL, which shared the body style.  With 190SL values already above $100k, restorers turned their attention to the 230, 250 and 280SL models, which used a fuel injected inline 6-cylinder engine. The 280SL is really more of a touring car than a sports car. It does have very clean lines and these models
A 280SL with "Pagoda" style  hardtop

are now also crossing the 100k mark.  I was told by one of the restorers, that the cost to restore an early 70s SL was over $100k.

The 380SL and newer 560SL are also crossing into collectability now. These cars were very expensive when new, and they are even more expensive now, for a good low mileage example or high quality restoration.


A restored engine bay on a 380SL V8 model.

Mercedes supports its hobbyists very well, and most factory parts for these old cars are still available- don't ask about the cost!  When you see the cars in  person  you realize the amount of time and effort needed to achieve these results.

So, the event was not "snooty" at all, despite what seemed like an army of white-shirted judges who descended on the cars like a swarm of bees, each with a clipboard taking notes of the interior, paint, trim and engine compartment. The scoring was done at the show, but the awards were not until the evening and I was long gone by then.

For the drive home, I checked the "avoid highways" on google maps, which increased the drive time from 60 min. to 80 min. but I was treated to some nice rural backroads in CT and MA rather than the monotonous view from the interstates.  On most of the back roads, the speed was 40-60 mph, but that made for a nice leisurely cruise home with the top down.

How to survive a ride with better riders

No matter what the sport, you will improve more quickly if you do it with others who have higher ability than you. I have found this to be true with skiing, tennis, running, hiking and cycling.  Aside from more experienced athletes who you can learn from, there is a motivating factor when you're in a group surrounded by higher level athletes.

Cycling is one of the few endurance sports that allows weaker riders to stay in a group with stronger riders, due to the nature of pack riding and drafting.  For example, if you know you can ride 40 miles solo at 16 mph, you might be able to do the same 40 miles at 19-20 mph if you draft off the other riders.  The trick is to this in a way that you can survive the distance of the ride and finish.

Here are a few tips and tricks I've learned over the years to do it:

1. Maximize your preparation. The other riders may be stronger than you even on their worst day, so you need to be at your best. You have a lot of control over your own preparation- such as rest, diet and hydration. Don't cook your legs with hard riding the day before, if you know you will be challenged by the pace. Make sure to eat enough breakfast and to properly hydrate the evening before the ride. Check your equipment- twice. During the ride you want to focus on your riding, not on issues with your bike. Get to the ride early enough so that you have plenty of time to stretch out and get dressed.

2. Underdress slightly. Why? Because you will likely be riding above your comfort zone and you don't want to get too hot.  You also may not have time to stop and remove clothing if the group is zooming along. Make sure you have enough food and water for the ride, and cash if the group stops.

3. Depending on the ride... warm up. Some rides have a 10 -20 min warmup, others start very fast. If you are the type of rider that doesn't fire on all cylinders until the first half-hour is over, then make sure you warm up either by riding to the start or getting their early and doing a warmup loop.

4. Size up the others. OK the ride's been going for 20 min, by now you can see who is smooth, who climbs well, who descends and corners well. You will also see which riders have trouble closing gaps, or are just antsy about staying tight on a wheel.  As soon as I notice riders who are letting gaps open, I go around them and glue on to the wheel of someone ahead of them.

5. Sit in.  Let the stronger riders do the bulk of the workload, believe me they won't mind, especially if they know you are of lower ability.  A common mistake is to feel that you need to keep taking pulls because the others are. No. Not until you're stronger.  If you decide to take a pull, make it a short one.

6. Use your body position and road positioning to maximize the draft. This is often overlooked, but extremely important.  Sitting on a wheel is not enough, you need to find the sweet spot where you have the least wind in your face. Move left or right as needed, stay as close as you can to the wheel in front of you.  When you are in the sweet spot you will feel a noticeable decrease in effort.  Stay low- on the drops if it helps you or if on the hoods bend your elbows to drop your torso. Keep your knees in. Keep your head level, not looking down which creates more resistance. Breathe.

7. SPIN! As in high cadence. I was watching the riders around me who at times were cranking out 275w and they were all spinning at least 90 rpm, some over 100.  Look at your heart rate... if there is room for it to go up and not be in the red zone, then increase cadence. Shift more load to your cardiovascular system and less load on your muscles. You will use your muscles on the climbs and later in the ride or if the pace bumps up and you need a big gear.  

8. Spin up climbs- at least some of them. A lot of riders attack the climbs, and generally in a group where you're one of the weaker riders the climbs may be where you suffer the most.  Try doing some of the more gradual climbs sitting and spinning a higher cadence. 

9. Keep drinking- liquid fuel. On a hard ride I prefer liquid fuel to solid. Eat your banana in the car. On a fast moving ride, maintain energy levels by drinking your sports drink every 10 min or so. Don't be fooled by colder weather. You are still sweating and you need water, electrolyte and sugar.  IN a fast moving pace line you may not have time to unwrap your Lara bar.  Do that when the group takes a break.

10. Go to the front. What? Didn't you say in #5 to sit in? Yes. But there can be times when going to the front works to your advantage. Much depends on the other riders. One benefit of going to the front is that YOU now control the pace. For example, on todays ride, there was one guy that was making it hard for everyone every time he came to the front. My HR was shooting up on the climbs, because he kept attacking the climbs.  So when he came off one of his monster pulls, I went to the front and kept the pace moderate. You can't slow the group too much, but believe me the other riders will often not complain if you ease it up slightly. I noticed that on the climbs, I was able to keep HR constant if I was at the front.  Another advantage of being at the front is that you can keep the pace more even. This is useful in a group that has too many surges or rapid changes in speed. Remember, its not always the pace that wears you down, it is each jump and acceleration. Riding at the front could be a way to recover slightly, if you do it at the right times.

11. Stay positive. Focus on the fact that you've survived this far. Do not focus on the fact that you may be suffering, in fact try to conceal your suffering. Keep your body language that says "I'm fine" even though you may not be fine.  Tell yourself, "OK if I can just crest this hill, I can recover..." and you will.  Much of whether you survive the ride will come from mental toughness. You may be stretched, you may go into the red zone, but at some point the other riders will ease up.

12. Avoid burning matches. Skip the sprints, the sprinters will sit up at the end of each sprint.  Focus on not losing contact with the wheel ahead as each time you need to close a gap means more energy expended. 

13. Remember your round pedal stroke? Use it. Again, a relatively fast circular pedaling motion is your best friend. If you find yourself struggling focus on that smooth pedal stroke. Use your hip flexors to reduce some load on the quads. 

14. Use your strengths to your advantage.  If you're a better climber, then use the climbs as your place to pull. If you're a big strong rider who is a locomotive, then you will be in your element on the longer flatter sections of the ride.  If you are a great descender, rip the descents. Its not that you're trying to drop the other riders, its more a mental game for you to show them that you're not totally useless.  If you can put the other riders into discomfort, they might be less likely to drill you. 

15. If you can't hang on the whole ride, you still did 50% or 75% of it. Do not view it as a failure. It may take several attempts until you can finish the entire distance without being dropped.

Changing it up

Capoolong Creek Trail, Pittstown NJ

The author discovers that the preferred road to Clinton isn't a road at all.

When I returned from the job interview in Fall River, Mass. (just outside of Providence, RI) I hung my suit jacket in the closet, where it will now gather dust until the next interview. It's funny how we put things away we seldom use, or hang them up.  Another thing on a hook was my mountain bike, which resided in the dark basement, with deflated tires and cobwebs amongst the spokes. 

Road season is drawing to an end, many have already switched over to 'cross. The group training rides are dwindling and more rides are now solo endeavors. With many road miles under my belt, and Monday an easy day, I decided to change things up and hauled the MTB up from the cellar.  I would ride the Capoolong Creek trail, which begins in Pittstown and take that to the Lower Landsdown trail all the way into Clinton. At that point, I would relax at Citispot with a cappuccino. 

The last time I rode Capoolong, it was on my 'cross bike, and the first couple miles were a bit dicey. The single track is rutted, there are large rocks and big tree roots. Right now those obstacles are being slowly concealed under a bed of leaves.  While I was able to get through Capoolong on a CX bike, I was never fully relaxed, spending much mental energy on where my front wheel was headed and getting out of the saddle to let the bike absorb the rocks and roots.  Enter the Mountain Bike.

The '99 specialized FSR XC is ancient by today's standards. 26 inch wheels, cantilever brakes. But that didn't really matter that much for Capoolong, which is relatively flat and not overly technical.  On a scale of 1 to 10 of difficulty, Capoolong is really only a 2.  While in my past life I did ride a mountain bike, fast, downhill over technical terrain, I seemed to have discovered self preservation and prefer less radical terrain than the contemporary hammer-head MTB crowd.  The full suspension Specialized was the perfect tool for this trail. With the plush ride and wider tires, I could pretty much pedal flat out and the bike did the rest. I blasted through the single track in a way that I simply couldn't have done on the CX bike. Rocks and roots were soaked up by the suspension and I discovered the harmony of flying through the woods on a single track as fast as my bike would allow.

Rewind to the train trip to Boston: when we got into Eastern Connecticut, the train was hitting 130 mph. It was quite a rush watching the countryside rip by at that speed. And the sensation of ripping single track is similar. With the trees or tall grasses closing in on you, it feels like you're going 100 miles an hour.  I looked down to see that I was really going about 20 mph.  With a mountain bike, you can relax a bit knowing that your bike will plow through ruts, rocks and branches. You can focus on your direction and pedal stroke. In short, it makes off road riding into much more of a Zen activity than a CX bike.

The trail widened out to a rail trail when I crossed Landsdown road. That is the spot where the spur railroad connected into the Lehigh Valley rail line. From that point its another 3 miles of easy riding into Clinton.  On the trail, I only heard three sounds.. the sound of the gravel under my tires, the wind rushing past my ears and the hush of crickets. When you ride 5000 miles a year on the road, it feels like a different world without car traffic.

In Clinton, I sat outside Citispot and enjoyed my coffee, while chatting with some old-timers.  We all agreed that kids today are missing out. In our own childhoods, we would be free to ride out bikes down the trail to the town to get a cold drink or something to eat. The soccer moms had not yet arrived.

Another discover I made today is that the off-road route to Clinton is much easier than the road route. My usual road road is about 14 miles and has significant climbing in it.  The off-road route however is a former rail line, so it is relatively flat, and shorter. I think I just discovered my new winter coffee ride route to Clinton, whether on a CX or MTB.

How one cyclists hurts all of us

I was stopped at the traffic light, at the junction of Rt 513 and Pittstown Road, along with several other cars waiting to turn left to head towards Clinton. Along comes a cyclist, who first rode through the red light, made a shallow right turn and then made a U-turn onto Pittstown road and started heading the direction I was about to go.

This simple seemingly innocuous act of boneheaded-ness is bad for cyclists in general. I waited at the light another 20-30 sec. and then it went green and I drove North. I came upon the lone cyclist heading up a short rise on a 2-lane road with a 45 mph speed limit.  What should I do? I thought about slowing down and yelling something to him about the fact that he should not ride through red lights.  But my guess is he understands that and just chose to ignore the light.  As a cyclist, I wouldn't crowd him, although I am sure some drivers would as "retaliation" for his stupidity or flaunting traffic laws.

The foolish thing is there are not a lot of stop lights in this part of rural NJ, and there were already cars waiting at the light, so he could easily have waited and gone on the green light.  He saved 30 seconds of waiting and hurt cyclists everywhere, as a group.

Why? Because we want respect on the roads. Respect is difficult to gain, when as a group there are individuals who don't respect the traffic laws.  When a rider runs a red light in front of a group of motorists, it instantly changes the motorists opinion of cyclists.  How can we expect cars to respect us on the road and obey traffic laws, when we ourselves flagrantly break them?  Now, the next time I am out riding on 513, I am just "one of those stupid cyclists, who has no respect for the traffic signals or roads…"

Here's a tip- if you plan to run a red light, do it when no one is looking.

The lethal combination of speed and inexperience

Think of teenage drivers…especially boys. Those of us who can remember our early days of driving probably remember the combination of lack of experience, willingness to take risks, poor judgement or generally reckless behavior.  Teen drivers are a high insurance risk due to the lack of experience, but also the tendency to speed or take chances.  While I never wrecked or totaled a car as a teen, I came close a few times, and certainly did my share of stupid behaviors on the road. Fortunately I grew out of that and started driving more predictably.

While bike racing is not driving, some of the same tendencies exist in new racers. The sport is new and exciting, you want to go fast.  And with todays Carbon frames, faster wheels, power training and online coaches, relatively inexperienced riders can go very fast.  Tools like Strava, while fun and entertaining form of social media, also engage new riders into trying to achieve power and speed.

The problem is that raw speed, without requisite skill and discipline on a bike, can lead to serious injury or even death.  Too many new riders focus on speed or power output, without learning the fundamentals of safe bike handling.  In a cat 5 road or criterium race that is a bad combination.  In that regard, Strava is a safer option, as the rider who wants to finish first can do so, alone, racing against the clock.  Riders who come into road from mountain or 'cross need to realize that road requires completely different pack skills that did not exist in their former disciplines.

Racing requires discipline and safe riding. Obviously if you are undisciplined and crash, you won't have much of a racing season. In coaching juniors, I see some of the same tendencies in juniors that you see in adult cat 5 racers. The ones who are the strongest and most competitive, with unbridled enthusiasm, are typically the ones that jump out of the pace line without warning and sprint up each rise, for a bridge or want to be the fastest down a hill.  We often had to tell these kids that the goal of the ride was not to be the fastest or the first, but to focus on their paceline skills. A successful devo ride is the one where the paceline stays together on a climb, not fragments.

A strong runner does not make a good soccer player. The potential is there, but being fast on the field is only one aspect of soccer. A developing player must do repetitive drills, and learn how to handle the ball and play in a position.  Basic safety skills, like looking over your shoulder while holding a straight line, properly taking a corner, safely accelerating and braking are all part of learning how to race.  Going through a turn alone and elbow to elbow with 50 other people are completely different.

It used to be that cat3 was considered the more dangerous category. Sure, there were crashes in 4 or 5 but those races were typically slower, the 3s race at higher speeds and in a much tighter pack. The sprints in a cat 3 race are blazing.  The problem now is you have riders with cat 3 (or in some cases cat 2) power output and speed in a beginners group.  More experienced riders know the ropes, they usually know when its safe to move into a space, and when its better for them to yield to another rider.  A good rider won't risk himself or others in the pack to go from 18th to 16th in a sprint.  If he is boxed in because the rider in front of him sat up- well that's life, he will finish and race another day.

Thinking back to some of my early training rides with a racing team in San Diego, I was 30 years old, new to the sport and certainly fast to some degree. The weekly training ride had a very fast power loop, which to some extent was all out with a sprint near the end.  One week where I was riding like a maniac at the end of the loop one of the veterans told me I needed to stop hammering so much, relax a bit, sit on a wheel and observe.  I didn't realize it, but due to my hard effort, speed and oxygen debt, I didn't take a good line on one of the curves and nearly ended up in the trees.  This is a great example of how masters in the sport can help new racers add discipline to their raw speed and make them safer riders.  Gradually, I began riding with smaller groups of cat 2/3 racers and you quickly learn the right way to ride or won't be allowed back.

Having seen some horrific crashes in cat 5, many are talking about solutions. Skills clinics are a great start, and it may even be a good idea for USA Cycling to make these a requirement before being issued a license.  New racers need to realize that they are in a learning period.  Mental errors like looking down at 30 mph, going too fast into a corner or making unsafe moves in the pack are more common. It takes time for the racing skills to become second nature.

Does Daylight Savings Time Make Sense?

Its that time of year again. Early March and we are setting our clocks ahead an hour. What is wrong with this you say? Daylight saving used to begin on the first Sunday in April and end the last Sunday in October.  It has been extended one week in the fall, which may not pose much of an issue, but it is the early start to daylight savings (basically 3 weeks earlier) that I (and others) object to.

Early March in the Northeast is still winter. Morning temperatures can be in the 20s or 30s.  The days have gotten longer since December and now we can wake to morning sunlight and warmth coming through our windows. Our bodies circadian rhythms ensure that it is easier to wake up when it is light outside.  We don't need to use as much heat (and lights) in the morning on standard time. My neighbors walk their dogs in daylight, kids are driving to high school while it is light out.  It is light out in the evening now past 6 pm- enough time to drive home while its light and maybe go for a walk outside.

By shifting back to DST too early: my neighbors are now walking their dogs in the dark, its cold and dark when we wake up, kids are driving to high school in the dark. Why? So we can have extra daylight from 6-7 pm? It is too cold outside to play golf or tennis now anyway. So there is no benefit of the extra daylight at that time.

Any energy saved in the evening is lost in the morning as more heat and light is needed on dark mornings.  No one has ever proved that DST saves energy for that matter.  DST is really pushed on us by sporting goods and other retailers who want you to go shopping after work and buy things. It really does not serve any other purposed.  The days naturally get longer in our latitudes as we move into spring and summer.

Lastly there is the nuisance of resetting all our clocks. Yes, my iPhone will do that on its own, but the clock in your car, the microwave and 10 other devices will need you to do it- twice a year. Its time to send DST to the dust bin, along with other ideas that no longer make sense.

Kingwood 2114

What will Kingwood township look like in 100 years? Will the rural way of life still be here? Or will Kingwood be just another sprawling suburban community with subdivisions, roads, traffic and stoplights every half mile?  It's no secret that Hunterdon County is growing. Just look at Raritan Township. When I first lived in Raritan Township in 2002, I could bicycle over much of the township. In ten short years many of the roads are too busy with cars and traffic to ride. Route 31 is congested most of the day, as is Route 202.  There are not only more people living here, people are driving more miles. Big box stores like Walmart have moved in and more will surely come.  Two of the three traffic circles are already past their usefulness.

But what is the real threat to rural living? The true threat is more development, the sell off of large tracts of lands and farms and build out of more homes.  It is the large farms that maintain this area's rural character and low population density.  There are many horse farms in Hunterdon, hay farms, farms growing corn and beans. There is even Leon's sod farm. Agriculture is big part of the way of life here. But what is the future of agriculture in New Jersey, with a changing climate and uncertain economy? Farms cannot operate indefinitely at a loss, extremes of weather such as drought or flooding, hotter summers may push local farms into oblivion.  Small farms have disappeared throughout much of New Jersey. I grew up near Montvale, which at one time had farmland. Now it has corporate headquarters.

Part of what can prevent the growth and sprawl is our leaders. It is critical that township and county leaders take action to maintain the rural character of Hunterdon.  Strong support for land conservation, green acres and farmland preservation will ensure that Hunterdon does not have runaway growth.  Runaway development is often driven by money and greed. I saw it firsthand in San Diego, where in the space of 10 years, thousands of acres of wild land were bulldozed. In Hunterdon a development of 20 houses is a big deal, in San Diego developments could be 3,000 homes!  The local governments were taken over by real estate developers and planners. They had huge war chests of money for their political campaigns and lawyers to fight off environmental impact studies. In some cases coastal sage habitat was bulldozed in the middle of the night, before anyone could claim there were endangered species there.  It was a corrupt process in that the local leaders owned a piece of the real estate action, made themselves and their partners wealthy but ruined the long-term quality of life in the area.

The key to Hunterdon's future is the survival of the farms and farmland. So buy locally grown produce, beef, eggs, dairy and poultry if you can. Have your kids take lessons at a horse farm, or board your horse. Tell your friends to buy hay in Hunterdon. Tell local leaders to hold the line on property taxes so farmers can afford to keep farming. Pay attention to issues that matter to farmers, because if the farms stop operating, they will be sold off, broken up into smaller lots and built out.

Ten Reasons why kids don't ride bikes anymore

Are Skiing and Winter Sports doomed?

Having just returned from a 5-day ski trip that 25 years ago certainly would have provided 5-days of snow filled skiing, with good base depth and cold weather, Winter- or the lack thereof- was on my mind.  While early December was cold, a warm weather system drove temperatures in Vermont into the 50s and we suffered through 2.5 days of rain that basically wiped out skiing at Mad River Glen.

With no natural snow to ski on, we were relegated to skiing on manmade snow at Sugarbush.  Because Sugarbush had been blowing snow since November, they had enough base depth to survive the warm weather and rain.  There is no doubt now that climate change is upon us, most experts agree. Even if we can't agree what the cause is (I'll save that point for later), the trend is clear. Melting glaciers, shrinking polar ice, increased temperatures. The season of winter is becoming shorter, starting later and ending earlier.  The amount of snowfall and snowpack is dropping.

This is of particular issue at Western resorts, and was featured in a recent article in Powder magazine about "why snowmaking won't save us…"  The large Western resorts like Vail and Snowbird are huge amounts of terrain compared to smaller eastern ski areas. Snow making there is not feasible due to the high cost, limited water supply and regulatory restrictions. The article predicted that by the year 2100, that most of the Western USA ski resorts will be closed due to lack of snowpack. Those that remain will only have snow at their highest elevations.  In the east, only 4 of the largest ski resorts will remain. This is a scary thought..in just over 80 years, the sport of skiing and mountain snow sports could vanish. If climate change accelerates it could be even sooner.

I am seeing it in my own lifetime. Growing up in lower New York State we routinely had long, cold snowy winters. I have photos of snowbanks in our driveway that were 6 feet tall.  Small eastern ski resorts operated for many years without snowmaking systems.  While they were dependent on mother nature for snow, the snow was routinely reliable. Then beginning in the late 1970s there seemed to be fewer cold winters, more warm weather and rain. Today, there are few, if any eastern ski areas that operate without snowmaking.   Certainly the small, family oriented mountains cannot depend on natural snow in New Jersey in Pennsylvania.  At one time there were hundreds of smaller ski hills that dotted the landscape.  But due to the high cost of snowmaking infrastructure and operation, it does not work well on a small scale. So we are left with only two ski areas in NJ and a handful of larger mountains in the Poconos.  Snowmaking has even found its way to the Northernmost reaches of Vermont.

Snowmaking was once a way to extend the ski season. It could start earlier and end later with man made snow. But now, without it, some winters there would be no ski season at all. Mad River Glen, which lacks extensive snowmaking opened on December 15th with 40 of its 45 trails. But that opening only lasted 5 days, through Friday Dec. 20th.  By the time the warm weather/rain event was done, the only terrain available was one smaller trail fed by man-made snow.  It is likely there will be more snow in January, and they will reopen all 45 trails. But this is becoming all too familiar a pattern. A later start, a melt-down and then reopening in Mid-January. The ski season which used to extend into April, is now often done by March 20th.  Ski areas make nearly half their revenue on Christmas week. It is a huge blow to not have snow on the trails. It is a big expense to have to blow snow at times when 25 years ago the areas could rely on natural snow fall.

So yes, the future of skiing and outdoor winter sports is certainly looking grim, for our children and grandchildren.

Why are my feet cold? And what can I do to keep them warm?

Gaerne Winter Road shoes

Now that winter is really upon us, I've started hearing a lot of chatter about cold toes and feet. If you want to keep riding outside through the winter weather, having a strategy to maintain warm hands and feet is essential. Freezing cold fingers and toes can quickly ruin or cut short an outdoor ride. The risk of frost bite is real!  

To achieve warm feet, it helps to have an understanding of why your feet are cold. For the most part cold feet are due to the following factors:

1. Poor circulation
2. Wrong footwear and/or socks
3. Moisture
4. Heat transfer, convection and conduction.

Lets look at these in order. 

• Poor circulation.  Some people just don't have good circulation to their extremities. These people will be the first ones to say their hands or feet are cold. When temperatures drop your body thermoregulates by sending more blood flow to its core. Protection of vital organs comes before extremities.  Ever read "To Build a Fire" by Jack London?  The hunter knew that he might lose parts of his foot or toes to frostbite, but that he could live if he could make into camp.  One strategy to keep your hands and feet warm then is to make sure your core is warm. This means eating enough fuel before and during the ride, hydrating well to ensure good blood pressure and circulation and dressing properly so that your core stays warm. If your core is heated well, your body's thermoregulation systems will continue sending blood flow to the surface and extremities. When it goes below 35 degrees, I recommend a long sleeve base layer, a fleece long sleeve jersey and winter jacket. For the lower body, I've worn fleece bib knickers with a layer of winter tights on top. And long ski socks. 
• Wrong footwear. Your standard bike shoes are designed primarily for summer riding. In fact their design includes mesh and venting to let out heat and moisture. This is great for warm weather riding, but it will work against you in cold weather. As temperature drops into the 50s you can add toe covers, which work well, as temps hit 40 you may need a full bootie. The other problem with your summer bike shoes is that they are designed to be worn with a thin summer sock and be snug on your feet. If you now try wearing them with thick winter socks, you may find that your shoes are tight and that will restrict circulation in your feet.  All booties have a cut out on the bottom for the cleat and cold air will come in through the opening.  If you plan on doing a lot of winter riding, I would recommend a winter shoe.  The advantage of a winter shoe is that (a) it is insulated, (b) it does not have venting like a summer shoe and (c) it is build wider and roomier, to accommodate thicker socks without restricting your circulation.  The better winter shoes use Windtek fabric on the exterior, are water and windproof and have thermal insulation built in. If you buy a pair, they will last 5-10 years because you will only use them a few months out of the year. They come in road or MTB versions.  You will never again have to fuss with putting booties on.
• Moisture is often overlooked, but feet do sweat and get damp. If you wear booties, you will see the moisture when you get home and take off the booties. This is water vapor that leaves your feet and condenses upon meeting the cold air outside. The key here is the right kind of sock. Cotton socks are the worst, the absorb moisture and will be very cold when wet. Wool is the best, it will retain its insulating property even when wet. Some people like silk sock liners, which will carry moisture away from your feet to the outer sock. 
• Heat transfer.  Your feet are producing heat, but that is balanced with heat loss. The colder it is outside and the more frontal wind, the faster the heat loss.  Heat will be conducted away from your foot through direct contact with the sock and inside of the shoe. One of the keys here is to have warm air spaces in your shoe (i.e. shoes not too tight), because air is not a good conductor of heat, you will reduce heat loss if your shoe is more loose and has enough room around the toes.  Convective heat loss will be very high on a cold windy day and the only real solution is enough insulation and windproof fabrics.

What about supplemental heating? If you've tried all of the above and still have cold feet, you may want to try supplemental heating in your shoes. This can either be a chemical warmer (hot packs) or a battery operated footbed.  The chemical warmers are sold at Home Depot and Outfitter stores. You can attach the toe warmers to your sock or insole and I've found that these will produce heat for 3-4 hours. Some people put them on top of their toes, I've always thought that they work better under the toe.  There are also heated foot insoles available, one is the Thermacell, which cost around $100 and use a lithium ion battery built into the footbed. Some reviewers liked these, others said they didn't heat well. The Hotronics system used in ski boots is probably the best. If you already have Hotronics in your ski boots, you can buy another set of heating elements and footbeds for about $40. You can use your existing battery packs, although you will need another set of clips. Aside from looking silly having the Li-ion batteries attached to the back of your winter shoes, you will have adjustable heating that will definitely keep your toes warm even on the coldest of days.

Can exercise help a cold?

It's 12 noon and I'm feeling rotten…head hurts, stuffed up, pressure inside my ears. A head cold? Feeling kind of tired and blah, I debated whether to flop on the couch for a nap. But the sun is shining and I spent all day at my desk on Monday on my job search.  Perhaps there would be solace in a bike ride.

I quickly mapped out a route on ridewithgps.com, uploaded it to my Garmin Edge and kitted up. With 50 degree sunny weather, I needed only bib shorts and leg warmers and a base and long sleeve jersey.  I left the house around 12:45, with a nice little tailwind helping me. After the initial 20 min warmup, I started feeling OK.  The pounding head was gone, sinus passages cleared somewhat. I began ramping up the speed.  Unencumbered by heavy winter shoes and clothing, buoyed by the warmer, less dense air and enlightened by the sun I felt like I was riding in a dream.  I was. Between 10am and 2 pm out here in Hunterdon county (aka cow land) you can ride for miles and maybe see two cars. Wonderful!

So can cycling or moderate exercise help a cold? Absolutely, according to Dr. Edward Laskowski (Mayo Clinic). "Mild to moderate physical activity is usually OK if you have a garden-variety cold and no fever. Exercise may even help you feel better by opening your nasal passages and temporarily relieving nasal congestion."  How true!   After an hour on the bike, I'd forgotten all about my earlier symptoms. They were gone.  Regular exercise can boost your immune system, release endorphins that will make you feel better and less "blah" and increase circulation to tissues.  Our bodies were designed to be in a state of motion and sitting at a desk for hours and hours is a completely unnatural act.

I bombed down Cherryville Hollow through the bare trees onto a sweet flat section in Hamden along the Raritan River.  A few miles away I'd pass through Clinton, a coffee boost and slice of pumpkin bread would make this trip even more worthwhile.

Sometimes, when you least think you can exercise, just go out there and do it. You might be surprised at the results.

Demise of the off-season

Way back in 1992 when I was relatively new to racing, I was riding with San Diego Bicycle club. The racing season had ended and the fall group rides had begun. While weekend training rides were held during the racing season, many of the hardcore racers didn't reappear on the training rides until the fall.  I had not yet learned the art of fixed gear road riding, but many of the riders converted their steel frame road bike to a fixie.  Back in the days when we rode steel bikes with horizontal drop outs, one could easily do this. While the in-season ride was fast, the off-season ride was a sedate 16 or 17 mph average.  At best it was a moderate tempo ride. On one particular October Saturday, one or more riders (with gears) showed up on the ride and started hammering the pace. It didn't take long before there was yelling in the group and someone told the hammering riders that they should "slow down, its October."  The strongest riders (who happened to be on the fixed gears) laid down the law and etiquette for the ride.

Fast forward to 2002, when I started riding in New Jersey with Somerset Wheelmen in October, and Joe Saling was leading the winter rides. A group of 6-15 riders would meet at Duke Island Park in Bridgewater and would ride at "winter pace" of around 16 mph. The ride was not ridiculously easy, but was easy enough that the women riders and even some of the juniors would have  no trouble keeping pace. If it was too easy for you, you could show up on a fixed gear and make it harder.  But the point of the rides was cohesion- to keep the group together in a tight double paceline on those cold windy days, to be able to talk/chat and have a social ride, to be able to enjoy the scenery. Racing was done, winter training would start soon enough in mid-December or January, so why go hard?

The dogma of bike racing experts has always been that November is a rest month. In Fred Matheny's Beginning Bicycle Racing he writes "November and December. This is the off season. It is the time for alternate activities that allow you to retain fitness but escape the onerous aspects of a rigid schedule and hard exertion." In Eddie B's Bicycle Road Racing, which is often considered The Bible, he recommends from October 15-November 30 to "cut your mileage drastically and ride no more than 3 or 4 times a week." Seniors (meaning senior men age 35 or less) should do 50-90 km (~30-55 miles) per ride, "these are not fast rides, not hard rides."  [Note that he also advocates shorter distances for women and masters].

Sadly, the cohesive winter ride is disappearing, or in some cases being shattered by riders who just want to go hard all year round. Here are a few possible reasons why:

1.  Cyclocross. Once viewed and advocated as a way to get off your road bike and enjoy some trails, gravel and dirt during the off-season, 'cross has now evolved into its own racing discipline. Statistically speaking 'cross race attendance far outnumbers road and while not every roadie does cross, those who do are now on a totally different schedule than the rest of us. They're not resting in November they are still racing and training and at peak fitness.  Those that are racing cross on weekends obviously are not going to be there for the group ride.

2. Coaching, training and power meters. Not only has equipment improved (which raises average ride speeds) but with  many riders using a coach and power training, there are a lot more stronger riders, which tends to fuel the "lets go faster mentality" during a time of year that is meant to go slow. While individual strength has increased, that has not necessarily gone along with riding skills.

3. Strava. It would be easy to blame all of cycling's ills on Strava, but in many ways it goes beyond its purpose as a social networking/training tool and is having an effect on our sport.  Strava tends to fuel the "I need to do more" feeling that social networking generates. When you see on Strava and Facebook how much (and how hard) your friends (or in some cases people you follow) are training, you might feel compelled to keep up with them. This can quickly become a "virtual competition" for mileage, monthly badges, KOMs and other achievements, where in reality there are no winners.

When you get a KOM on Strava, what have you won really? Its a brief moment of fame on a social networking site, it may even flood your receptors with dopamine. But the KOM will likely fall, and then what?

There is a new breed of rider now, which I've termed the "Strava Hunter-Killer."  Many of the SHKs don't race at all. You won't find them at USAC events. But they roam the roads each day looking for segments they can kill and take the KOMs.  The group ride is shunned, as the purpose is to slam certain segments and nab the KOMs. If they do ride as a group, its only a means to an end, where the goal is to use teamwork to capture the KOMs.  Ride slow? What would be the point of that? If I ride slow, then I get fewer "trophies" and achievements on Strava.....Its interesting to see these riders in November, riding at 95-100% max HR in cold weather, basically doing hard interval training.  I had one pass me last weekend, as I was cruising about 17 mph on my fixed gear, he flew by at 25 mph, head down. No time to say hello, after all if he slowed down to say hi, he'd blow his chance at the KOM on Oak Grove Road (which by the way is not even a hill).

There is no doubt that many of these guys are strong, you can't argue with their times up the hard climbs. I just wonder whether they would be riding this hard if there were no KOMs or Strava? They are missing out on the group tempo ride experience, which are some of the most relaxing, fun rides you will ever do.

Skiing last great refuge

And then there were three...Mad River Glen is now one of only three ski areas in North American that do not allow snowboards (there used to be four until Taos, NM gave way). The others are the upscale Deer Valley, Utah and skier oriented Alta. As the only holdout in the northeast, Mad River Glen in many ways is the last refuge of old school skiing.

But the character of Mad River is much more than just a snowboard ban. The lack of boards is just an ingredient in the overall formula of Mad River's mission- preserve the sport of skiing for the true enthusiast, without all the bells and whistles of the 21st century "resort model." By resort model, I mean the economic model of many of today's ski areas are "improvements" such as high-speed quad lifts, a mountain village with trendy shops and eateries, valet parking and other slope-side amenities. Those luxuries go by the way side for Mad River, where the skis on the snow are king. The theory behind Mad River is that true skiing enthusiasts don't want a shopping mall at their mountain, they want to be out in the cold, freezing their butts off in an icy wind, for a chance to ski some amazing terrain covered in mother nature's snow.

Now don't get me wrong, snowmaking has its place. It is a great invention, allowing the ski season to be lengthened, providing early season training for racers and helping some ski areas survive through lean winters where there is little natural snow. It is now almost a must in the mid-Atlantic and Poconos. But snowmaking has a downside too; its expensive to operate, noisy, more often that not produces snow that ices up quickly and widens trails due to the fact that it kills the trees that line the trails. So you cannot blow snow on a narrow trail like the Antelope and keep that a narrow trail.

The ski areas that have added snowmaking, such as Sugarbush North (formerly Glen Ellen) have created wide cruising boulevards that boarders like, but they are relatively boring for skiers. What keeps bringing skiers to Mad River is the undulating terrain, the nooks and crannies, cliffs and natural features of the mountain. The twin tip freestyle skiers at Mad River don't need snowcat constructed humps or metal rails to grind, when they have natural rock outcrops, cliffs and frozen waterfalls to jump. Just underneath the single chair is a natural terrain park, known as the lift line, on which you can see some of the best freestyle skiing around. On a good day at Mad River- which regulars will tell you is any time after a snowfall, you're going to be challenged and have a blast at the same time. A high speed lift is not needed, because your legs won't be able to handle that many repeated trips down the mountain's 2100 ft vertical. For a leg burner try taking the Catamount trail off the single chair into the Lynx, which spills into the Beaver, and off-canter double fall line with bumps all the way down. Or ski the Fall Line into Grand Canyon.

On a powder day you may not see many people on the trails...where is everyone? The answer lies in the woods, where Mad River skiers have their favorite stashes of powder long after the freshies on the trail map have been skied off. The truth is there is no substitute for the silky smooth ride you're going to get on powder and packed powder at Mad River. This is what works for Mad River: a band of loyal skiing enthusiasts, families, children, telemark skiers, anyone who wants the traditional skiing experience without all the bells and whistle of the 21st century. When all is said and done, most of us are on the mountain to escape job, internet, TV, traffic and modern conveniences to commune with the mountain.

10 things you should never do on a group ride

Riding on a group ride is more than just showing up on your bike. It is really about proper etiquette and following the vibe and dynamic of the group. Here are 10 things that will earn you the ire of the group. Do some or all of these, and you probably won't be invited back:

10. Show up late to the start. If the ride says its starts at 9 am, that doesn't mean showing up to the parking lot at 9 am and then trying to assemble your bike and get dressed. New comers should arrive 15 min ahead to set up their bikes and get ready for the start.

9. Do your interval training on the group ride. Unless you're the ride leader and everyone understands that it will be an interval ride, don't try to do your own interval training, especially if the group is riding tempo. If everyone is going 18 mph and then you suddenly jump out of the paceline to ride 24 mph for 4 min, its going to disrupt the group. Similarly, if the group is riding hard that day, don't come out expecting to ride recovery.

7. Come out with a bike fraught with mechanical issues. One flat tire is no big deal, but if you started the ride with worn out tires and you're on your 3rd flat, no one is going to want to wait for you. Similarly, a loose crank bolt, pedal or seatpost should be dealt with in your shiop- not on the ride. A poorly maintained bike is also dangerous, if your chain skips in a sprint or you pop out of your pedals due to worn out cleats.

6. Wear yesterday's sweaty clothing. Excuse me, but bike clothes need to be washed after every ride, not every 3rd ride, No one is gonna want to draft behind the stinky person in the paceline.

5. Talk about work, religion or politics on the ride. These are taboo subjects. Most of us have day jobs and when we're on our bikes, we don't want to stray into the workplace. Religion and politics are too heavy subjects for rides. Listen to what the rest of the riders are talking about... equipment, racing, coffee, food or training,

4. Ride in the middle of the road. There is simply no reason to do this and it will only infuriate motorists, so stay in a tight paceline and don't ride on the yellow line.

3. Randomly attack the ride. On many rides there are set sprint points and places where there are jams. Sometimes its a bridge, the town line sprint, or a certain climb. If everyone else is going, then by all means jump on. But when the group is all sitting up talking and a person just randomly attacks, he is going to be thought the fool. Some riders will get tired of these antics and counter attack the rider and drop him- for good.

2. Disrupt the paceline. This could be speeding up too much at the front, not pulling through, staying at the front too long, not slowing down in the relief line so the next person can't pull through, or going too slow on the relief line. Any and all of these will upset the person on your wheel.

1. Show up with aero bars. You may as well show up to the ride with a billboard saying "clueless." Do not come to a group ride with a Time Trial bike.

Eight is enough

How many bicycles should a cycling enthusiast have? The answer may surprise you. Currently, I counted 11 bikes at my house. Five of those are mine, two belong to my kids and the other 4 are loaners for the juniors cycling team that I coach. But why do I have five bikes? And just what is the proper number of bicycles that a person should have?

For most of us roadies, our mainstay is our road bike. That will likely be a 10-speed racing bike, hopefully carbon fiber. Its the bike we will put the most miles on throughout the spring, summer and fall riding seasons. However, many of us keep a backup road bike, "just in case..." That might have been our bike from the previous season and we kept it around after we got our new one. Its good for rainy days, or maybe you don't want to risk wrecking your $7000 Colnago in the local crit.

If you race in time trials, you may have a TT bike. This is a tough one. Most people who race them seldom ever ride them. They look cool, but they're not all that comfortable to ride and they're heavier than a standard road bike. In my case, I could use one, because I live near Rt 29, where I could practice my time trialing. I haven't gotten myself to the point to buy one though, as I prefer mass start racing to solo time trials.

A fixed gear bike is great for riding in the late fall and through the winter. Many people build one out of an older road frame, that has horizontal dropouts, but nowadays almost all the bike manufacturers sell a decent fixie that is set up for the road for just over $500. While riding a fixie may be hip and there is a certain coolness achieved when you pull up on your fixie at the local coffee shop, there are other reasons to ride one. A fixed gear bike will force you to pedal in circles and get rid of the bad habit of coasting. In the winter, you will get a better workout with fewer miles and less time in the saddle. There is no shifting to an easier gear when the road points up. In my case I have two fixed gear bikes... one set up for road, and another set up for dirt and trails. The "Country road Bob" has an identity crisis. Is it a fixed gear road bike, or a single speed cross bike? The answer is either! In the quest for fewer bikes you could say it's two bikes in one.

Next on the list is a Cyclocross bike. This is basically a road bike, with drop handlebars that has a beefier fork and more clearance for wider, knobby tires. Most have cantilever brakes, but don't be surprised to start seeing disc brakes on cross bikes soon. Believe it or not, people who are serious about their 'cross often have two of these bikes. That's because one is used as a "pit bike" to grab when the one you're racing clogs up with mud. Its kind of like getting a fresh towel at the pool every time your towel gets wet.

If you race the track, you will want a track bike. Not to be confused with the fixie, a track bike is not really built for the road, and it has no brakes. While its possible to ride these on the road, it borders on suicidal in hilly areas.

Finally there is the mountain bike. When the terrain gets too tough for a 'cross bike, the mountain bike comes into play. Take your pick, full suspension or hardtail? And the newer ones have 29" wheels. I still have a full suspension 26" wheeled MTB, which seldom makes it out of the basement.

Ask any cycling enthusiast to justify all their bikes and they can easily think of a purpose for each steed.

Getting to Ski Country Green Style

Don't give up your car just yet...Public transportation options for
getting to Ski Country
by Doug Antelman

IN this day and age of turning Green, I decided to see if it would be possible to get to the lodge using public transportation, rather than driving my own car. The answer is yes- sort of. But no matter what mode of transportation you use (i.e. rail, bus) when you get to Vermont you are going to still be 20+ miles from Waitsfield and will need either a ride or a car to make the final leg to Ramapo.

Before I even tell you about bus or rail options, there is really no substitute in terms of travel time, convenience and cost for driving your own vehicle. Unless you have a behemoth gas guzzler, your cost in fuel to make the 600 mile round trip from New Jersey to Mad River will be $90. Thats because you will consume about 30 gals. of fuel at 20 mpg and $3 a gallon for fuel. Of course if you have a Prius or you split the driving with at least one other person, it could cost you a lot less. If you wanted to figure in the actual cost of driving at about 0.42/mile, then the trip really cost you $240 in terms of gas, oil and wear and tear on your vehicle.

So what are the mass transit options?
Air- you can fly from Newark, NJ (EWR) to Burlington, VT (BTV). Assuming you book well enough in advance, the round trip flight on Continental airlines will cost you as little as $164. The flying time itself is only 90 min, (wow). But of course, you will need to drive to Newark and park (allow 1 hr for that) and then be there an hour ahead of departure. Parking for 3 days at Newark is going to cost you about $50. Then you have the issue of getting from Burlington to the lodge. Its going to take you another 90 min to get your bags, rental car and drive approx 1 hr to the lodge. The rental car will cost you at least $150 plus fuel. Total cost $384, total time: 5 hours.

Train- Did you know there are three different Amtrak Trains you could take to Vermont? The fastest of the three is the Ethan Allen that runs from NY-Penn Station to Rutland (6 hrs). Then there is the Vermonter, which runs from various stops in NJ and NYC to Montpelier or Waterbury, VT. But this train will take almost 9 hours to get there! At least its a bargain at $56.00 (one way). Lastly there is the Adirondack, which you could take to Ticonderoga, NY (5 hrs). Of course with the Champlain Bridge out, you would need the ferry to get across the Lake. Ferries are not exactly the fastest mode of transit! And who knows if they run in the winter? So, the trains range from 5 to 9 hrs and cost $50-60 each way. However, you will again need time to drive or take a local train to get to NY Penn Station or the departing train station. Figure at least an hour for that. And then once you get to Rutland, Montpelier or Ticonderoga, you would again need a rental car or a ride to the lodge. The round trip train will cost you $120, plus $170 for your rental car and gas. And figure in another $20 to park at the train station in New Jersey or take the local train to NYC. Total cost: $310, total time: 7 to 11 hrs.

Bus: The only bus line I could find that goes to Vermont was Greyhound. Their newest buses boast wireless internet, power outlets and more legroom. A one way bus ticket from NYC to Montpelier is $52 and the travel time is 8.5 hrs. Once again you would need a rental car or ride from Montpelier. Total cost $274, total time: 10.5 hours.

Conclusion: None of the mass transit options offer the convenience of your own vehicle. In all cases, it won't be cost effective, unless you have a friend that lives in Rutland or Montpelier that could give you a lift to the lodge (and back!). The fastest option is by air, and barring delays you might even get door to door faster than driving the whole way. If money is no object, then fly. The bus and the Amtrak options are a toss up. Rail will be more comfortable, you have the option of a dining car, bathrooms and to move around, as well as power outlets or internet. You could watch a lot of movies on a 8 hrs train ride. If high speed rail existed- which is doesnt- you could go from New York to Burlington in less than 3 hours. Its nice to dream.

The bus and rail options could make sense if you take them one way and then can get a ride the other way. But none of these options really makes much sense unless you don't own a car, or you don't like driving long distances. In terms of time, the rail and bus are going to take a lot longer, unless you live very close to the station. At the end of a holiday weekend, when the traffic on 87 Southbound is snarled, the train MIGHT get you home faster.

The train makes the most sense for city dwellers going to Killington. These are people who may not own a car, and they can relax on the train and have drinks with fellow skiers. Now that's something to toast to.

A Birthday Not Worthy of Celebration

April 20th is not a day that has significance for most Americans. But for a few students at JP Case Middle School, April 20th, 2010 did have significance. You see, April 20th is the birthday of one of the most reviled figures in history, Adolf Hitler. Several girls, who happen to be friends of my 14 year old daughter- who is Jewish- thought it would be funny to signify Hitler’s birthday through various postings on Facebook, Twitter and other online blogs that they use.

A post first appeared on my daughter’s Facebook Newsfeed. One of her friends status message now read “Happy Birthday Hitler.” Since this girl has 300+ friends on Facebook, all of her friends could now see her status. A second friend of my daughter said that she “liked this”, indicating her approval or amusement with what the first girl posted. The second friend then became a fan of one or more facebook pages commemorating Hitler’s birthday.

But the two above Facebook postings were fairly inocuous compared to what my daughter’s third friend did. Not to be outdone, and as the defacto “leader” of this peer group, she posted a picture of Anne Frank on a blog website called “Tumblr.” Written across the bottom of the young Anne Frank’s photo was a hand lettered “Happy Birthday Hitler.” My reaction to all this was close to rage. Here was a group of 8th grade girls, roughly the same age as Anne Frank, who hid in isolation from the Nazis until her eventual capture and later death in a concentration camp.

Aside from the general repulsiveness of commemorating Hitler’s birthday, the postings showed a complete lack of judgment and sensitivity towards my daughter and other Jewish kids at J.P. Case. The kids who posted this vile crap thought they were being funny and sarcastic. But to a Jewish person, the Nazis and Hitler are not a joking matter.

Think about who actually celebrates Hitler’s birthday today? Neonazi groups, such as White Aryan Resistance and other hate groups routinely hold public celebrations on April 20th to mark the birthday of the man they worship as their “hero.” Hitler is their hero, because he tried to rid the world of Jews.

I wonder how people would have reacted if these girls had celebrated Obama Bin Laden’s birthday, or maybe they can throw a party on September 11, celebrating the fall of the world trade center buildings? Would there then be some outrage?

These are the girls my daughter is friends with? They really have no clue. Safe within their suburban bedrooms, they sit in front of a computer for hours Facebooking and blogging such words of wisdom as “I need2 shower and do my homework” or “I hate everyone rite now” or “I really need to calm down and stop being so obnoxious...” Wow. Such literary presence. Are these our future leaders?

Below is a passage written By Anne Frank in 1944:

“I finally realized that I must do my schoolwork to keep from being ignorant, to get on in life, to become a journalist, because that’s what I want! I know I can write ..., but it remains to be seen whether I really have talent ...
And if I don’t have the talent to write books or newspaper articles, I can always write for myself. But I want to achieve more than that. I can’t imagine living like Mother, Mrs. van Daan and all the women who go about their work and are then forgotten. I need to have something besides a husband and children to devote myself to! ... I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death! And that’s why I’m so grateful to God for having given me this gift, which I can use to develop myself and to express all that’s inside me! When I write I can shake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived! But, and that’s a big question, will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer?”

The answer to Anne’s rhetorical question at the end is of course, yes, as history defines her as millions of people have read her diary since its release.

I wonder if any of my daughters “friends” have even read The Diary of Anne Frank? I seriously doubt it. How can you have time to read when you spend countless hours texting, twittering and facebooking?

There is a final chapter to this story though. Offended by the Hitler postings, I confronted one of the girl’s mothers. Rather than ask her daughter to apologize, she wrote me the following:

“As for my daughters opinion on Mr. Hitler......We are very fortunate to live in a country that provides us certain unalienable rights, included in these are freedom of religion and freedom of speech! If it is offensive to you, then do not read it or turn it off. That is your right! Just because you do no not like her opinion does not mean she has to remove it!”

Really? I wonder how the school would react if her daughter posted the picture of Anne Frank in the hallway? Technically she is probably correct. However vile, her daughter can post antisemitic material on her blog. However, then I will exercise my right of free speech to expose her daughter as an anti-semite hater, who is insensitive to her friends and classmates that are Jewish.

Here is an interesting thought; Anne Frank’s birthday is coming up on June 12th. Let’s send all these idiots a message by celebrating Anne Frank’s birthday.

Saying goodbye to winter

April is a busy time of year for many of us as we transition from winter into spring. Aside from doing our income taxes, I start winding down my ski season and ramping up for cycling and bike racing. This year was a heck of a winter in the northeast, with several snowstorms in late February and early March that left people wishing winter would end. But I tend to hold onto winter as it's one of my favorite seasons.

Winter is a time when you can spend more time inside with friends or family, read a book sitting by the fire, enjoy a hot bowl of soup or cocoa. But you needn't spend your whole winter indoors getting lazy and fat- even if that is a programmed biological tendency for mammals. Winter goes by much faster if you spend more time outside. There are often gloriously sunny days during winter with cloudless skies and sunlight is a known antidote to the winter blues. Moreover, winter sports such as skiing, snowshoeing or skating will keep you fit and stimulate your body's endorphins.

And then there are the storms. For those of us that love this season, the excitement starts when those first flakes begin to fall and the ground gets covered in a blanket of white. Suddenly, the neighborhood becomes a silent, mystical place. Roads and walkways vanish into one extensive white landscape.

I do a lot of skiing during the winter. Some days were pure recreational ski days, others were driving my daughter to race practice. This winter we were fortunate enough to have some natural snow in the Poconos that lay in the trees between the trails. On a trip to Seven Springs, I found myself schussing through powdery moguls in Western Pennsylvania's coal country. It snowed there for four straight days as a storm system hung over the area during President's weekend. During the winter my daughter bonded with her racing teammates and I met a lot of people on the chairlifts and slopes. That in itself made all the early mornings worth it.

Now the snow is all gone and a lot of us find ourselves missing our winter friends and mountains. We will just have to wait anther 200 days.

Shawnee Race Team Invades Hidden Valley

Jan 28, 2010, Vernon, NJ

"Who are all these kids?" was the question from the guy doing the timing at the top of the GS course at Hidden Valley on a cold blustery night. "I thought this was a masters league." Well it is, but the rules don't bar juniors from racing in the consolation race. And race they did, as a group of J3 racers from Shawnee Mountain came out for the NJSC pasta and race night. It was a cold night, but that didn't stop a few of the kids from stripping down and racing in their suits.

At the bottom of the course, some of the faster guys from High Life were asking the same question... "who are those kids..." And when Michael Podstawski, an 8th grader from Flemington NJ smoked the course with a 23.73 on his first run, he was followed by John McDonald, also from Flemington NJ. John ran the course in 24.08. Only one master was able to beat Michael's combined time for the night, and that was Kevin Kanski of High Life. Not to be outdone by the kids which he coaches, Paul McDonald of Flemington NJ ran a 23.34, the fastest time of the night for one run.

Over on the women's side, our own Elissa Antelman, age 14, ran a 56.65 combined to take the women's race. Unfortunately for Ramapo Women, Elissa isn't 18 yet! Her teammate, Erika Brattstrom from Mt. Olive, NJ ran a 28.43 on her first run, the second fastest time. I'm sure both Ramapo or High Life would like to get these kids on their adult teams in a few years, but for now all they could do is watch with amazement, as a bunch of kids from a small ski hill like Shawnee stole the show. These are J-3 racers, age 13-14 and they will only get bigger, stronger and faster as J1 or J2 racers.

WHat did the kids think of Hidden Valley? They enjoyed racing there, but there were not too excited to ski there. "Its small, cold and slow lifts" was the general consensus. The kids did enjoy buffalo wings and fries at the bar after all the racing was over.