Bici Pazza

The Reasons we Ride

Another wonderful summer, my 19th Pan Mass Challenge and feeling so blessed and thankful for your support. My grand total thus far is over ,500 making me a heavy hitter for the second year in a row! My individual thank you letters are going out to each of my sponsors but I also wanted to thank my 60 sponsors collectively to show that it takes a small village multiplied times thousands to make a dent in the fight against cancer.  In honor of my mother, Valia Orazietti Hefferon who died 6 years ago this September, four-year old Avallana, Susan Herman and all of you who have been touched by cancer in any way,  I and the PMC are deeply grateful for your generosity. I recently learned that my dear friend, dedicated PMC rider  and Ciclismo alumni Lily Gaeve was diagnosed with lung cancer.  Due to her cancer treatments she was unable to ride this year or dance her heart out on the grand finale of the PMC, the Provincetown to Boston ferry.  Rather than ride with her on the road, I will see her in between treatments at the Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies.

GO LILY!

Here is Avallana, a sweet 4 year old girl who has fought cancer most of her life and who has tragically developed a new tumor. Her parents must, once again go down the path of radiation and surgery for their only daughter. Avallana has inspired my family and I and kept me riding hard and strong. She and so many others are the  one BIG reason why, no matter where I am, will ride the PMC for life!

Avallana

Please click on this link to the PMC Opening Ceremonies. I encourage you to take the time to watch- the words of several survivors says it all. Also enjoy an excerpt from the PMC blog

“The 31^st annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge was an incredible success for the 5,100 cyclists who rode, the 3,000 volunteers whose work made everything run smoothly, and for the tens of thousands of cancer patients around the globe who will benefit from the millions of dollars raised for research and treatment. On August 7 and 8, cyclists from 34 states and six countries rode one of ten routes ranging from 47 to 190 miles. Their goal was to raise million for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund and bring the PMC’s 31-year Jimmy Fund contribution to 1 million.  On November 12, the PMC will present its 2010 contribution to Dana-Farber. Fundraising dollars continue to come in and we are optimistic about exceeding the million goal set last winter,” said PMC Founder and Executive Director Billy Starr. “The PMC brings out the best in everyone. When you multiply all that’s good about humanity by 10,000 people, the results can’t help but be positive.

No other single athletic event raises or contributes more money to charity than the PMC. Since 1980, the PMC has raised 0 million for cancer research and care at Dana-Farber through its Jimmy Fund. The PMC gives 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar directly to the Jimmy Fund, a rate of fundraising that is nearly unequaled within the billion athletic fundraising event industry. The PMC generates more than 50 percent of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue and is its largest single contributor.”

It is not too late to donate and help me reach my 10K GOAL
simply click here: http://www.pmc.org/egifts/ My gift ID is: LH0006

Too many reasons to ride

Pedal Partners Inspire

This cancer survivor’s annual sign says it all.

My favorite birthday present is (suprise) a glorious bike ride so when I was stumped on where to ride on my birthday I called my biking buddy and New England bike tour expert, Gordon Harris of NE Bicycle Adventures who willingly and enthusiastically offered to be my personal bike tour guide around Ipswich, MA, the place he has called home now for several years. It was a perfect late May day: bright sunshine and temperatures in the 70s. With camera, Cliff bar and camera in my pocket, I was stoked for a beautiful birthday ride and I know Gordon would not disappoint
.

Ipswich, 40 minutes East of Arlington, is a quintessential New England town with plenty of quiet roads that meander along the sea, state forests and apple orchards as well as through small towns with abundant period architecture—-in other words, the perfect ride that reminds me of the birthday rides I would take when I was a kid growing up in Southern, NH.

After a welcome snack and intro to the ride at Gordon’s house, we started pedaling, first through the town of Ipswich which I learn has more 1600 & 1700 historic homes than anywhere in NE.  I adore gazing at architecture while I ride so having Gordon point out the various historic homes on our route was a real treat.  From the village of Ipswich we ride to Great Neck and Little Neck, two glacial drumlins left from the last ice age that offer views of Plum Island, the Atlantic and Cape Ann. 

I mention coffee and Gordon loops the ride back to the village of Ipswich where we stop at Zumi’s cafe and I enjoy their special frozen drink and perfect biking pick-me-up: A coffee ice cream smoothie. Properly buzzed, Gordon leads us along the Ipswich Riverwalk Mural where residents star as characters in a delightful painting by Alan Pearsal that portrays the history of this remarkable little town.  Sweet NE Views, historic houses, coffee and now murals–Gordon is scoring big in my list of birthday treats.

The second half of our Historic Ride is the farm and forest portion of our tour. We ride up Perkins Row passing stunning homes to one of my favorite escapes with the kids, the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary that has delightful nature walks along ponds, rivers and marshes. Spottings of frogs, blue herons, turtles and birds are guaranteed.  For an area that is so close to Boston, these rural roads have the remoteness and beauty of Northern, Maine. We make our way to Bradley Palmer State Park, a 721-acre former estate features pine needled paths, acres of sunny rolling meadows and spectacular rhododendrons which line old carriage roads. Looking for an elegant, rural location for your next event? At the center of the patk is the Willowdale Estate, an Arts and Crafts mansion that has been rehabilitated in return for credit towards a long term lease through DCR’s Historic Curatorship Program.

The end of my birthday bike ride is nearing as we approach Appleton Farms and I savor the views of rolling grasslands, grazing livestock, stone walls, and historic farm buildings and a pastoral landscape that is a rare glimpse into New England’s agricultural past.  A gift of Colonel Francis R. Appleton, Jr., and his wife Joan, Appleton Farms is one of the oldest continuously operating farms in the country, established and maintained by nine generations of the Appleton family. Here’s another great place to bring your family, friends or to enjoy some peace and quiet all by yourself

Although in the past I had ridden fast through Ipswich to reach the beach or en route to Newburyport,  this more leisurely B-day tourist version, allowing for plenty of conversation, photography and discovery, was the perfect birthday present. Topping it off was riding with my dad and Gordon, who shares my idea of the perfect ride: blending miles, history and a jumbo frappuccino!

Thanks Gordon! Ciclismo Classico is so lucky to have you as our official New England bike tour guide

Enjoy the pictures from the ride!

For the past 13 years (ever since my first was one year old) my family has spent the last week of May at the Tyler Place, considered one of the best all-inclusive family resorts in the country. Obviously, we are ecstatic fans of the Tyler Place and could not agree more with it’s placement at the top of any TOP family vacation listing. Allow me to put it in vacation perspective: My kids and I have been known to weep and whine for the whole drive back home. My 7 year old son Luca said that the Tyler Place is better than Christmas. My 13 year old son dreams of the day when he can be counselor there. My 11 year-old daughter and I simply think that the Tyler Place is Family Utopia. No stress. All fun. Gorgeous location and the best three meals I eat all year long.

Yes the Tyler Place is “100% family-friendly” (and has been for 5 generations). Yes! The Tyler Place Family Resort’s has “award-winning Infant, toddler, children, and teen programs.” Yes! The Tyler Place is “one of the coziest and best all-inclusive family resorts EVER”. Yes! The Tyler Place Family Resort’s all inclusive family vacations give you a top family vacation with your kids and time to reconnect as a couple, too! And with over 20 years of running Ciclismo Classico, the leaders in bicycle vacations I can attest that

The Tyler Place is one of the Most Bike Friendly Family Resorts in the World.

Here’s my top ten reasons why if you, your spouse or your entire family loves bicycling or would like to learn to be introduced to the joys of cycling that the Tyler Place is the Place for you:

1. They have a Bike Center with an enormous fleet of FREE helmets and bicycles for all ages, sizes and abilities: Single-speed bikes for your entire stay, your kids’ own bikes and trikes, baby seats & training wheels, trail-a-bikes and tandem Bikes, adult Mountain bikes for touring, teen,  pre-teen mountain bikes. Just another cute Tyler detail is that each bike is named after a town in Vermont! The only bikes they do not have are road bikes but most people that love to ride can easily bring their own. No locks needed, ever!

2. The Tyler Place, including  avid road and off-road cyclist Chad Tyler, embraces a cycling culture and promotes and encourages cycling as the best way to get around their gorgeous expansive property (and has the speed limit for cars at 10MPH). In their daily events schedule they write “We highly recommend that you just leave the keys with car while you are at the Tyler Place.”  All of the cottages on the Tyler Place are connected by a series of short roads and paths so one can bike from “home” to the Inn in minutes.  After I finish my long ride on my road bike, I love wandering the TP grounds on my mountain bike or one of their comfy cruisers.

3. Almost everyone bikes around Tyler Place. There are bike racks at every Tyler hub (The inn, the pool, the kids program centers);  at program pick up and drop off times, the place is so completely buzzing with parents, kids and staff biking around that it feels like a small village in Denmark (the world’s most bike friendly country). Remember the “old days” (before kids were shuttled everywhere by car) when you biked to school, around your neighborhood, the candy and to sports? At the Tyler Place, kids (when they are ready and with their parent’s blessing hopefully) get to experience the joy, independence and freedom of biking around the resort. All three of my children (7,11 & 13) have evolved from me picking them up by bike, to their riding back and forth to program,  to our most recent stay when they got everywhere on their own.  They can even bike to good ole’ Martin’s Country Store, only a half a mile from the Tyler Place

4. The Tyler Place has three escorted bike rides throughout the week as part of their adult  and teen programming: Their easy 11-mile around the charming Isle Du Mott, their 15-mile intermediate bike trip through Highgate northeast of the Tyler Place and an advanced 15-mile “heart-pounding” Mt Bike Ride on the glorious Tyler Place property. While these rides are probably too easy for avid cyclists, will certainly satisfy most folks wanting to blend biking with TP’s array of other activities. The Teen programming, which goes off the Tyler Campus, uses bicycles as their key transport. While my teenage son won’t be caught dead biking with his “biking obsessed” mother, as part of his teen program Lorenzo did an counsellor accompanied ride to local swimming holes, rode 14 miles to get pizza in nearby Swanton and used his bike to get everywhere with his buddy Nate.

Want to bicycle around leisurely with your kids during family time? There are plenty of options. During family time we have taken excursions to Carmen Brook Farm, to Martin’s Store for candy and fishing worms, around Highgate and to Proper Pond to catch frogs with nature Dave.

5. The Famous Duckman Triathlon has a biking leg that has launched guests into cycling nirvana. While every year my performance in the 8.8 mile biking portion has remained a competitive yet stable at 19mph/28:18 minutes, I know of several guests who began doing bike races and triathlons seriously as a result of their tasting the thrill of victory in the Duckman. While all you win is a tiny plastic duck and bragging rights at the bar, the pedal-as-fast-as-you can biking portion to Swanton and back is a weekly highlight for newbie and experienced bikers alike.

6. Learn How to Ride a Bike Lesson. Teaching your kid how to ride a bike is not as easy as it seems. Done wrong and your kid can do a nose plant that may delay this important childhood skill. With kids biking everywhere, the peer pressure is on to learn to ride two wheels.  The TP biking culture, the flat and rolling grounds, combined with an hour-long lesson by their experienced instructor should easily do the trick

7. Plenty of Peace of Mind time to ride! While your kids are in their morning program from 8:30-1:30, you have at five hours to ride to your heart’s content! I usually take two to three since I like to linger a bit over breakfast and lunch.

8. The Tyler Place is an excellent base for a week’s worth of gorgeous loops. The nice part about Tyler Kingdom in Northwest Vermont is that, unlike most of the green state, it’s mostly gently rolling and totally flat. For both beginner and advanced adult cycling enthusiasts, Vermont and Quebec’s Eastern Townships offer not only several excellent loops but abundant cycling resources such as Lake Champlain Bikeways and The Green Mountain Bicycle Club a group I always see on at least one of my Tyler Place loops. Over the past 13 years I have tried out many loop rides from the Tyler Place. Here are my fab four rides that during the week I will either repeat or vary. You can find these rides and more on Map My Ride

1. Ode to St. Albans: Flat and rolling ride along Lake Champlain to St Albans bay. Optional extension to Kilkare St Park. Plenty of farmland, lakeviews with stops in Swanton, Kilkare St Park and St Albans Bay. 30 miles One could continue this ride all the way to Burlington as the coastal road follows the lake for 40 miles.  Easy

2. The Farms of Franklin:  Ride to Morses Line (Canadian Border) Franklin and Lake Carmi (Lago di Carmi) 40 miles. Another spectacular road that rolls for miles and miles along lush farmland of the Vermont / Canadian border. A variety of loops and extensions are available from Franklin and Lake Carmi. Silo after Silo, glorious farm awaits you all the way to East Berkshire! This ride can be extended for miles! Intermediate

3. Oh Canada: Bring your passport and enjoy this loop to Frelighsburg, Quebec. 50 miles. This ride has some amazing rollers through St Armand, Pigeon Hill and back around to Richford. Lovely architecture and homesteads. Check out the potter of Pigeon Hill and the Cafes in Frelighsburg. Intermediate to Challenging.  Intermediate to challenging

4. The Island of Lake Champlain: 40-50 miles. This is the only ride where I recommend that you drive Alburg and then cycle South along delightful beautifully paved roads that follow the lake to North Hero, South Hero and Grand Isle. 

9. Bike to Eat. Eat to Bike: Did I forget to mention the healthy, carbo abundant, delicious food? For three meals a day, The Tyler Place chefs prepare some of the most delicious, varied and healthy cuisine you will eat all year. Save room for local ice cream and home-made cookies and deserts.  PLUS for one week you can enjoy three meals without your kids asking you to get up and get them a glass of milk!  An immensely enjoyable feature of The Tyler Place is the adults-only policy for cocktails and dinner.  For three blessed hours you can bask in the company of other adults and hold grown-up conversations, unwind and relax knowing that your kids (as well as everyone else’s) have dined early and are off with their friends and counselors at a pool party, on a hayride or waterskiing at the lake. 

10. Fellow guests as your cycling pals. Thy Tyler Place attracts a wide diversity of families but what most seem to have in common is their outgoing nature and absolute love of the area. While most of the cyclists use the Tyler Place bikes and attend the Tyler Place excursions, every year there’s a couple of guests who bring their bike.

Of course with the writing of this blog, we hope that more cycling families and couples will discover what a perfect place this is to achieve what is impossible in normal life: Take long rides knowing the kids are happy and taken care of, indulge in leisurely, delicious meals and conversation with other adults and enjoy the facilities and activities of Tyler Place activities with your family during family time. Why not gather together your cycling pals and have a reunion at the Tyler Place; if you do email me or give me a call.  I might just join you!

I feel blessed to have such wonderful people in my midst. A ride up the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway not only provides a quiet, traffic-free escape from urban Arlington but whether I plan it or not, I usually meet up with very interesting people with whom I can share a few miles of cycling and free-flowing chat. I was riding the path with my dad yesterday and passed Tom Fortmann and his wife Carla who live in Lexington, literally steps away from where the American Revolution began in a lovely colonial house on the green.  Tom, by the way was one of the founders of the Minuteman Bikeway, the most used bike path in the country, and pushed for its creation against townsfolk who were convinced that it would increase crime.

Although he is a retired top executive, as many of our “retired” Ciclismo guests, at a super youthful looking and energetic 67, he is as busy as ever with a plethora of activities.  He is a grandfather of three, very active with the Massachusetts Board of Education and recently  performed as Paul Revere in Lexington’s “In Their Own Words,” a live performance with key players in the American Revolution.

As busy as he is, I will leap to the conclusion that what Tom loves most is to ride his bike. In the last ten years, Tom has ridden an average of 5,000 miles per year. Luckily he has our complete collection of Ciclismo jersies which he wears regularly. Tom and his wife, devoted Italiophiles are two of our most generous Ciclismo ambassadors; when our Ciclismo guides come to town they welcome and feed them with the requirement that only Italian is spoken

Last week Tom and a friend left me in the dust on a Charles River Wheelmen spring century. This week he will ride from Boston to Provincetown, the infamous “Cape in a Day” ride.  Only five months into the year Tom has ridden 3823 miles in preparation for his longest trip to date. In less than two weeks he will embark on a two month ride across the country on Timberline’s Odyssey 2010. Over the past ten years, Tom and his wife (a more leisurely cyclist) have taken our longest Ciclismo Classico tours: Bike Across Italy,  Giro d’Italia, Sardinia/Corsica (photo), The Best of Southern Italy and  Bike Across Southern Italy. In 2001, he and his Stanford buddies rented a villa and cycled around some of Tuscany’s most challenging roads.

Luckily, Tom has documented most of his cycling journeys on a unique website, Crazy Guy on A Bike

We look forward to following his cross country adventure on this web site

His favorite tour: Our 15 Day Giro D’Italia
His ride. A Seven
His favorite gelato flavor: Cioccolato

Good Luck Tom!

When I was in high school I remember spending hours in Betty Doyle’s massive vegetable garden on Hurricane Road in Keene, NH. I loved having my toes in the soil, weeding, laughing with Betty and of course bringing my bounty home to stir fry. 

Flash forward to my urban existance on Marathon St in Arlington. I have been whining about my tiny yard for years. It has barely enough room for the kids to play in and until this fall when I chose to cut down a hemlock tree to make room for my future vegetable garden.  Although, I wept like a baby at the cutting of this massive tree, replacing it with plants and now a 10 x 10 plot of fresh soil has finally created closure my treehugger’s mourning.

Although I had my share of critics on the Arlington List ( our town’s highly opinionated list serve)  who felt like I should plant and maintain my own garden, my time is limited and when young Ben (who I found on the A list) came to my house and offered his very reasonable services, that amounted to the cost of one week of groceries, how could I resist?  I am all for “doing it yourself” but I also see the tremendous value and satisfaction in supporting a young entrepreneur like Ben.  I see it more as a partnership. He has the skills, the passion and the talent that I want to invest in. Having a small garden reminded me of Italy, where no one has lawns, but everyone has  gardens! Now that Ben has gotten me started, the kids and I just have to maintain it.

Come to find out Ben skipped college and has been travelling the world to learn about growing food. He spent time in New Zealand and is now back in the Arlington trying, with the help of mom, to “grow” his business. Standing over my fresh soil, he asks me what veggies I like, I ask him what he wants to name his business. He says “Dig It”, I suggest “We Dig It”. He likes that and keeps digging.

The garden is now planted. I better get watering!  I am still not sure what I am going to do when we travel during the month of July and are away in August but I know I can pay Ben to do it. OK I won’t be doing the “work” and therefore cannot collect my “Do-it-yourself Gardener stars” but at least we will be producing lots of food that I plan to share with anyone who wants it. Want to be a bit greener? Find yourself a gardener and turn that lawn into a garden.  Just imagine if every tiny urban lawn was, for a small investment,  turned into a veggie garden.  Just imagine if more young urban kids realized that they could support themselves by digging up lawns and planting seeds.

Live in the Arlington area? Got a small, sunny plot of land? Grow your own veggies!
email Ben @ Bennyb73@gmail.com

Here’s a story to inspire your day thanks to WIMP.http://www.wimp.com/

It’s a about Andy Mackie, the Harmonica man who at 70 years old is glad to be alive. He’s a Scottish born horse trainer who lives in a camper in NW Washington state even though technically he should not be alive. After his 9th heart surgery Andy’s doctors’ had him on 15 different medicines. The side affects made him

The Reasons we Ride

Mom (1933-2004) You are on Every Ride!
Thank You PMC sponsors! Another wonderful summer, my 19th Pan Mass Challenge and feeling so blessed and thankful for your support. My grand total thus far is over ,500 making me a heavy hitter for the second year in a row! My individual thank you letters are going out to each of my sponsors but I also wanted to thank my 60

Our family at Parco Della Cittadella

The Bicing Resident Bike rental service
For the second year in a row, my family has opted to use bicycles to get around the European cities we visit (and I have chosen to visit cities that are bikeable.  Last year we launched our European city biking explorations with a Bike with Mike tour through Copenhagen. Since then I have no problem selling them on