This week we moved Paula from Arlington back to Conway. On Monday, we started with a good session of pickleball.
Tuesday, Paula and I rode to the CSA to pick up groceries. Since we ran out of Maple Syrup, I carried a big gallon of the sugary stuff on my back. Before, I had to pick up some packages at the post office. Along the way chatted with Chris, mowing her lawn, and Rita and Arlene on the pickleball court.
We packed all the large items into the Toyota Sienna on Wednesday in Arlington. That evening, there was a retirement reception for Paula at the Waldorf school.
The next day I drove a car full back to Western Massachusetts. In the morning, I had an appointment with the cardiologist to discuss the results of the heart CT scan and heart monitor. She said my heart was in excellent condition, with no plaque, and ran smoothly as a whistle. The occasional arrhythmic episode was typical and nothing the worry about. She declared me healthy and could train and race without limitations.
I put my heart to the test in the afternoon with interval training. I saw the heart rate even spike into the 190s as, at some point, I pushed parts of the 30s intervals into the 600 watts.
Friday morning, we had another fun session of pickleball. The school vacation started, and as a result, there was a good showing of teachers.
On Saturday, I rode gravel roads to test my new Silca frame pump. It has a good tight fit, and the rubber ring prevented the rattling I had had with my previous pump.
I joined John and Pamela on the tandem Sunday morning for a 78-mile ride into southern Vermont. We rode some of the gravel roads of the Guilford Gravel Grinder (G3) held the day before. Fortunately, we had drier weather, and it actually got quite hot. After Guilford, we stopped at a natural spring to refill our water bottles and cool off.
The 7k feet of climbing did wear me out, and when John asked on the way back whether I wanted the hilly or the flat route back, I opted for the latter. It was still an effort to stay on the wheel of the tandem. We stopped for an Iced Hot Chocolate when we arrived in Shelburne Falls. It was delicious. We all suffered brain freeze in the rush to get going when we realized the rain was moving in. Ultimately, we lucked out, weaved ourselves in between the dark clouds back home, and kept it dry.
This week on Veloviewer
