Mt. Washington - 2023

 Labor Day Weekend - Alex and I took a ride to the top of Mt. Washington.  The weather was perfect and we had a great ride.  Enjoy!

Quick Trip to Fort Edgecomb, ME

 One of my go to rides when I wan to a quick trip to the ocean is Fort Edgecomb, just east of Wiscasset, ME.  It is a small state park that never seems to be crowded and offers some peace and quiet while watching the lobster boats and listening to the waves.  Here is a short video I made using the Insta360 X3 and Movo Mini microphone.  Enjoy!

PEI Motorcycle Trip 2023

 Over Memorial Day Weekend 2023, Alex and I took a ride north (well, more east than north) into Canada for the first time since the pandemic.  It was also his birthday weekend so it seemed a fitting way to celebrate.  WE decided to take a motorcycle trip to Prince Edward Island - a destination he had not visited since he was a young Apprentice Outlaw Geek!

Below is the video from that trip.  Enjoy!

New England - Day Trip

 Alex and I were planning to meet up with the other Founding Member of the Outlaw Geeks - Tim Flack.  Sadly, Tim's bike was dealing with some electrical gremlins, and he had to turn back.  Alex and I kept on, meeting in Morrisville, VT and riding south to Concord, NH, and then back to our respective homes.  We each covered about 425 miles that day.  The short video below is from the portion of the ride through Smuggler's Notch, VT.  I was in a rush to get the video done, so the editing isn't great, but I hope you enjoy it just the same.

Back of the Dragon - Motorcycle Trip

 

It has been a while since I have posted here and this is going to be a short one, but a recent motorcycle trip with Alex took us to the Blue Ridge Parkway, The Tail of the Dragon, and the Back of the Dragon.  I had not heard of the Back of the Dragon before, and it seems like this is one of those secrets that really hasn't gotten out there yet.  Many motorcyclists know of the "Tail of the Dragon" in NE North Carolina, and it is an awesome road to ride.  We discovered the Back of the Dragon while planning for this trip and decided to include it in our ride - and boy are we glad we did!  It is similar in length to the "tail" with similar complexity and much less traffic.  If you find yourself in southwest VA, you owe it to yourself to take a look.  Thirty-two miles and over 300 curves - how can you go wrong???

There is a bar / coffee shop / gift shop at the north end of the road in Tazewell, VA which is where the picture above was taken.  We rode down from Roanoke, stopped briefly to refresh and pick up a couple of souvenir (note to self:  next time, pack the shot glasses a little better....) and then made our way to the road.  

I have made a short video from that leg of the trip.  I will probably do more later, but am a little pressed for time.  Take a look and enjoy!

A tough time for seniors, but our seniors are tougher!

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Today’s SENIOR SALUTE is Alexandre Michaud from @clarksonlacrosse, a Chemical Engineering major from Wales, ME & a Saint Dominic Academy grad. Best wishes to the Class of 2020! Stay safe and be well. #LetsGoTech #UnitedAsOne

A post shared by Clarkson Athletics (@clarksonathletics) on Apr 29, 2020 at 6:16am PDT

It is undeniably a tough time for all college (and HS) seniors as they miss out on what should be their favorite semester of their undergraduate years.  They have sacrificed so much only to have the rug pulled out from under them just when it was getting fun.  I can remember the angry call I received from Alex when he learned that their lacrosse season was being canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  So much anger, frustration and sorrow.

As I write this, we are still in the midst of this lock down.  Schools are closed.  Students are "distance learning" to finish their school year.  Graduations have been postponed.  All athletic and group events have been canceled.  There is some talk of *gradually* re-opening the economy, but it is not happening very quickly.   There isn't a lot to be happy about as business that are temporarily closed may find they cannot re-open and millions of people across the country are unemployed.  It is a scary time, for sure.

With that in mind, I know Alex and others like him will eventually be just fine, because they are fighting through this difficult time and will be stronger for it.  Bitter disappointment now should turn into indomitable resolve later.  Suffering now will lead to perseverance later.  This generation should emerge tougher than before - I hope they all carry this with them to make sure that happens.  To look forward and not take anything for granted.  To look back, not with bitterness for what wasn't, but with gratitude for what was.  We live in a time when our personal freedoms are being stripped from us on a daily basis.  We should never find ourselves in this position again.

So I will choose to look at the photo above, with Alex's eyes cast out to the far distance and choose to see him looking forward, prepared for the future, excited for the opportunities that are ahead, smiling knowing that he is ready.

Godspeed son!

Mt. Washington Motorcycle Ride

I have been a little absent in posting here, but this past weekend I went for a motorcycle ride to the top of Mt. Washington with my youngest son, Nicolas. We haven't had much time to ride together lately, but I am really glad we took the opportunity Saturday. The weather was beautiful and the ride was great. He got a little nervous, especially with the ride down, but handled it well. Here are some photos and video from the ride: