1. Always downshift before stopping. Its much easier to start moving again from a lower gear, especially when your pulling a trailer.
2. When stopping for a break after a hard ride, leave your helmet upside down in a sunny spot, unless you like the feeling of putting on a soggy sweaty helmet.
3. Your biking gloves probably have a nice soft material on the back of the thumbs (see picture). these are great for wiping up the liquids that come out of your body, but do yourself a favor and designate one hand for your forhead and the other for your nose. You’re in for either a mess or a wind protected forhead if you don’t. (and you can forget about leaving any comments here about any other liquids you might have thought about wiping up.)

So I’ve only been in CT for a short while and my legs are already killing me. I swear that I rode up three hills today for every one that I came down. The difference between these hills and the ones in MA and NH is that their much more rolling, which means their incredibly long and grow steeper with each stoke of the pedal. My calves feel great, I bet I could easily do 100 miles of flat terrain, like on the Cape, but my calves are screaming at me. I’m trying not to sound like I’m complaining, but I realize I really am. I’m going to blame that on waking up early and the lousy weather we had this morning (although its really beautiful out now).

Now I’m just munching on some trail mix on the side of a grassy hill outside of Union’s Town Hall waiting for my friend Paige to come pick me up. I think I’m going to make a few more posts and then either read or nap till she gets here.

And the sun is finally starting to burn of this dreary sky. I didn’t really sleep that much/well last night despite Lillian being so nice and letting me sleep at her house. I rode 70 miles yesterday so I think I’m going to call today a short day, 30 miles or so.