outdoors – Thoughts From The Passenger Seat

2025, Healthy Living

Beautiful Connecticut Ride

Posted on November 13, 2025November 11, 2025 by nancyb422

Last Thursday, our crew headed up to the Northwest corner of Connecticut for a bike ride. We started out in Colebrook which is just over an hour from our home. The ringleaders of our group, Mark and Marilyn had completed the ride over the weekend and instantly knew we all would love it.

There was a brief shower on our way up and the car said it was 42 degrees outside by the time we got there. I definitely wasn’t prepared for cold – even though I was told it would be! That is typical me, I just can’t understand a temperature change until I’m in the middle of it totally unprepared. Thankfully, Marilyn lent me a pair of gloves with battery pack heaters, and some toe warmers. My husband lent me an extra buff he had in his bag. At least I was wearing long cycling tights so I pulled my wool socks over the ends of them, but really wished they were my fleece lined pair! Dressed and off we went!

The ride was a mix of country roads and packed dirt roads. I was happy to not be riding on dirt roads with ruts and rocks like our central Connecticut rides! There were a couple of intense hills that for the first time on this bike I kicked it into Turbo. If we didn’t have e-bikes, we’d be sitting home on the couch instead of riding.

We don’t stop very often. Always for lunch, meaning whatever we can fit in our small bike bags, and occasional water breaks.

This time we happened upon a small cemetery – the Munson Cemetery. I only took a picture of one nearby stone, but google led me to the Find a Grave website. The Judd and Munson families are interred there. The oldest grave is for Sarah Booth Munson and she appears to have ties to Hamden and New Haven. I’m not going down that rabbit hole though!

Our ride also took us through the Great Mountain Forest which is a 6,042 acre forest that within Norfolk and Falls Village. It has 13 miles of road to ride on. We went in one entrance and came out another. And we saw a porcupine! It looked so cute waddling away.

The last 2 miles felt like 10 miles and it felt like it was all uphill back to our cars. 28.9 miles (I need to start riding around the parking lot to get that whole mile!).

*Just kissed the border of Massachusetts*

We definitely warmed up during the ride, and on the way home we celebrated ourselves with a cup of Dunkin’ pumpkin spiced coffee and an a glazed donut stick. I think we earned it!

2025, Healthy Living

It’s Special(ized)

Posted on November 9, 2025November 9, 2025 by nancyb422

Name the most expensive personal item you’ve ever purchased (not your home or car).

It’s a good thing I love to ride a bike because my most expensive personal item recently purchased is a new gravel e-bike I brought home in September. It replaced the first e-bike, a Salsa Confluence, I bought in February. It quickly became evident the Salsa was not up to speed (pun intended), for the rides our group takes. The Salsa was half the price as the Creo, had a smaller motor, thinner tires designed more for bike paths than dirt roads, and unfortunately for me on dirt roads with rocks, no shocks in the handle bars.

My new, best bike is a Creo Turbo 2 Comp with a 1.2 SL lightweight motor, and SRAM hydraulic disc breaks. A really crazy feature is the “etap levers” for changing gears. If you’ve ever shifted gears on a bike, you can hear it going on down at your feet as the chain moves higher or lower. Not this bike because it’s electric! There’s only a delightful little “click” as I press the right or left lever, and the chain makes its move on the cog.

It is worth every penny because my hands no longer ache after a 30 mile ride, I’m more comfortable and confident barreling down a hill, and I have more electric power for that hill at mile 27!

2025, life

Fri-yay!

Posted on September 19, 2025September 19, 2025 by nancyb422

I was so happy when I heard our weather forecaster mention the moon and Venus so close together this morning. I made sure to look up when I went outside.

I’ve been so good about NOT documenting my every trip outside but this morning brought me such joy

I love to capture the brilliance of the sunrise but the sun through the trees as it comes up is so special too. Many trees in our neighborhood are HUGE because they’ve been there in the 64 years I’ve been here.

I’m grateful for the trees and my neighborhood. It’s such a special place!

2025, life

Never Say Can’t

Posted on September 18, 2025 by nancyb422

The ant and the rubber tree plant, the flower (or weed?) growing out from the crack in the sidewalk, and this single lavender bud growing on a plant winding down.

All not taking can’t be done for an answer.

2025, Gardening, hobbies, life

Yard Work

Posted on August 31, 2025 by nancyb422

I’ve talked about my yard before and the history of my home.

Over the last six months, my husband has been adding landscaping to all sides of the house. My father, not having grown up in a family without a home of their own said, “why do I want to plant something when I’ll have to take care of it”. Anything that grew wild, stayed wild and any spot with nothing, stayed that way.

We had discussed landscaping in the front of the house but I grew up with a father who didn’t plant anything remember? It all feels so permanent and “what if it looks bad, doesn’t grow, etc.”, is my school of thought.

Thankfully, my husband ignored me! We now have a variety of plants along the house including, azaleas, Joe-Pye Weed (fun name!) and Little Pye, Goldenrod, and Panicle Hydrangea. Most were purchased at our local nurseries and a few at Lowe’s.

My project this Labor Day weekend is to take pictures of, and lay out on paper, the plants and their locations. I (don’t think my husband cares) want to know what they are and what the colors are going to be. Some that have already bloomed, I forgot what they looked like!

The landscaping around the house and seating area

This was a fun one when it bloomed! Poco Sunset

I’m not going to go for perfection, just a sense of what we have!

All the colors have such nice green foliage too

I’m hoping that cooler and moister weather will green things up again!

2025, biking, Healthy Living

Today’s Ride – Getting Stronger!

Posted on August 24, 2025 by nancyb422

We packed up the bikes today and met our friends for a ride that started out on the Airline Trail. The fifty mile trail is an old railroad that used to travel from New York to Boston. We start out in Portland CT which is on the east side of the Connecticut River. One section of the railroad still exists and was taken over by Tilcon Tomasso (or what we used to call Trap Rock) and travels from there operations in Middlefield down to the harbor in New Haven, or so I’m told!

So, we headed out and although we start on the trail, it’s not too far before we take a left and start UP THE HILL. We’re on the road for a while and then head into I think some state forest which involves gravel roads and washouts, but thankfully no massive puddles of mud! I wish I could take pictures as I ride but honestly sometimes I’m just praying to get me down the steep gravel hills in one piece!

*Today’s route ! Not sure what the colors mean!*

It was a beautiful day – not too hot, not too cool and we stop for breaks along the way. My husband and our friends are very patient with me because I’m always bringing up the rear – especially on downhills!

I couldn’t record this as a Peloton outdoor cycle ride because I’m at 499 rides and I want to do a live ride so I get a “shout out” by the instructor! Silly, but, whatever. I’ll do a live ride on Tuesday afternoon for that!

After burning all those calories we were starved! So what better way to fill our bellies?

I’m hoping I’ll be able to ride more often in the next few months. I’ll have to work on that!

2025, life, Travel

Greetings From Alaska!

Posted on July 29, 2025July 29, 2025 by nancyb422

After 2 flights equaling 9+ hours, one suitcase (my husband’s) put on a “later flight”, and a 2-1/2 hour bus ride, we are on the Viking Orion for an Alaska inner passage cruise with approximately 928 other people.

We booked this trip last August. We took a Viking cruise in October of 2022 down the Seine from Paris to Normandy and back but this was our first ocean cruise. It always seemed so far away. Until it wasn’t.

Our embarkation was in Seward on Saturday evening and we spent Sunday there with the ship departing at 5pm. This, we thought, was going to be the opportunity to have his suitcase delivered to the ship.

“Just in case”, we went shopping for hiking shoes and a fleece jacket for our afternoon hike. Because my husband only had Sketcher slip ons from our trip, we knew he would need some shoes for hiking. I knew there had to be something in town for clothing and luckily there was. We headed to Seward Outdoor Store at 8am which was a short walk from the ship. They had what he needed and it was a necessary purchase for him to enjoy the day.

We also paid a visit to a gift shop which is owned by a friend of a hometown friend! We walked in and introduced ourselves and talked with the owner about our trip and our friend who directed us there. It was nice to make the connection and to tell my friend we visited.

*If you’re ever in Seward, tell Fred we said hello!*

For our excursion in Seward we decided to do a hike to the Exit Glacier. The cruise has an included excursion at each port but sometimes they can be a little dull so we usually pay the money for something that really interests us. A hike is right up our alley.

At 1pm we boarded a bus right off the ship and it was a 15 minute ride to Kenai Fjords National Park. 50 of us got off the bus and divided up among four young guides. Ours was a delightful young woman named Morgan. Morgan has done more in her 24 years than some people will do in a lifetime. She was very knowledgeable about the area and the glacier.

We all expected (and packed) for temperatures to be in the low 60s. Well – Sunday afternoon it was 78 degrees! Thankfully I had my own water bottle and one provided by the tour group because I needed every drop.

It was a 2.5 mile round trip which took us over areas where the glacier has retreated over the years. Morgan explained how they determine how long ago it retreated by the types of trees that have grown. We also saw the striations in the rock and the angle which tells the direction the glacier retreated. It was worth the money and the exertion!

Sadly, we didn’t receive the suitcase by the time the ship left at 5pm. More on that in my Day 2 post!

2025, Healthy Living

It’s Been a Minute

Posted on July 13, 2025July 12, 2025 by nancyb422

We went on our boat the other day. As I walked along the dock, trying to reorientate myself to the layout, I realized it had been 11 months since I’d been on the boat and probably a year since I’d been to the marina we dock it at!

How could that be?? Well, last year we took it out of the water and up to Lake Winnipesaukee the second week of August. We brought it home and, whether the weather was just ok or life got in the way, we never put it back in the water! It just sat in our driveway until it was time to winterize it.

Fast forward to 2025 boating season – my husband and son brought it up to the marina and launched it and they’ve been on it a couple of times. You’d think with the weather so incredibly hot since early June, we’d be there every weekend. But…we’re not…. “It’s TOO hot”, “it’s supposed to rain”, “it’s raining again”. There’s always been some obstacle. There’s even been talk of downsizing and trailering it to different lakes for finishing.

I took Friday off so we could go to the boat. Instead of heading out early in the morning, we took our time and didn’t leave the house until 11. We got there, uncovered the boat and headed out at slow cruising speed.

*Inn at Candlewood Lake where the best wedding ever took place in 2018* 😍 */ a view of the lake*

We hit every cove on the southern end of the lake and ate our sandwiches as we motored around. Once we headed north, we anchored at our favorite spot and spent about four hours reading and swimming around. After a month of such hot weather, the water temperature was perfect!

*Our anchoring spot with a view of a town’s beach and home at the point*

It was so relaxing and I remembered how much I enjoyed it! Maybe it was the shift in the time? The gorgeous weather and warm water? Sadly, not having our dog Wally to have to get home for which allowed us not to have to rush home, played into it as well. We headed home around 6, and ordered sushi to pick up as we got closer to home.

Here’s to (hopefully) a longer boating season this year!

2025, life, Writing

Rain Rain Go Away

Posted on June 22, 2025 by nancyb422

This weekend in Connecticut is the SEVENTEENTH consecutive weekend with rain on one or both days. That means, since February we have had “weather” on the weekend. We may have had beautiful weather for 5 or 6 days and then, Boom!, the one day you have off or something planned for outdoors, it can’t be done.

My husband tells me it was predicted and it’s just for the morning which is good because the Travelers Golf Championship final day is happening Cromwell today. It will be hot again after the rain, so hydrate!

2025, Healthy Living, Memories

Wheels Turning

Posted on June 12, 2025 by nancyb422

Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.

I feel joy when I am riding my bike.

I received my first bike when I was about 7 years old. It was a second hand bike that my dad painted and put a new seat on. I would ride it all over the neighborhood. On weekends, my dad would take me, my sisters, and anyone from the neighborhood who wanted to join us on rides around town. The bike gained a banana seat with sissy bar and upraised handlebars when they came into style.

I outgrew the bike and riding during high school but then received a 10-speed bike my senior year of high school. I brought my bike to college and rode around campus and up and down the country roads.

When I moved to California, I brought my bike with me (in pieces, in a box!), but based on the rides my husband to be and his friends did, I bought a new bike designed for my short stature and for long miles. My longest ride to date is a 100K through the hills of Sonoma Country. I never did become fully comfortable clipping my feet in to the pedals!

*Dry Creek Road area, Healdsburg California*

After moving back to Connecticut, the road rides ended but we would take our mountain bikes with us on camping trips and ride from our site to the beach at Hammonasett and Rocky Neck State Parks or ride around Lake Waramaug. We also took our bikes on the ferry to Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard for traveling around.

*Sights to see on Block Island, Rhode Island*

Recently we purchased e-bikes to ride on which are electric, but pedal assist, which means you still have to pedal to move. People get the wrong idea because there are other types. When I first started riding my new bike, I would turn the assistance on and off and at the same time try to work through my gears. I quickly realized I need to just leave the assistance on at level 1 and just work through my gears and it created a much more enjoyable ride!

So why does it bring me joy? I love the movement both in my legs and traveling a distance quickly! I love the feel of the sun on my shoulders in nice weather. I’m not incredibly fond of cold weather but my first ride was on ice and I can say I finished that ride! Some of the rides involve gravel, uphill and downhill, and I feel challenged, physically and mentally, to get up the hill and DOWN the hill! I’m always in the back of our 6 person pack but I’m getting better! The bike pedals allow for my shoes to clip in or remain free and I currently remain free.

Free like I feel while riding my bike.