It’s officially official…Fat Boy Headquarters has moved to the Boston area. But no worries, the interweb address will stay the same, only the scenery will change.
Thanks to the deep pockets of my company, Kristin and I are now checked into our one bedroom apartment in Waltham, MA. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of packing and purging. After it’s all said and done, I’m lighter one kayak, an upright piano, and about a thousand pounds of paper from college. It feels good, damn good. We fled on a Friday and braved the east coast traffic most of the day. Saturday was spent unpacking the two cars we managed to stuff to the brim with things we “needed” for the next two months.
Sunday saw a visit out to M&M’s place for a quick morning ride at Leominster State Forest. It’s about a 45 minute drive from home and about an hour during the rush. Man, does this park hold up well to the rain! We had storms Saturday night, but the singletrack was nice and dry, not to mention tight with baby head tech sections. Next time I’m out for a ride there I’ll snap some pics.
The next week I started working and commuting. I devised a nice route that comes out to just over 9 miles each way. It’s got a few flat spots, mostly rolling hills, and one nice sustained climb, which is of course a downhill on the way home! Initially my goal was to run it like Spearman, day in, day out, always use the bike. It’s been working for the most part, although I drove in this past Friday, but with good reason. I had a new computer showing up at the office, including docking station and LCD screen that was going to end up at home. Rather than make a special trip back in the car that night, I just drove in. This also had the nice side benefit of being able to leave from work a couple hours early and heading up the coast to Maine for the weekend. You can never get too early a jump on the weekend coastal traffic. Left at 4:00 PM and was sitting on the beach in Saco, ME by 6:00 PM. I’m guessing it will take less than 90 minutes when not having to deal with traffic. We spent Saturday helping to haul furniture into the newly built garage apartment Kristin’s parents just built.
So as of this morning I’ve racked up 100 miles bike commuting, definitely better than my previous 1 mile each way commute, ha. If I can keep it up, I’ll probably be logging about 100 miles per week, when you add in mountain biking it might be more. Hopefully all the commuting will have a nice side benefit if you know what I mean…
Anyway, we made it safe and sound. Buster is taking it all in strides and seems to be handling the change like a champ. Kristin is currently telecommuting, no thanks to her boss…the title ass clown jumps to mind. If you end up in this neck of the woods, shoot me a note. I’ve got a long way to go to learn the area, but I gain a little more knowledge each day. Oh, and don’t forget, Transformers opens over July 4th. Watch this video if you need some inspiration, ha.
DT
In a strange bit of serendipity, I went over to myLHBS on saturday after work/other errands and ran into the othe Rob from your party, he was there trying to get the final bits he needed to setup his kegging setup, and he convinced me to wait till I find a setup used for sale on ebay. Which is ultimately fine as i’ve got plenty I can do till then. Whats his contact info?
(still damn jealous over your bike commute till say…November…..:)
Rob the Second.
effin’ yankee.
Nice report, man, seems that new found opportunity for commuting has improved your writing skills, ha! Keep it up–the writing and the riding. Yeah, 100 miles a week adds up quickly, mostly in the endurance department, which is about the only place you might need a little help.
Glad to hear you guys (including Buster) are doing well.
PS: Gary is a poor substitute, ha.