Up Hill

This is the 3rd post of my foray into fiction, you will have to go back and start where you left off...somebody stop me? I need to come up with a proper title I guess The Sun had moved in it’s arc just enough to put the sidewalk in shadow as they paid the check. They crossed to opposite side of the street lined with island cabs and were immediately engaged by a young local man leaning on the side of a battered passenger van. “Where you going Mon?” the driver asked.   He pulled the ripped page from his shirt pocket and said “Sapphire Beach resort”, “Can you take us?”. “No Problem Mon, Carleton Jones at your service!” Carleton reached behind him slid the side door open and beckoned them into the worn bench seats and the sticky sweet smell of way too many air fresheners placed about the cabin.   It had been many years since he had been in the Islands but as the van left the small commercial street he could see that not much changes. The van creaked and suffere...

Some more ... I am not sure how to assemble this and I am not sure where its going, but it is kinda fun.  It will be all out of order, I guess just start on the first post and work up hill. :) Exiting the Terminal, walking out into the bright sunlight, they were met by the clamor of car horns, diesel exhaust and Rasta-rap blaring from a taxi radio.   It took them a minute to acclimate and adjust. They were on a busy commercial strip, signs beckoning for everything from Gold jewelry to Tee Shirts, it was like the entire island population was in search of those tourist dollars. He turned to her, squinting and said, we’ve got to find a place to stay, we need to get some rest…she nodded, still scanning the brightly painted pastel storefronts across the busy street, “look” she said, “take this” handing him an ISLAND LIFE booklet she had grabbed off the newsstand, “take this and get us a table over there, pointing to an open air café, I will meet you there, I have to get some...

Here is a little piece I have been playing with, tell me what you think. They were not ready for the blast of tropical heat that greeted them as the French speaking flight attendant opened the door of the battered old Cessna. The bright sun and the dust filtering in, they squinted, grabbed the 2 small duffle bags and filed out on the tarmac. The heat and humidity was overwhelming as they walked into the open, World War II vintage corrugated tin hangar that served as a passenger terminal and immigration office. “Wish we had remembered to get sunglasses” she whispered. “Passenger Terminal” was a loose term for this place. They threaded their way through the mass of people and he noticed pallets of neatly stacked sacks, coffee maybe? Maybe something else… There were all manner of crude wooden cages and chickens running loose. Stalls of market sellers, calling to the crowd, babies crying, dark young solders standing with soviet era rifles at the doors and the ever present overwhelmi...

Looking into the future So, I have mentioned that I am looking into the future lately, not looking back anymore, not unless I get the flux capacitor anyway. Part of my interest in what is to come is retirement... It is coming, hopefully on my terms, not dictated by some event, corporate restructuring or god forbid...sickness. That is where it gets sticky, if you knew what your expiration date was, all this planning would be so much simpler. How easy it would be to plug in that date and work backward, As we know, we are never gonna know, so now what? Plan to live to 95? My grandma is 97 and still kickin...however my poor brother in law past away at age 67, he never got to enjoy one day of retirement... sucks, right? I am turning 60 this January, I have worked hard, tried to save and if I am careful with the money, don’t get sick, work till 67, I will be just fine...rats. If I could, I would step away from the job that I have had for the last 27 years and do something else, something ...

I was thinking that I would like to have a better camera than the one that comes with the smart phone. I take a lot of pictures and there are times when I am using the phone for navigation or communication at the time I want to take a picture. So then, that got me thinking about what type of camera would be useful for me. I think it should be small and easy to use, no little bitty buttons that are hard to see. I found a used digital Cannon ELPH on eBay and ordered it, I will see how it goes. Years ago, in the late 70’s I got “into” photography, I bought a nice 35mm SLR camera and a couple lenses. I took a photography course and learned to develop film. The cool thing that I got pretty good at was developing slide film in a black plastic garbage bag...no dark room needed. I know it was a lifetime ago but I still remember shooting film was a whole process that was made history by the advent of cheap digital cameras. Over the past couple of years I have been reading about the return of p...

Nope...don’t want to hear that end of summer jive from the TV, my co-workers or the DJ on the radio! As far as I am concerned, we are just getting to the creamy filling, July and August are the cake, and yes, the cake is good but September and October, thats the good stuff. This year, July was dry as a powder keg and August was wet, wet wet. so here we go, into September the time for not so hot and sticky days, clear sky and outside fun. Then the cool crisp weekends of October, the green turning to red and gold! This is the BEST part of summer. We all remember those first weeks of grade school, new blue jeans and fresh skirts masking dirt stained knees. In my option, we started school too early and we missed those sweet days of late summer. I am looking forward to the end of this humidity, I am waiting for the first local apples to appear at Mr Pott’s farm stand. It’s fun to feel like I am making my bike basket useful, stuffed with a bag of Empire apples and maybe a sweater, just in ca...

So, it has been a long time since I posted anything up on the Uphill blog. I don’t know if anyone blogs much anymore. Except for the recent, poorly written, post about my adventure at the D2R2, my last post was in the winter of 2011! A lot of stuff happened over the last 7years, some of it was wonderful and some of it was very hard and sad, I guess that’s life. I will try not to go into the whole time lapse but there are times when I wish I had the DeLorean from back to the future. I am looking forward, looking into my 60’s now, there is no sense looking back, but if I ever get my hands on a flux capacitor… I am gonna fix some things!

Last weekend was the D2R2 Gravel Grinder event up in Deerfield Ma. I have been wanting to return to do this event for years but it is almost 3 hours drive...several years ago, I drove up and back in the same day, was exhausted and missed all the parties etc. So this year I made plans to camp at the event, I thought it would also be a good opportunity to do a first time in 35 years since I have camped. In preparation, I bought a 2 man back pack tent, a summer weight sleeping bag and a folding pad. Everything I got was on close out and the whole kit was under $100.00. I packed a small blue tarp to use as a ground cover, my coffee making kit, some food, a “brick” to recharge my phone, some cord, flashlights, borrowed a 3 gallon water jug from work and a medium size cooler to keep beverages cold. The camping was in a hay field and you were right along side your car....easy enough as I did not have to pack anything on the bike. It has been raining for days here and I was worried abou...

What a difference a year makes. I was out on Scout, my trusty old GT Passage last weekend and took a photo in just about the same location as a year earlier. I thought we had a lot of snow last year..well a picture is worth a thousand poorly spelled words. At this rate, the ground will still be white in April. 2010 above and 2011 below So that got me thinking about how the time has passed and how my outlook has changed over the past year. It occurred to me yesterday as I rode this very same route that I am changed, I notice the increased speed gain from not dragging those extra 20 pounds of weight around with me. That is a huge difference on a bike, forget about carbon fiber, I just needed to stop shoving bad food into my mouth! Big change there since last year.

I have to say that I can not remember the last winter we have had so much snow here in the Hudson Valley. The snow here at Uphill is now “Taller than the Terrier” and I have been reduced to snow blowing paths for the dog. Is this what I have become? One of those odd old men who make trails for their doggie so he can squat in peace? So the weather man says that today is the better of the two storms…enough already. The snow and cold is bad enough here that I found myself taking pity on the shed mice and have not reset the traps. I only wish that they would take to wearing Penguin costumes as another blogger has suggested. This weeks storms have also reeked havoc with my work schedule and the effects of canceled and rescheduled meetings will have an impact into March at this point. One thing about Hudson Valley residents, they are a resilient lot, the teenagers are taking the day off from school and snow covered roads here as an opportunity to race snowmobiles up and down the roads while...

“Chipping away the moments that make up a dull day”….no that’s not how the song goes but, it works today. I have been out pecking at the glacier that has advanced, during this recent Ice Age, over the driveway here at Uphill. Today there has been a little sun and a few hours where the mercury rose above freezing. It was a brief opportunity to chop away and slowly reveal the stone surface. This is necessary due the Uphill nature of the drive and the fact that the Queens van has made its way, all on it’s own, down the drive, coming to rest on the front bumper of my truck on 2 occasions this past week. I have also been chipping away at the extra pounds I managed to put on since quitting smoking two years ago, and it feels good, clothes getting a little loose, I even had to punch another notch in my belt last week. Like the Ice in the driveway, that’s all it takes, you just gotta get started, stick with it and keep chipping away. Tomorrow, we return the Princess back to school, always a...

Today was not a day to be sticking your tongue to the handlebars, no sir, Tomorrow am is going to be the record cold for this winter,or so the weatherman informs me. I have to admit that I chickened out and spun on the trainer in the shop/basement/studio. I was daydreaming of warmer places and St. Bart's came to mind. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing many bicycles down there in the Caribbean chain, too many crazy drivers on death defying switchback, narrow roads. Well, maybe forget the bike, I wonder how many calories you burn just laying in the warm sand?

Whew, I am exhausted. My world is spinning so friggin fast that here it is January 17th and it seems like yesterday was Christmas. It was not, however, as evidenced by the fact that all assorted HoHo has been packed away in the attic till next year. Just turned 52 and recent events have me looking back into the past as I sprint to the future. Its all good though, scary and exciting at the same time. Life is a roller coaster most of the time anyways and if you don't climb on,well, you won't puke or loose your money in the seat, but you will miss out on the ride. Better to risk it, climb in, take a seat, and scream! I got out on the road Sunday am and did 16 miles, not much but better than spinning on the trainer.

Cake! What do you mean, I can’t have my cake and eat it too? It’s MY birthday and I should be allowed to have whatever I want!! I wish it was that easy… I did find a new band, the Carbon Tigers, as of yet unsigned, laying down an eclectic, psychedelic groove. Check them out http://www.myspace.com/carbontigers

I saw on the news last night that Gerry Rafferty died. Man, you know some songs capture a vivid memory where you can almost put yourself right back there. Baker Street is one for me, April 1978, Washington, DC. “This city desert makes you feel so cold. It's got so many people but it's got no soul” So looking ahead, I reset my ODO back on New Years and I have a whole 68 miles on as of today. I have been cranking along on the winter beater with the generator humming on the tire and the frog lEDs blinking away. It is kind of fun rolling through the cold air sourrounded by total black with the feeble headlight focused on the white line. What I really need is a handle bar mounted Kleenex box as the cold air makes my nose run constantly. I have been working on my old Raleigh 10 speed conversion. I converted the bike to run 700c wheels last fall which allowed enough room for full fenders with space to run 38c tires. Recenty I scored a vintage triple crank and I installed that last we...

We spend a lot of time being critical of ourselves, much more so than we might think. A lot of people would say that we tend to judge others but I think we find fault with our own situation far more than we look to the short comings of others. I have to say that I am guilty on both counts. If I could resolve to do one thing this year, I would attempt to be more aware of this destructive behavior. Like Popeye, “I am what I am”, and basically I am not going to make any great changes, but, I can try to be comfortable with who I am. I will never loose all the weight, but I can loose some. I’ll never take perfect care of my teeth, (a promise made after every cleaning) but, I can floss everyday. I do know that I can make changes. This March I’ll be smoke free for 2 years, so there is evidence that changes can be made. But how to not sit in the Judges chair? That is the tough one. I found myself muttering about some guy at a red light with a cigarette hanging out of mouth the other day, shoot...

Not a creature is stirring here at Uphill, Including the mouse I caught in the shed, I’m sitting here wondering if I should go to bed, An overweight-overfed-middle-aged Fred, all I can say is at least I’m not dead. Well, I should be considering how much food I have consumed in the past 24 hours. My hippie vegan brother-in-law made a feast and that along with several courses of lasagna, Cookies, pies, way too much chocolate, wine, beer and god knows what else supplied by the rest of us. I can barely move. It was a WONDERFUL Christmas. It looks like here in the Hudson Valley we are in for the first real snow storm of the year so tomorrow morning I’m off to get gas for the snow blower. I have this idea that if I go through all the effort to get ready well in advance of the snow storm that I can actually cause the storm to be averted. As if placing the snow shovel out on the porch acts like a talisman to ward off the snow. Merry Christmas, Good health and happiness to all. Spencer

Peace on Earth The Solstice celebration was a success and now we will have good fortune in the coming year, at least we can hope. I now have a headache, due to my old buddy Sam or possibly the wood smoke. The other benefit, not counting the cranial throbbing, is that there is not a branch or dead limb left to be found here at Uphill. The other day, I received some information that has thrown my whole being out of whack. You know the old saying, “ignorance is bliss and knowledge can be dangerous” or however that goes. In my mind I have a home movie with sound (played on an 8-track) and I can go and watch anytime I choose, I know the plot, I love the actors and the scenery is beautiful. I treasure the film, even as parts fade from the reel. I’m not sure that I want to re-release, digitally enhance, or create the sequel, but I can’t stop considering the possibility. The whole thing does not make for a good nights sleep or a settled stomach these past few days. It is still friggin cold and...

Well, first let me say that it has been some time since my last post AND I know that I said that I was done complaining about work on the UpHill blog but, I do blame my lack of posts on W.R.S. So anyway, I have been reading the folks I follow and I am still riding, maybe not outside today as the wind is just a wippin here. I rolled over 2700 miles last week. I am home till New Years as I failed to use up enough vacation days over the nice weather when a guy could get out and ride and instead chose to labor for the man,I am an idiot! I've been home since Friday when I retrieved the Princess from the city. She is now home as well...the Queen may very well evict us both by the time we return to a normal schedule. I have been building up a winter beater out of scraps from the parts bin, it turns out to be a pretty capable rider and features a 1x6 drive train, rear rack, fenders and best of all old school lights run of a bottle generator. Kind of paper boy meets commuter. Tonight around...

I got nothin...I can't think of a single thing to write about...pretty scary. So, we went down to the Blaze it was pretty cool. I don't know a lot about the lower Hudson Valley but Croton seems pretty nice. I been spending a lot of time driving all over for work so not much time for posting.