NOHO - in summary

Back to reality

Don't you just hate having to 'snap' back to reality? Despite the crash, we had a great time, and were sad it ended... I felt like I got just a small taste of what it would be like to be in some racing team or something.

Friends
We met some great people on the trip, and even have a few that we plan to visit (and hope will visit us). It is nice when you meet people who seem to be on the same plane of thought and share common interests. We also found Northampton to be a great place to visit, it was somewhat like Ithaca, NY (bookstores, nice restaurants, atmosphere, charm, cycle friendly).

The Camp
We loved the camp, and the coaches were great. We would recommend it, and may go again for one of their A/B ride weekends. Check out ride Noho, maybe they have something for you too!

The Drive
Okay, this is one part we DIDN'T really like. It took about 9.5 hours to get to Northampton from Pittsburgh, and it seemed to double on the way back. We left around 3:30pm on Sunday (destination - Rochester NY), and we pulled into the hotel at about 8:40pm, a little over 5 hours. The hotel was nice (we snuck the bikes in through the back door), but we were too tired to really enjoy it, and the open wounds of MVG negated any chance of pool or hot-tub activity.
We slept in, and got on the road from Rochester at about 11am the next day... arrived at the kennel to pick up Cherry around 4pm. NOTE:There was not a SINGLE Starbucks on any of the highways between Rochester and Wexford PA (where the dog was staying)

The aftermath
So, MVG is off work until Thursday (June 8), but I had to return on Tuesday (June 6). We took MVG's bike to the local bike shop... as suspected, a new rim is required for the back. They kept it overnight for analysis (x-ray, catscan, MRI) just for precautionary purposes... I wonder if my health care plan covers that (it was admitted afterall). Thursday, I will ride up Sycamore in Sewickley to get the grade of it (armed for the first time on that hill with my GPS).