- Either get to Battenkill this weekend or tune in Sunday 7pm EST on Versus. As always. When riding this weekend....Remember "What would Jens do?"

Ever wonder what soccer referees have to do to maintain their fitness? Most runners maintain fitness because they like to run, or they run competitively, or both.

Although it's been a while since I've updated Dan's Corner, I hope all NJRC members survived the winter. I barely did, I couldn't take one more day of 70° highs, what a nightmare! It's all relative you know, even though South Texas winter is much warmer than Southern Arizona, you become a wimp really fast. My girlfriend, Lola, however, is even more of a wimp than me, Mr. 0% body fat meets Miss 0% body fat. The pic of the two of us shown was on a "cool" 77° day. Wearing my LS winter jersey, she felt comfy.

Fresh off a major disappointment at Mt Washington, I had to find some way to curb my giant climb appetite. Don't get me wrong; there is no substitute for Washington anywhere. But the feeling you get when you miss out on the ultimate leaves you empty and craving. Doing Mt Washington is like eating the Great Wall of Chocolate Cake at PF Changs. Awesome.

In addition to my obsession to the big climbs, I'm kinda a geek when it comes to weather phenomena. While I don't have to deal with cold and snow anymore, it's always neat to marvel at extreme weather. One event that has intrigued me was what happened two years ago when Hurricane Katrina swallowed up the gulf coast of Mississippi and Louisiana.

Many people over the years ask me, "How do you train for Mount Washington?" That is a loaded question. The easiest answer is to say that it takes dedication, and is all consuming. You think about it first as you approach everything. What you eat, how you sleep, how much riding you do. "How much time am I losing by eating this cookie?" one asks themselves. Then the next thought is, "OK, I have to ride an extra 30 minutes to make up for the failure of eating that cookie!"

Having been back now for about 6 weeks, I was looking forward to my first real race in a few years. Whiteface in has always been one of my favorites. 8 miles, 8% average grade. It's not all that far away from my parents house in NJ, and it's fairly low key. Most riders who show up to this race are there for a warm-up. I fall into that category. I generally don't take this one too seriously. It's more of a fun run.

The Ride: Mt. Ascutney, Vermont

It has always been a goal of mine to do as many killer bicycle hill climbs as possible before I die. Ascutney is one of those climbs. An absolutely brutal ascent in South central Vermont, it can only be compared to Mt. Washington in its severity. While only half the distance of Mt Washington, Ascutney has the dubious distinction of being the only paved climb in the northeast that climbs 1,000 vertical feet in less than a mile and a half. I can certainly attest to that.

The Ride

Continuing my "Member at Large" status, my travels recently brought me to West Chatham, Massachusetts out on Cape Cod. As a point of reference, Chatham is right at the elbow of the Cape. Way out there! SO far out there, the sun shines brightly before 5:30 in the morning! My stay was compliments of my sister Margaret, husband David, and their kids Seth and Matthew. Their house sits just 1 block off the beach, which is great during the summer, but this time of year, well...

The Ride

After a long trip back to the Northeast, I now find myself in Maine, about as far as I can be from the desert southwest. After a short stay in New Jersey, I am taking a whirlwind tour to visit all my family that I haven't seen in nearly a year and a half. The list of states I've been thru in the last three weeks is impressive: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.