patentcad

Vinyl. But we have wooden firewood.

mrbubbles

For the interest of your health (not that I give a ****), I recommend you change it to wood when you get the chance.

Brandy

You sound like George when I try to stave off hill repeat boredom by throwing in steep off-shoot climbs. There is NO TRAINING VALUE BRANDY!

patentcad

Yes, I've read that vinyl siding (which is on tens of millions of homes all over North America and is used on new homes every day) is a big health hazard. Similar to the brain damage I suffer here on a daily basis reading posts like yours.

From the How Things Work article on the hazards of PVC:

>>Your vinyl siding is generally safe, as long as you don't spend time licking it or touching it.<<

I lick and touch my bicycles, and only when they're new. But not the exterior siding.

rcams

OK, all you've whined about is the hill on the way home.....but how the hell did you get OUT of the neighborhood?! What goes down, must go up. You cruised in the beginning.....life sucks at the end, right?

30+ years and I'm still searching for that perfect, all downhill riding loop.

patentcad

Riding down that hill sucks. Too many deer to hit, and you freeze your ass off when it's cool or cold. The only upside is living here and the views. It's worth it, we like it.

ilvwhtgrls

i dont think that would be much of a problem... however texting might get kinda sketchy.

Trsnrtr

Ok, you were my idol before the pics. Now, you're my idol and I covet your house, dog, daughter, jacuzzi, assistant and hill.

rcams

I hear you. I'd rather start out with a slow climb to get warmed up than coast for a mile or two downhill shivering at the start of the day.....

patentcad

If I'm your idol, you need to seriously re-examine your thinking. I'm not even my dog's idol (he really loves my wife 100x more).

patentcad

Oh it gets better. We're on the east facing side of a ridge, and the prevailing winds blow out of the west. We're on the leeward side of the ridge. When you descend the upper slopes of Mt. Doom, essentially rotate 180º, and you wind up coming out on the other side facing WEST (the windward side), right into the maw of the winter wind, which when it's cranking, hits the other side of this development like Thor's hammer. The good news is that once you're past the first mile or so of the ride, it can only get warmer. Once I'm on the main road (pictured in the first picture or two above) and I'm riding up hill (you can't go 300 meters too many places around here without doing that) you warm right up.

People think it might be windy up here on the top of this ridge, but most of the time it's very calm, because we're just below the lip of the ridge, sheltered from the prevailing winds. There are days when you can light a pipe in my driveway and on the other side it's blowing garbage cans around. The only time we get buffeted with winds is when they come out of the east or south. That's rare.

RideCO

Nice view. I grew up close to there, not much of a hill though.

wanders

Awesome view off the back deck. Very nice.

mazdaspeed

I could easily climb that while having a conversation on the phone the entire way.

patentcad

And we're only 53 miles from the GW Bridge. Which is the best part. Horse country within an hour or so of Manhattan.

ILUVUK

Is that Sugar Loaf Mountain in that 2nd picture? (from the original post)

scotch

and you call that a woodpile? you should buy some more...before it's $400/cord.

nice crib.

patentcad

Correct.

patentcad

That's the sub-pile. The main pile is in the yard. There's about 1/4 cord left. Which at the rate we burn wood may last us two winters. Or more.

patentcad

Thank you. And now it's sporting the Ducati of boilers. So maybe we can even afford to heat the friggin place. When we purchased it heating oil was about 89 cents per gallon. Now it's $3.30 or so. Ouch.

KiddSisko

I can get 34x32? Sold.

ILUVUK

I was wrong. I meant the last picture of the original post..but obviously you knew what I meant. Beautiful area!

Hickeydog

You want more wood? It's free. My house. Just have to come and get it. As much as you want. We are trying to get rid of it because we don't burn it. Mostly Elm, Thornapple, and cottonwood. Might be a few trees of oak in the piles as well.

KiddSisko

You have to do me a pour favor - take pics of those same sights when the leaves turn. K? I never see that out here.

Let's see some other local fav routes too. I wanna see what so inspiring that you put in 13K a year.

patentcad