These are three of my favorite things.
I started bicycling a lot in 1979, when a New York City transit strike led me to start biking to high school through mid-town Manhattan. Just then, the movie "Breaking Away" came out, and I was hooked. I raced for many years. Now I ride for fun and fitness, including rides with the Northampton Cycling Club and bike touring, as well as biking to my office, biking to do errands, biking to UMass Amherst once a week. It's my favorite way to get anywhere.
I'm active in the Pioneer Valley Chapter of MassBike, the state-wide bike advocacy organization, and I'm a member of the Friends of Northampton Trails and Greenways, two great local organizations that work hard to improve conditions for bicycling.
I used to think I hated running, and that it would be too hard on my body and would immediately cause horrible, crippling injuries.
Surprise! I like running! Turns out it's even good for you! I finally learned this in 2010 at age 45 and since then I never travel without my running shoes.
I'm a member of the Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club. I'm especially grateful for their Tuesday night 5km series at the Northampton Community Gardens. During the 2015-2016 academic year, when I lived in Montreal with my family, I ran two half-marathons, and went on lots of great runs all over town led by Coin des Coureurs and the YMCA Triathlon team.
And then there's skiing. I do all kinds of skiing -- downhill, backcountry, telemark, alpine touring -- but I especially love cross-country, or Nordic skiing. I think about snow all summer long.
I'm a member of the Berkshire Trails Nordic Ski Club, which skis mostly at the lovely Notchview Reservation. In Montreal, I learned lots from the expert skiers in Skimco.
Here are the ski conditions at Notchview.