Sandy’s second and final year of puppyhood flew by. She had a blast last winter skijoring with Haley. When she first met Midge, Sandy was could boss her around as the big cousin; now she can easily walk underneath the long-legged lab. She continues to desire swimming no matter what the time is or temperature of the water. She took her first stroll through Boston and tried tolling some bronze ducks to no avail. I also realized looking back this year I took a lot of photos of Sandy jumping…

A few weeks ago, Sandy and Midge got to try out dock diving for the first time during a private session at Dock Diving Anonymous in Barnstead, NH. There were two professionals who helped ease the dogs into the pool, first by going into the water easily via the ramp, then slowly building up confidence to jumping in, and finally with a running start.

This past July, Sandy, Haley, and I ventured down to Nickerson State Park to camp and enjoy the fantastic water of Cliff Pond. Haley broke out her new stand-up paddleboard and taught Sandy how to load up, take a spin, and jump off. Sandy could not get enough of the water and was sad we only were there for a couple days.

Last August we spent the week down with the Merlos in Eastham on Cape Cod. It was an awesome vacation full of beaches, rockets, and sunrises/sunsets. The week kicked off with playing fetch in a local field with Tucker Giglio. It was a bit chilly from the clouds and wind but still had lots of fun running and splashing in the surf at First Encounter beach. Made a day out of Marconi Beach, which being 🐕 friendly meant Sandy could join us. Another 🐕 friendly area was my personal favorite swimming…

As mentioned in my previous PBP training blog post, I’d like to attempt Paris-Brest-Paris in August of 2023. In order to have a better chance of registering, and also to get a sense of whether I really want to do all this, I set out this year with a plan to ride a full Brevet series, which consists of a 200, 300, 400, and 600 km rides. Here’s a quick summary of how they all went.

Back in January of this year, some of the old Ski Team went up to Jackson for the weekend. Unfortunately it was too damn cold and windy to go skiing, but otherwise it was beautiful outside. We all bundled up and gave it a go at sledding on the old toboggan on the hill next to Black Mountain. It was a ton of fun, and you can go way too fast if you’re not careful! Sandy was very concerned with us, and made sure to run in front and almost get run over several times.

A few weeks ago, my parents brought home their new 13 week old puppy, Shannon Door. Yes, named after the famous Irish pub in Jackson, NH. Pronounced like the more famous national park. Trey, Midge, and the rest of the Maxons were up in New Hampshire celebrating Jim’s birthday. The pups were all very active playing fetch at Attitash and swimming in the Saco river (more like running through it as it was super low).

Haley took Sandy out for her first taste of skijoring on the baseball field across from our house. It was a roaring success. Sandy had lots of fun pulling Haley around, and Haley remained upright the entire time.

Quite the adventurous ride a few weeks ago on the Saturday before Easter. Plan was to bike for 3.25 hours, which looking at the weather seemed fine as I headed out just before 4, which would have me finished just after 7, which was 20 minutes before sunset (which I had lights so no big deal either way) and before the rain was anticipated to come.

The Maxons and Chabots wasted little time in getting a puppy play date in the new year. It was a soggy day for a walk through Bradley Palmer State Park, but the pups enjoyed it none the less. Sandy still wants to let Midge know who’s top dog, but she better be careful, as it’s only a matter of time before Midge surpasses her in size (and potentially speed?). A few week later, Sandy hosted Midge at our house, though she refused to back down when it came to fighting over who got to sit…