Chianti is a region of central Tuscany situated between Florence and Siena, surrounded by wooded hills and lush vineyards and olive groves, it is also home to one of the most popular or well known wines in Italy. Chianti is any wine produced in the region of Chianti, historically it was bottled in a squat [...]
In 1765 Julien Rossignol Sr. a navigator on a ship that sailed from northern Brittany France landed in St. Denis, Kamouraska Quebec along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence seaway. On labor day weekend this fall my father and his sister Virginnia and her husband Don and I visited the same exact farmstead where [...]
My first visit to Rossi's bike shop in Siena, Italy about 10 years ago had me hooked, I knew then that I would be returning. "Venga, Venga!", the friendly old man Martino, summoning me into the depths of the old shop to show me among other things a photo of him on the wall, 1939 [...]
Fresh Trails Adventure and the CMA 2014's Tour de L'Acadie 2014. . . In the books. On Saturday August 16 over 100 cyclists gathered at the University of Maine at Fort Kent bright and early for the inaugural and annual Tour de L'Acadie. 3 different rides/distances, the 10 mile family and kids ride, the 30 [...]
Why do we seek out tough climbs? Many people always ask me; why put yourself through pain and suffering on your bike or why attempt climbing those hard steep sections of road? The standard answer that I've always given was, "because I can". In truth though the answer is not that simple. A good old [...]
I always wanted to be Acadian. For the longest time I thought I was Acadian. . . I spoke french, was born and raised in the St. John Valley, had a french last name. To my surprise, apparently Rossignol is not an Acadian last name. The first Rossignol’s immigrated from Rennes, France to the Kamarouska [...]
What's more fun than a 12.3 mile time trial at 5:30 AM amongst good friends? After a 10-15 minute warm up we set out in 1 minute intervals; Beth Ann first, then John, Andrew, Mark and Dave. Winning time 32:40! I won't divulge who won, because that's not really important. Yeah right!!, I can hear [...]
"If we don't have it . . . you probably don't need it." I know you've all heard that one before, but in today's world of excess, this statement truly rings clear and true at Stockholm's best little country store. In the past year alone I've been to Anderson's over 25 times and Walmart 0 [...]
During my time as a full-time athlete I developed a love-hate relationship with the road when training. On the one hand the road was where I spent the majority of my day, cycling, running, and rollerskiing; I was thankful for the smooth pavement and stretches of quiet road that I sought after while training. On [...]
Of all our Bernese mountain dogs Zoe was unique. She was always calm and very low maintenance, I think she'd get annoyed with Oliver and his antics, barking and his constant seeking of attention. And so it was, Zoe tolerating Oliver and always the first to greet us or head out with us on a [...]
