Sore and Tired

I felt all beat up yesterday, at first I thought from riding Fountainhead. But then I had an epiphany. Fountainhead isn't that rough anymore excluding 2 spots really. So why was I sore? I pondered this for many hours till my light bulb went on. Viola!

I spent about an hour and a half on Tuesday wrestling with our 2 big projects and trying to change the lamps in them. This involves human contortion-ism to climb under the screens, under the projects and then laying on the beams/supports at a VERY uncomfortable angle and then undoing the back plate, fans, and such. Due to issues with bulbs I got to do it 4 times. Argh. If I assume the standing version of the position I was in my body starts complaining loudly.

Fountainhead from where we parked was 11.03 miles. My gps only came up with 8.74. On the cyclecomputer I averaged just above 7.1 miles per hour. Not stunningly fast but not slow either.

Wake-o-Tink again today. Looking forward on trying to push maybe 20+ miles today but we'll see.

Gotta start getting ready for the Big PA trip in May.

Allergy Hell.

Woke up this morning with a most lovely scratchy throat and my eyes feeling like I took a few "fun" punches from Mike Tyson back in his glory days. Swollen and itchy to say the least.

So it was off to the Midget to get food and allergy drugs this morning on the way to work. Now I'm enjoying a light and admittedly tasteless Bob Evans breakfast thing. I can now also see my monitors at work, so that's a win!

Last nights WF/AT ride turned out better than I thought it would. I was feeling REALLY un-motivated on the way to the ride and when I first got there, so my pre-ride didn't even start till just before 6. My legs felt okay but I just didn't have the "Go forth and conquer" spirit. Apparently though once the group portion started I changed into my alter ego, Hell Ride Leader and nearly at one point caught up to the Intermediates. OOps. A bit fast.

We rode Accotink in a slightly new way for me and as we were running out of time/light I cut us out to the gravel a bit early and we ended up taking the long way back and was it dark by the time we got under the Braddock Rd bridge. Too bad I didn't have my lights! Oops back to the car for my headlamp. And off I went.

Finished up with Punga, JoJo and a new guy who I can't remember his name. Technically new guy is wrong, he lead casual a number of years ago after Pete B quit. He's just getting back in after a while out.

The Gemini Xera continues to impress me. It was fine for riding WF on medium by itself last night. Did notice it was a tad warm but hey temps are WAY up also. Not like it's 50 or 40 out at night now.

I've gotta start making myself shower at night, not just fall into bed and pass out.

This weekend is looking pretty light on the biking front due to incoming weather and commitments to doing stuff, was hoping for a ride down in DC on Sunday but who knows.

Road Bike-Tard

That's my self determined name as of now involving spinning on skinny tires on pavement.

Ability to ride straight - Negative
Ability to self pace - Negative
Ability to hold a steady pace - Negative
Ability to ride till I puke - Negative
Ability to avoid indicated potholes - Negative
Ability to deal with speed - Negative
Ability to friction shift in group - Negative

Results - Somehow I finished the ride and was only a bit off the main pace, but if you look at my gps data my hr stayed pretty steady. Maybe because I was off the group and working more often to pull myself than if I'd been in the pack.

Riding a classic 1983 (The year my little brother was delivered unto this world) bike with Friction Shifting and the whole 9 yards was interesting. It had a majorly down slopped stem so in the hoods I felt more bent over than at my last annual review at work. A flat stem or slight riser would help, but hey it was a loaner and it worked. I can see how the difference between a road tire and a CX and Semi-CX tire could make a difference also trying to do that.

Total milage was probably around 27.5 or so for yesterday with 20 on the road section and 7 and change on the CCT/Accotink loop.

Accotink was drying out quickly and the 2 sections I checked were nearly dry including Boy Scout which had 2 bad puddles where some berming/cupping is happening and a wee bit o trail work would fix it up in a hurry.

Tried a new RYE IPA from Widmer last night, pretty good but not as good as He'brew's DIPA Rye.

Cold Crisp - Yep OCT Wakefield TNR

Got out nice and early to Wake, and was nearly ready to roll with a few quick tasks.

The new gear bag is super nice, keeps the clean clothes for post ride away from the dirty bike gear. Dynastar Cargo Bag - Post ride I can put the wet/nasty/dirty post ride clothes in a couple different area's to keep them from contaminating extra clothes or picking up more nasty mud crap. Another great steepandcheap find, getting it shipped for $100 bucks.

I blasted over to Accotink with Doug Vinson, we had a blast riding Gas Plant to the new trail section and down the way and came back Boyscout. I pushed a bit more than casual pace for sure. Sorry Doug!


Then it was time for the night ride, at this point only the fast guys had a chance to ride Accotink very briefly and they took off at 6:40. We may have a 6:30 group next week if people want to ride the big A. Otherwise it's pre-ride only now.

Wakefield was drying up nicely, only some wet spots that tend to hold water in corners/low area's. But the damage done by the rains is shocking. Started of with 9 followers in casual but by 7:45 we had dropped 5 due to lights/cold/etc. By 8 it was just me and another guy, we got in another good loop doing a bunch of stuff in reverse order. Rides started out around 70 degrees, by the end of the ride it was near 50! Had good layers/setup, have to remember it.

Good times in the lot post ride, then nachos and good food at Kilroy's.

I Shall Prevail!

I shall prevail and eventually finish my posts of my trip and finish posting my pictures. Today I will upgrade to Flickr(HO) status with a paid account. And I will find time at somepoint this weekend to finish posting up.

Had a damn good night up till the last 20 minutes or so at Wake-O-Tink. Jason M and I did a solid 8 mile'ish preride then I led a fairly large casual group to accotink, we did the gas plant, went along the railroad tracks for a ways, dropped back out on the cinder trail went up to the last entrance before the road and worked our way back. Ricky and Jo split off then, but we met up with Delmar and Sarah who arrived late. Just as we start the new section we put in last fall I hear the dreaded call - FLAT!

Turns out our singlespeed rider had punctured his tire during the emergency stop on the previous climb where I blew the climb and nearly crashed. Poor Neil did crash. After several attempts to fix I sent the others on, we ended up trying 2 tubes, tehe 2nd a road tube that got us another half mile back out before it snake bit and flatted also. So I pushed on with him. Near the Accotink exist I phoned Neil for a pickup for the guy, Neil called back 5 minutes later and the pickup was set. I hauled ass back to the car. They pulled into the lot as I finished changing.

I then got to share the Awesome Awesome Green Man porter from Asheville, NC. Damn good, smooth, and simple. No complex flavors. Damn tasty, I managed 2 cups myself. Also have and Anderson Valley Brewing Summer beer, weird and malty and good. Kinda different.

Blast Away!

Damn good night out on the trails yesterday after work. Got to WF just before 5, geared up and rolled out. I did a quick tour of WF then trucked over to hit Accotink quick before the main ride, and surprisingly made it back in good time! Felt pretty good that first lap. Did it somewhat in reverse for the main ride where we went to Accotink first, did only the front half, then we back-tracked to WF, and rode more trails. General most things were in pretty good shape excluding 495 after the berms and 495 before the berms due to construction. The lower entrance to Phase 4 was a mess, till you got the the 1st rock garden.

Great weather, warm and dry with a nice breeze at first, but a bit chilly when I left the lot just after 9:45. No 'roys for me I was a tired buck-a-roo. GPS logged 19.3 so I figure close to 22 actual miles.

Big ole group after wards as it was Steve-O's birthday for Cinco-de-Steve-O. We enjoyed cupcakes and a wide variety of PLB's. My wimpy dinner of Muscle MIlk and the cupcakes went very well, but having 2 cupcakes was a bit counter productive. GRRRR.

Right now the plan is to brew again tomorrow, then hopefully get in a solid ride at Patapsco on Sunday. However if it's looking rainy I may sneak of to Gambril's/The Shed and see if I can find anyone up there. If I don't brew Saturday then definetely Monday.

Tired tired tire....

Damn good ride last night. We had amazing weather, trails were in moderate to good condition (Accotink was good, WF was moderate). With near 70degree starting temps and finishing in the mid-low 60's with a nearly full moon we had amazing riding. And being back in Accotink on the regular ride was excellent.

I arrived early and pre-rode Wakefield. The lower area of the bowl is a mess. The new drainage covert under 495 pushes a LOT of water in big rains apparently. The stream crossing near 495 is nearly not ridable in one direction. TONS of errosion even on the access trail. Creek trails weren't bad in any unexpected way. Powerlines were surprisingly good.

For the main ride we went over to Accotink. I separated the casual into Casual and a plus group. The plus group had some issues with flats while leaving Accotink and I think we out rode them :) Accotink's first section was great though I did slip and fall on the new trail at the tight turn on the hill. Oh well too much breaking, it was an easy fall. A ways in we picked up Howard also who was riding very easy on his recovering broken hand. He rode the rest of the night with me and JoJo. We only did the first third of accotink as we started a bit late and darkness set in pretty quick and we kept the pace pretty casual. We rolled back to WF and rode the creek trail to phase 1 to the race course to powerlines the upper half of phase 1 back out salemander and were done. We rolled 9 miles I think on GPS so probably close to 10 total. My preride was 7 measured so probably near 18 miles total yesterday.

Post ride was a good time to. Enjoyed some Black Magic's, and other fine PLB's before we went to Kilroys. Good times.

2nd Ride Thoughts

Blasted around Accotink from 5:30 till 7:30'ish. By Myself till around 6:45 when I met up with El Jefe, RickyD and tuba who were riding up the fire road. I hung off the tail of there group the rest of the evening. Tuba was a bit off form and the group ran a bit slower than normal I'm sure but it still pushed me hard to try and hang. i need to ride better :) Less braking. More fitness also. But still felt decent.
could pushed myself harder. next time.

Tuba tore a sidewall out of his racing ralphs so an emergency repair sucked up about 15 minutes I figure while he booted the tire, put in a tube and stuff. He rode it the rest of the evening no problem. I was impressed.

Trails were in best shape I've seen in a while due to last Sunday's rain. Hope the Thursday night rain holds till post ride.

Must gotten in 20 miles or more. That puts me in a decent 27 at least for the week. May try to do a partial ride in tomorrow. We'll see.

Oh and the seat HAS TO GO! Its killing my ass! And my magic shine cord fits fine using the seat bag to hold the battery! that is awesome! Moved in brakes and shifters helped a ton also. Might need to adjust the angle a bit more of the controls. Bikes got a solid 32 miles so far and it's super sweet.

A few Tweaks and it will be ready

Shakedown was last night. It was a damn good first ride. The beast climbs like a mountain goat, and it does roll over stuff that slowed the old bike a lot, I rolled right across a rock garden in Accotink that had frustrated me for a Very Very Long time. (well a few weeks of trying and failing). Descending is a blast, and as I make a few small adjustments it will get better. And the 3x10 is actually pretty cool. I think I spent more time in the 2nd ring than I have in a while as I did end up in 2x2 (32x34) a few times to make climbs I'd previously granny'd on.

Blasting around Wakefield was a riot, I was really letting the bike go on the powerlines and it blazed thru.

I'm feeling very happy about the new bike. Picture soon.

Issues -
Brakes and shifters need to be moved in on the bar. To grip the brakes the way I like my damn hands were almost halfway off the bar!
Gotta drop some air out of the tires and see if they're a bit more stable. So far I'm holding my opinion on the Bonty XR's.
Seat - I like the seat in some ways but it feels too wide.

Get out and Push!

With the onset of nicer weather and a kick in the pants from my scale I'm getting more motivated in my riding. Today was my 3rd ride in a row. 13 more miles pushing me to 36 since Sunday Morning. That puts me at probably 52 since Thursday. This is probably my best week since the early summer in June I think. Now if I can hold and work in some longer rides.

Nice ride today at WF. I did the WHOLE bowl on my preride for a change. It was great and not overly dry like the rest of Wakefield seems. Then did Accotink as part of Matt's small casual++ group. We got in a nice run over there hitting some stuff in a neat order. If only I remembered trails better over there. Oh well. Season there is rapidly winding down for the regular ride. By the beginning of October it will probably mean an early group if people want to hit it for more than 15 or 20 minutes. And really by 15 till 8 lights are really almost necessary! SUCKS!!!!!

New Month

Well September is looking up in part at this point as temps finally seem to be ready to drop after I think 61 or 62 90+ degree days this summer versus like 30'ish the last few years.

Had a good ride out yesterday at Wake-o-tink. Punga and I rode WF for 4 miles of warm up and that was solid fun, then did a fair amount of Accotink including the new trail in reverse. Pretty fun but one tight section where I almost hugged a tree. Damn it gets dark early now. I always forget I have better night vision then average when several riders start complaining it's too dark 15 minutes before I need lights at all. Oh well. We rode out a bit early but it was fine. Ended up loosing a few people as the ride went on till it was me and 1 other guy doing the power lines in reverse, and the race course section of the creek trail in reverse. Think I totaled out near 16-17 miles.

Todd swears the new bike is allocated and will arrive and be ready maybe Tuesday probably Wednesday. I'm stoked and impatient as hell.

IN unstoked news my breakfast habits are hitting me negatively and I weighed in post ride at 198. Not good. So I'm going back to watching my intake a bit of what I eat. I want to be regularly 195. That usually leaves me post big ride 193'ish.

Nice weather this weekend should help I'm planning a big ride I think sunday at fountain hell. Gotta check out the new section.

This weather sucks

Did I think a ton of good deeds yesterday, perhaps some karma will go my way and my new ride will appear tomorrow. Otherwise it looks like the 15th. Not a HUGE deal really. Though my rear wheel disagrees. :(

Trailwork at Accotink was a success. We added 3/10ths of a mile of new trail that will eventually replace I think about 200 yards. Maybe. Another Quarter mile to do in the other direction. The apparent plan is that the trail along the railroad will be left alone with no maintenance in the future due to park concerns and the railroads request. The RR may fence it off also is another possibility. They are nervous about their own liability for people on/near their tracks.

Got the ball rolling again on getting myself and another official set as Trail Monitors for Wake-o-Tink.

Helped a friend change his car battery that went dead. Fixed my inlaws I-pad and one of their bikes at dinner, and replaced the bulb on my wyf's driver side low beam that has been out while she was away.

Was going to ride today but with the 95 degree temps I think I'm going to wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Wet with a side of Wet.

Yesterday at wakefield ended up being a set of mixed results. We started out with better weather than expected in a beautiful mostly clear afternoon, though running about 8 degrees too warm. I got in a nice 8 miles of pre-riding Wakefield. Good Stuff. I ended up last night with a single rider in my Casual group, and we were SUPER casual over at accotink, the guy was making stuff I wasn't but every major hill set was killing him cardio wise. We trekked around Accotink for about an hour then we both noticed the sky was pretty dark. Low and behold about 3 minutes later the rain started. And it kept raining. Harder and harder. We got to the paved trail and decided to head back. Once we were on the lake trail it started raining even harder. Great. Back to the lot and soaking wet at about 8:10.

We then had a late birthday party for Ernesto with Cupcakes, Beer, Tequilla and misc snacks. It was good. And everyone liked my beer selection for the evening, Founders Porter. Damn good, nice and malty. At 9 we adjourned for normal post ride activities at Killroy's and had almost all the riders there, I'd say 15 people.

Ordering new drive train today hopefully, should get it Monday. I hope.

Wakefield Thursday Night Ride hits the trails again.

Wow, for the first time in a MONTH I believe that the TNR at Wakefield actually was able to ride trails. It was a blast. I pre-rode for not quite an hour doing about 7 miles of easy spinning around the park. Did 2 repeats of the Ascent Hill and Berms in phase 3. It was a good warm up, felt pretty good but a bit tired for being at 23 miles in the past 2 days when the ride started. I lead my small casual group out to Accotink the back way so as to give my legs a chance to spin up after spending 30 mins in the lot. We rode a bunch of the trails reversed out there and damn, that was tough in a few spots. It was a nice change however, and I think the funnest part was when we did the normal entry loop at accotink in reverse, it flows even better than the normal way.

With CJ yesterday I hit nearly 33 miles for the week. NOt bad. I'm hoping to sneak out for a shorty on Saturday afterwork depending on the weather. Not sure where yet.

Also after my CJ ride yesterday I hit a new low on my weight, 190. Though last night post ride/beer/food I was back to 192. Going back thru here my previously noted weight back in January 2008 was 218! I think most of that has been in the last year and the last 10-15 has been since the end of the winter when I had plateaued at 202'ish. Now if I could add some leg muscle mass I'd be real happy.

SNOW DAY IPA rocked it last night. Nice citrus finish on it, gonna be a nice summer beer. And while it's fairly low alcohol, at not quiet 6%, it hit more like a 7%. But that may have been the dehydration :)

Thursday Wakefield. Semi Epic

It was a damn fine Thursday out for all cyclists I think! One of the best in a while for sure. I got out of work a bit later than I wanted but still made it to Wakefield right around 5. A slow gear up and I headed out 15 minutes later. Took a nice spin out by the rusted truck section as a short warm up. Then headed out for an equivalency lap of race course. Barely pushing I turned in a solid 20-21 minute lap. I think with a little more riding I may be able to turn in some solid sub 20 minute laps by race time in June. A quick visit over to Accotink followed that for some additional exploring. The Accotink workday had cleared up a lot of leaf covered trail and had 1 good reroute! Very nice work.

Back to the lot a bit before 6:30 to organize the group Night Ride. Had a pretty good turn out of 15 other riders. We headed out in 2 big groups of 8. Both groups stayed together till the first trail in Accotink where I had a rally point and offered quick thoughts on the trails. And we rode on, taking several legs I havent' before. Eventually I let Mike and Joel lead a bit including the section out of the park and back to the CCT as I don't know that way at all.

We rolled back into Wakefield at around 8 and after a time check and reorg we decided to ride till 8:30. We blasted off, doing the creek trail to phase 1, the creek trail race section and up and out on the high section of phase 1. We then did the climb up to the berms and rode down. And headed back to the lots. 12 miles in about 2 hours for our group and 22 total for me. I was stoked. A great night of riding, I was bummed out that I couldn't hang out afterwards. The wyf was having an existential crisis and I was late getting out due to session the berms. Oops. But an excellent night ride!