Was down in N.Fla for my anniversary this last weekend, missing the annual fall trip to PA which turned out to be a snow riding fest. Sad to miss, as it sounds like great times, chainsawing and snow riding was had by all.
In N.FLA where it was supposed to be a sunny 80's ish all the time this time of year we had 70 on Friday, 63 on Saturday and 67 on Sunday and 69 Monday. Needless to say I got into the ocean 2x in 5 days for a total of about half an hour. ARGH! We did get to bike a bit finally on Monday and early Tuesday before we flew back out as temps returned to mid 70's. We also kayaked a ton on Monday for about 2 hours covering a nice series of inlets. We racked up probably 18-20 miles those 2 days. And we were flying on those old single speed beach cruisers. Makes me appreciate part of the appeal of SS MTB.
Had a darn nice ride out at wakefield last night, about 20 riders out. Had a small group of 4 others with myself. Rode between the pre-ride and afterwards about 13-14 miles i guess. The main group was slow as we had a couple people practicing technical sections. I should do more sessioning of stuff. Maybe next week's preride.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Can I get a WTF?!?!?
Was up in Charm City last night for a performance by the Wyf, got to hit my fav Joe^2 (Squared) for pizza and a beer. It was a German, Köstritzer Black Beer. It was nice, smooth with a good balance of malt/toast. Good while I was waiting on ze Pizza. I always dig there Pizza, think crust, pretty crispy usually.
AT the main show I had a couple of Ommegang Hennepin. Tasty. Didn't realize it's technically a Saison. Good belgian style. Gotta try more Omme stuff. Wyf really liked it.
Thursday I rode like crazy, did 11.5 pre ride, then hauled the "casual" group around for another 11 miles, and still finished at 8:15. We were frickin flying. A bit cool by the end, I was pretty damp from sweat and couldn't push myself hard enough to work up a good steady sweat. Regardless 22.5 miles is a good night out. Though the plethora of limbs/branches down in Accotink almost took me out 2 times and 1 time in wake.
Note - Damn roundagon rotor the CB put on does create a REALLY annoying harmonic. Gotta order a g3 next week after payday.
Strangely some how last night (Friday) I messed up my right knee while doing either some walking or while doing some arm curls (Drinking beer). By this morning my right knee is sore and stiff, I'm hobbling around like House.
Gonna try and see Zombieland tonight I think. Then might hit a brew tasting up in B-more tomorrow for the end of Baltimore Beer Week.
AT the main show I had a couple of Ommegang Hennepin. Tasty. Didn't realize it's technically a Saison. Good belgian style. Gotta try more Omme stuff. Wyf really liked it.
Thursday I rode like crazy, did 11.5 pre ride, then hauled the "casual" group around for another 11 miles, and still finished at 8:15. We were frickin flying. A bit cool by the end, I was pretty damp from sweat and couldn't push myself hard enough to work up a good steady sweat. Regardless 22.5 miles is a good night out. Though the plethora of limbs/branches down in Accotink almost took me out 2 times and 1 time in wake.
Note - Damn roundagon rotor the CB put on does create a REALLY annoying harmonic. Gotta order a g3 next week after payday.
Strangely some how last night (Friday) I messed up my right knee while doing either some walking or while doing some arm curls (Drinking beer). By this morning my right knee is sore and stiff, I'm hobbling around like House.
Gonna try and see Zombieland tonight I think. Then might hit a brew tasting up in B-more tomorrow for the end of Baltimore Beer Week.
Monday, October 05, 2009
TW Day and some thoughts on a few good beers.
Trailwork day went very well, a slightly lower turnout than I was hoping for, but overall we got most everything done that was on the list. And a few other things to, so it was a good day. Due to some minor issues we got a bit of a late start, not really till 9:30 I'd say.
J and I spent the afternoon in Glen Echo Park and it was a great afternoon. We picnicked and relaxed. Saw a cool film on the history of the park also. Very nice.
Some great beers I've had of late worth mentioning
Collaboration not Litigation Ale - Batch 3 - From Avery and Russian River Brewing - An excellent belgian celebrator style ale. They blended there to Salvation Ales back in Dec 2006 to produce this beast. Tons of nice malt, a bit of hoppiness to keep it from being the typical too cloying belgian. And TONS of yeast in the bottom. I and a buddy split this and I poured some of the bottom and it had a ton left also. Very smooth.
Founders Porter - An excellent malty and rich Porter, with notes of a hint of coffee. Very good.
Founders Breakfast Stout - YUM! Double Chocolate Oatmeal Coffee Stout - Yum, this dark rich devil is super smooth and super tasty. A hint less coffee would be my only real issue with this, but it was still damn good. The blend of the rest of the additives is excellent and the 60 IBU's keep it from sitting around in your mouth too long, cleaning the coffee etc out.
Savannah Chanelle - Tina Marie Vineyard Pinot Noir - Russian River Valley - 2005 - WOW! This was an excellent wine as I always expect from this winery involving their high end pinot's. Smooth as velvet, rich, and very good balance of tannin's vs fruit. A bit strong on the nose at first with the alcohol, but after a quick sit in a nice wide wine glass it was ready to quaff. I'd give this a 90 to 91 rating out of 100.
J and I spent the afternoon in Glen Echo Park and it was a great afternoon. We picnicked and relaxed. Saw a cool film on the history of the park also. Very nice.
Some great beers I've had of late worth mentioning
Collaboration not Litigation Ale - Batch 3 - From Avery and Russian River Brewing - An excellent belgian celebrator style ale. They blended there to Salvation Ales back in Dec 2006 to produce this beast. Tons of nice malt, a bit of hoppiness to keep it from being the typical too cloying belgian. And TONS of yeast in the bottom. I and a buddy split this and I poured some of the bottom and it had a ton left also. Very smooth.
Founders Porter - An excellent malty and rich Porter, with notes of a hint of coffee. Very good.
Founders Breakfast Stout - YUM! Double Chocolate Oatmeal Coffee Stout - Yum, this dark rich devil is super smooth and super tasty. A hint less coffee would be my only real issue with this, but it was still damn good. The blend of the rest of the additives is excellent and the 60 IBU's keep it from sitting around in your mouth too long, cleaning the coffee etc out.
Savannah Chanelle - Tina Marie Vineyard Pinot Noir - Russian River Valley - 2005 - WOW! This was an excellent wine as I always expect from this winery involving their high end pinot's. Smooth as velvet, rich, and very good balance of tannin's vs fruit. A bit strong on the nose at first with the alcohol, but after a quick sit in a nice wide wine glass it was ready to quaff. I'd give this a 90 to 91 rating out of 100.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Cabin John Trail Work Day - FALL
Come on out to the CJ Trailwork Day, this Sunday, Oct 4 at 9 AM.
We will be performing a wide range of tasks:
Paint blazing the new route
Moving trail head signs
Closing the old route
Trimming the corridor as necessary
Additional Possible Tasks include:
Small sections of trail work such as bench cutting several small badly slopped area's
Small reroute of trail section
Trash cleanup
And anything else that can be addressed.
As of now the weather looks not bad for Sunday as some recent rain, and a little drizzle often makes trailwork easier if dirt must be worked with. You may want to layer yourself carefully as even in slightly damp 60 degree days you can build up quite a sweat. Do make sure you wear clothes that can get dirty, and good shoes for working outside, as you might in a garden. Also suggest you bring a pair of good work gloves, and a bottle or two of water. I often carry a small pack for this as I work.
We will have probably 2 crew leaders at the event so we may be working in separate multiple area's. Some of which we may drive/shuttle to (the campground or perhaps the Goya Dr trailhead). If you are getting dropped off we will get you safely there and back. But you may want to make sure you can call for an early pickup if we finish early.
Tools - We should have most of the tools needed but as usual feel free to bring your own. I'll have my own loppers with me. No machete's or chainsaws!!!!
Teens - Welcome for work, a parent will be necessary to sign the form.
Summarization:
Cabin John TW Day
7400 Tuckerman Ln (See Google Map, Across the street from the Maint Yard).
Bethesda/Rockville, MD
9AM Start, 8:45 Suggested Arrival
1PM Finish
Bring Water, Gloves, and Good Shoes.
My Cell # is 850-443-0181
My Email is atlantis.rob@gmail.com
Links:
Sign up with MoCo Parks:
Sign Up Page
Map:
Google Map
We will be performing a wide range of tasks:
Paint blazing the new route
Moving trail head signs
Closing the old route
Trimming the corridor as necessary
Additional Possible Tasks include:
Small sections of trail work such as bench cutting several small badly slopped area's
Small reroute of trail section
Trash cleanup
And anything else that can be addressed.
As of now the weather looks not bad for Sunday as some recent rain, and a little drizzle often makes trailwork easier if dirt must be worked with. You may want to layer yourself carefully as even in slightly damp 60 degree days you can build up quite a sweat. Do make sure you wear clothes that can get dirty, and good shoes for working outside, as you might in a garden. Also suggest you bring a pair of good work gloves, and a bottle or two of water. I often carry a small pack for this as I work.
We will have probably 2 crew leaders at the event so we may be working in separate multiple area's. Some of which we may drive/shuttle to (the campground or perhaps the Goya Dr trailhead). If you are getting dropped off we will get you safely there and back. But you may want to make sure you can call for an early pickup if we finish early.
Tools - We should have most of the tools needed but as usual feel free to bring your own. I'll have my own loppers with me. No machete's or chainsaws!!!!
Teens - Welcome for work, a parent will be necessary to sign the form.
Summarization:
Cabin John TW Day
7400 Tuckerman Ln (See Google Map, Across the street from the Maint Yard).
Bethesda/Rockville, MD
9AM Start, 8:45 Suggested Arrival
1PM Finish
Bring Water, Gloves, and Good Shoes.
My Cell # is 850-443-0181
My Email is atlantis.rob@gmail.com
Links:
Sign up with MoCo Parks:
Sign Up Page
Map:
Google Map
Friday, September 25, 2009
Nice Ride
Got out nice and early to WF for once last night and was pretty much ready to go at 5. Hung around the lot for a few mins to talk with Scud and then blasted off for Accotink. Ended up doing about 5-6 miles over there in the next hour plus the 1.5 miles each way or whatever, getting in 9 nice miles.
The dam maintenance is weird! The lake is super low!
The main ride we had a pretty good turn out of 20+ riders, with a monster combined Intermediate group, a small fast group, and a good sized casual+ group. Unfortunetely, we had a rider catch her foot on some deadfall in phase 4 early in the ride. I escorted her back to her car, she was able to ride out but was hurting a good bit.
Recaught the group at the top of the ascent trail and rode down the berms. At the end of the creek trail/cct rejoin my damn light cut out and wouldn't relight. Delmar hooked me up with one of his and it let me lead a nice death march on the bowl. I wrapped up at 8 as Delmar was done, a few others went back out.
16.25 miles of good riding. Next week should be even better with clear skies and 70's as the high all week.
The dam maintenance is weird! The lake is super low!
The main ride we had a pretty good turn out of 20+ riders, with a monster combined Intermediate group, a small fast group, and a good sized casual+ group. Unfortunetely, we had a rider catch her foot on some deadfall in phase 4 early in the ride. I escorted her back to her car, she was able to ride out but was hurting a good bit.
Recaught the group at the top of the ascent trail and rode down the berms. At the end of the creek trail/cct rejoin my damn light cut out and wouldn't relight. Delmar hooked me up with one of his and it let me lead a nice death march on the bowl. I wrapped up at 8 as Delmar was done, a few others went back out.
16.25 miles of good riding. Next week should be even better with clear skies and 70's as the high all week.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Terror of some sort.
There was no Terror of Teaberry for me on Sunday alas, there was a different sort of terror though:
Terror of Repainting the Master Bedroom.
Act 1 - Primaring. - 1st coat. UGH. I would have rather pushed my bike the last 10 miles of teaberry. 6 hours of slow trimming, rolling, and arguing with the wyf about how to properly run a roller. Also discovering a previous owner of our house butchered on area below a window/above our bed and having to scrape out, sand, and scrape again to remove bad bad bad spackle/compound.
Act 2 - Yesterday I finished scrapping, re-caulked the window frame in the effected area and re-applied a better compound doing a better job. Then I spend about 2 hours or so maybe 3 trimming out the whole room in prep to roll it later. We rolled it in about an hour and a half with both of us working.
Act 3 - Color Choice. Now I'm just plain scared. More results later.
At least the bedroom is no longer orangish/pink/coral. White is just really white.
Terror of Repainting the Master Bedroom.
Act 1 - Primaring. - 1st coat. UGH. I would have rather pushed my bike the last 10 miles of teaberry. 6 hours of slow trimming, rolling, and arguing with the wyf about how to properly run a roller. Also discovering a previous owner of our house butchered on area below a window/above our bed and having to scrape out, sand, and scrape again to remove bad bad bad spackle/compound.
Act 2 - Yesterday I finished scrapping, re-caulked the window frame in the effected area and re-applied a better compound doing a better job. Then I spend about 2 hours or so maybe 3 trimming out the whole room in prep to roll it later. We rolled it in about an hour and a half with both of us working.
Act 3 - Color Choice. Now I'm just plain scared. More results later.
At least the bedroom is no longer orangish/pink/coral. White is just really white.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Snuck.
Snuck in 11 miles yesterday, as trails at WF under the canopied section weren't bad. And the Berms were PERFECT!
Over 40 miles this week. That means I'll get nearly no riding in the next week or so by murphy's law.
No Terror of Teaberry for me either, and I was really almost set to register to ride the 20.
Next year I'm gonna plan on doing all 3 rides with maybe trying teaberry as a 40.
Over 40 miles this week. That means I'll get nearly no riding in the next week or so by murphy's law.
No Terror of Teaberry for me either, and I was really almost set to register to ride the 20.
Next year I'm gonna plan on doing all 3 rides with maybe trying teaberry as a 40.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sneaky!
Snuck in a nice chill ride a WF last night, suprisingly avoiding all the rain that was in the area last night. Did about 9.5 miles with a pretty chill 7.5 pace, with a group of 2 other riders. It was nice we did a LOT of sections backwards. They seemed to enjoy the change. WF rides differently at night, especially in reverse to normal/typical direction (Race course).
Maybe I'll sneak in day 3 tomorrow if it isn't too rainy.
Maybe I'll sneak in day 3 tomorrow if it isn't too rainy.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Good Riding
Lots of riding in lately, it's been a nice change. Not challenging but still nice.
Last week with 3 rides, this week I'm going to get my 2nd ride in tonight, for 2 in a row. Hoping for a 3rd on Thursday but the weather may not co-operate.
Yesterday I hit Laurel Hill for 12.5 miles running a 9.3 pace, then as I finished at dark I hit Wakefield for another 8.5 miles running a 8.8 pace. Damn it felt so fast, I really enjoy leading the casual group but I don't really get to push myself at all as a rider excluding technical type stuff. And small burts of speed.
The new gear setup continues to rock, though I do want to convert to a 2x9 soon I think and that also means re-adjusting the front D a bit as it's a bit hesitant to drop into 1x9 from 2x9 under any sort of load.
Last week with 3 rides, this week I'm going to get my 2nd ride in tonight, for 2 in a row. Hoping for a 3rd on Thursday but the weather may not co-operate.
Yesterday I hit Laurel Hill for 12.5 miles running a 9.3 pace, then as I finished at dark I hit Wakefield for another 8.5 miles running a 8.8 pace. Damn it felt so fast, I really enjoy leading the casual group but I don't really get to push myself at all as a rider excluding technical type stuff. And small burts of speed.
The new gear setup continues to rock, though I do want to convert to a 2x9 soon I think and that also means re-adjusting the front D a bit as it's a bit hesitant to drop into 1x9 from 2x9 under any sort of load.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
The koolaid...
So while picking up some RnR Extreme for the bikes today at CB, I decided to give a try of a Surly Steamroller.
Nice. I can see the appeal of the SS a bit more now. The bars felt EMPTY! Of course it was setup actually fixie, with only the front brake. Definetely a bit of a learning curve with having to keep spinning at all times and muscling down speed versus coasting/braking etc. The ability to directly crank to speed is FUN though. I didn't take it far enough to try muscling up a real hill or anything so it was no real test, but at least flat landing it, it was fun! I can see myself picking up a nice basic SS/Fixie for around the area riding for sure.
Looked at a bunch of different ones but nothing jumps out. Yet.
Took the bike on a short intownie yesterday with the wife and let me say the new drivetrain was super smooth and quiet!!! We did 10 miles in about an hour though a lot of that was more casual speed once we got to bethesda due to monster crowds on the CapCrescent Trail. Next weekend we're planning on a longer ride down thru Rock Creek Park.
Go away RAIN!
Nice. I can see the appeal of the SS a bit more now. The bars felt EMPTY! Of course it was setup actually fixie, with only the front brake. Definetely a bit of a learning curve with having to keep spinning at all times and muscling down speed versus coasting/braking etc. The ability to directly crank to speed is FUN though. I didn't take it far enough to try muscling up a real hill or anything so it was no real test, but at least flat landing it, it was fun! I can see myself picking up a nice basic SS/Fixie for around the area riding for sure.
Looked at a bunch of different ones but nothing jumps out. Yet.
Took the bike on a short intownie yesterday with the wife and let me say the new drivetrain was super smooth and quiet!!! We did 10 miles in about an hour though a lot of that was more casual speed once we got to bethesda due to monster crowds on the CapCrescent Trail. Next weekend we're planning on a longer ride down thru Rock Creek Park.
Go away RAIN!
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Upgrade-O-RAMA!
Well after languishing for a long time now the first phase of major upgrades to the Midget are alsmost done. I just need to size the new chain, apply lube and it's G2G. The crankset did by feel seem to way a GOOD bit less than the old, nasty Isoflow set.
The bigger question I'm pondering for now is to leave it a triple for the time being or go ahead get a bashguard and convert it down to a 2x9. Other than wakefield I really don't use it much, and thats really only when the CCT or the creek trail and honestly it's not super necessary.
I also have decided I want to try a new regiment for the cleaning and lubrication of my chain. For the past 2 years or so I've been using Finish Line Wet(teflon). I'm debating switching to Rock-N-Roll Extreme.
And next I've got a Captain Control 2Bliss in 2.2 to replace the Continental Mountain King out back thats starting to wear out. May give it another few weeks.
May try and ride Rosy on Monday, if I'm not repainting the bedroom all day. Going to keep my fingers crossed.
The bigger question I'm pondering for now is to leave it a triple for the time being or go ahead get a bashguard and convert it down to a 2x9. Other than wakefield I really don't use it much, and thats really only when the CCT or the creek trail and honestly it's not super necessary.
I also have decided I want to try a new regiment for the cleaning and lubrication of my chain. For the past 2 years or so I've been using Finish Line Wet(teflon). I'm debating switching to Rock-N-Roll Extreme.
And next I've got a Captain Control 2Bliss in 2.2 to replace the Continental Mountain King out back thats starting to wear out. May give it another few weeks.
May try and ride Rosy on Monday, if I'm not repainting the bedroom all day. Going to keep my fingers crossed.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Somewhere in the Basement
Resides my bike.
Between boxes, over bags and crates of junk. Next to wedding gifts un-used, lives my sad bike. I will attempt to find it tonight. So it may be made ready for Thursday Night at Wakefield.
With sadness I see the departure of long days, however it makes me glad to be ready to use my lights again as fall approaches.
Still haven't upgraded the bike yet, maybe this weekend!
Had some damn good beers, St.Riel's Grand Cru Belgian Style, Dale's Pale, on deck next, Celebration not Litigation from Avery and Russian River Brewing. A co-mingled belgian blended in Dec 2006. Should be excellent.
Between boxes, over bags and crates of junk. Next to wedding gifts un-used, lives my sad bike. I will attempt to find it tonight. So it may be made ready for Thursday Night at Wakefield.
With sadness I see the departure of long days, however it makes me glad to be ready to use my lights again as fall approaches.
Still haven't upgraded the bike yet, maybe this weekend!
Had some damn good beers, St.Riel's Grand Cru Belgian Style, Dale's Pale, on deck next, Celebration not Litigation from Avery and Russian River Brewing. A co-mingled belgian blended in Dec 2006. Should be excellent.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Big Moves.
Well, Saturday is the Big Moving Day in that we're schlepping our gear from the Bethesda location to the new Silver Spring location (EW Hwy near Beach).
If anyone out there in WebLand wants to come and help move I'll be supplying post move beer and grilled food. And it will be damn good beer for sure! :) I'm hoping to move my beer over tonight or tomorrow morning to the new house. Dale's, Founders Porter, some big IPA bombers, and a few Belgian Bombers also. If you want to help out for a bit drop me a post here.
The 2nd big move is that I FINALLY order the new drive train for the bike and it arrived last night. I almost had to bring the new cranks up to sleep with they are soooo sweet. And light I think. I'm going to do a comparison when I dis-assemble them either tonight or on Sunday. Depends on the state of the move.
If anyone out there in WebLand wants to come and help move I'll be supplying post move beer and grilled food. And it will be damn good beer for sure! :) I'm hoping to move my beer over tonight or tomorrow morning to the new house. Dale's, Founders Porter, some big IPA bombers, and a few Belgian Bombers also. If you want to help out for a bit drop me a post here.
The 2nd big move is that I FINALLY order the new drive train for the bike and it arrived last night. I almost had to bring the new cranks up to sleep with they are soooo sweet. And light I think. I'm going to do a comparison when I dis-assemble them either tonight or on Sunday. Depends on the state of the move.
Friday, August 14, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Newz from the North
Alas no biking happening this week as we ended up taking a Rental car up this way. So instead I've been keeping busy while the wife is off in her meetings everyday.
Monday I hit Sam Adams for the brew tour and tasting. The tour blew, the tasting was cool. I got to try the Boston Area only Boston Brick red, a nice Irish red ale. Plus 2 other regular favs of the Lager and Summer. Also got to vote on 2 new potential beers one was a pils and one was another lager, that was maltier than the regular Boston Lager.
Tuesday was spent packing the hotel room backup and then the afternoon wandering Medford Ma and then reading for about 2 hours in the public library, devouring a newer Clive Cussler book.
Today I've been wandering College hill of Providence and seeing sites and changes in the last 10+ years since I left. Its a mix of good and bad I suppose. The brown campus is under some heavy duty off session work right now.
ALSO yesterday we hit a Trendy little restaurant I will find the name and address of later and had a triple of good Belgians, starting out with a Karmelit Triple, then went to the Kasteel Donker and finished with a Kwak. The first 2 were in 750 ML bottles and not a bad value at 14-15 each. I had some awesome fish and chips done in a porter infused batter. Nice.
Tomorrow I'll probably troll around Downtown Providence and maybe tour some of RISD's art galleries. We'll see. Friday is still up in the air.
Monday I hit Sam Adams for the brew tour and tasting. The tour blew, the tasting was cool. I got to try the Boston Area only Boston Brick red, a nice Irish red ale. Plus 2 other regular favs of the Lager and Summer. Also got to vote on 2 new potential beers one was a pils and one was another lager, that was maltier than the regular Boston Lager.
Tuesday was spent packing the hotel room backup and then the afternoon wandering Medford Ma and then reading for about 2 hours in the public library, devouring a newer Clive Cussler book.
Today I've been wandering College hill of Providence and seeing sites and changes in the last 10+ years since I left. Its a mix of good and bad I suppose. The brown campus is under some heavy duty off session work right now.
ALSO yesterday we hit a Trendy little restaurant I will find the name and address of later and had a triple of good Belgians, starting out with a Karmelit Triple, then went to the Kasteel Donker and finished with a Kwak. The first 2 were in 750 ML bottles and not a bad value at 14-15 each. I had some awesome fish and chips done in a porter infused batter. Nice.
Tomorrow I'll probably troll around Downtown Providence and maybe tour some of RISD's art galleries. We'll see. Friday is still up in the air.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Ouch. The hammer of enlightenment.
Well today knowledge hit me in the head while I was working on my bike. Doing a pedal swap finally replacing my VERY warn out Time XE/Alium that the SingleSpeed Outlaw gave me last fall after one of my pedals blew up. Well the Alium's seals bit the dust recently and had developed about 3/4 an inch of play along the spindle. Well while loosening the damn thing I managed to get struck by knowledge I'd previously heard.
And well I hit myself in the head with the damn pedal wrench when it slipped off. Nice mark on the tip of my head. That will look real nice while we have the a bunch of C-level salad in the office (CTO, CSO, etc).
I applied rubber mallet to the wrench. hahaha. Went with the TIME Roc standard's I got Saturday from REI with the last of my dividend. I also changed out my cleats on my shoes. DAMN they are TIGHT now, I foresee a fall or two in the future before I remember that they are probably 75 to 100% tighter.
Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do about fixing the drive train.
And well I hit myself in the head with the damn pedal wrench when it slipped off. Nice mark on the tip of my head. That will look real nice while we have the a bunch of C-level salad in the office (CTO, CSO, etc).
I applied rubber mallet to the wrench. hahaha. Went with the TIME Roc standard's I got Saturday from REI with the last of my dividend. I also changed out my cleats on my shoes. DAMN they are TIGHT now, I foresee a fall or two in the future before I remember that they are probably 75 to 100% tighter.
Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do about fixing the drive train.
Monday, July 20, 2009
PA Part 2
Raystown Trails were a damn fine experience today. The weather was beautiful. The trails were bone dry (well mostly).
So taking off from the main lot near the Seven Points Rec/Campground entrance, I headed off up onto the Stony Trail to start with. Damn I was hurting on that climb in, my legs were not spun up at all and still tired from yesterdays 13 mile race. But the climb in was nice with some challenging rock goodness, nothing like Michaux, but 2 parts were tough. Once you gain some altitude, you get a nice set of whoop-de-do's for a while. Eventually I crossed the rocky lot and on up into Buck Trail, then down Fawn to Sleek dog. Sleek dog was nice and flowy I really enjoyed it. From there it was down the uber fun eagle. Damn good trail. Osprey was actual less hard than I thought it would be as a black, maybe due to it's length but I regularly ride a similar section at Schaeffer Farm. I did almost loose it in one section, nearly rolled off the edge.
The it was Osprey to Sidewinder. Once I got north of the crossing on Sidewinder I noticed a few damp to muddy spots in the northern section, it must have gotten more rain within the last week. Berry patch was a MOFO to ride up, might be nice to roll down the otherway. So I got to the top of the trails and ate my sandwich and took some photo's. Now I realize where the photo of Darius is from, right on section of trail between Berry Patch, Ray's Revenge and Ridge Trail meet.
Rays was tough, some nice but I was feeling tired already. 4 miles of fun and pain. Those last 2 bits on the final climb out to Berry Patch were crushing for that 2nd time. Loco Motive is a bit of a blur, Red Legs I recall a bit of rockiness up to the Grippis trail. That had some spectacular rollers. After that it was out Allie Trail to Buck. The last half/first half on return on Buck is WAY tougher than what you hit the other way! I was getting towards well done at this point and the ride back out Stony. The rollers in that first half were a blast, but the finally climb out left me done. It was sooo close I was cramping horribly but since I didn't get off I could keep pedaling. In the last berm while trying to take it aggressively I almost bit it. Ended up dropping my chain and rolling down the trail and into the parking lot.
Trails were in pretty good shape but a bit overgrown. Maybe I'll try and headup this fall for a trailwork day up there. And I will be back to ride the sections I didn't and ride the thing a different way.
Photo's soon. If I can find the bloody cable.
So taking off from the main lot near the Seven Points Rec/Campground entrance, I headed off up onto the Stony Trail to start with. Damn I was hurting on that climb in, my legs were not spun up at all and still tired from yesterdays 13 mile race. But the climb in was nice with some challenging rock goodness, nothing like Michaux, but 2 parts were tough. Once you gain some altitude, you get a nice set of whoop-de-do's for a while. Eventually I crossed the rocky lot and on up into Buck Trail, then down Fawn to Sleek dog. Sleek dog was nice and flowy I really enjoyed it. From there it was down the uber fun eagle. Damn good trail. Osprey was actual less hard than I thought it would be as a black, maybe due to it's length but I regularly ride a similar section at Schaeffer Farm. I did almost loose it in one section, nearly rolled off the edge.
The it was Osprey to Sidewinder. Once I got north of the crossing on Sidewinder I noticed a few damp to muddy spots in the northern section, it must have gotten more rain within the last week. Berry patch was a MOFO to ride up, might be nice to roll down the otherway. So I got to the top of the trails and ate my sandwich and took some photo's. Now I realize where the photo of Darius is from, right on section of trail between Berry Patch, Ray's Revenge and Ridge Trail meet.
Rays was tough, some nice but I was feeling tired already. 4 miles of fun and pain. Those last 2 bits on the final climb out to Berry Patch were crushing for that 2nd time. Loco Motive is a bit of a blur, Red Legs I recall a bit of rockiness up to the Grippis trail. That had some spectacular rollers. After that it was out Allie Trail to Buck. The last half/first half on return on Buck is WAY tougher than what you hit the other way! I was getting towards well done at this point and the ride back out Stony. The rollers in that first half were a blast, but the finally climb out left me done. It was sooo close I was cramping horribly but since I didn't get off I could keep pedaling. In the last berm while trying to take it aggressively I almost bit it. Ended up dropping my chain and rolling down the trail and into the parking lot.
Trails were in pretty good shape but a bit overgrown. Maybe I'll try and headup this fall for a trailwork day up there. And I will be back to ride the sections I didn't and ride the thing a different way.
Photo's soon. If I can find the bloody cable.
PA ROCKS.....err is full of Rocks.
Just got back from my PA Tour and hit 2 out of my 3 goals.
Did Dark Hollow Sunday and it was a blast. Maybe next year I will be ready for 25 instead of 10. Was still an excellent time. Supprised that only saw Denis there. I heard Camp was there also but I really don't know him IRL.
Drove up to Raystown (Susquehanna Campground) area after the races were over last night, pitched my sleeping setup and crashed out between 9-10. Some bone heads did wake me up around 2 being noisy but that ended within about 15 minutes. Slept till 6:30 with some occasional tossing and turning due to rocks. Packed up, had some more leftover pancakes and bacon and headed for the main lot of 7 Points Rec Area. Ooops took a wrong turn and had to back track from 26...d'oh.
Rolled out from the lot around 9AM and was back a hair after 1 with nearly 24 miles in just over 3 hours rolling time. NICE! Had a real blast on a LOT of the trails. Though coming back up Stony I was at my limit and felt the major cramp warning signs and was able to make it back to the car without stopping. Though my chain did fall off on the last berm out/first in and I was able to roll all the way into the lot!
Def want to hit that again. With fresh legs. Stony nearly killed me in the AM since I wasn't warmed up. Rays Revenge is LONG and that last climb out SUCKS!
Off to wash off all the poison oak/ivy and go hit hard times for some chili. More details later.
Did Dark Hollow Sunday and it was a blast. Maybe next year I will be ready for 25 instead of 10. Was still an excellent time. Supprised that only saw Denis there. I heard Camp was there also but I really don't know him IRL.
Drove up to Raystown (Susquehanna Campground) area after the races were over last night, pitched my sleeping setup and crashed out between 9-10. Some bone heads did wake me up around 2 being noisy but that ended within about 15 minutes. Slept till 6:30 with some occasional tossing and turning due to rocks. Packed up, had some more leftover pancakes and bacon and headed for the main lot of 7 Points Rec Area. Ooops took a wrong turn and had to back track from 26...d'oh.
Rolled out from the lot around 9AM and was back a hair after 1 with nearly 24 miles in just over 3 hours rolling time. NICE! Had a real blast on a LOT of the trails. Though coming back up Stony I was at my limit and felt the major cramp warning signs and was able to make it back to the car without stopping. Though my chain did fall off on the last berm out/first in and I was able to roll all the way into the lot!
Def want to hit that again. With fresh legs. Stony nearly killed me in the AM since I wasn't warmed up. Rays Revenge is LONG and that last climb out SUCKS!
Off to wash off all the poison oak/ivy and go hit hard times for some chili. More details later.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Sigh..............
Had a nice ride out at WF last night, I led a small WF only group of 3 other guys around and we racked up near 11 miles. One of my other leaders led a LARGE casual group out to Accotink with 10 riders total. The chillness of my ride was pretty damn nice.
Upon arriving home and starting to clean my bike I noticed that I had a broken spoke on the rear wheel. I remember hearing something while in the bowl last night, but it wasn't like I was even riding crazy there when it happened.
So I've gotta run outa work today for lunch and drop it somewhere for at least 1 spoke replacement, maybe 2 or 3 as there are a few slightly chewed up spokes on the drive side. Hopefully either Spokes or TBL can get it done by end of work tomorrow for me. I REALLY don't have time to do it myself and re-true the wheel.
Curse of Dark Hollow on Sunday. Just have to decide if I'm only going for the race or if I'm going to do some camping and ride a few other places.
Upon arriving home and starting to clean my bike I noticed that I had a broken spoke on the rear wheel. I remember hearing something while in the bowl last night, but it wasn't like I was even riding crazy there when it happened.
So I've gotta run outa work today for lunch and drop it somewhere for at least 1 spoke replacement, maybe 2 or 3 as there are a few slightly chewed up spokes on the drive side. Hopefully either Spokes or TBL can get it done by end of work tomorrow for me. I REALLY don't have time to do it myself and re-true the wheel.
Curse of Dark Hollow on Sunday. Just have to decide if I'm only going for the race or if I'm going to do some camping and ride a few other places.
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