Less Riding so far.

By my current calculations if i maintain my riding pace currently. I may log 100 miles this year! WOW! Thats so f'ing much, I thinking I'm going to cry.

The snow has murdered riding for the last 3 weeks. Unless your a roadie or love your trainer. Neither of which describes me.

We did a TNR last night with 3 other brave souls in 5-15 mile an hour winds with gusts in the 30's, thru a mostly well plowed series of neighborhoods near Wakefield, racking 18 miles in an hour and 20 minutes.

March better be a damn good month or my next race will be the kiddy division at W@W. And my new epic ride will be Wakefield with Accotink.

Busy weekend on the horizon, with a play tonight (Anthony and Cleopatra), MORE Winter Party Saturday, a Birthday Party Saturday Night, Sunday (god knows what?) and Monday a return to the dentist for some tooth grinding action.

Had some good beers recently including a Coffee House Stout from some williamsburg brew co. I'm really digging flying dog's porter these days also.

New Year, More Riding I hope

I had my first ride of the year last night at WF. It was great to get out and spin a bit to clear my head, it helped me deal with a good bit of the stress that this weeks events have imparted, not all but enough to leave me feeling more clear headed. Thats why I do love cycling.

We had a TON of people out for the ride last night. I'll update with a count later but I think it was near 20 riders. I had 2 others with me in my group, a couple guys went out fast and the rest went on a large "intermediate but more casual" ride.

I looked at my log on my cycle comp and realized I'd logged about 860 miles on my bike this year (not counting various beach rides and other stuff while traveling). My question to myself is can I be 100 mile a month guy regularly and right now I just don't think so. 860 means at least i was riding about 72 miles of primarily ST a month, and thats nearly 20 a week. At this time until I can get a normal Monday thru friday work schedule I assume that I'll RARELY ever ride on Sunday's and Mondays are often spent TCB. Until I either take up road biking, can commute on bike I just don't see myself being 100 mile a month guy with any sort of regularity.

I need to get out to frickin Cabin John Trail and figure out WTF I want to try and accomplish this year, but this damn snow freeze/thaw cycle is working out badly for me making it out there on a Monday. Grrr.

Frozen for Life

Finally got to ride trails at WF last night. Forest trails were mostly fine excluding Salamander. A big mud hole has been put in Phase 4 near the S-Curve. Phase2/3 powerlines were a mess up until they froze later in the ride. By 7:45 they were mostly solid. People have been riding in general when its WAY too soft out there. Lots of ruts.

We were doing Scud's retirement ride so we started out as one HUGE group of 16-17'ish riders I think but after 40 mins I couldn't hold pace and didn't want to keep holding the group back so I dropped and had DC Tony take over as sweep.

Route as I went.
Back Edge of Bowl (495) to Creek side to Front of Bowl (WF Road), Under Road to CCT to Creek TRail to Phase 1 to Race Course Creek trail to far end, up access path to back edge of powerlines, to phase 4 to CCT. (DROP)
I then rode by myself
Ascent Hill, Berms, Reverse on Phase 1 Outside (Berm Side), Berms, Phase 1, Phase 4, Phase 1 Outside,Salemander Bypass, Ascent, Berms, CCT to Race Climb to Reversed Rusted Truck.

Near 12 miles. Not bad for an hour and twenty minutes. Probably a bit less counting warming up also.

Damn Cold

JEeez, I forgot what riding in the REAL cold was like till last night. We started off probably in the mid-low 30's and by the time we finished it was near 30 flat. With the wind and actual riding speed it felt wicked cold on those exposed parts of the face/neck. Need to find my buff. We did that ever present favorite of the locals riding the Counter Clockwise Thing north from Wakefield. Ended up with 13 miles and some change I believe. Good ride till near the end when someone had a semi-nasty fall on a cross bike due to some hidden roots during the final climb up in.

I was hoping to get in a lot of rides this week while the wyf is out of town. Based on current weather predictions my next ride will probably be the same next week with mix of rain and snow starting early sunday, rain again tuesday. And warmer temperatures keeping it from freezing. ARGH!

Dec, A new Leaf?

Trying to turn over a new leaf now here in Dec. Finally got a ride in on a gravel trail to and fro the WF Rec Ctr. Got in some nice miles, spun alright for being off for a month really.

Old Dominion Baltic Porter is back and I'm on a mission to find a case for the long dark spring and summer with their lack of dark beers.

Locked myself outa my car. Wasted $40 dollars on the first place I called after they BS'd me on the phone. Went to AAA and got service on the same day as sign up. WIN.

OFf to bang my head against a wall now.

Well it's not perfect but it's better than nothing.

Finally did labels for the homebrew. The only thing currently unlabeled is the Good ole Hefe, but as it has the golden BB cap it shall remain unlabeled, as now I always use the silver Ox barrier caps.

The new labels alas are just bottle cap round labels but it's way better than the nasty old sharpie letters. P and D are no longer confusing.

Avery 5472 - 3/4th Inch Round Labels in a 4x6 sheet.
Label Sample Here

Now to really plan my next 2 beers, with the IPA down to 1/3rd of original stock.

Favorite new beer title - Drunkle Weizen.

3+ weeks off the damn bike now. ARGH. Did run yesterday on the canal doing intervals for an hour with the wyf. Weight is creeping a bit towards 200 so this week will be a push-back week.

Busy-ness as Usual

Things remain there relative normal hectic pattern here. Rode on Thursday but it was mostly along the CCT. We did work in some of the less wet sections of WF but it was a small group anyways. We had 8 riders out and I think I saw 11 people in the lot vs the 20+ we'd been running on average up to this last week. Got in 23 miles. I'm happy with that but I was way to spun out by the end. Need to start working in some longer rides on monday even if it's just the craptastic canal.

Saturday we had a blast on Halloween, we met a couple down in DC. Had a bottle of wine at there place and went out to dinner at a great place on H street, Belgian food. And tons of good belgian beer. We started with a bottle of Carolous Keizer in 750ml size! WOW! it was damn good, I've gotta see if I can find some on payday for the cellar. Then I had a fabulous dark chocolate flavored called Troubadour. The wife had the Rochefort 8, and it was good. Our friends had the Orvel, and one I can't remember. Thankfully I have a picture at home :)

We tried to go to the palace of wonders after that but they were sold out so we opted for the red and black. We hung around and had another beer each with me opting for the Bell's 2 Hearted IPA, so I would sip. The girls both had Allagash white. Not sure what the guy had. Memory is a bit fuzzy. They were doing roadhouse night and had chicken wire up everywhere and a pretty good band up stairs. We rocked out for a while then chilled back downstairs and munched on Zapps chips.

Around 12:30 we went back to there place and ended up drinking 2 more bottles of wine and this bizarre appertief. They laughed at the faces I was making sipping it. Very interesting and unusual stuff :P.

Was going to ride tonight but J's night out got canceled so no extra night ride for me :(

Oh and I'll post pics of us in costume eventually, I went with my Kendo outfit, J went as fantasy-eve. Our friends were a roman noble and neo from the matrix :) I love Halloween.

Relaxation on a Vacation?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.