Back in the DC Area. Damn warm, must hit mid 70's today, almost as warm as Orlando was yesterday (84). Crazy!
My brother is about 80% better according to him, he just gets stiff and sore over night. Not surprised, followed my guess nearly exactly.
Lots of good beer at WOB while in O-town this week including, Stone Sublimely Self Righteous, Old Rasputin on Draft, MadRiver Steelhead and others. Gotta say I'm back in the IPA frame of mind and belgian wheats. Especially down there.
Picked up at Speakeasy - Butchertown Black IPA. Big fan of there regular IPA, kinda like Rogue Dead Guy, but hoppier of course.
Awesome riding weather on deck tomorrow. Stoked for the return of regular Accotink season and such.
Cleaned the bike up from the mud-fest that the CCT was 2 weeks ago. Ugh. It was gross. Also cleaned and lubed the seat post, and realized also my rear break pads are shot. Picked up a new set to put in tomorrow at REI.
Starting to think about my early summer bike trip. Coldwater Mountain in AL is calls, along with FATS in GA. Of course I'd love to have 2 days more of Pisgah and a day at Dupont. Tsali is in the mix. More Ride and then travel days is the big change versus spending a whole week in Pisgah at Davidson River as the Base.
Short trips on deck for PA in early and maybe mid may. Not sure about Dirt fest though. tempting. But the crowds are harshing me a bit. Hmm.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Friday, March 09, 2012
Fail. Fail. Fail.
Started off strong this morning, my brother and I were on the road, pretty early for him at 9:30 and we were at Ocala right around 10:45. Tons of people in town for their big Spring Break Fat Tire fest, looks like a ton of Bike Mfg's and others were in town already and setup. Trails were really well marked. Headed out around 11:15, taking Pine Tree around and south to the main entrance to the Vortex area.
My brother made the entry gate ride no problem, hell I freaked a bit on them last year. So we rode some of the basic stuff in the easy side of the vortex, almost pump track like but not fully. We looked at some of the big drops in the quary pit that were all closed due to the rain coming later today. So back we went. Not thinking I went along a elevated boardwalk that drops at foot halfway thru to a lower section. A few seconds later I hear HUFF, crash, WHUFF. Crap.
My brother had tried to follow and gone off right before the drop from the 4ft high section. He was rolling onto his back when I got back. Wheezing. I got his bike out of the way and told him to relax and just breath. Not gonna repeat his response here. Eventually after 10 minutes he sat up and got up but still very sore. Took of his helmet. Good mark on this forehead where the helmet really did it's job.
Other riders came by, apparently I left my bike in the near middle of the trail. Oops. Moved it and came back, now he can speak a bit so I ask him where it hurts. Head, neck, back, stomach, ribs. Another 10 minutes and we go thru the basics. No concussion, arm lift check, collarbone and ribs are mostly okay. Bruised probably. We hang at the picnic tables another 15 minutes and we head back. Sore but riding we take the road and get back to the shop just as it starts to POUR rain! I return the bikes he's trying to get relaxed in the car but really can't.
Long drive back to Orlando.
I fail as a beginning ride instructor is my only conclusion after similar failures with the Wyf and now the Bro-ham. He's resting.
I will ride there again, but I doubt with him again. We'll see, maybe he is made of tougher stuff. Hope this doesn't put him off the bike forever though.
My brother made the entry gate ride no problem, hell I freaked a bit on them last year. So we rode some of the basic stuff in the easy side of the vortex, almost pump track like but not fully. We looked at some of the big drops in the quary pit that were all closed due to the rain coming later today. So back we went. Not thinking I went along a elevated boardwalk that drops at foot halfway thru to a lower section. A few seconds later I hear HUFF, crash, WHUFF. Crap.
My brother had tried to follow and gone off right before the drop from the 4ft high section. He was rolling onto his back when I got back. Wheezing. I got his bike out of the way and told him to relax and just breath. Not gonna repeat his response here. Eventually after 10 minutes he sat up and got up but still very sore. Took of his helmet. Good mark on this forehead where the helmet really did it's job.
Other riders came by, apparently I left my bike in the near middle of the trail. Oops. Moved it and came back, now he can speak a bit so I ask him where it hurts. Head, neck, back, stomach, ribs. Another 10 minutes and we go thru the basics. No concussion, arm lift check, collarbone and ribs are mostly okay. Bruised probably. We hang at the picnic tables another 15 minutes and we head back. Sore but riding we take the road and get back to the shop just as it starts to POUR rain! I return the bikes he's trying to get relaxed in the car but really can't.
Long drive back to Orlando.
I fail as a beginning ride instructor is my only conclusion after similar failures with the Wyf and now the Bro-ham. He's resting.
I will ride there again, but I doubt with him again. We'll see, maybe he is made of tougher stuff. Hope this doesn't put him off the bike forever though.
Friday, March 02, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Search for Spock CX continues....
In my now never ending quest for CX bike action I went to The Bike Lane Reston and tried out a 58CM steed, a Trek ION CX Pro. Nice looking bike, VERY light. They adjusted it up and off I went into the night of Reston Town Center. Couldn't really push it like I did the bikes out on the Silver Spring gravel trail. But it rode nicely in town. Felt like the carbon fork on this did better than the others absorbing stuff, but still not used to the harshness of riding high pressure tires on the road. Even those 34c tires on it. Maybe I can see about arranging a longer test or getting it moved up to TBL Burke where I can take it out to Accotink/CCT and ride it more. A strong contender.
1 Point of Hate - The fucking bars piss me off, those weird humped-assed bars KB cooked up for use that aren't the traditional bull horns. They felt short at the far end of the drops (Closest to saddle). And the hump hurt my hands at least without gloves, and I don't think it's a matter of padding. Also riding "in town" I realized that I really would LIKE to have a cheater. At least for the front. Also due to the "humps" it felt like the reach for the brake levers was REALLY long.
Position wise the bike felt like a good fit. Wouldn't know whether to use clipless or clips on this bike. Noticed it less on this than the others the loss of "power" The gearing felt HUGE. It's running a 36/48 and 11-28 in the rear. I guess maybe it was the "HILLS" me thinks I'm in for some suffering on my first few rides when I start trying to ride shit I road on my beater bmx as a kid. Sigh.
Still on the list to try is hit Bikenetic and see what they have and I also want to try and hit spokes as I'd like to try some Salsa rides out.
1 Point of Hate - The fucking bars piss me off, those weird humped-assed bars KB cooked up for use that aren't the traditional bull horns. They felt short at the far end of the drops (Closest to saddle). And the hump hurt my hands at least without gloves, and I don't think it's a matter of padding. Also riding "in town" I realized that I really would LIKE to have a cheater. At least for the front. Also due to the "humps" it felt like the reach for the brake levers was REALLY long.
Position wise the bike felt like a good fit. Wouldn't know whether to use clipless or clips on this bike. Noticed it less on this than the others the loss of "power" The gearing felt HUGE. It's running a 36/48 and 11-28 in the rear. I guess maybe it was the "HILLS" me thinks I'm in for some suffering on my first few rides when I start trying to ride shit I road on my beater bmx as a kid. Sigh.
Still on the list to try is hit Bikenetic and see what they have and I also want to try and hit spokes as I'd like to try some Salsa rides out.
Winter Party - Survived.
The MORE 2012 Winter Party was survived by all attendee's/participants/etc.
I was WAY late to the setup due to unfortunate issues with a big frickin screw in my rear passenger tire. I did help re-allign the tables so that row 4 didn't have room to drive a car in anymore and row 2 would have to sit on row 1 and 3's laps. IE. Row 1 had 4 paces from wall to far side of the chairs. Row/Table 2 had 2. Row 3 had 3. Row 4 had 7 paces of width.
Tons of food, I saw several people make it out with 5lbs of mixed brisket, chicken and potatoes.
Band was awesome.
20 Year Video - MORE Than Enough: 20 years of the Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts.
MC wasn't very drunk till the near end.
Links to come to vid's and pictures.
Gave away my grand prize of ride leading to of all people Larry.
Quarterly winners were Debbie, Eric C, Joel K, and Debbie (Again).
Big cheers to all my leaders who get their paperwork in. Big shaking of finger at several who epic fail including JoeP (who gets a partial pass for organizing the winter party), Eric B, Pat M, Anne M, and a few others. GET YOUR WAIVERS IN!
Big thanks to our Beer Sponsor, Sierra Nevada for providing 2 kegs.
Now I'm going to process the first 2 months of 2012 ride entries.
Sunday I got to ride 3 cx bikes, the cross check was my favorite, the CDale AL bike wasn't terrible. The giant kinda blew, bad components, and the 58 left me feeling WAY stretched out. Looking to try a cross check in 58 and try some more bikes before making a decision. Not getting into cross racing, this is more for mixed surface rides/etc.
I was WAY late to the setup due to unfortunate issues with a big frickin screw in my rear passenger tire. I did help re-allign the tables so that row 4 didn't have room to drive a car in anymore and row 2 would have to sit on row 1 and 3's laps. IE. Row 1 had 4 paces from wall to far side of the chairs. Row/Table 2 had 2. Row 3 had 3. Row 4 had 7 paces of width.
Tons of food, I saw several people make it out with 5lbs of mixed brisket, chicken and potatoes.
Band was awesome.
20 Year Video - MORE Than Enough: 20 years of the Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts.
MC wasn't very drunk till the near end.
Links to come to vid's and pictures.
Gave away my grand prize of ride leading to of all people Larry.
Quarterly winners were Debbie, Eric C, Joel K, and Debbie (Again).
Big cheers to all my leaders who get their paperwork in. Big shaking of finger at several who epic fail including JoeP (who gets a partial pass for organizing the winter party), Eric B, Pat M, Anne M, and a few others. GET YOUR WAIVERS IN!
Big thanks to our Beer Sponsor, Sierra Nevada for providing 2 kegs.
Now I'm going to process the first 2 months of 2012 ride entries.
Sunday I got to ride 3 cx bikes, the cross check was my favorite, the CDale AL bike wasn't terrible. The giant kinda blew, bad components, and the 58 left me feeling WAY stretched out. Looking to try a cross check in 58 and try some more bikes before making a decision. Not getting into cross racing, this is more for mixed surface rides/etc.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Thursday is BACK!
And we are back after 7 weeks of being shut out at WF for trail rides, we had almost 20 riders out for great conditions yesterday. Trails were near perfect, fast. a hint of tackiness in corners. Damn. The rollers on the power line were FAST!. Did phase 4 2x. Ended up with 10+ miles with the casual group at Wakefield on a semi late start.
Did a bunch of Accotink but my gps was paused apparently for a lot of it. ugh. ugh. ugh. Felt a bit stronger over there, climbed the damn Dam climb with no real problems for the first time and made the other climb that had stumped me on 1st try for most of last season.
Probably 45 miles so far this week and I may get to do FH with the WF Krewe on Saturday since I'm off.
I'm looking forward to kicking back with a good dinner and a brew tonight.
Did a bunch of Accotink but my gps was paused apparently for a lot of it. ugh. ugh. ugh. Felt a bit stronger over there, climbed the damn Dam climb with no real problems for the first time and made the other climb that had stumped me on 1st try for most of last season.
Probably 45 miles so far this week and I may get to do FH with the WF Krewe on Saturday since I'm off.
I'm looking forward to kicking back with a good dinner and a brew tonight.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Is it possible? A Thursday night trail ride at Wakefield?
Stay tuned on this bat channel, at this bat time!
Anyways old Batman reruns aside, I think we've got a VERY VERY good chance of having a trail ride tonight at Wakefield, the first real ride since the beginning of January due to never ending rain's on Tues thru Thursday mucking up the trails. We got a bit last night but with how warm it should be today I think we'll be fine this evening.
Cleaned the bike last night, washed a ton of bike laundry, and cleaned up my junk room a good bit.
Also completed the final MORE Ride Reckoning for 2011. Mostly.
549 Rides on the Calendar
136 Waivers, 64 Known Weather Cancellations = 200 Known Ride's for the big raffle at the Winter Party.
4 Parks account for 3/4's of the rides: Patapsco, Wakefield, Schaeffer, and Rosaryville.
8 Parks had no official rides.
10 Parks had 2 or less rides.
New Waivers printed finally also.
Anyways old Batman reruns aside, I think we've got a VERY VERY good chance of having a trail ride tonight at Wakefield, the first real ride since the beginning of January due to never ending rain's on Tues thru Thursday mucking up the trails. We got a bit last night but with how warm it should be today I think we'll be fine this evening.
Cleaned the bike last night, washed a ton of bike laundry, and cleaned up my junk room a good bit.
Also completed the final MORE Ride Reckoning for 2011. Mostly.
549 Rides on the Calendar
136 Waivers, 64 Known Weather Cancellations = 200 Known Ride's for the big raffle at the Winter Party.
4 Parks account for 3/4's of the rides: Patapsco, Wakefield, Schaeffer, and Rosaryville.
8 Parks had no official rides.
10 Parks had 2 or less rides.
New Waivers printed finally also.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
WMA Assault
Sounds like some sort of MMA or Wrestling event.
And it sorta was if you count wrestling my bike back up 700 feet of ascent in about half a mile. IE a 25%'ish grade. After already ascending about 150 feet of maybe worse hill. Needless to say I was pushing and pushing and pushing as evidenced by my GPS's un-logged distance and my miraculous jump of 400+ feet of elevation at one point. I did ride out the last bit of it, but it sucked.
Going down was a blast except for a bad blow down. On a big DH bike with a known clear line you could redefine FLYING. Honestly it would be a good non-technical shuttle spot. Park a car or two at the lot on the far side near 66 then drive to where we started then you get a 2.5'ish mile run descending 1300 feet. You would want a lead out with a radio or something to make sure the trail is clear of hikers and hunters and to probably take a hand saw to clear 2 of the blow downs. We were cruising down and rolled it in 17 minutes to the far side with a big detour that can be skipped. For the nutters they could really challenge/gauge their fitness trying to ride back up.
You do ride along about 50 feet or so of the AT. And one of the camping huts in nearby we rolled over to check it out and rest for the final leg.
Today I've got a MORE BOD meeting, I may try and get a bit of a ride in at Wakefield before hand.
And it sorta was if you count wrestling my bike back up 700 feet of ascent in about half a mile. IE a 25%'ish grade. After already ascending about 150 feet of maybe worse hill. Needless to say I was pushing and pushing and pushing as evidenced by my GPS's un-logged distance and my miraculous jump of 400+ feet of elevation at one point. I did ride out the last bit of it, but it sucked.
Going down was a blast except for a bad blow down. On a big DH bike with a known clear line you could redefine FLYING. Honestly it would be a good non-technical shuttle spot. Park a car or two at the lot on the far side near 66 then drive to where we started then you get a 2.5'ish mile run descending 1300 feet. You would want a lead out with a radio or something to make sure the trail is clear of hikers and hunters and to probably take a hand saw to clear 2 of the blow downs. We were cruising down and rolled it in 17 minutes to the far side with a big detour that can be skipped. For the nutters they could really challenge/gauge their fitness trying to ride back up.
You do ride along about 50 feet or so of the AT. And one of the camping huts in nearby we rolled over to check it out and rest for the final leg.
Today I've got a MORE BOD meeting, I may try and get a bit of a ride in at Wakefield before hand.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Shed'ing Part Three
Sunday I got to do a 3rd section of the shed based around the Hamburg Rd lot including bits of Blue, VW, Rusted Bug, Knuckle Buster, Dave's Trail, Huggy Bear, Little Cannan and Bugflats. Almost 11 miles I think. Not in that order though. I was turned way around by the end. We came out where I though we wouldn't. Oops. Oh well. It worked out well, still a bit tired today. My arms were more tired than I realized.
Heading out to Thompson WMA out 66 today after work for a bit of explority riding.
Lots of drama at work recently just somewhat wrapped up yesterday with a person departing. Now we only have a shit ton more to deal with before the re-org on April 1.
I'll be glad when this is all done, especially if I get my promised Saturday's off back. I've been looking at that longingly since I was made shift lead 2 years ago, and instead gave up my 2nd day off, even if it was Monday.
I'll link up Denis's photo of me from the shed later. Pretty cool.
Heading out to Thompson WMA out 66 today after work for a bit of explority riding.
Lots of drama at work recently just somewhat wrapped up yesterday with a person departing. Now we only have a shit ton more to deal with before the re-org on April 1.
I'll be glad when this is all done, especially if I get my promised Saturday's off back. I've been looking at that longingly since I was made shift lead 2 years ago, and instead gave up my 2nd day off, even if it was Monday.
I'll link up Denis's photo of me from the shed later. Pretty cool.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Newness of Note, rain never ending.
Got to ride the new NEW stuff out at FH on Wednesday after working doing the first 2 loop sections (ending at pick nick tables). That's now almost 6 miles. Compared to just shy of 3.75 miles 2 years ago before the first project started and now that the RTP grant work is nearing completion. I think it will be near 6.5 by the time they finish.
The new stuff leading up to and after Jackrabbit Run is going to be sick as it compresses down and gets FAST. The berms are REALLY nicely done.
There does need to be some re-work done especially on PTD's stuff on the Shockabily lead up and a bit of the bypass.
Rained enough yesterday I wasn't down for another CCT ride and didn't want to try chasing Larry around on his vintage '83 Canondale. My legs were tired and I got a LOT of work done on finishing up the 2011 Ride Lists. Hoping to finish the 1st half one today and start normalizing tonight/tomorrow.
Did get to try another CoCoNut Porter, still digging it. Also tried the DFH Pearl Jam beer, a nice mild Belgian ale, the currants were really not noticeable to my palate. Well done beer. Very approachable for Belgian style.
Snow inbound on Sunday the question is to stay local, semi-local or go farther afield and try some skiing. Not sure yet.
The new stuff leading up to and after Jackrabbit Run is going to be sick as it compresses down and gets FAST. The berms are REALLY nicely done.
There does need to be some re-work done especially on PTD's stuff on the Shockabily lead up and a bit of the bypass.
Rained enough yesterday I wasn't down for another CCT ride and didn't want to try chasing Larry around on his vintage '83 Canondale. My legs were tired and I got a LOT of work done on finishing up the 2011 Ride Lists. Hoping to finish the 1st half one today and start normalizing tonight/tomorrow.
Did get to try another CoCoNut Porter, still digging it. Also tried the DFH Pearl Jam beer, a nice mild Belgian ale, the currants were really not noticeable to my palate. Well done beer. Very approachable for Belgian style.
Snow inbound on Sunday the question is to stay local, semi-local or go farther afield and try some skiing. Not sure yet.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Oy who loves their bike?
Well I got a chance to love mine yesterday. I blew off the Rosey ride as honestly 100 extra miles of driving round trip was going to lead to someone ending up on the 11 o'clock news. And not in a good way.
So I did a near work ride and got in 11 or so miles. Even did some 1 mile sprints. God I suck. I have no REAL power and my sustained ability sucks. 3:25 and 3:34 were my times. Admittedly a mtn bike ain't no road bike, but still thats slow to me. I never did timed miles back when i used to ride Baylands a lot but I did do shorter sprints and I know I used to crack speeds for short term of 25+. I see near 23 as best. Ugh. More "ROAD" work ahead.
It was a good ride, I felt about 75% calmer and less like doing unspeakable acts upon certain people.
In geek news I got to play the new Mass Effect 3 demo last night after the ride and was very impressed. Good buy cruel March rides, I shall see you again in April...or May.
Gotta finalize my Fla trip today for March. Hoping to Santos with my Bro and see what other trouble we can get into. Gator Nationals that Sunday then who knows?
Great bit from Bike 198.
So I did a near work ride and got in 11 or so miles. Even did some 1 mile sprints. God I suck. I have no REAL power and my sustained ability sucks. 3:25 and 3:34 were my times. Admittedly a mtn bike ain't no road bike, but still thats slow to me. I never did timed miles back when i used to ride Baylands a lot but I did do shorter sprints and I know I used to crack speeds for short term of 25+. I see near 23 as best. Ugh. More "ROAD" work ahead.
It was a good ride, I felt about 75% calmer and less like doing unspeakable acts upon certain people.
In geek news I got to play the new Mass Effect 3 demo last night after the ride and was very impressed. Good buy cruel March rides, I shall see you again in April...or May.
Gotta finalize my Fla trip today for March. Hoping to Santos with my Bro and see what other trouble we can get into. Gator Nationals that Sunday then who knows?
Great bit from Bike 198.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Thursday Sucks. Honestly.
Mother nature has made the Thursday Night Ride her B@#$@. Another night not on trails this week and last week was also. Next week isn't looking spiffy with rain/snow coming in again next Tuesday. This earns a giant WTF.
So we did the CCT south last night, but it was a comedy of issues. Dead Lights, Flat Tires, Group Drops, just to name a few. OH and REALLY wet low water crossings. ON the way out once you get past 7100 you have like 5 or 6 low water crossings. 5 were not that bad, if you rode slow you didn't get wet. Last one was a BIT DEEPER. As in about 6 inches deeper. Almost to my bottom bracket deep. AS in soaked my lakes almost. UGh. On the way back I wimped and used the steps carrying my bike, but my socks were already soaked. Wool is awesome as it did manage to stay mostly warm till the end. Damn things are still wet on the drying rack this morning. After that I gate up on staying mostly dry and did the 5 other crossings getting from wet to damn wet. 21 Miles I believe someone said, my gps had 20 so that makes sense.
Michaux on Sunday if I can get up on time. Jen's having a birthday party Saturday evening. We'll see how it goes. Might have a bit of snow on the ground. Won't be hugely disappointed if it gets rescheduled somewhat honestly. Next week I may run a lead ride at LH. Or maybe I'll try and hit Fairland.
So we did the CCT south last night, but it was a comedy of issues. Dead Lights, Flat Tires, Group Drops, just to name a few. OH and REALLY wet low water crossings. ON the way out once you get past 7100 you have like 5 or 6 low water crossings. 5 were not that bad, if you rode slow you didn't get wet. Last one was a BIT DEEPER. As in about 6 inches deeper. Almost to my bottom bracket deep. AS in soaked my lakes almost. UGh. On the way back I wimped and used the steps carrying my bike, but my socks were already soaked. Wool is awesome as it did manage to stay mostly warm till the end. Damn things are still wet on the drying rack this morning. After that I gate up on staying mostly dry and did the 5 other crossings getting from wet to damn wet. 21 Miles I believe someone said, my gps had 20 so that makes sense.
Michaux on Sunday if I can get up on time. Jen's having a birthday party Saturday evening. We'll see how it goes. Might have a bit of snow on the ground. Won't be hugely disappointed if it gets rescheduled somewhat honestly. Next week I may run a lead ride at LH. Or maybe I'll try and hit Fairland.
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Sun to Snow to Sun to Snow
That's the pattern this time of year, Tuesday last week (1/31) we had a high of 68 degrees. I rode in shorts and a shirt up until after dark, when I added a tech layer under the shirt. (Accotink and Wakefield).
Thursday it felt cold and I rode in mod weight winter gear on the CCT.
Sunday I rode the shed again. In the snow. In heavier winter gear but was a bit warm. It was pretty wet and most trails were not snow covered directly. We did Salamander to the Overlook then ridge and then ended up going all the way down Vandal to near the res. The climb up sucked. Sucked. Sucked. Or rather I sucked. Back up we went eventually I caught the main slower group and a few of us did Kinks back to the Sandflats lot. It was pretty good and I cleared most of it, skipping 2 sections.
Afterwards we enjoyed excellent homemade salsa and chips and PLB's. HeBrew's RIPA is pretty damn good. MAD Elf is still nyquil. Skipped super bowl as I was tired and I was actually in bed and sleeping by 10 I think.
Last night was J's birthday so I got no riding in, instead I'm hoping to get in another Snow Ride here in the lowlands of VA today. 1-2 inches. Yesterday it was 55 and felt closer to 65 in the sun, had my windows down in the car even!
Maybe some sledding if I can find a hill with enough snow!
Of course it's going to melt overnight/during Thursday so that means no snow/trail riding yet again for Wakefield Thursday Night. GRR.
Thursday it felt cold and I rode in mod weight winter gear on the CCT.
Sunday I rode the shed again. In the snow. In heavier winter gear but was a bit warm. It was pretty wet and most trails were not snow covered directly. We did Salamander to the Overlook then ridge and then ended up going all the way down Vandal to near the res. The climb up sucked. Sucked. Sucked. Or rather I sucked. Back up we went eventually I caught the main slower group and a few of us did Kinks back to the Sandflats lot. It was pretty good and I cleared most of it, skipping 2 sections.
Afterwards we enjoyed excellent homemade salsa and chips and PLB's. HeBrew's RIPA is pretty damn good. MAD Elf is still nyquil. Skipped super bowl as I was tired and I was actually in bed and sleeping by 10 I think.
Last night was J's birthday so I got no riding in, instead I'm hoping to get in another Snow Ride here in the lowlands of VA today. 1-2 inches. Yesterday it was 55 and felt closer to 65 in the sun, had my windows down in the car even!
Maybe some sledding if I can find a hill with enough snow!
Of course it's going to melt overnight/during Thursday so that means no snow/trail riding yet again for Wakefield Thursday Night. GRR.
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Support this.
I love Ride the Divide, I watch it probably once every 3 or 4 months. Throw it on as background when having social gathering. This new film sounds like another great production. So help em out if you can and lets break the 10K mark!
Reveal the Path!
Working on nailing down ride waivers for the last half of 2011 first, which I seem to have more of for the club. The amount of cancelations due to weather this fall is really kinda sad. Lots and lots of the C word.
Speaking of that tonights Wakefield ride is not looking good, we've had on and off rains and semi-continual misting. Ugh. Not looking foward to another Plan C ride.
Reveal the Path!
Working on nailing down ride waivers for the last half of 2011 first, which I seem to have more of for the club. The amount of cancelations due to weather this fall is really kinda sad. Lots and lots of the C word.
Speaking of that tonights Wakefield ride is not looking good, we've had on and off rains and semi-continual misting. Ugh. Not looking foward to another Plan C ride.
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Shed.....
Well it finally happened.
Chris burned out almost everyone's retina's at the ride yesterday with his Stig inspired bike outfit. I won't subject your eyes to the trama directly but it's out there on flickr. I believe Denis C ruined at least one camera taking photo's.
I also got my first Fredrick Watershed ride in. Me likey. I opted out of the optional early climb to the shuttle point and instead caught a ride up with Chris and Marco before his outfit of doom was applied.
We then rode Skink, Salemander, Iceberg, F2, Viper, and Pit. I bailed on the last part (Vandal). I was feeling it with the lack of riding lately. And nothing like that since the fall at Rattling Creek.
Had some good sections where I was very happy with my rock handling, then a few I should have tried or done better on and a few where due to the group it just wasn't worth trying. And plenty of things I couldn't figure out how to do for my life.
Going back next week is the plan, but who knows if that will or won't happen. Tried ot really pay attention to the trails so I can go back and ride some of it again even by myself, though I dunno if I would do iceberg or F2 by myself. The built stuff at Capital Hill is amazing.
Great to see a bunch of familiar faces up there including Chris, Todd, Darius, Adam, Marco and anyone else I forgot and any of the new guys I met, I'm terrible with names. D'oh.
Michaux jaunt possible 2 weeks from now that I REALLY want to do.
Chris burned out almost everyone's retina's at the ride yesterday with his Stig inspired bike outfit. I won't subject your eyes to the trama directly but it's out there on flickr. I believe Denis C ruined at least one camera taking photo's.
I also got my first Fredrick Watershed ride in. Me likey. I opted out of the optional early climb to the shuttle point and instead caught a ride up with Chris and Marco before his outfit of doom was applied.
We then rode Skink, Salemander, Iceberg, F2, Viper, and Pit. I bailed on the last part (Vandal). I was feeling it with the lack of riding lately. And nothing like that since the fall at Rattling Creek.
Had some good sections where I was very happy with my rock handling, then a few I should have tried or done better on and a few where due to the group it just wasn't worth trying. And plenty of things I couldn't figure out how to do for my life.
Going back next week is the plan, but who knows if that will or won't happen. Tried ot really pay attention to the trails so I can go back and ride some of it again even by myself, though I dunno if I would do iceberg or F2 by myself. The built stuff at Capital Hill is amazing.
Great to see a bunch of familiar faces up there including Chris, Todd, Darius, Adam, Marco and anyone else I forgot and any of the new guys I met, I'm terrible with names. D'oh.
Michaux jaunt possible 2 weeks from now that I REALLY want to do.
Monday, January 09, 2012
Beers, Bikes and Broncos
Congrats to that Nutter up in Denver and his buddies for sending the Steelers home for the rest of the season. But don't get your hopes up Bronco's fan. It was close and a better running team will beat them. Will it be New England? Maybe.
Had some excellent beer this weekend of note, but no pictures.
Widmer's Galaxy Hopped Barleywine - On Draft - Wow it was good and smooth, excellent balance for a 10%. Good malt flavor not overly alcohol forward.
Legend Barleywine - on Draft - Only had a taste but it was super impressive, but at 15% ABV it's an asskicker. That puts it in wine range, meaning a pint is like drinking about 3 glasses of wine aka - legally sloshed. Even a snifter is pushing it.
Founder's Porter - On Draft - The coffee notes seem bigger on draft, more roasty, but still my favorite porter.
Founder Imperial Stout - Bottled - This was just crazy awesome, I'm glad I picked up 2 4 packs so as to stretch out my supply into summer along with Breakfast Stout, however I think that the Imperial is better. Breakfast is almost too complex to drink at all but breakfast honestly.
On the homebrew front tonight I'll try and roast the peanuts for my PB Choco Stout. I've got plenty of supplies so I should be able to make a mistake or two. Green peanuts are NASTY! Honestly waiting for Snow for doing the next beer. 2nd gen Snow Day IPA. Gonna half and half it I think half normal, half raspberry.
Biking wise I didn't do as well as I wanted this week but I did get in 2 rides, a bit longer one at Wakefield running near 2 hours total with pre-ride on Thursday. The trails were pretty good. Then Sunday it was a Laurel Hill day, got in a full loop with return via Giles Meadow in just over an hour for near 12 miles.
Riding this week is looking Paved. Possible rain today, possible rain on Wednesday. Ugh. Double UGH even. Busy week at work and around the area this week. Though I am successfully managing my current nerd addiction pretty well (SW The Old Republic).
Had some excellent beer this weekend of note, but no pictures.
Widmer's Galaxy Hopped Barleywine - On Draft - Wow it was good and smooth, excellent balance for a 10%. Good malt flavor not overly alcohol forward.
Legend Barleywine - on Draft - Only had a taste but it was super impressive, but at 15% ABV it's an asskicker. That puts it in wine range, meaning a pint is like drinking about 3 glasses of wine aka - legally sloshed. Even a snifter is pushing it.
Founder's Porter - On Draft - The coffee notes seem bigger on draft, more roasty, but still my favorite porter.
Founder Imperial Stout - Bottled - This was just crazy awesome, I'm glad I picked up 2 4 packs so as to stretch out my supply into summer along with Breakfast Stout, however I think that the Imperial is better. Breakfast is almost too complex to drink at all but breakfast honestly.
On the homebrew front tonight I'll try and roast the peanuts for my PB Choco Stout. I've got plenty of supplies so I should be able to make a mistake or two. Green peanuts are NASTY! Honestly waiting for Snow for doing the next beer. 2nd gen Snow Day IPA. Gonna half and half it I think half normal, half raspberry.
Biking wise I didn't do as well as I wanted this week but I did get in 2 rides, a bit longer one at Wakefield running near 2 hours total with pre-ride on Thursday. The trails were pretty good. Then Sunday it was a Laurel Hill day, got in a full loop with return via Giles Meadow in just over an hour for near 12 miles.
Riding this week is looking Paved. Possible rain today, possible rain on Wednesday. Ugh. Double UGH even. Busy week at work and around the area this week. Though I am successfully managing my current nerd addiction pretty well (SW The Old Republic).
Monday, January 02, 2012
Trail work 1 of 2, Riding 0 of 2. Oh yah.
So I'm wrapping up numbers for MORE today for Rides we had listed for 2011. Here are a few highlights:
525 Calendar Listed Rides
Unknown Actual Rides (est 330).
62 - June # of Rides, Most of Year.
21 - Feb, Month with Fewest Rides.
44 - Avg # of Rides a Month Rounded Up.
Parks with Most Rides - Pataspco and Wakefield.
Parks with No Love - Too many.
So if I do end up remaining Ride Co-ordinator, my big push this year will be for every park to have a lead ride at least 2x per year. Probably over reaching but who knows?
77 Rides in Garmin this year for 880 miles logged. But I was missing my GPS for almost 2 months so I'd figure add another 200 miles as I was riding a good bit during that part of the summer as stress relief. So with 10% loss avg I'm going to tag that I had say 90 rides for 1200 miles. Not bad, but I do want to do more, but right now that means I need to go to the road at least somewhat. Ugh.
Did a minor build project by myself on Cabin John yesterday near River Road, doing a cleanup/fix of a incomplete reroute near a bad washout from the fall. Had to move some big rock, fill some major holes and move a lot of loam and dirt. Ended up pretty decent. Pictures to come.
Back to work.
525 Calendar Listed Rides
Unknown Actual Rides (est 330).
62 - June # of Rides, Most of Year.
21 - Feb, Month with Fewest Rides.
44 - Avg # of Rides a Month Rounded Up.
Parks with Most Rides - Pataspco and Wakefield.
Parks with No Love - Too many.
So if I do end up remaining Ride Co-ordinator, my big push this year will be for every park to have a lead ride at least 2x per year. Probably over reaching but who knows?
77 Rides in Garmin this year for 880 miles logged. But I was missing my GPS for almost 2 months so I'd figure add another 200 miles as I was riding a good bit during that part of the summer as stress relief. So with 10% loss avg I'm going to tag that I had say 90 rides for 1200 miles. Not bad, but I do want to do more, but right now that means I need to go to the road at least somewhat. Ugh.
Did a minor build project by myself on Cabin John yesterday near River Road, doing a cleanup/fix of a incomplete reroute near a bad washout from the fall. Had to move some big rock, fill some major holes and move a lot of loam and dirt. Ended up pretty decent. Pictures to come.
Back to work.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
CJ at Night
Finally got up and did the CJ Night ride with Michael W (no James) last night. It was a damn good ride really. Started from the group picnic lot on Tuckerman Lane and rode to the Goya Drive end first. One area in there really need a reroute as the stream edge is really close.
Then we went south. 1st 2 sections weren't in bad shape, pretty damn dry in fact. But then we got towards near the end of The 7 Bradley rd to River Road section and there are 2 big washouts. 1 already has a decent bypass. The other is in need of some real work. Might be time to consider a full re-route of that section.
12.9 miles according to Mike's cycle computer, my GPS came up 11.8.
A spoke gave out early on or maybe Saturday at FH so thats another thing to be handled when I drop the bike off tonight. Gotta clean it up a bit for sure before then or they will flip on me.
I have to note again how impressed I am with the new Gemini XERA lighthead I got a few weeks ago. It's great, solid light and good life on the battery. I was re-reading on the GeomanGear page about the 1600 I have, apparently the red status occurs at the 50% battery mark, not 25% like I thought so maybe it would run almost 2 hours on high and 2.5 on 3. I'll have to push it soon on another ride. I will say on high it is incredibly bright and the next step down is still Very Bridge.
Wakefield Festivus on Thursday night, not looking like a trail ride at this time, more of a CCT or such.
Then we went south. 1st 2 sections weren't in bad shape, pretty damn dry in fact. But then we got towards near the end of The 7 Bradley rd to River Road section and there are 2 big washouts. 1 already has a decent bypass. The other is in need of some real work. Might be time to consider a full re-route of that section.
12.9 miles according to Mike's cycle computer, my GPS came up 11.8.
A spoke gave out early on or maybe Saturday at FH so thats another thing to be handled when I drop the bike off tonight. Gotta clean it up a bit for sure before then or they will flip on me.
I have to note again how impressed I am with the new Gemini XERA lighthead I got a few weeks ago. It's great, solid light and good life on the battery. I was re-reading on the GeomanGear page about the 1600 I have, apparently the red status occurs at the 50% battery mark, not 25% like I thought so maybe it would run almost 2 hours on high and 2.5 on 3. I'll have to push it soon on another ride. I will say on high it is incredibly bright and the next step down is still Very Bridge.
Wakefield Festivus on Thursday night, not looking like a trail ride at this time, more of a CCT or such.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Ouch. Never trust a Trail Liason.
Damn busy week last week while off, the weekend before was busy with stuff. Monday became a day of house cleaning, and passing out forgetting about a MORE BOD meeting. oops. Tuesday was a relaxation day. Wednesday I went to Fountain Head and rode. Thursday was a 2x ride with a stop at TBL. Friday I don't recall but I think it involved b33r. Saturday was trail work and ride at Fountain Head. Good to see a bunch of folks I haven't seen in a while including Paul H from Rosaryville. We moved a LOT of lumber again. Probably a couple tons. Then we moved a couple of tons of rocks a short distance building a wall.
Then we got to ride the new stuff, the new entrance loop is AWESOME! Then we only did the blue loop and rode the new SOB alternate. Very cool, better than it was on Thursday. Then we tried the new exit loop. It will be really cool once it's done and compacted down.
Sunday I was too sore to do the Shed Ride, which had 70+ riders in 7 groups. Thats awesome. So instead I lounged, helped at the old house, and TCB'd.
Now I'm back at work. Back on the self fitness chain gang, though I'm still sore from Saturday. Trying to decide if I want to ride tonight or not, the rest of the week is looking pretty shitty.
Tuesday the Paragon goes in for new chain, new (already owned) cogset, and a rebuild of the fork (seals and fluid). Didn't know it was supposed to be done once a season, it's been a year and a half.
Then we got to ride the new stuff, the new entrance loop is AWESOME! Then we only did the blue loop and rode the new SOB alternate. Very cool, better than it was on Thursday. Then we tried the new exit loop. It will be really cool once it's done and compacted down.
Sunday I was too sore to do the Shed Ride, which had 70+ riders in 7 groups. Thats awesome. So instead I lounged, helped at the old house, and TCB'd.
Now I'm back at work. Back on the self fitness chain gang, though I'm still sore from Saturday. Trying to decide if I want to ride tonight or not, the rest of the week is looking pretty shitty.
Tuesday the Paragon goes in for new chain, new (already owned) cogset, and a rebuild of the fork (seals and fluid). Didn't know it was supposed to be done once a season, it's been a year and a half.
Friday, December 09, 2011
DC Bar-si Ride
Riding with DC Tony is always an adventure. On MTB Rides you know what the score will be. A broken chain and maybe a flat. Ok. On an urban ride it's different but the same.
Traffic Lights? Ignore Em!
Stop Signs? Suggestions!
Lane Marks? What a Joke!
Directions? For Spaniards, Not Italians.
If nothing else it was entertaining risking life in limb in the heart of DC thumbing our noses at the collective multitudes of DC.
I met the group at Haines Point and did a lap before by myself to warm up. DC Tony was at the Club House and warned me they might close gates before we got back. So I moved my car to the Tennis Courts. The group arrived a bit late, a bit after 7 and we waited a bit for Larry and Liz to catch up. Then we were off, finishing across the 14th st bridge I think and up to the Capitol to meet with Joelski who had Metro'd down with his shiny nused Dawes road bike, he bought for $35 bucks earlier in the day. What a great find.
We then took pictures at the Tree and of the nuts protesting at the Capitol. Then we were off to our first bar (2nd technically, the club house bar was closed). Ended up at the Capitol Lounge. They looked at the 13 of us like we were nuts. We had beers and rolled out a bit after 8. Off to the Argonaut on H street. Damn good we had a bunch of pitches of Bells Double Cream Stout there and DC Brau and some Long Hammer IPA. I had an awesome Cubano. We took off from there to misc rowdy cheers as we headed up I and headed towards The Big Hunt in Dupont Circle. Some scary ass riding later and we arrived, shaken but not stirred.
The Big Hunt was also busy but we got a table in back and beer pretty quick. Unfortunately I fell prey to one of the big issues at the Hunt, my beer was soured. I didn't even finish it or feel like arguing. We rolled out of there a bit after 10:40. Back down past the Cap.
I split from the group and went down to Haines Point at Ohio. Ended up doing another lap, but I was pooped and couldn't push it as hard as I wanted. Barely averaged 15. Maxed at 22. LAME!
Still not bad night probably 19-20 miles of riding for me. 4 Beers, 1 Cubano. Good times with good people. Can't wait to do it again. With someone else leading. :P
Last weeks Wakefield ride was nice to be out on the dirt. Trails weren't optimal but it had been to long. Most stuff was dry enough a few area's were still wet.
I'm off this next week and hoping to get in some rides in new places to try and finish Trail Rat 2010. We'll see.
Traffic Lights? Ignore Em!
Stop Signs? Suggestions!
Lane Marks? What a Joke!
Directions? For Spaniards, Not Italians.
If nothing else it was entertaining risking life in limb in the heart of DC thumbing our noses at the collective multitudes of DC.
I met the group at Haines Point and did a lap before by myself to warm up. DC Tony was at the Club House and warned me they might close gates before we got back. So I moved my car to the Tennis Courts. The group arrived a bit late, a bit after 7 and we waited a bit for Larry and Liz to catch up. Then we were off, finishing across the 14th st bridge I think and up to the Capitol to meet with Joelski who had Metro'd down with his shiny nused Dawes road bike, he bought for $35 bucks earlier in the day. What a great find.
We then took pictures at the Tree and of the nuts protesting at the Capitol. Then we were off to our first bar (2nd technically, the club house bar was closed). Ended up at the Capitol Lounge. They looked at the 13 of us like we were nuts. We had beers and rolled out a bit after 8. Off to the Argonaut on H street. Damn good we had a bunch of pitches of Bells Double Cream Stout there and DC Brau and some Long Hammer IPA. I had an awesome Cubano. We took off from there to misc rowdy cheers as we headed up I and headed towards The Big Hunt in Dupont Circle. Some scary ass riding later and we arrived, shaken but not stirred.
The Big Hunt was also busy but we got a table in back and beer pretty quick. Unfortunately I fell prey to one of the big issues at the Hunt, my beer was soured. I didn't even finish it or feel like arguing. We rolled out of there a bit after 10:40. Back down past the Cap.
I split from the group and went down to Haines Point at Ohio. Ended up doing another lap, but I was pooped and couldn't push it as hard as I wanted. Barely averaged 15. Maxed at 22. LAME!
Still not bad night probably 19-20 miles of riding for me. 4 Beers, 1 Cubano. Good times with good people. Can't wait to do it again. With someone else leading. :P
Last weeks Wakefield ride was nice to be out on the dirt. Trails weren't optimal but it had been to long. Most stuff was dry enough a few area's were still wet.
I'm off this next week and hoping to get in some rides in new places to try and finish Trail Rat 2010. We'll see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)