It's been a LONG time.
In a Galaxy Far Far Away.
I've been around the world and life is beautiful.
:P
So tonight I was running late to come home. It was getting dark. And I had no lights. So I went on the Highway to the Danger Zone and cranked out an epic ride home. Huge pace.
27 Minutes. Perhaps my fastest ride home. And it could have been faster, by the time I got to Courthouse on the south east side of 123, it was getting dim. By the time I entered Nottoway park, it was pretty dark almost at 9::05 especially under the tree's. Had to really take it a tad easy up the path to Vaden.
If I'd held my pace all the way into vienna then pushed harder up Courthouse and then thru the park, I think 25 would have been possible. Typically my ride home is the slower part. 31 minutes. Sub 30 I consider pretty good. And the moving time versus total time? 32 mins total. That's bonkers, it's usually 45 minutes nearly with stops/lights/etc.
Total Ride - 58.15. And my lazy 31 in could have cut 4 minutes off. Easy.
2013 - 54:07 - https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/324916846
2013-2 - 57:13 - https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/412845125 - Dec 2013
2014 - 59:31 - https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/472470681 - April 2014
2015 - 58:54 - https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/749098180 - April 2015
2016 - 1:00:32 - https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1187058047 - May 2016
2017 - 58:15 https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1813423305 - June 2017 - 27 Home
What sucks? I was at 20 rides to work by early APR 2016. 2015 I'm only 4 or 5 off pace. Sure I was on the road for err.... 7 weeks, so say 14 commutes. Hmmm. 34 in 2016 still put me at June 1. argh. 97 hours and just under 1K miles.
Stats from Strava - So doesn't have "Everything" like trailwork and such.
Year - Activities - Miles
2016 - 314 - 3451
2015 - 317 - 3591
2014 - 204 - 2157
2013 - Partial - 184 - 2124
Cool places I've ridden:
Manly Dam, NSW Australia
Sydney,NSW Australia
The Big Island HI - Just a tiny bit, more hiking and running. VNP, Greensand Beach, etc.
Beer I've Drunk - 2 much. Highlights include tons of Australian, KBS 2016, and Doom 2017.
Friday, June 23, 2017
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Vermont is SHARP!
Back from a 6 day trip to Vermont. Hell of a drive but we did well and never had any REALLY bad traffic. We left DC around 1130'ish after a food stop but due to food and other detours/scenic routes got in at around 11PM after a LATE dinner of beer and chips and salsa.
We got a garage apartment outside of Waitsfield VT.
Next morning we woke up early and we hit The Sweet Spot in Waitsfield for awesome coffee, pastries and food. Damn good!
Then we got ready and headed off for Perry Hill Trails. We rode up the huge frickin hill to the top of Joe's trail, then descended it, crazy stuff. Some beyond me for sure. Then back up to Burning Spear and down to Rastaman then down Rastaman and back to the car for 10 hard miles.
Will link to the ride HERE later.
Back to town starving. We hit the brewer by Prohibition Pig and had awesome taco's then rolled out. We ended up finding out about a demo of Yeti at Saxon Hill trail. We rolled onto that after a quick stop at the house. Hit that at a bit before 5. Tons of people. Took out a SUPER SWEET Yeti 5.5c X01 setup. BAD ASS bike, but damn $7k!!!!
Saxon Hills was generally more buff singletrack though there were some big ride features up at the far end. Rode tons of crazy stuff on the bike with no issue where my HT wouldn't. It was super plush and pedaled almost like a hardtail once my legs warmed back up. The way back was super flowy and twisty and a riot. Tons of boardwalks. Even some crazy skinny and turning ones. Just blasted it out.
And we were DONE. Time for dinner. We drove back over to Mad River area and up a CRAZY mountain to hit Mad River Barn. Good food and awesome beer. Still think we were both food defecited from no dinner the previous night.
Rolled back to the pad and waited for Teresa to show up. She got in around 10:30 and we chatted till 1230 and planned to shuttle the next day at Tucker Hill just outside Waitsfield.
T rented a Yeti 4.5c from the local shop and up we went we drove my car to the top as it had the rack. Then the adventure began with another 500 feet of climbing. Then more on and off climbing. We ended up back in a HUGE syrup collection field and apparently rode some abandoned/closed trail. Ooops. Finally got onto the fire road and finished down cyclone. 1800 feet of descending and 1100 climbing on a shuttled ride is still pretty epic. I think like 10 miles again.
Ride Linked Here.
Off to Prohobition Pig for an amazing dinner and more beer buying.
More Later.
We got a garage apartment outside of Waitsfield VT.
Next morning we woke up early and we hit The Sweet Spot in Waitsfield for awesome coffee, pastries and food. Damn good!
Then we got ready and headed off for Perry Hill Trails. We rode up the huge frickin hill to the top of Joe's trail, then descended it, crazy stuff. Some beyond me for sure. Then back up to Burning Spear and down to Rastaman then down Rastaman and back to the car for 10 hard miles.
Will link to the ride HERE later.
Back to town starving. We hit the brewer by Prohibition Pig and had awesome taco's then rolled out. We ended up finding out about a demo of Yeti at Saxon Hill trail. We rolled onto that after a quick stop at the house. Hit that at a bit before 5. Tons of people. Took out a SUPER SWEET Yeti 5.5c X01 setup. BAD ASS bike, but damn $7k!!!!
Saxon Hills was generally more buff singletrack though there were some big ride features up at the far end. Rode tons of crazy stuff on the bike with no issue where my HT wouldn't. It was super plush and pedaled almost like a hardtail once my legs warmed back up. The way back was super flowy and twisty and a riot. Tons of boardwalks. Even some crazy skinny and turning ones. Just blasted it out.
And we were DONE. Time for dinner. We drove back over to Mad River area and up a CRAZY mountain to hit Mad River Barn. Good food and awesome beer. Still think we were both food defecited from no dinner the previous night.
Rolled back to the pad and waited for Teresa to show up. She got in around 10:30 and we chatted till 1230 and planned to shuttle the next day at Tucker Hill just outside Waitsfield.
T rented a Yeti 4.5c from the local shop and up we went we drove my car to the top as it had the rack. Then the adventure began with another 500 feet of climbing. Then more on and off climbing. We ended up back in a HUGE syrup collection field and apparently rode some abandoned/closed trail. Ooops. Finally got onto the fire road and finished down cyclone. 1800 feet of descending and 1100 climbing on a shuttled ride is still pretty epic. I think like 10 miles again.
Ride Linked Here.
Off to Prohobition Pig for an amazing dinner and more beer buying.
More Later.
Monday, February 22, 2016
Sunny Day's and Muddy Buddies
Saturday we had an awesomely warm day, though overcast till 3pm. I did the airport loop that I hadn't done in a while and it took me probably an additional 30-40 minutes due to how often I had to slowdown/stop/yield/etc for people.
Hordes of people. Like walking dead hordes. Just not dead. Well not all of them. Even with all the slowassedness I still cut a few achievements including 3rd best time up the Custis.
Sunday was funday. We rode from the shop down to the C-anal and rode out to Great Fallzor. It was an epic battle of mud and people. We nearly got taken out by a group of crazy Chinese tourists that we wandering all over taking photos. So dirty. I was definitely feeling the tired. Then we did 41st street. And I made it! 20% grade at point, but more typically 8%. By the time you hit the top of the neighborhood your at near 300ft of climbing in 1.5 miles.
February has been a bit slack for me. My big week off was a mix of sitting, sleeping and eating. But very relaxing. I was definitely over trained in January. Hoping to get up to 20 hours this month. Today will get me to 16 or so but unless I rain ride.... Sigh. Though tomorrow is an off day riding in was so fucking tiring. Slooooow.
March....Cloudy with a chance of rain. It's looking like a very wet spring. Which is better I guess than a very snowy winter. MTB is going to be rare I think till April at this rate. In the next 15 days I think it's calling for rain on 7. Ugh.
But near 600 miles for the year? Can't complain as at the end of March 2015 I was at 500 miles and 46 hours.
Tonight's project? Tear down and clean MTB. Might even do cables if I go nuts.
Hordes of people. Like walking dead hordes. Just not dead. Well not all of them. Even with all the slowassedness I still cut a few achievements including 3rd best time up the Custis.
Sunday was funday. We rode from the shop down to the C-anal and rode out to Great Fallzor. It was an epic battle of mud and people. We nearly got taken out by a group of crazy Chinese tourists that we wandering all over taking photos. So dirty. I was definitely feeling the tired. Then we did 41st street. And I made it! 20% grade at point, but more typically 8%. By the time you hit the top of the neighborhood your at near 300ft of climbing in 1.5 miles.
February has been a bit slack for me. My big week off was a mix of sitting, sleeping and eating. But very relaxing. I was definitely over trained in January. Hoping to get up to 20 hours this month. Today will get me to 16 or so but unless I rain ride.... Sigh. Though tomorrow is an off day riding in was so fucking tiring. Slooooow.
March....Cloudy with a chance of rain. It's looking like a very wet spring. Which is better I guess than a very snowy winter. MTB is going to be rare I think till April at this rate. In the next 15 days I think it's calling for rain on 7. Ugh.
But near 600 miles for the year? Can't complain as at the end of March 2015 I was at 500 miles and 46 hours.
Tonight's project? Tear down and clean MTB. Might even do cables if I go nuts.
Monday, February 01, 2016
Goodbye January!
Hello February.
The end of the month with the massive snowstorm made January a bit less epic than I hoped, but a solid early part of the month and some dumb stuff kept me solid.
32 Total Activities, 450 Miles of Cycling, 48 Hours of Activity. Hiking, Trailwork, Running, Sledding and Shoveling of course rounded out the activities. Though I did almost CRUSH my entire Jan-Feb-Mar 2015 totals in just January. That's got me stoked for sure.
Not a lot of LONG rides but lots of riding was good. Was honestly probably in over trained status by the middle of the month leading up to the storm. Then the storm and tweaking my back on day 2 of shovel hell left last week pretty light Monday thru Thursday - minus sledding Thursday night.
My back on and off hurts anywhere from barely to moderately. This getting old crap sucks. My arm/shoulder still hurts at time from the crash at CCCX in December. Definitely fractured crap I suspect. Should have stayed off the bike a bit more but the travel also didn't help. Strength work at the gym is slowly starting to help a bit also.
Studded tires finally on the CX rig but no where to ride till really today as the WOD wasn't well plowed/melted up this way. It may finally be passable tomorrow, but I may work from home tomorrow due to never ending meetings/etc starting at 8am. Can't be late and that would mean leaving house at like 630. Ain't gonna happen since I'm off to see Muse for at the 5th time I think. Always an awesome show.
Gotta figure out my team level this year, they raised each level by 5 events. With MORE stuff and work stuff I may drop back down to Lazy Level or just lead some Monday CX rides at Wakefield-Accotink this spring. We shall see.
Vacation next week is looking pretty damn good. No really nasty weather in the next 15 days.
Also got some Black Ops 3 in this weekend and spent some time grinding up from level suck to level less suck (21). So I could unlock my next SMG of choice. Pretty fun game once I get my head into it a bit. I'm still to old/slow to be awesome.
The end of the month with the massive snowstorm made January a bit less epic than I hoped, but a solid early part of the month and some dumb stuff kept me solid.
32 Total Activities, 450 Miles of Cycling, 48 Hours of Activity. Hiking, Trailwork, Running, Sledding and Shoveling of course rounded out the activities. Though I did almost CRUSH my entire Jan-Feb-Mar 2015 totals in just January. That's got me stoked for sure.
Not a lot of LONG rides but lots of riding was good. Was honestly probably in over trained status by the middle of the month leading up to the storm. Then the storm and tweaking my back on day 2 of shovel hell left last week pretty light Monday thru Thursday - minus sledding Thursday night.
My back on and off hurts anywhere from barely to moderately. This getting old crap sucks. My arm/shoulder still hurts at time from the crash at CCCX in December. Definitely fractured crap I suspect. Should have stayed off the bike a bit more but the travel also didn't help. Strength work at the gym is slowly starting to help a bit also.
Studded tires finally on the CX rig but no where to ride till really today as the WOD wasn't well plowed/melted up this way. It may finally be passable tomorrow, but I may work from home tomorrow due to never ending meetings/etc starting at 8am. Can't be late and that would mean leaving house at like 630. Ain't gonna happen since I'm off to see Muse for at the 5th time I think. Always an awesome show.
Gotta figure out my team level this year, they raised each level by 5 events. With MORE stuff and work stuff I may drop back down to Lazy Level or just lead some Monday CX rides at Wakefield-Accotink this spring. We shall see.
Vacation next week is looking pretty damn good. No really nasty weather in the next 15 days.
Also got some Black Ops 3 in this weekend and spent some time grinding up from level suck to level less suck (21). So I could unlock my next SMG of choice. Pretty fun game once I get my head into it a bit. I'm still to old/slow to be awesome.
Monday, December 07, 2015
CX Double Header - End of the Season
Work.
That dirty nasty worst of all 4 letter words. Work is ending my CX Season 1 week early it appears. I'm being shipped out to Eastern Points across The Pond on Saturday evening and going to miss the BikenetiCX Race 2015 ed. I am hoping to spend a bit of time setting up Saturday AM but that means I have to be FULLY prepped Friday evening.
Regardless for me, CX season is over. It was better than last year. I'm still not fast but I was faster in general. I learned a bit about myself and what training I need to do to improve next year.
2015 Races
DCCX Day 1
Taccino CX
South Germantown CX
Apple CX Winch-Vegas
Red Shedman CX
Cap Cross CX
They were all fun in different ways. SG was my best but I pushed WAY hard on that course. I think I had the most FUN at Apple CX. DCCX was a blast as I was one of the small group that got to ride the flyover as we raced 1st on Saturday. Taccino was hard and I wasn't focused at all that day. Red Shedman was tough, very climby with a good tech section. Cap Cross may be the best mix overall.
For RSCX I was on the front row with the 01 bib and I KILLED myself on the start sprint. I had a HUGE gap apparently into the first turn and down a good ways till near the barriers before I was passed. Then the huge climb back up to the woods killed me. No issues with the small logs. Big looping hill wasn't bad but the finish hill absolutely killed me for some reason. Just no energy in the tank at that point. 3 Very slow and painful laps. Big smile though and a great venue/event. Near 60's temp wise by mid-day. Hanging out with all the regular MD suspects and enjoying beer.
CCCX was an earlier and even colder morning but I arrived in time for a good warm-up lap after registering, then got in another half lap. Course was faster than the previous year even before considering how wet it was. The frost was a bit sketchy but no issues. Legs were not feeling full power and the start method surprised me. I was in the middle of resetting my gps log! I got blown by another 30 or so guys in the start from being 22'nd'ish. Ugh. First lap was a parade lap really for the first half up till the top of the stair climb, stuff spaced out a bit better there. The steep run-up was hard! The chute this year was awesome. 2nd lap was slowly getting better I was switching spots with people and finally started pulling away on the big climb after the chute. 3rd lap my engine finally got going and I started chasing people down, caught up to a teammate at the top of the stairs and started to chase. Down most of the chute. CRASH. Setting up for the stupid root of doom I went down hard on my right shoulder.. Front wheel slipped out. Sloppy bike handling. Argh. UP and off course, done racing. Another teammate checks me out and nothing is broken, just sore. Find an official and make DNF official. Sucks. After the race I saw I was within 3 or 4 places of moving back into the top 50. Sigh, Another great day of hanging out and watching racing. The Single Speed race will live in infamy for a number of seasons I suspect with Bill S back in and Ian's epic ride on the Pugsley fat bike with pizza, beer, barrier hops, self beering, etc.
Next season I'm looking forward to making a bigger commitment right now to racing more and earlier. Sept was just busy with work and other stuff, October was a mess with being sick in Mid October. Then there is MORE. I think my news will be official tomorrow on that front. But it's already unofficially official. I'm going to be...something.
It's been a pretty solid year of biking so far, Oct was a bit of a down and with travel next week I will be a bit more down. Hoping to make up for it with regular rides while down at the Old Folks Home the week after.
Here's hoping to an even more crazy fun 2016.
That dirty nasty worst of all 4 letter words. Work is ending my CX Season 1 week early it appears. I'm being shipped out to Eastern Points across The Pond on Saturday evening and going to miss the BikenetiCX Race 2015 ed. I am hoping to spend a bit of time setting up Saturday AM but that means I have to be FULLY prepped Friday evening.
Regardless for me, CX season is over. It was better than last year. I'm still not fast but I was faster in general. I learned a bit about myself and what training I need to do to improve next year.
2015 Races
DCCX Day 1
Taccino CX
South Germantown CX
Apple CX Winch-Vegas
Red Shedman CX
Cap Cross CX
They were all fun in different ways. SG was my best but I pushed WAY hard on that course. I think I had the most FUN at Apple CX. DCCX was a blast as I was one of the small group that got to ride the flyover as we raced 1st on Saturday. Taccino was hard and I wasn't focused at all that day. Red Shedman was tough, very climby with a good tech section. Cap Cross may be the best mix overall.
For RSCX I was on the front row with the 01 bib and I KILLED myself on the start sprint. I had a HUGE gap apparently into the first turn and down a good ways till near the barriers before I was passed. Then the huge climb back up to the woods killed me. No issues with the small logs. Big looping hill wasn't bad but the finish hill absolutely killed me for some reason. Just no energy in the tank at that point. 3 Very slow and painful laps. Big smile though and a great venue/event. Near 60's temp wise by mid-day. Hanging out with all the regular MD suspects and enjoying beer.
CCCX was an earlier and even colder morning but I arrived in time for a good warm-up lap after registering, then got in another half lap. Course was faster than the previous year even before considering how wet it was. The frost was a bit sketchy but no issues. Legs were not feeling full power and the start method surprised me. I was in the middle of resetting my gps log! I got blown by another 30 or so guys in the start from being 22'nd'ish. Ugh. First lap was a parade lap really for the first half up till the top of the stair climb, stuff spaced out a bit better there. The steep run-up was hard! The chute this year was awesome. 2nd lap was slowly getting better I was switching spots with people and finally started pulling away on the big climb after the chute. 3rd lap my engine finally got going and I started chasing people down, caught up to a teammate at the top of the stairs and started to chase. Down most of the chute. CRASH. Setting up for the stupid root of doom I went down hard on my right shoulder.. Front wheel slipped out. Sloppy bike handling. Argh. UP and off course, done racing. Another teammate checks me out and nothing is broken, just sore. Find an official and make DNF official. Sucks. After the race I saw I was within 3 or 4 places of moving back into the top 50. Sigh, Another great day of hanging out and watching racing. The Single Speed race will live in infamy for a number of seasons I suspect with Bill S back in and Ian's epic ride on the Pugsley fat bike with pizza, beer, barrier hops, self beering, etc.
Next season I'm looking forward to making a bigger commitment right now to racing more and earlier. Sept was just busy with work and other stuff, October was a mess with being sick in Mid October. Then there is MORE. I think my news will be official tomorrow on that front. But it's already unofficially official. I'm going to be...something.
It's been a pretty solid year of biking so far, Oct was a bit of a down and with travel next week I will be a bit more down. Hoping to make up for it with regular rides while down at the Old Folks Home the week after.
Here's hoping to an even more crazy fun 2016.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Hello Fall! Nice to sneeze you.
Fall has definitely arrived into the Northern VA area in the last week or two. Heralded by cooler temps and fall allergies. Nothing like random sneezing, runny noses at night, sore throat and watery eyes.
Cross season is here but not sure what my first race of the season will be. I've been fully tied up with Wakefield Trailday prep for this weekend.
I also think I'm getting faster with the trimmer. The other day I did all the berms, part of powerlines near the rock ladder and the trail to the rollers and down the rollers in 3 hours and change, then another day I did the ascent hill, cleaned up a few other area's and did the berms down the phase 1 trail in about 2 hours total time. For the rest of the powerlines I plan to use the mower maybe. Gotta discuss/look with Ernie tonight. Not sure the mower is REALLY necessary at this point.
Last week was fall vacation week. Left late the friday before last for the Fall MORE Camping trip in Big Bear. Sadly I didn't ride Friday even though it was beautiful. Setup camp and started the relaxation method. Sigh. Relaxed real hard Friday. Then the rain started with a bit overnight and the on and off sprinkles in the AM. About 10 of us headed out anyways late morning and we rode the Crack Trail, More Crack Trail, Yellow, CDaleshortcut, Yellow, Pines, Pine Loop, Gene's trail both sections, green and back. Unfortunately halfway back on Gene's my saddle broke a rail and the rest of the ride was very slow standing grind. Ran into Bob and Todd on the way back and watched Bob go down hard on a very slick wooden bridge on green. Kids motored just fine but us big kids just have to high a center of gravity. I walked and it was slicker than ice really. Back to camp. After a shower and awesome chicken salad sandwhich (Thanks M!) I ran off with a friend to hit a store in Deep Creek for a new saddle. It ended up being a comfort saddle monstrosity. Got back and the sadz wouldn't let me put it on. So went to help with potluck setup.
The PotLuck competition was awesome this year, some of the best food I think maybe since the 1st year in Davis! Lots of great food ate I think 3 plates. Sooo full. On and off rain though the super tarp one family had was a huge help. Along with most of the camps 5 or 6 popups.
Much more chill and chilly night, sat by the fire, talked about riding different places, had a few brews. Went to bed pretty early between being in a food coma and tired and cold. Didn't sleep as well as the night before due to on and off rainstorms of note. Sunday dawned still pretty ugly. Got up. Ate breakfast, dried out and warmed up in the car. Used the car to dry out my jacket and riding pants. Helped a bunch of people pack up. Went out to breakfast with folks in a nearby town at Water St Cafe. It was awesome. Went back, mounted the saddle while watching most people depart. Went out for another ride as things were drying out a bit and sun was occasionally peeking out.
Rode out the road to the far end fo the area and did some of yellow up to the airport then the rest of yellow to Little Cannan/Purple trail. That was hard but awesome defintely walked stuff. Then blue along the road (Crazy fun) then back the connector/black trail. Nice day in the saddle.
Last groups then rolled out including Todd and Larry and co and MW. Lonely camp now empty with me solo. A bit creepy for sure. The sun finally came otu and I went and got awesome photo's around the campground/sites near the lake. Wow.
Monday I got up a bit late and did a good ride out black to yellow to green and all of green then yellow then black to jumpline out did the green at the entrance area behidn the bandstand/etc.
Then headed out to Morgantown to get a real saddle. Ended up with a Specialized saddle I don't love, in fact if I can fidn the receipt I should ship it back to them to return it. :P But I doubt I can. Hit up a burrito place with great beer right on WVU Campus then hit a nearby brewery. Picked up some beer and food to cook. Not a bad day over all. Back to camp. Went and took more photos of another great sunset at the lake riding around. Had a beer. Really nice and relaxing. 2 Groups came into camp while I was out. A few guys my age up partying up at one of the farther cabins and a older couple with a trailer 2 down. Not so creepy/empty. Cooked dinner. Chilled out with a good beer (Stone 19th anniversary). Went to bed pretty early in thought of another day of big riding.
And then the food poisoning set it in. Slept like crud and woke up sick as hell. No riding. No feeling good. Started to pack up. Took near 3 hours. Dried out stuff very well. Ate half a bowl of oatmeal and felt a bit better. A crappy end to a pretty awesome weekend otherwise. Stayed with afriend in MD. Felt sick a bit on the drive. Ugh. Home on wednesday and had everything cleaned and unpacked by midafternoon Wed. Gaming the rest of the day.
Rest of the week was pretty chill, no huge rides except for Friday. Got to do the most awesome wine and cheese gravel hooky ride. 40 miles, 2 wineries, 1 distillery. Cheese, Crackers, Meat, Etc. Woot!
Today was the final sign of fall 55 Degree morning. Everyone wearing long sleeves/arm warmers on the way in. Coffee was most excellent at Cafe Amouri. Ahhh. Fall.
Cross season is here but not sure what my first race of the season will be. I've been fully tied up with Wakefield Trailday prep for this weekend.
I also think I'm getting faster with the trimmer. The other day I did all the berms, part of powerlines near the rock ladder and the trail to the rollers and down the rollers in 3 hours and change, then another day I did the ascent hill, cleaned up a few other area's and did the berms down the phase 1 trail in about 2 hours total time. For the rest of the powerlines I plan to use the mower maybe. Gotta discuss/look with Ernie tonight. Not sure the mower is REALLY necessary at this point.
Last week was fall vacation week. Left late the friday before last for the Fall MORE Camping trip in Big Bear. Sadly I didn't ride Friday even though it was beautiful. Setup camp and started the relaxation method. Sigh. Relaxed real hard Friday. Then the rain started with a bit overnight and the on and off sprinkles in the AM. About 10 of us headed out anyways late morning and we rode the Crack Trail, More Crack Trail, Yellow, CDaleshortcut, Yellow, Pines, Pine Loop, Gene's trail both sections, green and back. Unfortunately halfway back on Gene's my saddle broke a rail and the rest of the ride was very slow standing grind. Ran into Bob and Todd on the way back and watched Bob go down hard on a very slick wooden bridge on green. Kids motored just fine but us big kids just have to high a center of gravity. I walked and it was slicker than ice really. Back to camp. After a shower and awesome chicken salad sandwhich (Thanks M!) I ran off with a friend to hit a store in Deep Creek for a new saddle. It ended up being a comfort saddle monstrosity. Got back and the sadz wouldn't let me put it on. So went to help with potluck setup.
The PotLuck competition was awesome this year, some of the best food I think maybe since the 1st year in Davis! Lots of great food ate I think 3 plates. Sooo full. On and off rain though the super tarp one family had was a huge help. Along with most of the camps 5 or 6 popups.
Much more chill and chilly night, sat by the fire, talked about riding different places, had a few brews. Went to bed pretty early between being in a food coma and tired and cold. Didn't sleep as well as the night before due to on and off rainstorms of note. Sunday dawned still pretty ugly. Got up. Ate breakfast, dried out and warmed up in the car. Used the car to dry out my jacket and riding pants. Helped a bunch of people pack up. Went out to breakfast with folks in a nearby town at Water St Cafe. It was awesome. Went back, mounted the saddle while watching most people depart. Went out for another ride as things were drying out a bit and sun was occasionally peeking out.
Rode out the road to the far end fo the area and did some of yellow up to the airport then the rest of yellow to Little Cannan/Purple trail. That was hard but awesome defintely walked stuff. Then blue along the road (Crazy fun) then back the connector/black trail. Nice day in the saddle.
Last groups then rolled out including Todd and Larry and co and MW. Lonely camp now empty with me solo. A bit creepy for sure. The sun finally came otu and I went and got awesome photo's around the campground/sites near the lake. Wow.
Monday I got up a bit late and did a good ride out black to yellow to green and all of green then yellow then black to jumpline out did the green at the entrance area behidn the bandstand/etc.
Then headed out to Morgantown to get a real saddle. Ended up with a Specialized saddle I don't love, in fact if I can fidn the receipt I should ship it back to them to return it. :P But I doubt I can. Hit up a burrito place with great beer right on WVU Campus then hit a nearby brewery. Picked up some beer and food to cook. Not a bad day over all. Back to camp. Went and took more photos of another great sunset at the lake riding around. Had a beer. Really nice and relaxing. 2 Groups came into camp while I was out. A few guys my age up partying up at one of the farther cabins and a older couple with a trailer 2 down. Not so creepy/empty. Cooked dinner. Chilled out with a good beer (Stone 19th anniversary). Went to bed pretty early in thought of another day of big riding.
And then the food poisoning set it in. Slept like crud and woke up sick as hell. No riding. No feeling good. Started to pack up. Took near 3 hours. Dried out stuff very well. Ate half a bowl of oatmeal and felt a bit better. A crappy end to a pretty awesome weekend otherwise. Stayed with afriend in MD. Felt sick a bit on the drive. Ugh. Home on wednesday and had everything cleaned and unpacked by midafternoon Wed. Gaming the rest of the day.
Rest of the week was pretty chill, no huge rides except for Friday. Got to do the most awesome wine and cheese gravel hooky ride. 40 miles, 2 wineries, 1 distillery. Cheese, Crackers, Meat, Etc. Woot!
Today was the final sign of fall 55 Degree morning. Everyone wearing long sleeves/arm warmers on the way in. Coffee was most excellent at Cafe Amouri. Ahhh. Fall.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Fall is Coming
Big push for the ending of August 2015. And it was a crazy busy month with work, trips to see my dad in central VA along with various cousins, biking a fair amount, and limited trailwork.
The last week was really the peak of busyness. Work was insane with shipping issues:
CX Practice
Trailwork Rosaryville
Racing at Motormile Speedway (Drag Racing).
Ad-hoc trimming at Wakefield
TNR
MORE Summer Picnic
What a great event yesterday. The MORE summer picnic was EPIC worthy. Lots of fun and smiles had. Tons of people sessioning the skinny of doom of Team XXL and tons of folks riding the hell out of Todd B's skills gear! I mean if there weren't 5-10 people riding it near constantly between 11 and 4pm I'm shocked and later in the day at times there were 20+ people constantly working on skills.
The Poker Race was huge and tons of fun was had I think. It made the event way more fun than just some natty old ride in the woods. People talking good natured trash to each other. New friendships made. Bike rode. Tons of food eaten. Near perfect amount of hotdogs and hamburgers, we only thru away about 4 hotdogs and maybe 5-10 hamburgers. Took a ton of chips home for future TNR/Fall Camping Trip.
Afterwards lot of fun and games with skills competition, raffles, and general fun.
The slide of doom returned. Ribs are sore. Big smile.
Cleanup was pretty painless and we were mostly done by 5. I hung till 6 and helped a teammate finish de-marking the course for the last mile or so.
Too much fun. Can't wait for the camping trip now.
Now to only survive the next 8 days of work and get in some bike rides.
The last week was really the peak of busyness. Work was insane with shipping issues:
CX Practice
Trailwork Rosaryville
Racing at Motormile Speedway (Drag Racing).
Ad-hoc trimming at Wakefield
TNR
MORE Summer Picnic
What a great event yesterday. The MORE summer picnic was EPIC worthy. Lots of fun and smiles had. Tons of people sessioning the skinny of doom of Team XXL and tons of folks riding the hell out of Todd B's skills gear! I mean if there weren't 5-10 people riding it near constantly between 11 and 4pm I'm shocked and later in the day at times there were 20+ people constantly working on skills.
The Poker Race was huge and tons of fun was had I think. It made the event way more fun than just some natty old ride in the woods. People talking good natured trash to each other. New friendships made. Bike rode. Tons of food eaten. Near perfect amount of hotdogs and hamburgers, we only thru away about 4 hotdogs and maybe 5-10 hamburgers. Took a ton of chips home for future TNR/Fall Camping Trip.
Afterwards lot of fun and games with skills competition, raffles, and general fun.
The slide of doom returned. Ribs are sore. Big smile.
Cleanup was pretty painless and we were mostly done by 5. I hung till 6 and helped a teammate finish de-marking the course for the last mile or so.
Too much fun. Can't wait for the camping trip now.
Now to only survive the next 8 days of work and get in some bike rides.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Et tu transmission?
Not my transmission fortunately, but the big green bus tranny suffered yesterday during the Patapsco Epic apparently worse than many riders:
Other than this issue, it was a great day out at the Patapsco Epic 2015. I did course marshaling at the 35/50 mile split. Mostly successfully the yellow of the 35's was often hard to see differently than the red. The 35 sweeps were a tad late so we didn't clear out till almost 130. Then I rolled over to the start/finish at McKeldin area. I talked with a few people and opted to ride out a bit. Ended up doing the 15 loop which was awesome minus one sucky push/climb.
Got to hang out with lots of peeps afterwards and had AWESOME Taco's from a baltimore taco truck: The Jolly Pig - http://www.thejollypig.com/
DAMN Good!
Then hung out more with XXL and Wicked Wash peeps before getting into investigating issues with The Mystery Machine/Big Green Bus. Someone had taken the keys back to VA when it died. So after many conflicting reports I narrowed it to Transmission or Powersteering. I checked the transmission stick and it was dry though since it was on a slope I wasn't confident and it was some REALLY nasty dirty fluid that I thought was way to brown for transmission. Eventually I got in-touch with Yawn and Helen and they headed up. After a search for food, they arrived and we got down to checking it out. After some futsing around we found the powersteering resevoir was nearly full. uh oh. Yep transmission fluid.
Jan opted to try and move it under power but no dice in reverse or forward. Bad Sounds. We eventually rolled it forward out of the road it was blocking to a utility company service site. Ugh.
Today I skipped the ride to work so I could pickup breakfast food for the next 2 weeks and such. Gonna be a busy few weeks of work and stuff. Lots of projects pushing forward.
Almost had a moment of major weakness and almost test rode the new Trek Stache 7. Bad Ass bike by looks for sure. Really curious to try it but not in the financial cards right now. Need to do rear brakes on the MTB and see about finding a replacement frojk as Dicky would say.
Other than this issue, it was a great day out at the Patapsco Epic 2015. I did course marshaling at the 35/50 mile split. Mostly successfully the yellow of the 35's was often hard to see differently than the red. The 35 sweeps were a tad late so we didn't clear out till almost 130. Then I rolled over to the start/finish at McKeldin area. I talked with a few people and opted to ride out a bit. Ended up doing the 15 loop which was awesome minus one sucky push/climb.
Got to hang out with lots of peeps afterwards and had AWESOME Taco's from a baltimore taco truck: The Jolly Pig - http://www.thejollypig.com/
DAMN Good!
Then hung out more with XXL and Wicked Wash peeps before getting into investigating issues with The Mystery Machine/Big Green Bus. Someone had taken the keys back to VA when it died. So after many conflicting reports I narrowed it to Transmission or Powersteering. I checked the transmission stick and it was dry though since it was on a slope I wasn't confident and it was some REALLY nasty dirty fluid that I thought was way to brown for transmission. Eventually I got in-touch with Yawn and Helen and they headed up. After a search for food, they arrived and we got down to checking it out. After some futsing around we found the powersteering resevoir was nearly full. uh oh. Yep transmission fluid.
Jan opted to try and move it under power but no dice in reverse or forward. Bad Sounds. We eventually rolled it forward out of the road it was blocking to a utility company service site. Ugh.
Today I skipped the ride to work so I could pickup breakfast food for the next 2 weeks and such. Gonna be a busy few weeks of work and stuff. Lots of projects pushing forward.
Almost had a moment of major weakness and almost test rode the new Trek Stache 7. Bad Ass bike by looks for sure. Really curious to try it but not in the financial cards right now. Need to do rear brakes on the MTB and see about finding a replacement frojk as Dicky would say.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
More Rain?!?!? Go Away!
July has continued the generally rainy trend of June so far with I think over 5 inches of rain in some DC area's. Typically for May and June are right around 4 inches. That means at near 20 inches were really really really wet. And more storms on the horizon. Storms this evening and overnight and I can almost guarantee at 5-6PM tomorrow for the should be third week of W@W that will probably get pushed off again.
Shed/Gambrill ride this weekend kicked my butt. My shoulders hurt Sunday and Monday. Though some of that may have been the event on Sunday.
Early last week I started looking at some stats/idea's around Kill Bill 2015 ride and realized that without some serious water support this ride with 50-70 riders could take a bit longer than last year which finished at like 5 or 530. So I started borrowing 5Gal water coolers and planned.
So at 730AM on Sunday I went to safeway and bought 20 gallons of water and 40 lbs of ice. And off to CVS I went. The wrong CVS. Made it to the right one with 30 mins to spare for the first stop. Kathy Lewis and some others were there. Kathy had a ton of water and gatorade! And about 60 riders rolled in. 3 5 gallon coolers and tons of gallons of water went out. And in 15 mins everyone was back out on the track. I opted to restock at the giant with some more ice, soda, and cookies and chips. Back out and about 30 mins later the group hit for stop 2. Soda and snacks were a big hit and once again the group got back out on the road in about 15 minutes. Next stop we were missing the 1st pass as it was only like 7-8 miles away but we made it for the 2nd stop. Near Marymount U. More water, ice, soda and snacks went out. Things going well we were at mile 50'ish already for the riders and it was pretty early and still cool. After some bad directions/gps Kathy and I hit the next stop at the CVS at Westmoreland/N Sycamore and setup. 20 mins later in comes the group. More water, snacks etc. First few people begin to falter but the main group is still going well. Next stop is just before main Barcroft section. I go pick up a part for a rider and head on. Should have gotten more water. Next to last stop and it's finally getting warm at around 2pm. All water is done. Ride is off a few more people move to social ride cutting some of the worst out. But still not many. I go and get 14 more gallons of water, more coke, more ice and snacks for the final stop between barcroft and the return to falls church. Made it with 10 mins to spare. Riders are struggling now at 97 miles and just completing barcroft, About 10 miles left with 2 big climbs. Used tons of water and soda and snacks. Social ride ends up at about 8 people. MAin group leaves pretty quick, 2nd group leaves 10 minutes later after a longer break.
Final usage - 42 gallons of water, 110# of ice in drinking water, 30lbs for soda/pickles/etc. 4 12 packs of soda, 4 jars of pickles, 4 bags of chips, 4 sets of cookies. 5 jars of gatorade powder. Not bad for a non-supported ride :)
Almost 40 riders finished of near 60. Raised over $5k for charity. Not a bad day. Boy was I tired :)
Wimped on riding Monday but got back on today for the commute in. Legs we tired but not bad hopefully they are ready for W@W tomorrow. Though admittedly I'm debating riding in, with the thought it's gonna get cancelled again.
Shed/Gambrill ride this weekend kicked my butt. My shoulders hurt Sunday and Monday. Though some of that may have been the event on Sunday.
Early last week I started looking at some stats/idea's around Kill Bill 2015 ride and realized that without some serious water support this ride with 50-70 riders could take a bit longer than last year which finished at like 5 or 530. So I started borrowing 5Gal water coolers and planned.
So at 730AM on Sunday I went to safeway and bought 20 gallons of water and 40 lbs of ice. And off to CVS I went. The wrong CVS. Made it to the right one with 30 mins to spare for the first stop. Kathy Lewis and some others were there. Kathy had a ton of water and gatorade! And about 60 riders rolled in. 3 5 gallon coolers and tons of gallons of water went out. And in 15 mins everyone was back out on the track. I opted to restock at the giant with some more ice, soda, and cookies and chips. Back out and about 30 mins later the group hit for stop 2. Soda and snacks were a big hit and once again the group got back out on the road in about 15 minutes. Next stop we were missing the 1st pass as it was only like 7-8 miles away but we made it for the 2nd stop. Near Marymount U. More water, ice, soda and snacks went out. Things going well we were at mile 50'ish already for the riders and it was pretty early and still cool. After some bad directions/gps Kathy and I hit the next stop at the CVS at Westmoreland/N Sycamore and setup. 20 mins later in comes the group. More water, snacks etc. First few people begin to falter but the main group is still going well. Next stop is just before main Barcroft section. I go pick up a part for a rider and head on. Should have gotten more water. Next to last stop and it's finally getting warm at around 2pm. All water is done. Ride is off a few more people move to social ride cutting some of the worst out. But still not many. I go and get 14 more gallons of water, more coke, more ice and snacks for the final stop between barcroft and the return to falls church. Made it with 10 mins to spare. Riders are struggling now at 97 miles and just completing barcroft, About 10 miles left with 2 big climbs. Used tons of water and soda and snacks. Social ride ends up at about 8 people. MAin group leaves pretty quick, 2nd group leaves 10 minutes later after a longer break.
Final usage - 42 gallons of water, 110# of ice in drinking water, 30lbs for soda/pickles/etc. 4 12 packs of soda, 4 jars of pickles, 4 bags of chips, 4 sets of cookies. 5 jars of gatorade powder. Not bad for a non-supported ride :)
Almost 40 riders finished of near 60. Raised over $5k for charity. Not a bad day. Boy was I tired :)
Wimped on riding Monday but got back on today for the commute in. Legs we tired but not bad hopefully they are ready for W@W tomorrow. Though admittedly I'm debating riding in, with the thought it's gonna get cancelled again.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Where did June go?
If someone finds June please return it to me so I can enjoy it again.
Not a bad month and in actuality it didn't pass super fast. It was just busy between trailwork, racing, riding and helping people move. I think thats what made the 1st half really blow by.
New position at work is still kicking my butt in someways, between that and final push to migrate our customers from our legacy system to the new one. I'll be very glad once this is done. Probably September though.
June was not a super high mileage month till last week when I had a 160+ miles, most of early june was spent moving people and mid June I was focused on Wakefield Trailwork.
Super stoked for another not too hot W@W this wednesday and then Thursday we've got WF TNR and Friday is an off day so I finally get to do an observance ride, a Gravel Grinder out in LoCo.
Made myself do a pile of errands on bike that I've been doing in car lately and it was fine and got in about 6 extra miles of riding.
Weather this month was crazy hot up till this last weekend when the storms cooled stuff down. Yesterday and Sunday were beautiful, in the high 60's in the AM. Today is a tad warmer but still not bad. Hoping we stay cooler in July, and a tad drier. Rainy Rainy month also.
Not a bad month and in actuality it didn't pass super fast. It was just busy between trailwork, racing, riding and helping people move. I think thats what made the 1st half really blow by.
New position at work is still kicking my butt in someways, between that and final push to migrate our customers from our legacy system to the new one. I'll be very glad once this is done. Probably September though.
June was not a super high mileage month till last week when I had a 160+ miles, most of early june was spent moving people and mid June I was focused on Wakefield Trailwork.
Super stoked for another not too hot W@W this wednesday and then Thursday we've got WF TNR and Friday is an off day so I finally get to do an observance ride, a Gravel Grinder out in LoCo.
Made myself do a pile of errands on bike that I've been doing in car lately and it was fine and got in about 6 extra miles of riding.
Weather this month was crazy hot up till this last weekend when the storms cooled stuff down. Yesterday and Sunday were beautiful, in the high 60's in the AM. Today is a tad warmer but still not bad. Hoping we stay cooler in July, and a tad drier. Rainy Rainy month also.
Monday, June 15, 2015
A week after, A Year After, 5 Years and Friendship
Well a week after the run of doom, I'm glad to report by Friday I was back to full normal. Thursday the legs were 90% better, enough that I dropped a TON of people on the Accotink section of TNR. Ooops.
Did an awesome ride on Sunday and went from Falls Church to Potomac to Bethesda to Georgetown and back to FC. 42 Miles with some nice hills and some pushing of pace. I'm crap at pace lining and couldn't hold onto the fast group so I took a tad easier and hung back with the girls up until Bethesda. I'm still not comfortable blasting descents at 35+ mph either, but slowly improving my confidence.
Helped my roommate of 5 years move out to his new place he's sharing with his girl. Weird to have 2 new roommates in less than 6 months. But I'm stoked he and the SLF are doing as well as they are. Moved tons of stuff and felt it in my back a bit again today. Not lifting with my legs....naughty naughty. Beyond my ex-wife and one other friend who I'm still in with, he'll be one of my longest friends and he'll always be one.
We grilled out and watched GoT S5 finale last night. Damn. Still processing that for sure. May need to re-watch it. Felt bad for Cersi for maybe the 2nd/3rd time. Reminded myself why humanity sorta sucks. Then watched the Silicon Valley S2 finale and that was crazy. Think I had server fire meets white walker dreams.
Last time this year my x-roomie and I talked about where we wanted to be in the next year and we've both definitely changed a few things. Both of us changed positions in our org. Both of us are doing better financially. He's got a sirius SLF. I'm still basically enjoying being single in many ways with a complete lack of general responsibility to another human. I'm a bit less involved in the bike club but have idea's and drives for the future. Gotta plan and execute a bit more this fall and see what I want to do next year. Job stuff is improving. Riding more with 132 gps'd/logged activities so far in under 180 days. And that's huge considering I was at like 50 events in 90 days. I'm on track to hit like 90+ in the last 90 days by end of June. 145? 150? Fitness is increasing. Looking forward to suffering in Kill Bill 2015 in mid july. Would love to finish the century+ but even finishing metric distance would be HUGE.
Ommegong's Take the Black Stout last night was the PERFECT beer for that episode by the way. Dark, bitter, and strong. Really liked this 2nd bottle much better than the 1st I drank last year. May have to try and find a bottle of this years red and have it at the end of next season.
The redone bike rack looks awesome. Gotta get some photo's up. And give props/reviews on the shop that did the cleaning and powder coating.
And maybe I'll jog tonight after I get home from work. Maybe.
Did an awesome ride on Sunday and went from Falls Church to Potomac to Bethesda to Georgetown and back to FC. 42 Miles with some nice hills and some pushing of pace. I'm crap at pace lining and couldn't hold onto the fast group so I took a tad easier and hung back with the girls up until Bethesda. I'm still not comfortable blasting descents at 35+ mph either, but slowly improving my confidence.
Helped my roommate of 5 years move out to his new place he's sharing with his girl. Weird to have 2 new roommates in less than 6 months. But I'm stoked he and the SLF are doing as well as they are. Moved tons of stuff and felt it in my back a bit again today. Not lifting with my legs....naughty naughty. Beyond my ex-wife and one other friend who I'm still in with, he'll be one of my longest friends and he'll always be one.
We grilled out and watched GoT S5 finale last night. Damn. Still processing that for sure. May need to re-watch it. Felt bad for Cersi for maybe the 2nd/3rd time. Reminded myself why humanity sorta sucks. Then watched the Silicon Valley S2 finale and that was crazy. Think I had server fire meets white walker dreams.
Last time this year my x-roomie and I talked about where we wanted to be in the next year and we've both definitely changed a few things. Both of us changed positions in our org. Both of us are doing better financially. He's got a sirius SLF. I'm still basically enjoying being single in many ways with a complete lack of general responsibility to another human. I'm a bit less involved in the bike club but have idea's and drives for the future. Gotta plan and execute a bit more this fall and see what I want to do next year. Job stuff is improving. Riding more with 132 gps'd/logged activities so far in under 180 days. And that's huge considering I was at like 50 events in 90 days. I'm on track to hit like 90+ in the last 90 days by end of June. 145? 150? Fitness is increasing. Looking forward to suffering in Kill Bill 2015 in mid july. Would love to finish the century+ but even finishing metric distance would be HUGE.
Ommegong's Take the Black Stout last night was the PERFECT beer for that episode by the way. Dark, bitter, and strong. Really liked this 2nd bottle much better than the 1st I drank last year. May have to try and find a bottle of this years red and have it at the end of next season.
The redone bike rack looks awesome. Gotta get some photo's up. And give props/reviews on the shop that did the cleaning and powder coating.
And maybe I'll jog tonight after I get home from work. Maybe.
Monday, June 08, 2015
Running is a bad idea
Run, Running, 5k, 10k.
It's all a bad idea. Especially if any of these items are on the list:
It's all a bad idea. Especially if any of these items are on the list:
- Haven't done any training runs in 3 months or really any running.
- 4 Hours of Trailwork the day before
- Planning to help someone move an hour or two after a run/race
- A 5k Run = a 5K Race. duh
- You can't help but pushing to a comfortable pace
- You PR 3 times on a run with item 1 in effect
- You forget to take advil after the run
- Your heart rate spiked over your maximum
- Running when your really a cyclist
- You wimped out and walked for 3 minutes during the race instead of HTFU
Well so here's the deal. I agreed/wanted to help a BikenetiCX teammate who had heart surgery to support the group who did the work as it is now something addressed typically in kids, not adults.
5K - Big Whoop, I've finished a Tough Mudder - 13 MILES. Sure I didn't train at ALL for this but it's like 5K, I'll take it easy.
Nope 28:18 for 3.1 miles. 3 PR's and if I had not walked a few spots I could have finished down in the 25's. I was 97th but 9th in my age group. At 25 I would have only been in the 50's overall and 7th in age group. Oh well. Fastest guy did it in less than 18 mins. Oy.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/media.racebx.com/transfer/gen/5/5/7/5574545b-e1d0-41de-9c0c-777cc0a86526/2015-Starkid-5k-Overall.htm# 1M
Legs are wicked sore. I need to jog occasionally. 1x per week even 2-3 miles. Oh well.
CX bike is back home and in rolling shape finally since Friday. Got a 10 miler in Friday. Might try and get a late ride in tonight to try and spin out legs so I can ride to work tomorrow.
On the flip side the road bike blew a spoke last week on the way home (1/10th of a mile out) and it's now taking a break after a month and change of relative high mileage. But it really needs a new BB and possibly a new crankset. le Sigh.
Hoping to get back into commuting and some mileage building this week. Going to set a goal of 120. Huzzah!
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Summer is coming.
Today we may actually hit 90 or more here in the DC area. It's clear summer is coming, we've been mid-80's all week. Though after today we should have some more mild day's in the 70's.
Been killing it on the bike. 126 mile last week even with 2 days "sorta" off. Well Monday last week was my first non-ride day in like 36 days. Legs needed it for sure. Wednesday was unplanned off day due to meetings running me for near 14 hours that day. So I rode 2x on Thursday. Snuck in an awesome 20 miler in the AM then did 14 or so at Wakefield on the TNR.
Saturday was an epic'ish MTB ride for me with Maureen. We did 25 miles in 3 hours rolling time of the SRT and Schaeffer. Though by the end in SF I was suffering/tiring a bit.
Sunday I slept in then did a 45 mile ride to National Harbor and back. Felt awesome. Almost did an extra 20 but wanted to get some other stuff done.
Did maintenance on the Roadie. Need to pick up a new dust seal for driveside of the FSA cranks sometime. Adjusted rear-D successfully to much more smooth shifting/running. Cleaned and lubed the seat post to prevent more seat post horror stories. Also did a heavy clean/lube on the chain/rings/etc. Though soon it will be time to replace the chain again. Nearing .75 wear. As a big dude I think I'm just hard on chains in my given riding style and history of failed chains. I've broken a LOT of chains. Capping with a double break last summer in Accotink at the Nova Epic and a third break as I escaped. Then a very gentle ride home.
The break/failed chain pin on Ichigo 2 weeks ago causing the derailleur to be ripped off the hanger was the near end of my tolerance. Going to make a real effort to monitor stretch, use, and such. Also reminded me of why I hate Shimano chains and need to add a chain tool to my road kit.
Busy as hell the next 3 weekends at least between events and rides. But that's good.
Now if only I could motivate myself to run some.
Been killing it on the bike. 126 mile last week even with 2 days "sorta" off. Well Monday last week was my first non-ride day in like 36 days. Legs needed it for sure. Wednesday was unplanned off day due to meetings running me for near 14 hours that day. So I rode 2x on Thursday. Snuck in an awesome 20 miler in the AM then did 14 or so at Wakefield on the TNR.
Saturday was an epic'ish MTB ride for me with Maureen. We did 25 miles in 3 hours rolling time of the SRT and Schaeffer. Though by the end in SF I was suffering/tiring a bit.
Sunday I slept in then did a 45 mile ride to National Harbor and back. Felt awesome. Almost did an extra 20 but wanted to get some other stuff done.
Did maintenance on the Roadie. Need to pick up a new dust seal for driveside of the FSA cranks sometime. Adjusted rear-D successfully to much more smooth shifting/running. Cleaned and lubed the seat post to prevent more seat post horror stories. Also did a heavy clean/lube on the chain/rings/etc. Though soon it will be time to replace the chain again. Nearing .75 wear. As a big dude I think I'm just hard on chains in my given riding style and history of failed chains. I've broken a LOT of chains. Capping with a double break last summer in Accotink at the Nova Epic and a third break as I escaped. Then a very gentle ride home.
The break/failed chain pin on Ichigo 2 weeks ago causing the derailleur to be ripped off the hanger was the near end of my tolerance. Going to make a real effort to monitor stretch, use, and such. Also reminded me of why I hate Shimano chains and need to add a chain tool to my road kit.
Busy as hell the next 3 weekends at least between events and rides. But that's good.
Now if only I could motivate myself to run some.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
It's Over?
#30daysofbiking is over? Damn where did April go?
For me due to not planning on doing this meta-event I started a tad early so right now before I've finished for the day with possibly 2 more total events it feels odd, to consider I might not ride my bike tomorrow. My streak currently stands at
33 Days in a Row.
40+ Hours in 33 days. (I had a few issues where i forgot to restart GPS)
450+ Miles
38 Rides.
My short days typically were pretty quick 5 mile rides around the hood. Not too many long rides yet this year I think I topped out in the high 40's. Gotta push on THAT soon. In fact might go BAT SHIT crazy and try Skyline drive Sunday. As I said....batshit...
But at first when I was early in the streak, riding another 21 days straight seemed almost crazy. But it wasn't. It was mostly fun. Minus the flat tire in the rain. And destroying the rear half of my new CX bike's drivetrain.
My new goal for May #31daysofsomething ie - Get Out and do SOMETHING for 31 days. Bike. Run. Hike. Trail work. Yard work. Circuits on the Nottoway Park fitness course.
I can tell my bike fitness has improved, especially since say February. I'm riding better, easier and a bit stronger. Now I want to build towards centuries and serious back roads rides. I admit I'm a bit curious about how skyline may feel. And terrified. We shall see.
Racing on Saturday at Crystal City Phoenix Derby. 2 sets. Solo obstacle Course at 3Pm and Team 4x at 4:30. Might go nuts and do some trail work in the AM. Very light TW.
Coffee replacement program is working VERY well so far. Down to 2 soda's in the last 7 days.
For me due to not planning on doing this meta-event I started a tad early so right now before I've finished for the day with possibly 2 more total events it feels odd, to consider I might not ride my bike tomorrow. My streak currently stands at
33 Days in a Row.
40+ Hours in 33 days. (I had a few issues where i forgot to restart GPS)
450+ Miles
38 Rides.
My short days typically were pretty quick 5 mile rides around the hood. Not too many long rides yet this year I think I topped out in the high 40's. Gotta push on THAT soon. In fact might go BAT SHIT crazy and try Skyline drive Sunday. As I said....batshit...
But at first when I was early in the streak, riding another 21 days straight seemed almost crazy. But it wasn't. It was mostly fun. Minus the flat tire in the rain. And destroying the rear half of my new CX bike's drivetrain.
My new goal for May #31daysofsomething ie - Get Out and do SOMETHING for 31 days. Bike. Run. Hike. Trail work. Yard work. Circuits on the Nottoway Park fitness course.
I can tell my bike fitness has improved, especially since say February. I'm riding better, easier and a bit stronger. Now I want to build towards centuries and serious back roads rides. I admit I'm a bit curious about how skyline may feel. And terrified. We shall see.
Racing on Saturday at Crystal City Phoenix Derby. 2 sets. Solo obstacle Course at 3Pm and Team 4x at 4:30. Might go nuts and do some trail work in the AM. Very light TW.
Coffee replacement program is working VERY well so far. Down to 2 soda's in the last 7 days.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Whooooa. Whats a blog
What is this blog thing??? I do see where I've started a few drafts since November but none of them were completed and I certainly don't think they are worth the effort of trying to rebuild the mental place.
Regardless lets move forward with the now.
I'm on the 21st day of April right now and on day 24 of riding straight. Tons of riding done. And it's been good. This morning was the first day I've had REAL soreness and I think my legs might been a bit locked last night. But a bit of riding to coffee meetup at Cafe Amouri in Vienna and I was fine.
Iced Coffee rules. I can see a semi-soda free future somewhere out there. I've pretty much been a soda a day (or more) guy forever. Never was much of a coffee fan growing up. Only really started trying better coffee this last year or so at places like Wake N Bake and a few others on DC Coffee ride's with Mr.Pete.
CA has converted me. Tried their Iced Coffee this morning. Damn good even though I added too much splenda. 1 Packet next time. Or maybe real sugar. A dash of skim milk. Yah! No headaches so far today from withdrawl. Energy has been good. Getting off soda for the "most" part would be a huge health hurdle for me. I KNOW it's bad but damn. I'm usually wanting something cold to drink. Researching cold brew coffee and such.
Last week was my biggest ride week in a while 126 miles. Which for me is HUGE. This April will be my biggest month since last May when I hit near 400 miles. Not sure I'm gonna quite hit that mark this month, but I'm gonna keep chasing. Only 1 day of trainer riding in the 24 so far. Maybe 1 day more I'll end up in hell this month. Bike commuting is slowly picking up for me and by May I hope to be steady at 2 days a week at least. Also working from home very occasionally.
Last week with a full bag in each direction I did my fastest commute since December 2013.
2014 in retrospect became a weird year between my injury and a semi-lack of motivation.
Doing Phoenix Derby on May 2nd. Still haven't decided on Michaux Maximus the next day. But with doing the Team 4x additionally I'm leaning towards not racing it sadly. Honestly since it's also not on our team event list that reduces it further.
Riding wise I've really been mixing up MTB and Road with a bit of CX. My mtb riding has improved as in general I feel faster and fitter and didn't die on the QC 2 weeks ago. Would do a longer MTB ride this weekend but with rain on Saturday I'm thinking CX on Sunday or maybe another good long roadie. Might try and push a 60/70 if I go road. Who knows.
Who knows. Who Cares. Get out and ride your bike. Freedom.........
Regardless lets move forward with the now.
I'm on the 21st day of April right now and on day 24 of riding straight. Tons of riding done. And it's been good. This morning was the first day I've had REAL soreness and I think my legs might been a bit locked last night. But a bit of riding to coffee meetup at Cafe Amouri in Vienna and I was fine.
Iced Coffee rules. I can see a semi-soda free future somewhere out there. I've pretty much been a soda a day (or more) guy forever. Never was much of a coffee fan growing up. Only really started trying better coffee this last year or so at places like Wake N Bake and a few others on DC Coffee ride's with Mr.Pete.
CA has converted me. Tried their Iced Coffee this morning. Damn good even though I added too much splenda. 1 Packet next time. Or maybe real sugar. A dash of skim milk. Yah! No headaches so far today from withdrawl. Energy has been good. Getting off soda for the "most" part would be a huge health hurdle for me. I KNOW it's bad but damn. I'm usually wanting something cold to drink. Researching cold brew coffee and such.
Last week was my biggest ride week in a while 126 miles. Which for me is HUGE. This April will be my biggest month since last May when I hit near 400 miles. Not sure I'm gonna quite hit that mark this month, but I'm gonna keep chasing. Only 1 day of trainer riding in the 24 so far. Maybe 1 day more I'll end up in hell this month. Bike commuting is slowly picking up for me and by May I hope to be steady at 2 days a week at least. Also working from home very occasionally.
Last week with a full bag in each direction I did my fastest commute since December 2013.
2014 in retrospect became a weird year between my injury and a semi-lack of motivation.
Doing Phoenix Derby on May 2nd. Still haven't decided on Michaux Maximus the next day. But with doing the Team 4x additionally I'm leaning towards not racing it sadly. Honestly since it's also not on our team event list that reduces it further.
Riding wise I've really been mixing up MTB and Road with a bit of CX. My mtb riding has improved as in general I feel faster and fitter and didn't die on the QC 2 weeks ago. Would do a longer MTB ride this weekend but with rain on Saturday I'm thinking CX on Sunday or maybe another good long roadie. Might try and push a 60/70 if I go road. Who knows.
Who knows. Who Cares. Get out and ride your bike. Freedom.........
Friday, November 07, 2014
Lets get dirty...
Dirty Dirty Dirty was last nights ThNR theme. We did the FFX West Loop as the rain on and off all day had made the regular WF trails un-rideable.
A bit of a late start at just before 7PM put us back in the WF Lot at 8:52. Also a few minor navigation issues. Sigh. I'm not an expert in Old Town Fairfax. Quick stop at Auld Shebeen for an Irish Car Bomb for me and W. KL opted for a refill of her water bottle. Sigh. :P
Then a harrowing ride up along 123 to 50 and back to the CCT. Wet and muddy we were done.
PLB's briefly before Kilroys. And home.
I slept like crap from crazy dreams of robotic boogiemen and AI attacks by my phone. I could maybe blame the drinks but I only really had whiskey and beer. And a tiny bit of coffee liquor in the ICB. I think I just needed more water honestly.
Woke up with TIRED legs and opted against riding in today. I shall run instead I guess tonight. Maybe try and do 3.5 or so.
Getting a good long ride in this weekend is the big goal.
Next week's menu: Snow on thursday?!?!?!?WTFBBQ?!?!?!
A bit of a late start at just before 7PM put us back in the WF Lot at 8:52. Also a few minor navigation issues. Sigh. I'm not an expert in Old Town Fairfax. Quick stop at Auld Shebeen for an Irish Car Bomb for me and W. KL opted for a refill of her water bottle. Sigh. :P
Then a harrowing ride up along 123 to 50 and back to the CCT. Wet and muddy we were done.
PLB's briefly before Kilroys. And home.
I slept like crap from crazy dreams of robotic boogiemen and AI attacks by my phone. I could maybe blame the drinks but I only really had whiskey and beer. And a tiny bit of coffee liquor in the ICB. I think I just needed more water honestly.
Woke up with TIRED legs and opted against riding in today. I shall run instead I guess tonight. Maybe try and do 3.5 or so.
Getting a good long ride in this weekend is the big goal.
Next week's menu: Snow on thursday?!?!?!?WTFBBQ?!?!?!
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Back on the Route Again...
Wayyyyyy back in early August I had a small mis-hap while commuting to work. I was crossing a road and made a too sharp turn while going too slow. Fell over in a majestic swan dive to the left. Impacting near perfectly on top of my left shoulder leaving me with a broken collarbone and shoulder blade.
Suckage.
I spent 7 weeks off the bike in total nearly. Some of the best summer riding weather I've ever seen in the DC area wasted. Sure I walked a bit but not enough. And running hurt also due to strain on the collarbone. Finally back on the bike in late September in time for the annual MORE camping trip.
Big Bear was a blast and I wasn't even doing a lot of the hard stuff. And I gimped myself by pulling my back while setting up camp on Friday. Still a great time.
October I threw down and started pushing to get back into shape. As in September I had committed to joining Bikenetic's CX Team at the lowest level of only 3 races. A good thing as I'm still not yet in shape, as of right now.
But today was a major step forward. Due to other commitments, weather and other stuff I've been putting off/avoiding getting back on the Bianchi and commuting to work.
Today I just did it. Well after much agonizing and some worrying with a side of minor panic. And it was fine. Great weather. Sure traffic was a bit more as I was running a tad late. And zoom in a went. No mishaps. No rude drivers. Legs feeling a bit spun out from last nights ride but thats okay. And a nice ride home to come.
What was a shocking to me was the level of panic/fear I was having towards the ride. I've done tons of mixed riding and road and mtb since getting back on the bike, yet my 7.5 mile commute had me way wound up. I stopped, took a few breathes and re-assured myself everything would be fine.
Way more people out at 8:00 than my more typical 7-7:15 commutes. Probably a dozen or more bikers. Though maybe it's the weather. We shall see on Friday when I commute again. Maybe next week I'll get back to 3x commutes....hahahaha.
Suckage.
I spent 7 weeks off the bike in total nearly. Some of the best summer riding weather I've ever seen in the DC area wasted. Sure I walked a bit but not enough. And running hurt also due to strain on the collarbone. Finally back on the bike in late September in time for the annual MORE camping trip.
Big Bear was a blast and I wasn't even doing a lot of the hard stuff. And I gimped myself by pulling my back while setting up camp on Friday. Still a great time.
October I threw down and started pushing to get back into shape. As in September I had committed to joining Bikenetic's CX Team at the lowest level of only 3 races. A good thing as I'm still not yet in shape, as of right now.
But today was a major step forward. Due to other commitments, weather and other stuff I've been putting off/avoiding getting back on the Bianchi and commuting to work.
Today I just did it. Well after much agonizing and some worrying with a side of minor panic. And it was fine. Great weather. Sure traffic was a bit more as I was running a tad late. And zoom in a went. No mishaps. No rude drivers. Legs feeling a bit spun out from last nights ride but thats okay. And a nice ride home to come.
What was a shocking to me was the level of panic/fear I was having towards the ride. I've done tons of mixed riding and road and mtb since getting back on the bike, yet my 7.5 mile commute had me way wound up. I stopped, took a few breathes and re-assured myself everything would be fine.
Way more people out at 8:00 than my more typical 7-7:15 commutes. Probably a dozen or more bikers. Though maybe it's the weather. We shall see on Friday when I commute again. Maybe next week I'll get back to 3x commutes....hahahaha.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Deep Thoughts on my Mentor.
Pete Beers on his blog posted a great entry on his thoughts of his early mentor in cycle repair and asked everyone to post up a response. Mine was my dad I have to say.
My dad went to work for the airline a week before I was born in the summer of 74. For years before that after being in Vietnam my dad had been a construction worker, but with his new family coming he wanted a better life for us and after getting his GED he finally got a job with a real future.
My dad dropped out of high school in the 50's at 15 to help support his family and due to having un-diagnosed learning disabilities, reading and comprehension were never easy for him at the time. He worked with horses, cars and later construction before being drafted into Vietnam in the mid 60's. He spent 3 years in the service and did 2 years in Nam. Mainly driving tanks and bulldozers as party of Engineering battalions or such. Pops first day in country set the tone for his time. The base they were at had a fire set by the VC that they were using to attack the compound. Pops jumps on a dozer and goes out and pushes out the fire using the blade as cover, while taking fire. Earns a silver star eventually for doing something stupid and heroic.
Came back from Nam and then spent time doing mechanical and construction jobs before meeting my mom then he went fully into construction as Northern VA was having it's 2nd big boom in the late 60's/early 70's. Entire neighborhoods in NVA have roads he cut and neighborhoods where he dug basements for houses. People I know live in some of the houses. Weird.
Eventual I came along and he went to work for the airline. Worked there for 37.5 years till he retired about 2 years ago. Nearly un-heard of in this day and age. I've been with my company now for 8.5 years and that's also unusual in the tech industry, thats one of those things I got from my dad was the desire to stick it through. I see myself sort of as a classic "company man".
My dad got the moving but and working for the airlines had us move a few times (85, 87, 88 and 91 - 88 was a town move, not a real change of location). ( It was good for me, got me out of where I grew up and really expanded my awareness of the country and how area's were VERY different. I grew up on Furnace Mountain north of Leesburg, VA till we moved in 85. From there we hit Phoenix, and Orlanda with a return to Northern VA in between. We also looked at moving at other times at Raleigh-Durham area, San Diego, and a few other places. Thats another thing I guess I got from my dad. The desire to see other places. Since then I've lived in Providence RI, Tallahassee FL, San Fran Area, and now I'm back in DC. Future places I might live include Charlotte SC, Asheville, NC and maybe Portland in the PacNW.
As a kid I watched my dad work on stuff all the time. He built his own log splitters, wagons for around the house yard stuff, solar water heating setup (in the 80's), and tons of stuff around the house including a huge deck and my tree house of awesomeness. I watched relentlessly. Then I grew bold and started using tools myself. At first I was quite limited. I favored using a hammer to drive my dads tools into the ground behind the house. BOY did he love that, especially when he hit them with the mower.
That led to my first tool set for christmas when i was 6 or 7. Painted fire engine red. My own tools. I played with bolts, screws, etc. I was shown lefty loosey, righty tighty. And off I went to his own misery. My favorite target....the push lawn mower. :) It was at my working height when sitting on the garage floor. Or out back where it was stored. My first bike also came around that time. Damn blue banana seated monstrosity. I hated the seat. It was scary and I never felt in control. I did take the stupid flag off the back though. It wasn't till a year or more later I found my first BMX in the trash that the biking bug caught for me. With my dad we reabilitated that junker with new tubes, tires, and grease in the hubs and off I went. First just riding up and down my driveway and front lawn, eventually after riding a mile around my house loop I was cleared to ride ot the general store a mile or so away at 8 and change. Freedom.
Mechanical work continued, helping dad with log splitters, chainsaws, trucks and going to work and watching him work on ground equipment. Tinkering on my bike (my first speedometer). Making up fake weapons for my tree house out of spare parts/pipe/etc. My dad was always a hard working guy, often cutting firewood in the fall to sell during the fall winter, working OT for extra money to help the family have the things he never had. I always understood it took hard work to get ahead.
I started getting payed to feed/manage a neighbors dogs at 7. At 11 I got my first tax paying job as a paperboy and did that till I was 14 and change when I went to work as a buffet stocker on the weekend at Bob's Big Boy. Then I was a dishwasher and eventually a buffet cook, and started training as a regular line cook by when I left at 17. All my money in the teens went to my computer hobby. Bikes fell by the wayside by 15 as only transportation. By 17 when all my friends drove the dropped away completely for surfing and roller blading and computers.
For my dad at least at home it's always been more about getting it done, than necessarily doing it "right" when we first started working on my camero in my late teens this became one of our bigger fighting points. When we started on the 2nd camero which was a full restoration from parts (not 1 single part was assembled, the car was in basket case condition). We began to really butt heads, he wanted to take short cuts where I wanted to make everything perfect. Natural part of the teen versus parent world. But it was eventually finished and a hell of a car to drive. He drove it for several years before selling it at a tidy profit to get into his current toy. A 78 Nova drag car. Currently on it's 3rd engine evolution, now running in the low 8's easily. It's a beast. And he loves it even when he blows up the motor as he did a few weeks ago. I always enjoy going out to the track to work and tinker and watch it race. He doesn't drive it anymore, mostly. My brother drove for a while but they were a bit more into it and butted heads way more.
These days when I visit my folks, my dad and I putter around in the 2nd garage with the Nova for a bit in the mornings, typically working on projects till lunch then I hang out with my mom in the afternoons, usually going shopping and stuff. I was always closer to my mom in many ways (Yah I consider myself a Momma's Boy, and my brother would agree), but my understanding of life and how to deal with stuff always came from my dad I think. In the way to work through, work hard, and then play hard when free.
Pete mentions that he stayed clean and grease free. I think thats anathema. You can't be clean in my family and have done real work. I look at a bike and I can find grease on fingers or smudge on my face. My hands and arms have scars from working on computer cases. I have a scar on my right hand from when my best friend in 7th grade got mad that I let his rear wheel spin while holding up his bike, he threw a crescent wrench at me! It's probably the prefectionism of europe/italy versus the rough/tumble/git-r-done way of america I suppose. :P Till then I'll wear either tee-shirts I don't care about or dark color workshirts when working on stuff. My dad still has a supply of old work shirts he uses from the airlines for when doing dirty work.
These days most bike repairs I do on my own except for my hydro disc brakes and replacing spokes on wheels. When i can get a full set of wheel tools I will go back to doing that. The hydro is just too small for me to work on :P.
My dad went to work for the airline a week before I was born in the summer of 74. For years before that after being in Vietnam my dad had been a construction worker, but with his new family coming he wanted a better life for us and after getting his GED he finally got a job with a real future.
My dad dropped out of high school in the 50's at 15 to help support his family and due to having un-diagnosed learning disabilities, reading and comprehension were never easy for him at the time. He worked with horses, cars and later construction before being drafted into Vietnam in the mid 60's. He spent 3 years in the service and did 2 years in Nam. Mainly driving tanks and bulldozers as party of Engineering battalions or such. Pops first day in country set the tone for his time. The base they were at had a fire set by the VC that they were using to attack the compound. Pops jumps on a dozer and goes out and pushes out the fire using the blade as cover, while taking fire. Earns a silver star eventually for doing something stupid and heroic.
Came back from Nam and then spent time doing mechanical and construction jobs before meeting my mom then he went fully into construction as Northern VA was having it's 2nd big boom in the late 60's/early 70's. Entire neighborhoods in NVA have roads he cut and neighborhoods where he dug basements for houses. People I know live in some of the houses. Weird.
Eventual I came along and he went to work for the airline. Worked there for 37.5 years till he retired about 2 years ago. Nearly un-heard of in this day and age. I've been with my company now for 8.5 years and that's also unusual in the tech industry, thats one of those things I got from my dad was the desire to stick it through. I see myself sort of as a classic "company man".
My dad got the moving but and working for the airlines had us move a few times (85, 87, 88 and 91 - 88 was a town move, not a real change of location). ( It was good for me, got me out of where I grew up and really expanded my awareness of the country and how area's were VERY different. I grew up on Furnace Mountain north of Leesburg, VA till we moved in 85. From there we hit Phoenix, and Orlanda with a return to Northern VA in between. We also looked at moving at other times at Raleigh-Durham area, San Diego, and a few other places. Thats another thing I guess I got from my dad. The desire to see other places. Since then I've lived in Providence RI, Tallahassee FL, San Fran Area, and now I'm back in DC. Future places I might live include Charlotte SC, Asheville, NC and maybe Portland in the PacNW.
As a kid I watched my dad work on stuff all the time. He built his own log splitters, wagons for around the house yard stuff, solar water heating setup (in the 80's), and tons of stuff around the house including a huge deck and my tree house of awesomeness. I watched relentlessly. Then I grew bold and started using tools myself. At first I was quite limited. I favored using a hammer to drive my dads tools into the ground behind the house. BOY did he love that, especially when he hit them with the mower.
That led to my first tool set for christmas when i was 6 or 7. Painted fire engine red. My own tools. I played with bolts, screws, etc. I was shown lefty loosey, righty tighty. And off I went to his own misery. My favorite target....the push lawn mower. :) It was at my working height when sitting on the garage floor. Or out back where it was stored. My first bike also came around that time. Damn blue banana seated monstrosity. I hated the seat. It was scary and I never felt in control. I did take the stupid flag off the back though. It wasn't till a year or more later I found my first BMX in the trash that the biking bug caught for me. With my dad we reabilitated that junker with new tubes, tires, and grease in the hubs and off I went. First just riding up and down my driveway and front lawn, eventually after riding a mile around my house loop I was cleared to ride ot the general store a mile or so away at 8 and change. Freedom.
Mechanical work continued, helping dad with log splitters, chainsaws, trucks and going to work and watching him work on ground equipment. Tinkering on my bike (my first speedometer). Making up fake weapons for my tree house out of spare parts/pipe/etc. My dad was always a hard working guy, often cutting firewood in the fall to sell during the fall winter, working OT for extra money to help the family have the things he never had. I always understood it took hard work to get ahead.
I started getting payed to feed/manage a neighbors dogs at 7. At 11 I got my first tax paying job as a paperboy and did that till I was 14 and change when I went to work as a buffet stocker on the weekend at Bob's Big Boy. Then I was a dishwasher and eventually a buffet cook, and started training as a regular line cook by when I left at 17. All my money in the teens went to my computer hobby. Bikes fell by the wayside by 15 as only transportation. By 17 when all my friends drove the dropped away completely for surfing and roller blading and computers.
For my dad at least at home it's always been more about getting it done, than necessarily doing it "right" when we first started working on my camero in my late teens this became one of our bigger fighting points. When we started on the 2nd camero which was a full restoration from parts (not 1 single part was assembled, the car was in basket case condition). We began to really butt heads, he wanted to take short cuts where I wanted to make everything perfect. Natural part of the teen versus parent world. But it was eventually finished and a hell of a car to drive. He drove it for several years before selling it at a tidy profit to get into his current toy. A 78 Nova drag car. Currently on it's 3rd engine evolution, now running in the low 8's easily. It's a beast. And he loves it even when he blows up the motor as he did a few weeks ago. I always enjoy going out to the track to work and tinker and watch it race. He doesn't drive it anymore, mostly. My brother drove for a while but they were a bit more into it and butted heads way more.
These days when I visit my folks, my dad and I putter around in the 2nd garage with the Nova for a bit in the mornings, typically working on projects till lunch then I hang out with my mom in the afternoons, usually going shopping and stuff. I was always closer to my mom in many ways (Yah I consider myself a Momma's Boy, and my brother would agree), but my understanding of life and how to deal with stuff always came from my dad I think. In the way to work through, work hard, and then play hard when free.
Pete mentions that he stayed clean and grease free. I think thats anathema. You can't be clean in my family and have done real work. I look at a bike and I can find grease on fingers or smudge on my face. My hands and arms have scars from working on computer cases. I have a scar on my right hand from when my best friend in 7th grade got mad that I let his rear wheel spin while holding up his bike, he threw a crescent wrench at me! It's probably the prefectionism of europe/italy versus the rough/tumble/git-r-done way of america I suppose. :P Till then I'll wear either tee-shirts I don't care about or dark color workshirts when working on stuff. My dad still has a supply of old work shirts he uses from the airlines for when doing dirty work.
These days most bike repairs I do on my own except for my hydro disc brakes and replacing spokes on wheels. When i can get a full set of wheel tools I will go back to doing that. The hydro is just too small for me to work on :P.
Friday, May 02, 2014
I could have...
I could have ridden my bike home from Kilroy's after the TNR faster than I drove home. Hell I woulda been home in 45 mins. E$@%#@ VDOT had 3 of 4 lanes leading up to the Nutley Ave exist closed. It forced 7 lanes of merging, into 1. 2 Hours to go from the 495N offramp to get to Nutley almost. ARGH didn't get home till 12:20. SOfa King Tired today now.
The TNR ride was solid, we did the ICBMF Ride (Irish Car Bombs Mid Fairfax) ride. We made a solid pace out there in about 45 mins, then once we hit the CCT we cranked HARD on the return ride back to Wakefield. 7 people made it a good group size.
Irish Car Bombs are wayyyyy to easy to drink. it's like adult yoo-hoo.
No MTB Camp alas this year, stuck in training.
The TNR ride was solid, we did the ICBMF Ride (Irish Car Bombs Mid Fairfax) ride. We made a solid pace out there in about 45 mins, then once we hit the CCT we cranked HARD on the return ride back to Wakefield. 7 people made it a good group size.
Irish Car Bombs are wayyyyy to easy to drink. it's like adult yoo-hoo.
No MTB Camp alas this year, stuck in training.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Trail Ouch and Ride Ahhh.
Trailwork yesterday has left me feeling like a burrito that has been riding all day in a bike messangers bag in New York. We built a BIG ass semi burmed new turn. By digging 3 massive dirt pits. My teammate on the dig and I dug the biggest and deepest we got 5 feet deep in most of it. I offered to bury some people in it, but alas was turned down. There is also a nice half mile of new trail leading up to it. At some point we will be forced to close the old trail section on the railroad property but not yet. With 17 people out we got a TON done. It's always surprising to see what big groups can do.
Looks like I'll be leading/co-leading a work day on May 10 at Wakefield. Wakka Wakka Wakka as fozzy bear would say.
Riding my ass off the last 2 weeks. 7 hours ish of cycling the last 3 weeks. Plus technically 4 hours of trailwork yesterday. I'm a beast. Slowly building fitness back but speed at least on the commute hasn't come but legs are TIRED. Gonna try and get in a run tonight before it rains. Tomorrow maybe a rest day or maybe Wednesday. Not sure. I'll be at 28/29 hours for the month not counting trail work as of tonight (33 with) which will mean I flat out did as much time doing stuff in april as I did in the ENTIRE 1st quarter of 15+8+12 or very nearly.
Just found out I'm getting screwed out of Spring Man Camp by a training class that just got moved to Tue-Fri instead of Mon-Thurs. Fuck. Fuckity Fuck.
Maybe I'll try Kill Bill on Saturday. hahahaha or at least the 1st third.
Looks like I'll be leading/co-leading a work day on May 10 at Wakefield. Wakka Wakka Wakka as fozzy bear would say.
Riding my ass off the last 2 weeks. 7 hours ish of cycling the last 3 weeks. Plus technically 4 hours of trailwork yesterday. I'm a beast. Slowly building fitness back but speed at least on the commute hasn't come but legs are TIRED. Gonna try and get in a run tonight before it rains. Tomorrow maybe a rest day or maybe Wednesday. Not sure. I'll be at 28/29 hours for the month not counting trail work as of tonight (33 with) which will mean I flat out did as much time doing stuff in april as I did in the ENTIRE 1st quarter of 15+8+12 or very nearly.
Just found out I'm getting screwed out of Spring Man Camp by a training class that just got moved to Tue-Fri instead of Mon-Thurs. Fuck. Fuckity Fuck.
Maybe I'll try Kill Bill on Saturday. hahahaha or at least the 1st third.
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