Month: March 2015

And They’re Off – Errandonnee 1 and 2

Last night I slept with Meryl Streep. My wife, daughter and I were watching DVDs. I made it through St. Vincent (excellent if depressing) and the first 15 minutes of August Osage County, then I was alone. The latter movie is populated by incredibly depressing characters, a bit like Thanksgiving at my parents house in 1991.  Meryl Streep was really a depressing pill popper with cancer. The movie was an actors dream. Look at me ACT!!!! Watch me sleep. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning. Alone. On the couch.

After three more hours of sleep in my bed, I woke up to my new Saturday morning ritual of physical therapy, yoga, and meditation. Basically, I am coming to the conclusion that I should pick one because doing all three is a bore fest.

I waited for the sun to warm things up a bit. Road conditions in Mount Vernon were pretty sketchy yesterday so I decided to forgo riding into Old Town. What could I do down near my place? Snow was on the ground. There is an Errandonnee category called “You carried what on a bike?” I put two and two together and:

IMG_20150307_121017

Off I rode on The Mule to Fort Hunt Park about three miles from home. I got there only to find that I couldn’t open my bike lock. Arg. I thought it was an old lock and it never occured to me that it was my newer lock which, of course, uses a different key.

I rode home and grabbed a cable lock and rode back to the park. By this point I had wasted about an hour and was hungry. I decided to give the snowshoeing a go anyway.

Joy. Love it. I found a path into the woods. I forded a wee creek. I went down a steep embankment. I clambered up a short hill. The temperature rose into the 40s. I made my way baIMG_20150307_141412ck to the bike ambling this way and that through the park.

I strapped the snowshoes to my bike and headed home. Realizing that I was now starving I headed to Sherwood Gourmet about three quarters of a mile from home for a sammich.

Along the way I made another discovery. All winter I have been riding in my old Lake mountain bike shoes and some fleece lined overboots. This combination is a pain to get on and off. Today, I used my hiking boots instead. I didn’t think they’d fit in my toe clips but they fit perfectly.

Errand No. 1: Saturday, March 7

Category: You Carried WHAT on Your Bike?

Miles: 11

Observation: Snowshoeing is addictive. Almost makes me sorry winter is going. Wait. That’s crazy talk.

Errand No. 2: Saturday, March 7

Category: Personal Care (I was hungry!!!!)

Miles: 1 1/2

Observation: I am officially a regular at Sherwood Gourmet. Gary’s Lunchbox sammich, kettle chips, tall Diet Pepsi.

One Last Time – I Hope

I worked from home today. When Mrs. Rootchopper arrived home from work (yes, she’s one of the few federal employees who had to go to the office), she got stuck trying to drive into the neighbor’s driveway where she parks her car.

She got out a shovel. I got out the wovel and we went at it. The snow, only about three or four inches, was wet and heavy, unlike our previous snowfalls which were mostly powder. When I was a kid we called this good packing snow. Great for making snowmen and snowballs. Not so good if you have to shovel it.

But we did. For an hour we slogged away. It’s really quite a good work out as long as you are careful not to wreck your back. Next time we have a snow fall all of my readers are invited to the Rootchopper Institute to join in the fun.

On the whole I’d rather be snowshowing in this stuff. I hope to do some of that tomorrow evening after work.

16727630435_e098d3ea93_z

Allez! Allez! Errandonnee!

For most bicyclists, winter is endured. Sure some of us adapt to the cold and the slippery conditions; others hibernate waiting for the first sign of spring. It seems silly to say this today because as I type this it’s snowing pretty hard here in the DMV. No worries because the first sign of spring is here. Today is the first day of the 2015 Errandonnee.

It’s pretty simple. Over the next 12 days, run 12 errands on your bike. Document them. And send the list in to Mary, Queen of Errands. If you complete the Errandonnee, you can get an Errandonee patch to proudly display.

I’m not much of a patch person, but the idea of the Errandonee is in my wheel house. I run errands on my bike all the time. So here are a few I will likely do:

Ride to work (twice)

Go to the bank

Ride to get lunch or coffee with friends (twice)

I have to come up with seven more. This may not be so easy since I have already used up a couple of errands (drug store, hardware store) in the last few days. I will figure something out.

The point is that now you have a little excuse to get out there on your bike. To ease out of winter and into spring.

Allez! Allez!

If We Ever Get Out of Here, Thought of Giving It All Away…

Trapped.

I rode in the basement again. It is getting to the point that I read faster while riding than I do sitting still. I was hoping to ride in tomorrow but the Mount Vernon Trail remains icy and treacherous. I know this because I could see bike commuters riding slow and tentative this morning.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be pretty warm, in the 40s all day. It is also supposed to rain all day. In the wee hours of Thursday morning the rain is supposed to turn to snow for the better part of 15 hours. Accumulations are expected to reach as high as 8 inches. What joy.

It’s a really good thing that I don’t drink….much.

Thursday night my daughter is scheduled to fly into BWI so she can renew her driver’s license and go to the dentist. Fingers are crossed.

I hope you’re having fun.

Well, at Least I’m Not in Boston

T. S. Eliot didn’t live in Boston but he kind of nailed it when he wrote: April is the cruelest month. It takes at least a week into April before any semblance of spring arrives. You can tell it is spring because the snow starts to melt and all the frozen dog poo thaws out.

So you can see why I moved to DC. Except in DC March is the cruelest month. We began March this year with one of my favorite meterological events, an ice storm. Here’s the front of my car. 16499432758_0e1c089b69_zThe rest of the car looked like a Honda Popsicle.  As you might imagine, biking to work was out of the question. Just getting back to the house after retrieving the newspaper this morning would have made Shackleton bust his buttons.

So I drove. The temperatures rose well into the 40s for most of the day. This is what Arlo Guthrie calls “tanning weather in the Berkshires.”

I drove home looking for signs of ice and snow on the Mount Vernon Trail. Sure enough there were enough stretches of nasty stuff that I decided to drive tomorrow. I want to that the National Park Service for its stellar job of promoting cross country skiing in the region by not plowing the trail. The two people who skied on the trail last week must be badass Nords.

Speaking of Nords, Mrs. Rootchopper and I went to see Le Vent du Nord on Saturday night. This is a four-piece folk band from Quebec. They sing in French and sound a bit like the Chieftans by way of Paris. They played in a small venue in Germantown MD. We sat about ten feet from the edge of the stage. I had low expectations since my high school French is now hopelessly lapsed and I can’t understand most of the lyrics to the songs. It didn’t matter. The performance was one of the very best musical events I’ve ever seen. The fiddle player sat directly in front of us. He sang, played awesome fiddle, and kept a frenetic beat with his feet. I swear the man “ran” 10 miles during the two-hour show.  The band also features a hurdy gurdy. I’d never seen or heard one before. Long story short, I can’t wait until they come back.

The forecast for the DC area calls for some subfreezing temperatures and rain, snow or sleet off and on through Thursday. Looks like the Honda is going to get some more use.

February by the Numbers

I thought February was going to be a big bust but it turned into a halfway decent month. I rode to work eight times, the same as January. All my commutes were done in the first half of the month on The Mule because the National Park Servcie steadfastlt refuses to plow or treat the Mount Vernon Trail. Their policy is that it is also for use by cross country skiers. This is bogus because cross country skiers rarely use it and it becomes unski-able once the snowpack turns to ice or starts to melt.

The most eventful thing that happened was my fall on the 10th. Also I was sick twice this month so I have excuses. (Lame.)

Oh well. I also did a 48 1/2 mile ride on Big Nellie, my Tour Easy recumbent. Other than that there was were a couple of long hike/walks including yesterday’s in Arlington Cemetery. And an interesting evening of Thai massage and Reiki.

The total for the month was 439 1/2 miles. 247 was from commuting. 99 miles were done on Big Nellie indoors.

For the year I stand at 812 miles with 16 bike commutes. Little Nellie, my Bike Friday New World Tourist, has barely been used. Only 18 miles in a single weekend ride so far. The Mule is doing the lion’s share of work, covering 572 1/2 miles so far. Big Nellie is taking up the slack with 131.5 outdoor miles in addition to the 99 miles in my basement.

After the March 1 ice storm and Monday’s doctor’s appointment, I hope to up the mileage a bit. March offers the Pi ride. (On 3.14 there are two rides for pie. This is math humor. I intend to eat some apple pie for a friend who is on a retreat that does not allow pie. Oh the humanity!)  The Vasa ride is on 3/15 and I will do my usual 31 miles. I have never done the long ride, prefering to do the more social and less hilly medium length ride. (I will do neither ride if it is icy.)

On to spring!