Sweet new bridge on the Mount Vernon Trail. Replaces a bridge damaged by storm surge 21 years ago.

1. The Graduate (Again!): In May, my daughter graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Law. At the end of the summer she moved from the Hartford area to the Westport area to begin working in a law firm. The move included a significant upgrade in her living quarters and easy access to such regional highlights as the southeastern Connecticut car sewer, trains to New York City, and Stew Leonard’s bizzarro supermarket.

2. Don’t Look Up: In April, my wife and I met up with our daughter and mother-in-law and watched the solar eclipse in Portland, Indiana, smack dab in the path of totality. My father-in-law gave us some useful maps which allowed us to avoid the massive crowds in Indianapolis and Muncie. None of us went blind.

3. The Tour de Fiasco: In May and June I made a valiant attempt at riding the eastern third of the fabled TransAmerica bicycle route. The tour involved a four-day false start (I was under the weather); I took a train home from Charlottesville. After a week of rest, I rode back to where I abandoned the tour and resumed. Highlights included staying at the Cookie Lady’s house in Afton, Virginia, hiking the Blue Ridge tunnel, riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway, having an absolute blast riding to Damascus, Virginia, and staying at The Breaks State Park on the Virginia/Kentucky border. Lowlights included impossibly steep hills (so much walking!), suspicious fatigue that came and went, and numerous dog attacks. I quit for good after being advised to buy bear spray to deal with the dogs between Hazard and Berea, Kentucky.

4. The Four Horsemen of the WABApocalypse: I rode all four of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s Signature Events: the Bloom Ride, the 50 States Ride, the Cider Ride, and the Ride for Your Life. Special thanks to Chris Mrstik for doing all four with me. It was my 16th 50 States Ride. I tacked on the non-WABA Great Pumpkin Ride in October.

5. Pain in the Neck: After receiving an amazing deep tissue massage in May, my chronic neck pain all but disappeared. I suspect the pain was the result of getting rear-ended by an SUV while at a stop light on Big Nellie. Normally, I take my treatments from doctors and physical therapists and end up utterly frustrated with little relief and much time and money spent. Massages I have received in the past have mostly been for relaxation. This one was different. It worked like a charm. A second massage in November was similarly helpful. Big thanks to Casey Kane who referred me to his therapist.

6. So Many Blossoms: Two highlights of July hereabouts are the sunflower bloom at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area and the lotus and water lily bloom at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. I did one ride to the former and multiple rides to the latter. And the annual cherry blossom bloom didn’t disappoint either. Once again the Kenmore neighborhood of Bethesda outdid the trees in East and West Potomac Parks. Alas, Stumpy died a hero as the National Park Service started a major reconstruction of the Tidal Basin area.

7. Next to Last: As is usually the case, I watched a ton of baseball games this year. I rode to Nationals Park several times. The team showed promise until July when they bought up their minor league “stars”, mostly acquired in trades of elite players who were about to become prohibitively expensive. The last two months were ugly. The postseason featured many of these former Nationals, a couple of whom were on the World Series winners, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

8. Wikked Wedding: In October my wife and I drove to the North Shore of Massachusetts to attend my nephew Kevin’s wedding. We bounced between Beverly, Swampscott, Salem, and Marblehead. Damned pretty country. It was the first time that all my five surviving siblings and I were together since 2001.

9. Hell, the Fall Will Probably Kill You: We had 38 consecutive days without rainfall this autumn. And unseasonably warm temperatures to boot. This event was just one of several climactic oddities this year including multiple heat waves over the summer and nearly no snow during the winter. The climate here in DC is basically the same as North Carolina in the 1980s. It’s like we moved south without renting a U-Haul.

10. The Tank Reborn: In March, I all but gave up on The Tank, my Surly CrossCheck. The gearing was too aggressive and the ride was just unpleasant, exacerbating my neck pain. I had mentioned changing the gearing to a couple of bike mechanics over the years but they told me it couldn’t be done. During its annual physical last spring, Dr. Beth at Bikes at Vienna said pshaw! to all that and suggested changes to the bike’s drivetrain that gave it considerably lower (easier to pedal) gearing. It was a vast improvement. Next, I put lighter tires on. In the fall, I decided to switch from toe clips and straps to Lambda platform pedals. After a few minor adjustments to my saddle position and handlebar height, I found that the pedals really work great, especially with my cold-weather footwear. Instead of mothballing or selling the bike, it has become my go-to for local rides. At the end of the year, I sprung for some Catalyst platform pedals for The Mule, my Specialized Sequoia touring bike, after Bikes at Vienna’s Tim Fricker gave them his enthusiastic thumbs up. After a few tweaks to my saddle position, I found them to be the bomb.

And as always it goes to 11:

11. Trigger Finger: I developed a weird physical problem called trigger finger. The middle finger on my right hand involuntarily bent palmward and froze in a claw-like orientation. I would have to use my left hand to pop it back to attention. Gross! Worse, the condition made signalling my dissatisfaction with drivers problematic. I went to a hand surgeon who gave me a cortisone shot and diagnosed me with carpal tunnel syndrome and cervical radiculopathy (in plain English, a pinched nerve in my upper spine). I discovered some easy exercises in December that have greatly improved the nerve problem.

You know it’s December when you’re on the first rotation of the dreaded annual medical merry-go-round. I went to a hand surgeon to get a cortisone shot for my trigger finger. He must be in arrears on his boat payments because he diagnosed me with a pinched nerve in my neck (knew that already) and carpal tunnel syndrome (one leads to the other apparently). I go to a neurologist next to have an EMG exam next week. The exam involves shocking nerves in your spine and down your arm to your hand. The typical diagnosis is: your nerves are messed up but we really don’t know why.

You know it’s December when a cold spell hits just in time for you to get a flat tire. Not just any flat tire, but a mystery flat tire. And, of course, it’s on the rear wheel. Changing a flat in 40-degree weather is not fun. It’s especially not fun when you get everything apart and you can’t find the cause of the flat. (This usually means the valve has gone bung.) So you put everything back together and hope all is well the next time you go for a ride. (Fat chance.)

You know it’s December when you have two craft beers at a happy hour and your body rebels for 36 hours. I am not making this up. Not only did my GI tract go bananas but I didn’t sleep for two days. Fast forward a couple of days and you go to a holiday open house. My wife brought Juggernaut wine (I kid you not) which she says is smooth like buttah. So you have a couple of glasses. (It’s very tasty.) The good news is there wasn’t any gas but the bad news is I haven’t slept in two days. Ugh.

You know it’s December when you take your wife’s car to the mechanic for an oil change and he takes it for a test drive. It turns out the funny noise that she didn’t tell you about is the bearings in the rear wheels shot to hell. Expensive to repair? Don’t ask.

You know it’s December when you have your eyes on a spring bike tour but know that it will be a disaster if you eat any more Christmas cookies. Did I mention my wife has produced more cookies (and fudge) this week than Keebler’s elves on a Pepperidge Farm? The entire house smells of sugar, butter, and chocolate. It’ll be a miracle if I make it to January without looking like Victor Buono.

You know it’s December when you have your eyes pinned to the bike mileage spreadsheet. Will I? Can I? Yes! Ten thousand miles. For the seventh year in a row, no less. Impressed? Don’t be. It’s 1,000 miles less than last year. Old man take a look at my life, I’m a lot like me.

Time for some cookies….

A while ago I bought some new bike stuff that seemed to be pretty useful. Recently I pulled out my credit card for another go at shopping.

My helmet is over ten years old. The visor, which comes in handy when the angle of the sun is low, broke off a couple of years ago. I liked the helmet that my 50-States-posse friend Kevin has so I bought one. It’s visor can be rotated up when not needed so my neck will be happy.

I bought a large sized helmet but it was too big so I returned it. (REI’s return policy is great). I had to order a medium online as there were none in stock at the store. Lucky me, the helmet was now selling for 40% off.

I switched to MKS Lambda pedals on the Tank about a month ago. They work great with my winter footwear but my feet do slide around a bit on them.

I decided to go all in and buy some Catalyst platform pedals. They cost about twice what I paid for the Lambda pedals. These babies are quite a bit longer than my old touring pedals and have wee screws around the edges to keep your foot from sliding off. (They come with a set of longer screws in case you need to tweak the set up.) I haven’t decided which bike to try them on yet (they came in the mail only yesterday).

Last week I returned to the massage therapist for another deep tissue massage. She recommended I do some passive stretching on my psoas muscles. Basically you lie face down with something under your hips. I had been experimenting with a foam roller (too hard) and a rolled up yoga mat (too soft) but the therapist suggested using these half dome exercise thingies. These have nubs and go under the inside of your hip bones.

My wallet hasn’t yet caught on fire so I have my eye on a few more bicycling things. watch this space, y’all.