Category: recumbent

Incoming!!!

I woke up at 5:30. Actually my bladder woke up at 5:30. My brain was still asleep. It was a fierce fight for anatomical dominance but my bladder won.  My trip to the end of the driveway was invigorating. Not because of my bladder. It was in the 20s and the wind was blowing.  Maybe I should get wind resistant jammies. I briefly considered driving to work, but then I thought, “Why not freeze my noo noos off instead?”  And so I rode Big Nellie into the frigid morning.
Despite the big fairing on the front of Big Nellie, I was having quite a rough time getting any speed going.  I hit the hill on Park Terrace Drive going only about 10 miles per hour.  In a few seconds, I was doing 32 and ducking behind the fairing to preserve the flesh around my eyes.  Tears were shed involuntarily. Dang.
Onto the Mount Vernon Trail without a stop to cross the Parkway. Ithink I will call this maneuver “Pulling a Moses.” How nice of people to provide a gap in traffic. The Dyke Marsh boardwalk was free of rime, too, so things were going swimmingly.
I didn’t blog about my ride yesterday but it was notable for two wildlife sightings. Along the river near Dyke Marsh a tree was absolutely filled with red winged blackbirds. They were making the trilling sound that reminds me so much of my days as a kid playing in and around Dead Man’s Pond.  (Sounds a bit like something Luke Skywalker would say, no?) Sadly, the pond was filled in by developers long ago. When I got to the northern side of Belle Haven Park, I spotted a bald eagle about 200 feet up in the air flying from the river across the trail toward the Beltway/US1 mixing bowl.
Yesterday’s flashback was provided so that I could place today’s wildlife sighting in context. As usual, I was hoping to spot a bald eagle in the Belle Haven nest.  Instead, I spotted one about 30-50 feet high gliding straight toward me over the trail.  All I could think of was, “It would suck to be a mouse right now.” Just before getting to me, the eagle flapped its wings, turned and gained altitude as it headed for the nest. Double dang.
I slogged into the headwind through Old Town. The beaver dam is starting to get built up again. I wonder if this isn’t the work of the National Park Service official beaver dam disrupter or just a very stubborn beaver. The water level is almost up to the trail again so I suspect the disruptor will be back soon. Damn. (So to speak.)
The rest of the ride in was work. As usual, once I cleared the airport, I had nothing to block the headwind. The bike seemed unusually sluggish. On the way home I learned that my front fender was dragging on the side of my front tire. I must have been really sleepy this morning because I didn’t hear it rubbing even with the fairing to amplify the sound. Once I freed the tire, I could enjoy the tailwind all the way home.
And so I completed my 30th bike commute of 2013.  Normally I don’t hit 30 until sometime in March. Tomorrow I am driving in. The forecast is calling for afternoon snow showers and a wintry mix for the evening rush. Not gonna happen on two wheels.

The Errant Errandonneur

Since I dropped out of the Errandonneur Challenge the day it started I was tempted to reverse course. That’s mostly because nearly all my biking in the in winter fits into the “challenge”. The challenge to me is keeping track of all the details.  Take today for instance.

I intended to go to the bike store to get Little Nellie rear shifter cable fixed. I had messed it up a few days ago when I unfolded the bike and snagged the cable on the left crank arm. When I went to pedal, the bike crank arm wouldn’t turn. So I pressed on it with my foot thinking this would free it up. Bad idea. Long story short, after I figured out what was going on I could no longer shift into my highest gears.

On the way to the bike shop I stopped at the pharmacy thinking that if I took pictures of Little Nellie in front of the store I might rehabilitate my two bike trips to the pharmacy and resuscitate my errandonnering credits. Ah, but the rules clearly state that the pix must be taken during the errand. The Gypsybug is a tricky one.

On to the bike shop I rode. Before I started out, I should note, I adjusted my Brooks saddle by tiliting it up ever so slightly (one click’s worth on the saddle adjustment mechanism) because I have been sliding off the front of the saddle. Just this tiny adjustment made for a much better and more efficient ride. I arrived at the Belle Haven Spokes Etc. store and took a couple pictures for good measure. I rarely buy anything at this shop, but I make lots of use of their service department. For little things, they will often make repairs while you wait.

Errand 3: Little Nellie at Spokes in Belle Haven

Colin, the bespectacled mechanic, examined Little Nellie. I had messed up a ferule (a little metal thing that connects the cable housing to the cable guide brazed on to the chain stay). He replaced that and then decided to check out the cable. It was fraying at the shifter. He replaced the cable and got the index shifting working perfectly. Nicely done, Colin.

On to Old Town Alexandria I rode to have lunch. I stopped at Eamonn’s, a fish and chips place, named after my son. (Not true, but the owner and I both have sons named Eamonn.) I always have chips with cod and tartar sauce. I don’t undestand why people put malt vinegar on their fish and chips. The stuff tastes disgusting.

Errand 4: Little Nellie at Eammon's

 

Errand 4: Fish and Chips

I headed home . On the way I stopped to check out a photographer using a camera on a tripod. The camera had a lens slightly smaller than the Hubble telescope. He was taking pictures of a rather large osprey who was no more than 30 yards away in a tree on the rivers edge. I’ll bet he gets some amazing pictures.

Since it was around 50 degrees out, it was warm enough to do some work on my recumbent. Big Nellie has a long chain. In the winter time it’s too cold to do proper chain maintenance so I often re-lube my chain without cleaning off the old dirty lube first. Basically, the chain and the pulleys that it runs through were all gunked up with a wax/dirt mixture. It took me 20 minutes to get the thing clean and I probably could have spent another ten on it.  Close enough. Once I put fresh wax on it, it was noticably quieter.

So, here’s the weekend recap: for the last 20.5 miles of riding, I’ve already done 4 of 12 the Errandonnee rides. I’ve done one each in the “Breakfast and Lunch”, “Bike Shop”, and “Personal Care and Health” categories with a fourth ride (to pick up my receipt at the drug store, falling into the “Any Other Store” category. Seeing as how I will knock the “Work” category with my next couple of commutes. I would be halfway done by Tuesday. I am an erranaholic! Or maybe just an errant errandonneur.

Audio Ninja

A few months ago I coined the term “veloworker” to describe someone who tells their boss they’re telecommuting then goes out for a bike ride.
Yesterday I started a new feature of this blog. I call it Danger of the Day.

Today my neologistic skills meet Danger of the Day. I give you the audio ninja.
As every winter bike commuter knows, a ninja is a person who wears dark clothing on an unlit trail at night. Ninjas wear no lights and eschew reflective material. When backlit by a car’s headlights, ninjas are invisible.  So far this winter I have had about 20 ninja near misses. Early in the winter I saw a bike commuter and a ninja disentangling themselves after the cyclist ran the ninja over south of National Airport on the Mount Vernon Trail.
Today during broad daylight I encountered a runner on the trail as I approached the base of the switchback bridge to Rosslyn. She was clad in black cycling clothes. Protruding from the bottom of her colorful woolen winter hat, I could see white earbuds. The earbuds were wired to an iPod or smartphone which she held in one of her gloved hands. She was running on the center line of the trail. As Big Nellie and I came upon her from behind, I rang my bell. She stayed in the center of the trail. I slowed and rang the bell again. Without looking she moved to the left directly in front of me. I started to pass her on the right and she moved back to the right in front of me, again without looking. I think that maybe she saw that bikes were coming down the bridge toward her on the left side of the trail.  By this point, I was so close to her I nearly clipped her heels with my front wheel. I was tempted to use my fairing to deflect her into the weeds. Unfortunately, like my bicycle death ray, this sort of thing only really works in my imagination. Instead, I yelled “Give me a break!!!” or words to that effect.
So today’s Danger of the Day is the audio ninja: a trail user  so zoned out on  her music that she has no situational awareness whatsoever.

No way it was January

I slept fitfully last night. The wind was howling from midnight to 2:30. Just when I thought I was in the clear, WHOOSH!!!

Today was about 30 degrees colder than yesterday. The winds had changed direction and was now coming from the northwest. This meant that my morning commute would be every bit as difficult as my ride home last night.  I rode Big Nellie for the last bike commute of the month. The fairing on the front makes a decent wind shield. Despite the headwind I broke 30 miles per hour on the Park Terrace Drive downhill.

Coming through Dyke Marsh I had to stop again for the sunrise. My name is Rootchopper and I’m a Dawnaholic.

Dyke Marsh Sunrise

There was no use trying to go fast. It wasn’t going to happen this morning.

The National Park Service keeps cutting a slot in the beaver dam north of Slaters Lane. Good thing too. All that rain and the high tide had the beaver pond overflowing its banks right up to the edge of the Mount Vernon Trail. This section of the trail was repositioned a few years ago because of flooding.  The old trail was under a foot of water.

North of the airport the real work began. The wind really hammered me from here to Rosslyn. At the Humpback Bridge, I relaxed my hold on the handle bars. A gust caught the fairing and turned the front wheel to the left. Good thing no one was trying to pass me.

I saw a great blue heron in its hiding spot at the end of the TR Bridge boardwalk. If I were you, I’d head south, Dude.

On the sidewalk in Rosslyn, the buildings turned the wind direction to my rear. I glided from the MVT to my office, pedalling only when I needed to start up at a traffic light.

The ride home was a whole lot easier. The wind was to my back and side. I took it easy. It was in the 40s and my body was wondering what the heck happened to spring.

Today was the 18th and final commute for the month of January.  All told I rode Big Nellie 11 times to work. Little Nellie got the call the other 7. My total mileage for the month was 598.5 miles, all of it outdoors.  That’s some kind of personal record. Last January I rode 9 times to work and totaled under 450 miles.

My longest ride of the month was 32 miles. My commuting mileage was 533, which means I did very little weekend riding.

I won’t be riding tomorrow. I will be driving so I can see my daughter perform in a play tomorrow night. I have to kill a couple of hours before the play begins, so I will celebrate mi enero grande with a taco platter and a cerveza at Cactus Cantina.

Burb.

Cold as a Goose

You know that if Canada geese are miserable, it’s cold outside. They were and it was. I rode in anyway. I suppose this means that your average Canada goose has more common sense than me. You can add ducks and herons to that assessment while you’re at it.

I toyed with the idea of adding some thermal protection to my personal parts this morning. I have these oversized synthetic socks that are pretty warm. They are about two feet long. I thought about putting one in my shorts. Then I realized that I might actually have to explain pulling two feet of green fabric out of my underwear in the locker room at work. I’m not self conscious about much but pulling two feet of sock out of my drawers is well over the line in my book.

It was lonely out there this morning on the Mount Vernon Trail. The air temperature was actually lower than yesterday morning but there was very little wind so Big Nellie and I made decent time. I had to weave through the Catholic SUVs at St. Mary’s School for the Prevention of Polar Icecaps. The cold made the SUVs somewhat docile so that none of them tried to eat me.

The ride through Old Town and up the Mount Vernon Trail was actually quite pleasant. I tried using chemical hand warmers in my mittens. This helped a little but I think it would be wise to use these things within two years of purchase. The wind picked up when I cleared National Airport but it was still tolerable, except to the water fowl. The geese and ducks were bobbing in the river close to the river bank in a big mass. I can’t imagine this clustering of birds adds any warmth to their bodies. Misery loves company even among ducks and geese.

A little further on where I saw a great blue heron cowering in the cold on the river’s edge, I saw the same heron with another a few feet away. The second heron looked every bit as cold as the first. I am no bird expert but I do believe great blue herons are not cold weather creatures. They should be down in the Okeefenokee Swamp. Too late now.

I survived the Rosslyn Circle of Certain Death today both coming and going. Some days I get lucky.

I left work a little late and still had a few minutes of daylight. I do believe I could get use to this. Despite the cold the ride home was pretty darnn enjoyable. There were a few bike commuters out but no ninjas. Ninjas are wimps. There were several people running and walking on the trail but they were wearing reflective clothing and were easy to spot. I cut the corner on my evening commute. My total mileage was a little over 28 miles for the day.

Tonight, it may snow. It could snow an inch. Strangely, the local TV stations have yet to go to Def Con One. I like to ride while it’s snowing. Once the snow gets packed down, it becomes impractical to ride. 28 miles in the snow simply takes to much time. I might actually have to drive to work. What is this world coming to?

It’s a Bike Commute, Charlie Brown

I woked up and went out to get the newspaper. It was cold outside, windy too. This was going to be one of those challenging bike commutes that I will tell my grandkids about. Unless, of course, my grandkids could give a damn, which they won’t.

I emptied the closet and put whatever wasn’t alive on. Working from the top down I wore a helmet, balaclava, buff, waterproof shell, the holey sweater, a t-shirt, a base layer, Smartwool arm warmers, glove liners, mittens, wicking briefs, tights, windproof pants, wool socks, shoes and over boots. I looked like Charlie Brown. I could barely move. Off to the office I went aboard Little Nellie. Little Nellie has a nice big fairing that I hoped would keep the wind off my torso.

A mile into the ride I heard a squirrel making a racket. If squirrels are pissed, you know it’s cold. The ride in was cold but there was a headwind. i mean you can’t have too much climactic misery on a bike commute. I was fearing the chill on the Park Terrace downhill which I normally take at 34 miles per hour. Today, the headwind held me to 29, a mixed blessing because the wind chill at 34 might have done me in.

I stopped on the Dyke Marsh boardwalk, removed my mittens and gloves and took this picture of the sunrise:

Sunrise over Dyke Marsh

I hope you like it because I froze my ass off taking it.

The ride in was a bit lonely. Until I was north of Old Town, I was pretty much the only one out their on the Mount Vernon Trail. North of Old Town, the battle of the headwind really kicked in. A few bike commuters and a couple of hardy runners joined me in the bitter cold. The open areas near Daingerfield Island and north of National Airport were rough. I was making only 10 miles per hour, but I was surprisingly comfortable until the last 20 minutes. My big toes and finger tips were starting to freeze. The Canada geese were clustered in the Potomac. Hell, if Canada geese are cold you know it’s nasty outside. Under the TR bridge, less than a mile from work, a great blue heron hid at water’s edge in the growth on the riverbank. It was all fluffed up but it looked miserable with its right wing covering it’s head.

In the TR Island parking lot, I spotted a bike commuter whose bike was lying on its side. He was helping a motorist change a flat tire. Actually, he was doing all the work; the motorist was standing next to him in a winter coat looking helpless.

At the Rosslyn Circle of Death I paid forward a debt. Last week a panhanlder yelled at a car that was turning right on red without stopping from the I-66 off ramp on to North Lynn Street in the direction of Key Bridge. Today, I was waiting to cross the same intersection. A blonde woman pedestrian started ahead of me. She was wearing a long cloth coat, heavy leggings and tall black boots. I see her often at the same place. Today, she was looking down at her smartphone as she was about to step off the curb. Just before she arrived I watched three vehicles, two in the center lane, blow through the red light without stopping to make the right turn. Something told me to wait. Sure enough a fourth vehicle came up the ramp and, without so much as tapping its brakes, blew through the red light and took a right. I yelled “WAIT!” and the woman with the smartphone looked up froze. The car just missed her. As I rode past her she glanced at me. Her eyes said a silent “Thank you.” I have lost track of the number of times I have seen this happen at the exact same spot since i started working in Rosslyn 15 1/2 months ago. I simply cannot believe the Arlington police leave this intersection unattended.

The ride home was much nicer. It as just as cold but I had a tailwind. Hallelujah! Instead of slogging along at 10 miles per hour I was cruising easily at 15. Sunset is noticeable later now. I could ride all the way to Old Town without being blinded by car headlights. At the south end of Old Town, I continued on the Mount Vernon Trail to Jones Point Park. I had heard on Twitter today that a small wooden bridge on the MVT in the park was out so I rode past the traffic cones to check it out. The bridge is only 10 or 15 yards long but the near 5 yards was covered in plywood. I wonder if a car hadn’t try to drive over it.

I took the streets through the rest of Old Town and made my way back to the MVT. The rest of the ride was pleasant. Unfortunately, I now had to use my right hand to shade my eyes from the car headlights. When I got home I realized that this caused the tips of two of the fingers on my left hand to be mildly numb. Good thing I didn’t have too much riding left. Another problem was caused by gum balls. Gum trees are all over the place in Mount Vernon. Their seeds fall in little spikey balls the size of ping pong balls. Today’s gusty winds knocked hundreds of them out of the trees and onto the trail. I must have hit them all. My front and rear wheels were bouncing as if the gum balls were made of steel. I hope I still have air in my tires in the morning.

It’s supposed to be super cold and windy again. I plan on dressing like Linus. There’s nothing a blanket can’t cure.

Two for Two for Tuesday

Another day, another ride to work on Big Nellie. We sure are getting along fine these days.  I once again gave the holey sweater the day off even though it was about ten degrees cooler than yesterday. After about a mile I warmed right up and was comfortable for the rest of the ride. I think I have the hang of winter now.

I decided that no two commutes would be the same. So today my route took me to the stone bridge where I picked up the Mount Vernon Trail about a mile sooner than usual.  When I take this route I pass up the swooping downhill on Park Terrace. Most winters the trail is icy from the stone bridge to Dyke Marsh but this year has been so dry and warm that ice is not an issue.

On the north side of Belle Haven Park I spotted an osprey in a tree right along side the trail. It was facing me and I could see its white underside. It was all fluffed up. Show off. About a quarter mile later, I spotted a black bird flying across the trail away from the river. It was a bald eagle, probably returning from a fine fish breakfast. The eagle alit in the tree with the Belle Haven nest. Two raptors in one morning ain’t bad.

On Union Street in Old Town, I spotted Nancy Duley for the second straight day. I can always tell she’s coming because she has a single small pannier. I think it’s where she keeps her bourbon but I’m not sure.

The rest of the ride was peaceful. I graciously allowed many riders to pass me. I also took my sweet time on all the iced up boardwalks. My recumbent does not do ice very well.

On the ride home, Lynn Street in Rosslyn was packed with cars. The police had closed off the Key Bridge into Georgetown. They weren’t even letting bikes or pedestrians across. I could clearly see a stream of pedestrians coming across the bridge from DC but on the far side of the bridge. (II later learned that a man had threatened to jump off the bridge. The police talked him out of it.) I took a picture or two and headed down to the MVT. Under the Roosevelt Bridge I ran into (not literally, of course) Chris B. from Friday Coffee Club and the HoPolice block off Key Bridgeppy 100.  Based on where he lives I knew he was headed for the Key Bridge. I yelled underneath my neck gaiter “Bridg is closed!” I don’t know how her heard me but I stopped and he did a u-ey and we talked briefly.  He headed across the TR bridge and I made my way home. Two bike friend encounters in one commute, my second twofer of the day.

The ride home was splendiferous if a little odd. I guess that somebody might have jumped off the bridge and watched as a Park Service helicopter passed low over the river. I kept my eye out along the river side to see if anything human popped up. No bodies, just geese.

DSCN2019

When I got home I emptied the mailbox to find my booty from the Coffeeneuring Challenge. There were two pins, one pewter pin of a coffee cup and another metal pin showing the fancy pattern from a coffee with the words Coffeenuering Challenge on it. Thanks for sending this Mary.

It’s a Trap

I left early. In the dark. It was warmish, over 40. I wore the base layer that my brother-in-law’s family gave me for Christmas instead of the holey sweater. It was perfect, like wearing pajamas.

When I reached the Mount Vernon Trail I could see police car roof lights on the GW Parkway about 1/4 mile ahead. A speeder, a Camry with two high school kids inside ,had been pulled over. They had the my-dad’s-gonna-kill-me look. Traffic was getting backed up by the loss of the right lane. I  thought of calling my daughter to warn her about the speed trap, then decided against it figuring she can’t speed because the Parkway’s all clogged up.

The MVT uses the crosswalk at the intersection with the Hunting Towers Apartments’ access road. The crosswalk was filled for the second time in a month with a huge white SUV trying in vain to make a right on red, during rush hour with a view obstructed by buses waiting at the adjacent bus stop. In other words, there was no reason for the SUV to be blocking the crosswalk. I carefully rode around the front of the SUV trying my best to stay out of the parkway traffic. On Big Nellie, my right arm is just about even with the grill of this behemoth. I almost smacked it with my fist in protest. I thought better of it. This is a good thing because the driver of the behemoth could have made me road kill with a step on the gas. Instead I turned to give the driver a dirty look. I forgot about the light on my helmet. Got him right in the eyes.

On the north side of Old Town I saw Nancy Duley. Nancy has been out of action due to illness for a couple of weeks. “Hi, Nancy.”  She was all smiles as usual.

A slight headwind made the rest of the ride an honest effort. As I approached the 14 Street Bridge underpass, I saw a Brompton coming up from behind at surprising speed.  Thankfully, he turned off to take the ramp up to the bridge before he could pass me. Getting passed by a bike with 16 inch wheels is no way to start the work week.

At about this point I hit 100 miles for the year. Woo hoo.

At the Rosslyn Circle of Certain Doom, I cross the I-66 ramp without getting killed. Woo hoo, too. As I passed him, a panhandler said, “Nice bike.” Recumbents have fans in every demographic.

I ate lunch at Quiznos. They had really bad rock and roll Christmas music on. Midway through the meal, the Christmas music was replaced by normal, bland rock music. The holiday’s are now officially over. Thus sprach Quizno.

Last night we took the Christmas tree down. I carried it out to the curb awkwardly, managing somehow to get my face right up into that sucker. All day today my sinuses were throbbing. Guess I can add fir to my allergy list.

Since i arrived at work a little early, I left early. It was light out. Woo hoo three.

I rode down the MVT with a slight tailwind. I could tell because the planes at National Airport were taking off toward the northwest. And because I was riding in excess of 15 miles per hour. The daylight lasted into Old Town. I took the Wilkes Street tunnel at the north end of Old Town. I haven’t used it in a long time preferring the trail under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. As I came to the far end of the tunnel, I thought “I’d better be careful.” I rang my bell and slowed. From behind the wall at the exit of the tunnel, a man with a toddler on his shoulders stepped in front of me. I said, “I guessed right.” He said with a smile, “I heard your bell.” Peace on earth. Goodwill toward bent.

Heading out of Old Town, back on the MVT, I came upon the entrance to Porto Vecchio, an upscale condominium on the river. The entrance has bicycle traffic lights that I obey because I would like to see them used elsewhere. And because traffic turning off the Parkway can crush me like a bug.

Parked across the MVT in the middle of the entrance to the condo was a minivan and a US Park Service police car.  The police officer was discussing the driver’s transgressions with the soccer mom behind the wheel of the van. I was tempted to interrupt and ask the officer why he felt it necessary to conduct a traffic stop that compromised the safety of trail users like me as well as people trying to turn into the condo complex. Clearly, the soccer mom was a menace to society or he would have asked her to move into the condo parking lot where he could conduct his traffic stop in safety.

Instead of confronting him, I rode around the front of the minivan, over a raised flower bed, and went on my way. I figured that seeing a long wheel base recumbent riding like a mountain bike might clue him to the fact that his traffic stop technique needs a whole lot of work.

The rest of the ride featured many moments of blindness thanks to the headlights of cars on the parkway. We’ve only got about a month to go before this annual annoyance is over.

When I arrived at home, I mentioned to my wife that there seemed to be a lot of speed traps out today. She responded by telling me that on her way home from school my daughter got her first speeding ticket courtesy of Fairfax’s finest. We live 1/2 mile from the Mount Vernon District police station.

Should have called her afterall.

 

One Down, 166 or So to Go

The first bike commute of the year is in the books. Well, the book. I keep this paper journal each year and it’s in there:

#1 29 T/E Cold 37 am. Cold low 30s pm 1XBE

Decoded this means:

Bike commute number 1. 29 miles. On Big Nellie (my Tour Easy recumbent). A brief weather note. And I did my back exercises 1 time. (This is a 20 minute routine I do every morning.)

The ride itself was pretty routine. The first two miles involved my left knee becoming re-acquainted with Big Nellie. At about mile 2.5 I hit the big plunge from Park Terrace down to the Parkway. In 37 degree temps this wakes my ass right up. I was dialed in to Big Nellie at this point and took the S curve at the base of the hill at 25 miles per hour.

Whoosh.

The rest of the ride I was on autopilot. I haven’t ridden in 3 days. My legs were fresh and the bike was willin’.

Crossing the I66 off ramp at the Rosslyn Circle of Doom I had a close encounter with a right on red driver. He was in the crosswalk. I had the walk sign, he had the red light. He looked at me. I started in front of him. He started to creep forward. I turned and looked him in the eyes and said “RED LIGHT!”  It’s right turn on red after a stop with no pedestrians present. Unless it’s I WANNA GET TO WORK GUY. Then the rules don’t apply and I can intimidate everyone with my big ass car. It’s in the uniform vehicle code under Section 203.2 Exemptions for Selfimportant Assholes.

I made it the remaning half mile without threat to life or limb.

The ride home was a bit chilly. The best part may have been the lingering daylight. It’s only been a couple of weeks since the solstice but the days are already longer. (Or I was halluncinating. Christmas cookies will do that to you.)

It was only a few degrees colder than this morning and the light wind was behind my back. I took me a few miles to get comfy. And I was comfy. And I was dialed into Big Nellie. It was like driving a hovercraft. Recumbents are different. A conventional bike never feels like a hovercraft. And you never get the urge to yell Yabba Dabba Dooo when you ride a regular bike. (And don’t call me Fred.)

I intended to take the short route through Old Town but I got lost in the moment and ended up riding down Union Street and under the length of the Wilson Bridge. I could still see the faintest traces of daylight behind the puffy clouds above.

I crossed over the access road to the Hunting Tower apartments. A woman was walking across the street. I thought she saw me coming. I buzzed by too close. She barked something at me. It was probably nasty. Oops. Sorry.

The ride south from there was a battle of blindness. The headlights of the cars were really killing me. I almost ran off the trail several times. And a bike approaching with two blazing lights, one on the handlebars and one on the rider’s helmet, almost fried my retinas. Dude, really?

When I arrived home I realized that tights were probably not enough coverage for my legs. Tomorrow its back to my wind pants.

Someday, I’ll take pix and post them of my adventures. I am still getting around to setting up my new laptop. Actually, I am procrastinating by reading my Christmas present (Tom Wolfe’s latest and not greatest novel). So if you need pictures, close your eyes, your pedaling away, in your hovercraft….