Greetings from the Swamp

I once went to Baton Rouge on business in April. The air was so thick with humidity that I thought I was going to die. DC in the summer is like Baton Rouge in April. How the hell people live down there in August is beyond me.

I walked out the front door before 7 a.m. and the thickness of the air hit me with a thud. Dang. Repeat after me: It’s better than February.

Little Nellie got the call. She didn’t complain. We took the long way which adds about 2 miles to my round trip commute. I wonder how many DC-area car commuters added miles for the fun of it today. I was in the zone for the entire ride. Except when I spotted Nancy “Two Sheds” Duley waving like a lunatic as she approached from the north.

The humidity was so thick that all the wooden bridges on the Mount Vernon Trail were slippery. Falling can ruin your whole day so I was extra careful.

I passed through the intersection of doom unscathed despite the fact for the third day in a row a car ran a red light in front of me. Why doesn’t Arlington County put a red light camera at this intersection? They could put up a sign like McDonalds: $1,000,000 collected this month. Or, a sign like you see at a factory: 1 minute since last red light runner.

The ride home was a uneventful.

No snapping turtles.

Nobody cut me off.

No crazy ivans.

No ninjas.

No frostbite.

Nobody called me “Sir”. (In my mind I’m not old, until some young whippersnapper says, “Passing on your left, sir.”) Good thing I wasn’t wearing my AARP t-shirt.

It didn’t rain.

I was soaking wet when I got home.

Like Baton Rouge in April.

Faster than a Speeding Turtle, or Dead Fish

The day started like any other. I walked outside to get my bike out of the shed. The combination on the lock didn’t open the lock. So I tried it again. And again. And again. I checked the combination that I carry in my wallet. I was using the right one. I went inside to get me a hammer. In my military high school we popped locks using the butt end of a rifle. So I smacked it several times with the hammer. I did some minor damage to the shed door but the lock held.

I waited until 8 and went to the hardware store. They sold me a bolt cutter that went through the lock like bud-dah.

Off I went on Big Nellie. I took the long way since i was already 90 minutes late for work, Coming down the Mount Vernon Trail north of the stone bridge I came upon a big snapping turtle. They are pretty common around here. This one was just moseying along the trial. I took a couple of pictures and rode on.

A short distance up the trail I spotted an orange traffic cone with a sign on it. It marked the site where a snapping turtle had laid her eggs.

Under the Woodrow Wilson Bridge what looked to be an entire elementary school was out doing physical fitness adtivities. Must have been a school field day.

North of Old Town I spotted the remains of a large prehistoric fish. Something had eviscerated it. Ewww.

For the next two miles I passed clusters of running/jogging/walking people wearing similar shirts. As I made my way north of the Humpback Bridge, three motorcycles approached me on the trail with their blue lights flashing. Behind them was a group of army people jogging with a flag and a torch. It was the Special Olympics torch run.

At lunchtime i went for a two-mile walk. I didn’t seen any turtles or dead fish or school kids or torches. It was pretty disappointing.

The ride home featured the always loathed dead legs. I’ve ridden about 180 miles since Saturday and my legs are not happy. I kept pedalling along, mostly because it would suck to tip over and spend the night on my side along the trail. Just south of the Morningside bald eagle nest, I spotted yet another turtle on the side of the trail. This one was actively digging into the dirt with its hind legs. It was laying its eggs! Pretty cool.

When I got home I decided to put some new pedals, Speedplay Frogs, on Little Nellie so that I could ride it to work tomorrow. My thinking was that riding an upright bike as opposed to a recumbent would give my legs a breather. Try as I might, I couldn’t get the pedals off. And the headset was loose. So I guess I’ll ride Big Nellie to Friday Coffee Club and take LIttle Nellie to the bike shop on Saturday.

Some more pix can be found on my Flickr page.

Flor Weather: T-shirt. Shorts. Water. Recumbent. Go!

T-shirt. Shorts. Water. Recumbent. Go!

I love commuting when I don’t have to deal with layers of clothing.

I was out the door and headed toward Alexandria for a visit to my finger doctor. I had surgery to remove a cyst and a bone spur on my right middle finger. Thanks to the motorists of the DMV I was able to assure the doctor that my middle finger is now fully operational. He was pleased with the result and said in a few months all the swelling and numbness would be completely gone. I was good to go.

The finger doctor was only one of several on my medical to-do list. He was a professional and easy to deal with but I am glad I now have him in my rear view mirror.

The next few medical visits were supposed to be: MRI for my back tomorrow. Back doctor on Monday. Eye doctor on Tuesday.

It looks like I may now wiff on all three.

The eye doctor had to be rescheduled to August because the calendar on my stupid iPhone did not sync up with my work laptop. So I scheduled a meeting involving 3 consulatants from out of state for the same time.

The back doctor appointment is contingent on getting the MRI.

I arrived home to find a copy of my insurance company’s approval for the MRI. I was dated May 7. It was a copy of a fax. They cc’ed my primary care physician and my back doctor. I checked my home voice mail. The radiology center called to tell me that they haven’t received authorization so they canceled my appointment for tomorrow. So my MRI and my Monday doctor appointment will get rescheduled. This is the second time I’ve rescheduled because of clerical problems.

I’d be really pissed about this except for the fact that for the last two days my back has been almost painfree. Pain in my left hip and left knee at 5 in the morning are a reminder that all is still not well. It may be that the NSAIDs and muscle relaxants are helping. I am certain that riding my recumbent is a postive factor as well. Something about the mechanics of riding a bike while pushing my lower back into the mesh seat back seems to relax my lower back.

So I may still be dealing with this back thing until after Memorial Day. Then I can go back to the skin doctor and the dentist.

As for the ride home, it was hot and muggy so the Mount Vernon Trail was not very crowded. (I call this Flor weather. My friend Flor lives for it. Pretty much everyone else I know hates it.) Nothing beats ridng home in hot weather. I was going to drive to work so that I could go to the MRI place tomorrow, but now I’m going to have to ride instead.

T-shirt. Shorts. Water. Recumbent. Go!

P.S. On the way to work, I watched as a guy on a water board went flying as he hit the wake of the tow boat that was pulling him.

“You’re Not Riding to Work Today, Are You?” – Part 432

After five inches of rain, the DC area was under a flood warning this morning. I expected that the Mount Vernon Trail would be submerged. It was, in places, but the water was never too deep for The Mule to wade on through. One thing that made it interesting was that the water wasn’t standing water; it was flowing away from the river. Dang.

Intersection of King and Union Streets, Old Town Alexandria 8 a.m.

There was an unfortunate complicating factor to my ride: my back was in spasm. So imagine Quasimodo on a bike with big red panniers on the back.

I know what you’re thinking: only an idiot would ride a bike to work along a river that was overflowing its banks while dealing with the pain of back spasms. I’m your dolt.

It was actually kind of fun. Except for the two times I dismounted along the way. Getting back on the bike hurt like hell.

Tomorrow morning I am going to see a physiatist. This sounds like a mental health professional but it’s actually a doctor who specializes in the treatment of chronic pain. I hope to convince the good doctor to fill a humongous syringe with cortisone and shoot my ass (actually my lower back) up.

A few more pix are over on my Flickr page.

Bad Crank, Good Karma

I made up my mind that I’d drive to work today in order to avoid getting water from the rain that was forecasted on the bandage on my hand. This morning the forecast was updated to no rain so I rode. I took The Mule as a shakedown ride in anticipation of this weekend’s ride in North Carolina.

About 2 miles into the ride I noticed that my left pedal was skipping. Every rotation had this spastic jump in it. At first I thought it was my shoes. Then I thought my toe clip was falling off. After 3 1/2 miles I pulled over and saw that my left crank arm was loose. I turned around and headed back home. A mile from home the bold holding the crank arm fell off. I recovered it, threaded it on my hand and carefully rode the last mile. Normally, this would make me mad, but I am thankful that this happened here rather than in NC.

I switched to Little Nellie and rode to work. Along the way I saw a dead deer along the trail near Dyke Marsh. Next, in the marsh north of Slaters Lane, I caught some motion in the water out of the corner of my right eye. It was a beaver diving under the surface as he swam toward me.

As I passed under the railroad bridge north of the airport I noticed a runner coming toward me with a funny look on his face. I looked to my left and saw a scruffy looking fox just standing there next to the trail. He made no attempt to run off.

North of the Humpback Bridge I passed a three-car accident on the adjacent Parkway. It looked like a chain reaction rear-ender. I’ll take a broken crank over whiplash any day.

I rode in with a jacket on, but stowed it for the ride home. It was 60 degrees and the riding was lovely. A gentle tailwind pushed me along. When I arrived home, I felt unusually tired. I think the combination of dealing with being a lefty for a day and inhaling a ton of pollen wore on me.

Tomorrow, I’m heading south to Oriental NC for 3-days of biking, lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise.

Springtime in Washington

I rode to work in a snow storm today. It was beautiful. The snow accumulated in the oddest places on my bike. I reached down for a drink and my water bottles were covered in 1/2 inch of snow. There’s something to be said for drinking cold, cold water mixed with snow crystals. This picture was taken once I made it to the parking garage. The ride home was less enchanting. The snow had turned to a strange kind of rain: not quite sleet, not full on rain. I was dressed for the weather but I’d rather be riding in shorts and a t-shirt by this time of year.

Winter’s Over? You’re Seeing Things!

Today, sometime after 1 pm, winter allegedly ended. j

Really.

The 42 degree bike commute felt like summer. The Mule was kind to my aching back and knees. We made decent time on the way to work. As an experiment, I kept track of the number of bike commuters who were male and female. The Washington Area Bicyclists Association has a program, led by the indominable Nelle Pearson, to encourage women to ride bikes. This puzzles me because so many of my bicycling friends are women. At one point the count was 5 male, 4 female. I thought so! Then I got into the thick of the bike commuters north of Alexandria. Final score: Males 26, Females 11.

I would do this more often but I often go into a trance on my bike commutes.

I only stopped once on the way to work. Some Canada geese were chowing down on the grass between the trail and the river north of Memorial Bridge. As I rode past, I spotted what I thought might be a bald eagle grazing among them. Nope. it was a white-headed Canada goose. An partial albino goose. I’d never seen such a thing.

I took a couple of pictures but left my camera in my handlebar bag which is in the shed. So I’ll post it tomorrow.

The ride home was pretty darn nice. 62 degrees at the start dropping to 58 degrees. They say winter is over. Don’t bet on it. The “S” word is in the forecast.

Little Nellie Has a Blast and Goes Bananas

(I skipped over Thursday’s exciting adventure. Here it is.)

After Wednesday’s evening of advocacy, I was pretty revved up. I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight. Overnight temperatures were dropping and the winds were howling.

It was 27 degrees with a 20+ mile per hour head wind at 7:15 a.m with winds gusting over 40 miles per hour. The Mule’s back tire was low and my floor pump wouldn’t pump so Little Nellie put on a brave face and we headed out into the gale.

After a quarter mile of tailwind I turned into the wind. WHAM!!!

This is gonna be a long ride.

And it was.

Three times I was blasted by a cross wind that pushed Little Nellie sideway. I leaned in like Sheryl Stanberg on Red Bull. I had some protection from buildings and trees until I got north of the airport.

Whoa Nellie. Lets just say I am glad the trail is not closer to the river. After a big turn, I headed into the wind and slowed to 4 miles per hour. And I was giving it everything I had. Wow. It felt like a giant hand was on my chest.

I thought I’d never get to the office. Runners and cyclists coming from the opposite direction gave me encouragement and a laugh.

Don’t. Stop. Now.

This went on for 2 ½ miles. I was pedaling my ass off and getting nowhere.

I arrived late but knackered and chuffed. That was the hardest commute in a long time. And despite all the work, it was a blast. (Pun intended.)

The ride home benefited from a strong tailwind, thank god. It was practically effortless to go 18 miles per hour.

I stopped at the grocery store to buy some bananas and some Vitamin I with a sedative. I have been taking this at bedtime to help me sleep and calm my hip. It’s good stuff.

Errandonnee Summary

Category: Grocery Store

Miles: 15

Observation: I am shocked at how well my back and hip responded to today’s ride. Of course, it could be the case that I am so jacked up on Vitamin I that I can’t feel a thing. Or maybe I am getting better. I’ll know when I quit taking the Vitamin I in a couple of days.

Errandonnee #6: Little Nellie Goes to Work

Between oversleeping and a longish yoga session, I was out the door 30 minutes later than normal. I overslept because I took Vitamin I with a sedative before going to sleep. I hope the I works as good as the zzzz.

The good part about my departure was that it was daylight. The bad part was that The Mule had a flat rear tire. Well, at least it didn’t go flat on me on the road.

My only option was Little Nellie, my Bike Friday. With its little wheels it’s a bit hard on the back. Given my recurring back woes, I wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of riding her. Of course, that didn’t stop me. I hopped on Little Nellie and took off for work.It was in the 40s, too warm for the holey sweater but too cool for shorts.

The ride in was uneventful. I saw a different set of people than usual, except for the Hoppy Runner. I normally pass him as he heads south but today I passed him heading north. I was pleased to make it all the way to work without any significant stiffening in my back or hips. Taking 600 mgs of Vitamin I may have had something to do with that.

Throughout the work day I alternated between sitting at my desk and standing. I spent much of the day reading a document about the Internet in 2025. One of the experts cited was Bob “Don’t Call Me Rachel” Cannon. It never ceases to amaze me that so many people I know are experts. Somehow we got put in charge. Yikes. Does this mean I have to grow up?

The ride home was pretty damned awesome. 70 degrees!!!! The Mount Vernon Trail was pretty crowded. Nearly everyone was well behaved. One exception was this man, about 55 to 60 degrees who was walking south just past Gravelly Point park. As I rang my bell to pass him, he stopped turned and yelled at me. He did this last week too. I didn’t respond but I am wondering if this guy may be the same person who pushed a cyclist off his bike a few weeks ago.

I stopped on one of the flyover bridges at National Airport to shed some outerwear. Off came the jacket and the skull cap and the glove liners. It felt so good to feel the wind on my arms.

I must have had a tailwind. I was going 2 to 3 miles per hour faster than usual. I seemed to actually have my mechanics back after so many weeks of fighting with my back and hips. Yoga is making me much more comfortable on the bike, too.

Just south of Dyke Marsh I came upon a man standing next to the trail. He seemed to be buttoning up his dress shirt. He was ratty looking. I don’t often see homeless people this far south. He had gray hair and a messy short beard. It occurred to me that he vaguely resembled the sketch of this Alexandria homicide suspect. Except the suspect looks well groomed. The more I look at the sketch the more I think I’ve seen this person before. The twist in his lip and the eyes remind me of someone. Creepy.

A few hundred yards later, just before the Morningside nest, I came up a large limb across the trail. I dismounted and started to remove it when another cyclist hopped off his bike and grabbed the opposite end. We had it off the trail in a matter of seconds. I later learned from Nancy “Two Sheds” Duley that the disheveled man had been spotted throwing debris onto the trail.

Speaking of the Morningside nest, I spotted a picture on a Flickr page from a local photographer. A bald eagle has returned to the nest. Soon breeding season will begin.

After arriving at home, I started to change to tire on The Mule. I could not find a leak. I pumped the tube up until it looked like an inner tube but it wasn’t leaking. Maybe the valve is bad. I decided to put the tube back in the tire, remount it, and check again in the morning. Since it was so nice out, I did some maintenance work on Little Nellie, too.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another warm day. With thunder storms. March is tempermental.

Errandonnee #6

Category: Work

Miles: 30

Observation: I was pretty pleased that the new fair weather commuters were all well behaved today. No one buzzed me too closely. Except for the two loonies, people were smiling.

Errandonee #5: Car Repair by Bike

There is something not quite right about getting new car tires by bicycle but that’s what I did today. I put Little Nellie, my Bike Friday New World Tourist, in the trunk of my car and drove to the dealer in North Arlington. Normally, buying tires from a car dealer is dumb but I wanted the same tires that came on my car. And, the dealer cost was $1 more than the Firestone place near my house. Unlike my local Firestone place which screwed up an alignment the last time I went there, my dealer’s mechanics seem somewhat competent.

I took a picture of Little Nellie with my car. As you can see, I pulled into the gray 2009 Accord line.

The service clerk asked if I wanted a ride to the Metro and I said, “No thanks. I’ll take my bike.” (Kinda has a nice ring to it, don’t it?)

And I was off. Somehow I managed to nearly get killed twice on the ride to work . My rear brake is not working properly. I rode Quincy Street (named after the TV pathologist) to the Martha Custis Trail. It was a breezy ride to Rosslyn with some interesting swales in the surface of the trail where winter had been unkind. The little wheels on Little Nellie made them rather nauseating.

I got to work but neglected to take a documentation photo so I can’t count this one as a work errand. No worries, I’m riding to work tomorrow.

During the day, my Saturday bookstore errand was disallowed as a library trip but it still counts as a trip to a store other than a grocery store.

An update on my back: I have been dealing with nasty back problems for about a month. Lately they have migrated to my left hip and knee. I did some web surfing and found out that one side effect of back spasms can be hip bursitis. The treatment is ice and ibuprofen, neither of which I have been using. I took some Vitamin I and slapped some ice on my hip last night. This helped until the ibuprofen wore off at 2 a.m. I woke up for some more “I”. Suffice it to say I was groggy when I woke up for my first daylight savings time workday of 2014.

I did another set of yoga exercises after awakening today. I can safely say after two weeks of yoga that I have little chance of playing Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four reboot. I looked like a fish on deck trying to do the bow exercise: (1) Lie on the floor face down. (2) Reach back and grab both ankles. (3) Draw ankles forward toward butt. (4) Arch upper body up and back. (5) Hold.

I got to (1). This is Spinal Sap.

After I sort of did the yoga routine, I read the “Thoughts for the Day” page in my yoga book. It was all about how housewives would be less miserable and get all the housework done by incorporating yoga into their daily lives. And they’d be all refreshed and invigorated when their husbands came home.

It’s an old yoga book.

Errandonee #5:

Miles: 6 ½

Category: Store that is not a grocery store

Observation: My dealer washes my car whenever he works on it. Wouldn’t it be cool if bike shops did the same with your bike?

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