Tag: #bikedc

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

Well, I don’t know about dark but yesterday’s evening rush hour was Lena Horne stormy. Hail. Thunder. Lightning. Wind. Torrents of rain.

Just the thing for breaking in (or, perhaps breaking) a new bike commuter. So my co-worker Kelly set out  to beat the storm. She has a 40 minute commute and was determined to beat this storm as she had beat the previous two evening storms.

Her luck ran out.

She found herself seeking shelter under I-395 just north of Shirlington. Good idea. Yay, Kelly.

Alas, here is Kellyfloodwhere Four Mile Run is pinched by the underpass and the Four Mile Run trail. The creek had become a rage of white water. The waters began to rise over the artificial banks. Kelly found herself standing in eight inches of water.

Eek.

At least she took her predicament well. ‘

After a few minutes of terror, she rode home.  the storm had passed. The waters receded.

Home. Warm and dry.

After recovering her sanity and walking her faithful canine Paddington, she went back out and rode to the bike commuters’ Third Thursday Happy Hour in Shirlington.

Our end of a very long set of tables filled with bike commuters included Ed and Erin. I have been reading Erin;s blog for a while and looked forward to meeting her. It turns out she’s yet another member of the Rootchopper Prosopamnesia Club. We met on the Mount Vernon Trail last summer. I only began to connect her to the meeting after hearing her speak.

After happiness was achieved, Kelly went right and Ed, Erin, and I went left. I led the three of us over the hills in Alexandria. In Del Ray Erin veered off for home. Ed and I took my supersecret route through Old Town. South of the beltway, we took Fort Hunt Road and Sherwood Hall Lane instead of the MVT, because nothing makes beer in your belly feel quite as awful as some bicycle hill climbing.

I woke up extra early (my beer and black bean burger wanted nothing to do with a full night’s sleep) and rode to Friday Coffee Club with surprising spring in my legs.

Now if only I can get home without killing my legs so I can go on that hike tomorrow with Ultrarunnergirl. White Oak Canyon, here we come!.

I Don’t Think She’s a Muggle

This morning’s ride to work featured a rarity. A Linel sighting!  Normally she rides to work about a half hour after me. She has been known to wear an invisibility cloak, too. But this morning I spotted her about 200 yards in front of me. I could tell it was her by her Nutcase helmet and super posh Surly Long Haul Trucker.

I didn’t put the hammer down to catch her though. This was one of those mornings when I needed some alone time. (I’d be in much better biking shape if I were an extrovert.) To givDSCN3987_1116e credit where credit is due, Linel was going so fast the trees were blurry. Must have been using floo powder.

Linel took a left onto South Royal Street. I continued straight to stay on the Mount Vernon Trail. As I passed under the bridge I saw some folks working on their fencing skills.

Near the 14th Street bridge, the tree that had fallen during last night’s storm was still lying across the trail. To the left was a whole mess of standing water. To the right was only the slightest of openings. I went right. It looked blocked but I rode right through. Sweet.

Somewhere near this point Chris M. rode past me heading south. He even took my picture. Portrait of Obliviousman.

The ride home was a breeze. I was lost in thought about a son flying to Thailand, the disappointment of impermanent friendship, and a weekend begging to be filled with movement. Sometimes I wonder how I stay upright.

The fallen tree had been cut up, removing the morning’s obstruction. Props to the Park Service for its quick removal. (Why they can’t do the same with snow is beyond me.)

Once clear of the airport, I was back in a trance.

I am working from home tomorow. The gas company is replacing the gas line to my home. I want to be here if they blow something up.  If they do, somebody else will have to continue this blog. I’ll be in orbit.

Recovery Ride – The Pretzelneur

I woke up all sore from yesterday’s shenanagans so I decided to take advantage of the fine weather and my perpetually empty social calendar.

So I made my way to the Mount Vernon Trail and let gravity and a tailwind push me to Alexandria. The trail was pretty busy so any thought of riding it north to DC was pretty much out of the question. This left option B which is to ride over the Wilson Bridge. This route to DC is pretty interesting. First, you have the bridge’s view of DC. Then you ride down a spiral toward National Harbor. Then you ride a long way up Oxon Hill followed by riding a long way back down to Oxon Cove. The route goes up again to MLK Jr. Boulevard which rolls through Anacostia.

At Good Hope Road, I picked up the Anacostia River Tral and watched the crew shells glide by as I headed north.

I stopped to see where the Pretzel House is in DC. I thought Google said 15th and D NE so I headed that way. I knew things didn’t look right as I rolled around the one way streets. No pretzels. Hmmm. I re-checked my phone and it said SE!

So I rode the mile or so to the correct location and had myself some fine pretzels and an iced tea.

After my munch, I headed to Eastern Market to people watch. There were people. I watched them. Nobody I knew.

So I rolled down Constitution Avenue and went to the Enid Haupt Garden at the Smithsonian. I used to work up the street from this place. It is expertly maintained. I took a bench and just chilled for 20 minutes. It’s just the perfect place to sit and reflect.

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With a  refreshed mind, I headed to Hains Point for a 3-mile lap. I think the last time I rode there was cherry blosson season. It was nice not to have to compete for road space with buses.

I rode across the 14th Street Bridge and made my way toward the Pentagon. I followed streets through Crystal City and Potomac Yards. A new bike trail has been built in Potomac Yards. I followed it to the Braddock Road Metro station. It’s a nice addition to Alexandria’s bicycle infrastructure.

I rode West Street through the edge of Old Town. A car from Arkansas and I played leap frog. The driver was unfamiliar with the 3-feet rule and kept passing me within a foot of my left hand. If I were left handed I would have keyed him.

I finished my recovery ride by grinding up three hills, two on Fort Hunt Road and a third on Sherwood Hall Lane. I arrived home with 44 miles on my odometer.

So much for recovering. I think my ride to work tomorrow will be my recovery from my recovery ride.

Fritterman Triathlon

I had no plan for the day. It started as most Saturdays. I ran the deck on the crossword puzzles in the paper. I screwed up the Sudoku. I drank all the coffee. With the important business of the day behind me, I decided to do a triathlon.

No, not the Ironman or even the Tinman. I did the Fritterman. It’s the suburban version.

First, event is the Hollin Hall Errandonnee. I rode my bike to the drug store. Then got a haircut. Then picked up ten pounds of birdseed. Then I rode home, stopping along the way to chat with Nancy Duley (on her awesome 1993 Hollands bike) and her friend Stephanie (on her blue bike of a sort I can’t recall). We stood in the road on a sidestreet and gabbed for ten or 15 minutes. (I do hope the folks driving by in SUVs could see that adults in suburbia can indeed function on a Saturday morning without 3,000 pounds of steel.) Then I rode home. Total mileage: 2 1/2 miles.

Back at home I snarfed an apple and went out for round two: the lawn mowing event. I actually like mowing the lawn. Like running and hiking (see below) it has a meditative aspect to it. And I refuse to pay people to do something I learned how to do during the Kennedy administration. I finished this event in 45 minutes.

After the lawn mowing (I came in first), I headed indoors for some nuked left overs. I watched the last three innings of the Nats game on the tube. (The Nats lost. Boo.)

It was 3:30 with plenty of daylight remaining so I drove to Rock Creek Park and hiked ten miles. I hiked the Valley Trail toward Maryland and the Western Ridge Trail back to my start at Pierce Mill. It was hilly. It was muggy. It was my first hike of the year. My legs were hurting at 4 miles. Rather than make it an 8-mile hike, I pushed on. This was a pretty good decision until I missed a turn and hiked down a muddy hill and then back up. And I was doing fine until the last 200 yards back down to Rock Creek. It was pretty much straight down and my legs felt like lead. And I was still hanging in there until I stepped off a curb awkwardly about 100 feet from my car and my back seized.

I made it to the finish.

It is not true that you are given fritters at the end of the Fritterman Triathlon. That’s because I was alone and there were no fritters in sight.

When I got home I looked like Mike Myers’ Middle Aged Man. I may not be able to walk tomorrow.

So it goes.

Bike to Work Day – Seven Day Version

On Saturday morning I head out on my first bike tour in a decade. I only have four tours to my credit. My first tour was ridden on The Mule about 16 years ago. It was not very successful. The plan was to ride to Cockeysville MD north of Baltimore, pick up the new North Central Rail Trail and ride it to York PA and then ride home. It was brutally hot and my saddle tore the bejesus out of my…er…flesh. To add to the disappointment, the NCRT was not yet complete resulting in me turning around at Hanover Junction PA. It was a learning exprience.

In 2003 with a new recumbent (Big Nellie) designed for touring I left my in-laws’ house in Indiana for a ride back to DC. This tour also crapped out but for different reasons. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to ride 113 miles on my second day. Also, carrying an spare tire is not the worst idea in the world.

In 2004 I rode from Niagara Falls to my Mom’s house in Albany. This four-day tour also on Big Nellie worked like a charm. No rain. Two hills. Beautiful scenery along the Erie Canal and Mohawk River.

In 2005 I rode from DC to my in-laws house, the 2003 tour in reverse. This time, despite a couple of equipment failures, I made it the entire way.

The 2005 tour included riding nearly the entire C&O Canal towpath. (A section far to the west was underconstruction.) From Cumberland MD to Meyersdale PA I rode the very hilly highways and byways of western Maryland and Pennsylvania. These hills were TOUGH!  I picked up the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail in Meyersdale and rode it to West Newton PA. It was bliss.

This year’s tour is planned to be six days entirely on the GAP trail and C&O Canal towpath. No hills to speak of, just some mild railroad grades. I am riding with @ryansigworth and @bicyclebug (a.k.a Kevin).  The plan is to take a shuttle to Pittsburgh from DC. This will entail riding from home to DC on Saturday morning. This is basically 85 percent of my bike commute. On Saturday night we are going to a baseball game. We head for home on the GAP – which now goes continuously from Pittsburgh to Cumberland) after breakfast on Sunday morning.

We are hoping to meet up with fellow blogger Red in Pittsburgh on Saturday night at the game. There is some talk about Red giving us a rolling escort out of town. Also, I have two friends from my Boston days who live in Pittsburgh. We may do breakfast with them if Mother’s Day doesn’t fill all the eateries up.

I am a little concerned about The Mule’s ability to make the entire trip. I’ve crashed The Mule a couple of times in recent years and the steering tube is probably not in the best of shape. The handlebars are also slightly bent. At least the saddle is in good shape. As for me, I am riding a bit slower these days but I actually feel very good on my bike. During my 2005 tour I got stronger with each passing day. It would be great if that happened again.

I don’t much know if we will do much off bike stuff along the way. What I really need and want are six days of nothing but shady trees and gurgling water and critters and the sound of bike tires rolling over the trail.

My only regret about this ride is the fact that so many of my #bikeDC friends have said, “I wish I was going with you.” So do I. Some of these folks are thinking about riding out the C&O on Friday to intercept us on our last day. It would be fun to roll into town with an escort and, perhaps, top off the tour with some cold liquid refreshment and a pile o’ grub.

Then I’ll get to ride the rest of my bike commute home. This seems fitting as this will be Bike to Work Day.

Goslings!!!!

  • I write often about the bald eagles and great blue herons I see along the Mount Vernon Trail on the way to work. They are pretty cool but I get even more of a kick when the babies start showing up. Today was my first sighting of goslings. There were four of them and they were just little green balls of down. This was the best I could do with my camera without getting Mom and Dad really upset.DSCN3716_850

After a few moments, they went for a swim.

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I should be seeing ducklings any day now. Then, with luck, I may see a snapping turtle laying eggs along the trail. They like to use the edge of the trail for leverage as they did a hole for the eggs with their hind feet.

I’m sure there are bike commutes somewhere that are better than mine, but I wouldn’t trade mine for any of them.

En Garde!

I really wish I had the presence of mind to take pictures while I am riding. Today I was dealing with a cold headwind and not in the mood to stop. I see some weird stuff on my way to work too.

Last night in Belle Haven Park I spotted two guys sword fighting with fake swords right next to the trail. As I passed, one guy swooshed his “sword” across the others’ abdomen. Eek.

This morning as I rode through the park, I heard a clanging sound. I looked over at the river expecting to see a worker pounding a metal fence stake into the ground. Instead I saw four men, in pairs of two, sword fighting with real metal swords. En garde!

I tweeted about the swordfighters and my friend Linel who has a similar commute mentioned another odd sighting. She saw a guy who hooks his electric guitar up to his car stereo and rocks out in the Belle Haven Park parking lot. Funny thing is, I saw a guy doing the same thing in the TR Roosevelt Island parking lot last week. I think Linel would agree that our bike commute rocks!

My bike commute never ceases to surprise me.

Stubborn Denial

I don’t know who to blame but the weather today looked springlike but felt like winter. The wind was blowing. It was about 20 degrees below normal. And I, of course, was in denial. I stupidly left the house underdressed for the cold and froze my ass off riding to Friday Coffee Club. I I did manage to see one bald eagle on the way but this bird had its back to me as it was taking in the early morning sun. He was probably thinking: “I will not look at a fool.”

Since the calendar says April 24, the Friday Coffee Club gang sat outside in the shade. I was tempted to pour my coffee over my head but I drank it instead. I endured the cold for about 45 minutes before jumping on my bike and riding into the teeth of a now-stronger wind as I made my way up G Street through George Washington University. This is no fun, thought I.

I thought things would improve once I cleared the wind tunnel formed by the buildings of Foggy Bottom. Wrong. It got worse. Much worse. The headwind turned into a side wind as I cross the Potomac on the too narrow side path on the Teddy Roosevelt bridge. The damned wind nearly knocked me over several times. Ayyy!  I don’t know if the little wheels on Little Nellie were contributing to my wobbliness. (Yes, that’s a word because I just used it.)

My the time I reached the Virginia side of the river, the right side of my face was numb. Memo to God: this is April! Please hit the reset button. K? Thx.

Maybe God’s in denial. Maybe he or she is just stubborn.

Allison, My Aim Is True (Sorry, couldn’t resist)

The weatherman said that the morning commute would be wet. Fortunately for me, the rain left the area around 6 a.m. I felt a sprinkle now and then but I didn’t mind them one bit. It was a pretty nice ride. The post rain sunlight, no longer a sunrise due to the lengthening days, looked pretty on the Potomac at Dyke Marsh. Little Nellie posed for a picture,

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The ride home was an entirely different matter. At four storms started showing up on radar. My office mates in Rosslyn sent my boss home because he picks up his kids by bike. I waited a while longer because the radar looked much worse than what I could see out the window which was light rain. By this time Allison, one of my co-workers, was in full freak out mode.

I hit the road at a bit after 4:30. There was only a sprinkle now and then. The cold raindrops were noticable in warm spring air on my body. The wind wasn’t too bad and I could see blue sky peaking through the clouds. The cars approaching on the GW Parkway did not have their headlights on. So I was pretty sure I was safe riding.

DSCN3706_837At the southern end of Old Town Alexandria things changed pretty quickly. I rode under the Wilson Bridge and could feel a blast of cold air. Not good. Heading south from the beltway on the Mount Vernon Trail I could see that the cars all had their headlights on. Looking down river a line of rain presented itself. And it was approaching fast. I stopped to take a picture and put on my rain jacket. These two things took maybe 30 seconds to do. By the time I had zipped up, I was in a downpour. I jumped on Little Nellie and headed into the maelstrom. The rain was so hard it hurt my skin. My shorts were soaked through and through within 15 seconds. Then the waves of wind gusts came, announced by the sheets of rain they sent directly into me. There was a distant rumble of thunder but otherwise I was unconcerned. I’ve ridden in much worse. Since I could see the gusts coming, I could brace for impact. As I made it to Belle Haven Park my concerned shifted from rain to falling tree limbs. Twice in prior years I have narrowly escaped getting clobbered by a huge falling limb.

By the time I cleared the park, the rain and gusts had stopped. Two minutes from start to finish. The rest of the ride home was actually nice.

Three hours later, all hell broke loose. Timing is everything. My aim is true.

Clipless in Old Town

The weather the last couple of days has been raw. Cold. Wet. Windy. Not a lot of fun. I rode to work yesterday in a cold rain. The workday wasn’t much better. The ride home was an improvement over the morning but not by much. I spent the evening watching the Nationals get their first win of the year. I was at home, parked in front of the TV with junk food and beer. It was therapeutic.

The ride to work was a replay of the ride home last night. Cold. A little windy. No mas. At least the workday went okay. I had wanted to swing by the cherry blossoms on the way home but the threat of rain put me off. I rode into a cold headwind straight home. At the intersection of Union and King Streets in Old Town a bunch of bicycle folks from Alexandria were holding up signs and encouraging bicyclists to come to a stop at the stop sign. As I rode by one of them said, “That’s Rootchopper.” My hobo attire and Bike Friday gave me away I suppose. I recognized Randy, the last person in line just before the stop sign. I stuck my hand out for a high five which he gave me with appropriate vigor. Then I spazzed.

I went to stop and my foot wouldn’t unclip from my pedal. This is the second time in a week. The last time was with different shoes and a different bike. In any event, a full stop at the stop sign would have meant a very embarrassing and painful fall. Fortunately there were no pedestrians or cars in the way so I wobbled to my right, a few feet up King Street still unable to unclip. I did a u-turn and finally the foot came free.  I think I need new cleats. Doh.

Embarassed by both running the stop sign and spasmotically riding through the intersection I continued on my way home. I swear I stopped at all the stop signs and lights the rest of the way. Really.

I hope that the rest of my night is better. When I was a freshman in college, I lived with the Boston U. hockey team. They went all the way to the championship game in the NCAAs and lost. (They won it all the next year.) Tonight they play in the Frozen Four semifinals. If they win they go to the finals. In Boston Garden. Against Providence College. Fingers crossed! Pass the chips and beer. Go BU!