Tag: #bikedc

“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.

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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.

Try to Catch a Deluge

April is going out with a bang, a two-day rainstorm that will make tomorrow’s bike commute a challenge. I can’t wait.

As for April, it was a tough month. I battled intestinal problems and a lingering back issue but still managed to ride 748 miles. I rode to work 14 times for 427 1/2 miles. With no ice on the roads, I pulled Big Nellie, my Tour Easy recumbent, out of mothballs and rode it to work 8 times. It made my back happy. On 4 occassions I rode The Mule, my 21 year-old Specialized Sequoia, to work. Little Nellie, my Bike Friday New World Tourist, got the bike commute call twice.

I did three event rides. My friend Charmaine and I drove to Oriental, North Carolina for the Cycle North Carolina Coastal ride. We did two 51-ish mile rides. It was my first time riding in North Carolina. I’ve now ridden in 14 states. (Pathetic, I know.) A few weeks later I rode the Ocean to Bay metric century in Bethany Beach, Delaware with Lisa, another frequent riding partner, and her posse of friends.

Big Nellie won the most mileage award wth 338 miles. Little Nellie came in second at 291 1/2 miles. The Mule brought up the rear with 118 1/2 mile.

For the year I’ve ridden 2,041 1/2 miles. I’ve ridden to work 41 times. 

Now if only my back would get better and it would stop raining…

 

Adios Winter

Lilacs = Spring. Adios Winter.

With the emergence of lilac blossoms and their intoxicating fragrance, I now declare winter officially, completely, indisputably OVER. There were lilac bushes next to the doors of my grade school. I remember walking through the doors and inhaling the amazing smell of their blooms. Soon we’d be out of school!!!!

Earlier this week, as I came back from fetching the morning paper, a huge osprey squawked at me from the top of a tree next to my house. Tonight on the ride home, I spotted a bald eagle taking flight along the Potomac River. He was flying about ten feet above the surface straight at me. Eek.

I’ve had a few other interesting moments on the bike this week. Last night a jeep quickly backed out of a driveway as I rode toward it. I veered to the left to avoid the jeep and it just kept coming. I don’t understand how you can back up a ton of steel and not look.

Tonight as I took the lane to take a left turn onto my street. An oncoming truck hesitated. I wasn’t sure that the driver was slowing for me so I waved at the truck to continue. As I waited for the truck and the two cars behind it to clear the intersection a car came up behind me. The driver leaned out his window and called out to me: “You should have turned in front of the truck.” Thanks, dude. Next time you have a 95 percent chance of not getting crushed by a truck, be my guest. The odds are good that your pie hole will be permanently shut sooner or later.

I didn’t say anything to him. I was 100 feet from home and I had lilacs to smell.

Busy Weekend

Friday began with a splendid bike commute aboard Big Nellie. My back is feeling better but it is still not quite free of the two-month long stiffness. As usual, I stopped at Friday Coffee Club in DC for some bike commuter chat. It was great to see that everyone was sitting outside!! And Jacques brought Hugo (and Elmo the Muppet). I had quite a good time goofing around with Hugo who likes to giggle at goofy grown ups. 

After a day of IT headaches at work, I rode home along the river with temperatures in the 70s. Did it really snow a few weeks back?

For dinner I took Mrs. Rootchopper out to Legal Seafoods in Crystal City. I had high expectations since I have been hearing about this restaurant since my days at BU, but we were both underwhelmed. The food was fine. The service was pretty good. The ambiance was meh. At home we celebrated with dyslexic chocolate fudge birthday cake. Daughter Lily phoned in a fine rendition of “Happy Birthday” from Indianapolis. We will return the favor in a couple of days.  Son Eamonn called Mom earlier for his rendition of the song.

Saturday was a near perfect day for bike riding but, having knocked off something like 137 miles in the previous four days I instead devoted the day to lawn work. First, I drove to Sears to get a new mower. The old mower had wobbly wheels and a leveling mechanism held together with zip ties. It gave me 10 years or so of use so no complaints. I had to use up the gas in its tank so I mowed the back lawn with it. It sounded like it was straining to cut even the shortest grass. Then I put together the new mower and fired it up. Yowsa!  It had noticeably more power. I could actually hear the blade zipping around inside. 

With the yard work done, we set out to see my favorite performer, Neil Finn, at the Lincoln Theater in DC. For the uniformed, Neil Finn is a singer/songwriter/guitarist/pianist from New Zealand. He’s been the force behind Split Enz, Crowded House, three solo albums, two albums with his brother Tim, and two ensemble productions with the likes of Johnny Marr, Eddie Vedder, KT Tunstall, and members of Wilco and Radiohead. His most well known song is “Don’t Dream It’s Over” but he has written scores of songs, many every bit as good. His show at the Lincoln lasted nearly three hours and exceeded my already high expectations. I am pretty sure that he could put on another show, every bit as good, with songs that he did not perform last night. I once saw Sting play Constitution Hall when he was in his early 50s. Perfect voice. Perfect band. Perfect perfromance. Same thing last night with Neil Finn. So here goes my all time favorite performances:

Neil Finn last night, Sting, Elbow at Club 930 last year, Orchestra Baobab at the Birchmere, Raffi (yes, that Raffi) at GWU, Johnny Clegg and Savuka at Georgetown, Andy Narell at Blues Alley, Los Lobos and Buddy Guy at Wolf Trap, the National Dance Company of Senegal, John Mayer with Michael Franti and Spearhead at Verizon Center.

Today was another perfect weather day. I had a date with Big Nellie. We began by checking out the Morningside bald eagle nest on the Mount Vernon Trail. There was one eagle in the nest and another apparently out and about. I do believe there will be little ones in the days ahead.

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Zoom in to see the bald eagle in the nest

I took the Woodrow Wilson Bridge over to Maryland and spun up the long hill to Oxon Hill Road. My intention was to take a left and head to DC but I took the Frostian road less traveled to the right and ended up doing a 15 mile loop through suburban Prince Georges County. It’s not a pretty place to ride but the roads were not very crowded. After the loop I did another couple of loops nearer to DC. Suffice it to say that signage is not PG’s strong suit. 

I eventually made my way to the Anacostia River Trail for some flat spinning along the river. I crossed over the river on the Benning Road bridge. I worked my way to Florida Avenue which heads rather laboriously through Northeast DC and ultimately to the Lincoln Theater. Since Neil Finn was long gone, I stopped for some food and water at a 7-11. Sadly it lived down to my expectations. 

I rode over to Meridian Hill Park which was packed with people enjoying the weather and listening to the drum circle. After dining al fresco on my Turkey and cheese sammich and three oatmeal raisin cookies, I headed back home. I spent 20 minutes getting through the amazing throngs of cars and pedestrians near the Tidal Basin where the cherry blossoms were now past peak. 

The ride home into a stiff headwind kept me honest. During the ride I pondered a set list of Neil Finn songs that he did not perform last night. I’d pay good money to hear him sing them.

Funny thing is with the perfect weather this weekend his last song last night was called “Weather with You” which includes the line: Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire couldn’t conquer the blue skies.”

Indeed 

Drunk on Blossoms

Drunk on Blossoms

Riding Big Nellie, my recumbent, is great for sight seeing because I am sitting upright. On the way to work I spotted a bald eagle in a tree along the river next to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. I heard that today was peak bloom for DC’s cherry blossoms. So I had to swing by East Potomac Park and ride under the blooms for a few miles. What can I say? Blossoms make me happy. Somehow they also seem to make my nose bigger. Go figure.

I added eight pix to my set on Flickr.

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.

Sooooop!

The first event ride on my calendar every year is the Vasa ride, a joint production of the Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA) and the Swedish Embassy. It is held as a nod to a huge annual cross country skiing event in Sweden. Them Swedes are crazy. At the end of the ride, we cyclists get to go inside the embassy and drink warm blueberry soup. As I said, them Swedes are crazy.

So I dragged myself out of bed at 5:30 still groggy from the Nyquil I took last night to combat my lingering cold. I did some yoga to start the day. Actually, that’s not quite true. I do this thing that looks like a grown man having convulsions. You see, yoga is no match for the steel in my hamstrings and quadriceps. I am about as flexible as an I-beam.

I changed into my biking clothes and headed out the door. I drove to my office building in Rosslyn across the river from the start of the ride at the embassy on the Georgetown waterfront. The ride on The Mule across Key Bridge was invigorating owing to the fact that I didn’t wear enough warm biking clothes. The thermometer on my bike said it was 50 degrees. My body disagreed.

I rode past Baked and Wired, a coffee shop in Georgetown. It was not yet open. I cried. So, I just went to the starting point of the ride to hang out.

Soon Kate C. (@girlonabikedc) arrived on her awesome bike Kermit. Kate volunteered to be a ride marshal for the 15-mile ride. We chatted for until she was called to listen to the ride marshall training lecture.

I then began a conversation with Dave P., a bike rider from Arlington who organizes an annual brunch for bike trail users at an Indian restaurant in Shirlington. After wearing his ear out, I welcome Alex Baca (@alexbaca), the WABA communications goddess, online grad student, and binge TV watcher who has been known to ride me into the ground on occasion.

Then the waves of the Friday Coffee Club crowd began arriving. Dave S. (@darsal), Jacques (jarsenault) , with his Dad and toddler son Hugo, John R. (@dirteng) and Kate S. (@katesyl) (proving that Kate is the number one name for women cyclists), Kevin (@BicycleBug), Kirstin (@ultrarunnergirl) and Tom and their friend Betsy, and Lisa. Ed (@dailyrandonneur), riding a single bike, rolled in sans Mary (@coffeeneur), she who pushes Ed over the hills on their tandem. Peter (@jopamora), Ricky (@bikeeveryday) appeared, too. And Ted (@MrTinDC) and Jean (@jerdlngr). I was hoping to see Rachel (@rachelcannon) “Don’t Call Me, Bob” Cannon, who came to marshal the 15 mile ride, but, alas, she had the good sense to stay in bed an extra hour. I did bump into Lesly, who fell in with during the 2012 and 2013 50 States Ride. Lesly (@DCxFitChic) has the ability to ride fast and talk a blue streak simultaneously. It’s as if she can’t breathe without taking. Good thing she’s funny and upbeat.

Ed and Ricky, being more better than the rest of us, took off on the 59-mile route. The rest of us left a half-hour later on the 31 mile jaunt.

It was a cold start. I was literally shivering. My front wheel was wiggling left and right with each shake of my arms. Lisa and I rode side by side for the first 7 or 8 miles. I think the last time we rode together was in September so it was good to get caught up.

On the Capital Crescent Trail, I man rode by me and said, “Rootchopper! Hi! Haven’t seen you in a while.” He looked familiar but I couldn’t place him. (Lisa later told me that it was Joe (@josephlrc), an infrequent but cheerful Friday Coffee Clubber. Once he took off his helmet and whatever he was wearing on his head, I recognized him immediately.)

We were also passed by a man on a Penny Farthing, a big wheel bike from the 19th Century. He was hauling buns. (We’d later see him pushing the bike up a hill.)

Crossing over the C&O Canal we passed Tony, yet another Friday Coffee Clubber. “Hi, Tony!”

Along MacArthur Boulevard I started feeling my oats. This may have had something to do with my feet and fingers thawing out.  I climbed over the hill at the reservoir without difficulty. As I crested the hill, a paceline of lycra clad bicyclists went past. I decided to hitch a ride. The Mule can motor when motivated and off we went. Weeeee.

Now I was warmed up. I got into a rhythm and rode fast-ish (when you ride The Mule speed is relative). At the western end of MacArthur was the half mile long hill to Falls Road. Kate S. and John buried my sorry ass but I remained calm and rejoined them near the top.

We all came together again at the rest stop at the turnaround point in Potomac Village. I bought some coffee and it made my central nervous system happy. Lisa bought a scone and shared a bit with me. Twas yummy.

I spotted Nelle (@NellePierson) from WABA and made note of her amazing tights with tigers on them. Of course, I didn’t think to take a picture of them so you’ll have to take my word on this.

Kirstin, who is following a Paleo diet, couldn’t find any animals to kill so she snarfed a muffin. And Tom ate quiche proving, I suppose, that real men do eat quiche.

We left the rest stop in waves. I got absorbed by a cluster of people I didn’t know, but the caffeine had me focused on spinning my ass off. And so I did.

Somewhere in the posh Avenel development, I pulled over to take a picture of my bike odometer. 35,000 miles. Not too shabby. (Lest you get all impressed, I’ve had this bike since 1993. Any other sane person would have bought a new bike 15 years ago. I may be slow but I’m frugal.)

Back on the bike, I found Dave P. and rode with him along Persimmon Tree Road past Congressional Country Club, occasional home of the U. S. Open. Soon we were back on MacArthur and retracing our route home. Once again I was riding solo and making pretty good time.

I climbed up over the reservoir hill and bombed down the backside.

One thing I should point out is that we all spent the entire ride dodging potholes. There were hundreds of them. A couple looked like impact craters. It’s been that kind of winter.

I rolled into the embassy feeling fresh and ready to go for more, but warm blueberry soup awaited me. It tasted wonderful. Spring is officially here!!!!

I started chatting with some of the folks in our group and a young woman said, “Hi, Rootchopper.” And, for the second time today I thought, “Who are you and how do you know me?” It was Ursula (@sobacase). She said we had ridden with me during part of the Cider ride in December. It was cold that day. My brain must have stopped working. Once we started talking I kind of remembered her. She had on tights that were about as loud as Nelle’s. This time I took a picture.

After hanging out in the embassy for a while we went outside to wait for Ed to arrive from the 59 mile ride. A man walked up to me and said, “Hi, Rootchopper.” And my brain silently said “Who’s this? AGAIN!” I was so flustered by his third encounter of the day that I forgot his name almost immediately. (I think he said he was Stan, but I won’t know for sure until the next time he picks me out of crowd.)  I am terrible with names but three in one morning?

Ed arrived and we soon followed Dave S,’s lead to the Luna Grill near Dupont Circle where we dined like kings on a budget. The food was good and the conversation was better. Mary came back from her beauty rest and joined us. She gave our Errandonnee badges to Kirstin, Lisa, and me. She sewed them herself while stoking the tandem on a brevet a couple of weeks ago. I swear it’s true.

I indulged myself with a root beer float, a tuna melt, and more coffee. Life is good.

After a couple of hours of gabbing we went our separate ways. Some went east, Some went north. I followed Ursula west until she tuned off for the wilds of Foggy Bottom. I cruised through Georgetown which was absolutely packed with cars and pedestrians. The ride across the river took much longer. The sidewalk was filled with people on a nearly 70 degree, sunny afternoon.

My thanks to the folks at WABA (especially Michelle Cleveland, WABA’s events coordinator) and the Swedish embassy, as well as all the people who volunteered to help sign us up and marshal us along the course.

Pix of the ride are over on my Flickr page.

Lisa’s account of the day is here.

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. 

 

Frozen Delusions

I didn’t check the thermometer but at 7 a.m. it was 10 degrees at the airport. I think it is safe to assume that I was dealing with single digits when I left home. To add to the festivities I had a nice little headwind. 

You’d think I’d complain about freezing my noo-noos off. You’d think I’d bitch and moan. I won’t do either. It was actually a pretty nice ride in. Granted, I’d much prefer not wearing so much clothing but I was pretty comfortable.

I took a couple of short cuts to avoid ice in Old Town, but otherwise it was a normal ride to Friday Coffee Club. Even my back seemed to be holding up. Until I dismounted at the end, that is. Oil me, Scarecrow. I reached down to take a drink of water and both my bottles were solid ice. 

Inside Swings House of Joe, the joint was jumping. I didn’t really expect many people but there were ten or so. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. So take that winter!

Brian rolled in. He seemed to be bundled up but he looked like he’d ridden by way of Nome. Then Dave showed up. Ditto. Finally, just before I left Kirstin appeared. Except I didn’t recognize her at first for all the stuff she had on. She looked like a whole bunch of clothing with a smile near the top. As I left I gave her a hug and it was like holding a human-sized Popsicle. Lordy! 

I was expecting my back to be all sore when I got to work but it felt almost normal. 

I was out in the sub-freezing temperatures for about 90 minutes. My finger tips were cold at the start of the ride. I alternated putting my hands in my pockets for a few miles and the discomfort went away. My toes started to get cold for the last mile or two before Swings. The rest of me was toasty.

It was 30 degrees when I left the office. On the way home it dropped down to 26. Again I was pleasantly surprised that I was comfortable the entire way.

Now that I have mastered winter bike commuting for another year, we can begin springtime. 

Riding in the cold makes me delusional.

 

A Look Back at 2013

It’s already February and I neglected to use the month of January to take stock of 2013. Now that I am laid up with back spasms I thought I’d give this a go. In no particular order here’s my top ten of 2013.

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  1. Thanks for the Diploma, Hil. My daughter Lily graduated from Maret ending our family’s seven years at the school. It’s an astoundingly well run place and we will miss the many characters we encountered on a regular basis. The graduation speaker was Hillary Clinton. There is no truth to the rumor that Lily will be her running mate, but Hil and Lil would be a great sounding ticket.
  2. Hey Bulldog. Lily started college at Butler University. She wanted to get away from the east coast and go somewhere warm. She got it half right. Indianapolis is a tad west of the Gulf Stream. Brrr. She’s adapting to college well though
  3. Heaven, Thy Name Is Rosario’s.  Lily’s college decision came down to a choice between Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas or Butler. Last spring, we flew down to San Antonio and checked out Trinity. It’s a fine school. Nearly everyone who graduates gets a job…in Texas. That was a bit too much of a commitment for Lily. While there, we found the bestest Tex Mex restaurant in the known universe. It’s called Rosario’s and it’s a mile south of the Riverwalk tourist nest. If you go anywhere near San Antonio, check it out. YUMMY!
  4. I Can Quit Now. After 30 years, I am now eligible to retire from the federal government. It has been an up and down ride but one of these days, I will take Uncle Sam up on his offer of a very long paid vacation. Sadly, it won’t end well.
  5. Knocking Wood. Mrs. Rootchopper went through hell in 2011 (thunderclap headache and getting run over by an SUV) and 2012 (cancer surgery and radiation therapy), ultimately leading to losing her ability to enjoy food or even eat solids and lost 50 pounds.  Her sense of taste mostly returned and she returned to a healthy weight in 2013. Lord willing, she will never have to gag down another bottle of Ensure.
  6. Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Lily and I attended a DC high school baseball championship semifinal game at Nationals Park. Maret won the game and, later, the city championship. My son Eamonn and I went to a Nats game and laid waste to “Take on Me”. We went to see another Nats game at which Lily became close personal friends with William Howard Taft. The only reason I don’t go to more Nats games is that they happen to fall on days when the biking weather is great. (So I’ll just have to ride to the games in 2014, right?)
  7. Back to Back Again. In 2012, Lisa and I did most of the 50 States ride as well as the Backroads metric century together on the same weekend. Let’s just say it was a tough couple of days in the saddle. Since she dropped out of the 50 states before finishing, I agreed to a return engagement. We rode the entire 50-States ride together in 2013 except for the last 3 miles when we became separated in a downpour amid a construction zone. We both finished. The next day, I went back to Backroads and did the metric with new bike friends Kristen and Elizabeth. It was a great ride with excellent riding companions, but I am going to be a little less aggressive with event rides in the future.
  8. Blood and Chatter and Pumpkins, Oh My. I did a slew of event rides during the year. . In April I rode the Monument to Monument ride. It was a bit of a miserable experience seeing as how my lungs didn’t want to function, but the other riders tolerated my slow speed. During the ride I met Mike, an affable rider who can talk the paint off a bike frame.  John Roche organized another Hoppy 100 ride. He even arranged for us to rescue a cyclist who had crashed on the South Capitol Street bridge. Riding and drinking are fun but add blood to the mix and you’re really talking about a good time. During the 50-States ride Mike reappeared and gave me a rousing welcome when I pulled into the rest stop at his house in Tacoma Park. He later organized a ride to the Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport. The ride and the museum were terrific. Bob (Don’t Call Me Rachel) and Jeremy Cannon and I ride the Great Pumpkin ride in October. We were joined by John Roche. We were thankful that no blood was spilled. I also did the Vasa ride in March and WABA’s new cider ride in December. Twas cold. Both times.DSCN2231
  9. A Lighter Engine. After many attempts, I finally decided to get serious about the SEC diet. SEC stands for stop eating crap. It works remarkably well. I lost 25 pounds in four months. Sadly, my hill climbing still sucks. So if you are riding with me this year, have mercy.
  10. Friday Coffee Club and #BikeDC. Increasingly, cycling is becoming a social activity for me. This started back in 2006 when, after meeting during the 50-States ride, Charmaine got me riding with the Bike Friday Club of DC. I added rides with Shane and Jeff, friends that I met during the 2007 50-States ride. I met Mary at the 2010 50-States ride. And the snowball really started to pick up steam. Then she co-founded Friday Coffee Club. Bike riding around here is an introvert’s nightmare. And a whole lot of fun.

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