Being a modest cyclist

I let my subscription to Mountain Bike Action expire.

The reality is that I couldn't relate. Despite the parade of riders in $200 spandex outfits, the issue they sent me featured reviews of 3 really nice mountain bikes...all of them priced at over $5000 dollars. 

Really?

I might as well have been reading Yachting magazine.

Living in a flat rural area, road biking is both popular and fun. I'm usually sharing the road with other bikers.

I have to admit, my level of gear envy sometimes increases when I pass "well dressed" biking types.

This is my typical winter biking apparel:

Decked out with 1980's sweat pants, worn running shoes, face mask and over-sized foam helmet. 

I think the sunglasses add a few cool points. Or at least make me harder to recognize.

The other day I was passed by this guy:

This shows the extremes of how people approach the sport.

Personally I would rather strap a plastic bag of packing peanuts to my head than be seen in one of these aero-helmets.

When I'm passed buy a group a sleek drafting racers, I'm this guy:

But despite the disparity of gear, he's having fun just like me.

In England the cyclists dress like this:

I'm actually envious of this chap. Nothing complements tweed like a pipe and goggles.

But the more I bike, the less I desire additional gear.

What really matters is having fun and staying safe.

If I need additional gear to achieve that, I'll buy it.

Until then, get used to the Coleman Cooler helmet, folks!

Sometimes it just takes a ride

After much preparation, we did make it through hurricane Sandy without any damage. I enjoy a day off from work as much as the next person, but when the government closed Monday and Tuesday I had to use my vacation days to cover it. Thanks, Sandy, not only did you devastate New York and Jersey, but you used up some of my vacation!

Saturday I spent the day removing the skylight covers from the roof and cleaning up leaves from the yard. It was a good cross training work out.

Of course there are still a lot of leaves to come down and with the addition of 8 inches of rain to green the trees up, the old oaks may be holding onto what they have until Christmas.

Today I was feeling at odds with the world, one of those moods between contempt and self pity that rears it's ugly head occasionally. I knew I needed to clear my head. And what better way to do it than a good bike ride. I've been more focused on running for the past few months, but my knees were still bothering me from the work yesterday. And a bike ride would be longer than a run. I needed longer. I geared up and took off.

The air was cool and brisk, but felt good as I cut through it with a strong effort.
The now harvested fields glowed in the late afternoon sun.

A soybean field up close displays the many small brown pods for harvest.
From a distance it puts on a warm earth tone, a color my wife wants to paint a wall.

The afternoon turned out to be just what I needed.
Maybe I'll even forget the political adds until after Tuesday!

You call this winter?

I've been regretting the fact that my last bike ride was Thanksgiving weekend and piling the guilt on myself until I couldn't take it any more. Admittedly, I have been kind of busy with the holidays, Ben and Emily's wedding and working on "The Mother of All Projects". But today I resisted the tyranny of the urgent and when I mentioned to Irma that I wanted to take a bike ride, she replied "you should do that first". My wife is awesome! I was out the door in minutes.

It was 45° with a 15 mph wind. Not exactly Yukon conditions but cold for a ride none the less. I was anxious to see how some of my Christmas gear worked out, so with winter bike pants and REI wool socks, I suited up like a ninja with a Coleman cooler helmet and headed out pushing between 10 and 20 mph with a red blinking light under my seat announcing "crazy" "crazy" to all the passing motorists.

Mile 1: doing good, head is a little chilly.
Mile 2: warming up nicely.
Mile 4: warming up a little too nicely.
Mile 6: getting hot, legs are starting to sweat.
Mile 8: sweating my @ss off.
Mile 10: finally a stiff headwind, cooling me down a but.
Mile 12: been pumping hard into the wind, feel like I'm not going much more than 5 mph.
Mile 14: still hot, but almost home.
Mile 16: made it home and ripped off a variety of layers, trying to cool down.

I went outside in just my bike shorts and a T-shirt to chucker the dog.
Is this all you got, winter?

Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

I'm thankful for my family and the great time we all had together. The only thing that would have made it better is if Ben and Emily were here. And of course, aren't we all thankful for the freedom's we have here in the US, like the ability to eat gargantuan quantities of tryptophan laced foods and then pass out in front of a football game. Ah...the holiday traditions!

A beautiful day was a good opportunity for a group picture.
L-R Jared, Lisa, Cathy, Clare, Irma, Carl (Me)

Front row Patton and Reilly

Anticipation of a good chuckering.

The ever hopeful Reilly, always ready for exercise 24-7.

And what better way to work off some of the holiday excess than to take a good ride. 7:00 AM Friday.
It was cold out! Sometimes the best time to ride is first thing in the morning.

Protest Ride!

Political gridlock has been a way of life in Washington for some time. We have come to expect total inaction, and our elected legislators certainly don't disappoint. Even the the self imposed sword of Damocles can't move the super committee's collective, do nothing asses off the seat of political stagnation. So how am I going to support the protesters on Wall Street?

Occupy the Bike!

What better way to show my solidarity with the occupy movement from little old Chestertown! I thought about camping out in the town square with a sign that says "Occupy Chestertown" or maybe "Rage against The Man". But then I remembered that I work for "The Man". So maybe that's not the best idea considering I have a mortgage, bills and lots of bike gear on my wish list.

But heading out for a good head clearing ride certainly made me feel better physically and emotionally.

Biking down a country road in the late day light and gazing across the farm fields helps me keep my perspective.

With twilight closing in, it's time to pump hard towards home.

After all, I have to catch a bus for Washington, DC in the morning.

Once around the block...

Ok, it was a big block. 20.1 miles to be exact.

The weather was a perfect 55°. In this kind of weather, it's hard to know how to dress. Standing in the driveway you feel warm, but start bombing down a hill at 30 mph and all of a sudden it's winter in Quebec.
I love to bike, any day, any weather. The only downside is it makes me think about how much money I need to spend on gear that I don't have. Fortunately Tyler has a bike computer to keep track of speed and mileage. Previously if I wanted to know how far I rode, I would either have to guess or drive the same route in my car, which is admittedly ridiculous.

Tyler with Crisanna Carrera, his Italian wheels. A bike he built himself with Campagnolo parts.
SuWEEET!

The Eastern Shore of Maryland is big and open. The big sky country of the east. And the roads are great for biking with wide shoulders.

Nothing compliments a picture like circle irrigation!

Greetings from the Eastern Shore of Maryland!

I had a destination.....

It was cool and sunny as I headed out the lane. I was dressed for a cool day wind chill, enough bike wear to stay warm but not so much as to appear dorky. 

I headed to Chestertown, happy to have a different destination for a change.

One of the reasons I don't head north towards town is this bridge, you have to walk your bike across instead of ride. Looking south, almost across.

From the bridge, you do get a good look at the river, with the old sailing ships, the one in the foreground is a reproduction of the Sultana, made in the old shipbuilding way. Not a bad view for every day.

So like I said, I had a destination, but sometimes you just have to follow where the bike and the mood takes you. I headed through town and right out the other side. Into farm country. The sun was glistening off the ripe soybean fields. Ready for harvest.

At last, I made it to Pomona. About 5 miles west of Chestertown. The sun was starting to drop and I decide I should turn around, especially since I hadn't reached my destination yet.

On the way back to town, this is looking east up the Chester river. In the distance that's the bridge I walked across. What a view! But on to my destination.

Made it at last. The ATM in town. I needed cash.

Sometimes getting there is all the fun!

What's your bike's name?

Mine is named "Roadie", but the more I blog read, the more I realize that Roadie is not very original. 

I had a text conversation with my son about it.

          Tyler:    I like how you named your bike "Roadie"

          Me:      Thanks

          Tyler:   Can you send my bike tools up with Mom? Crisanna is in dire need of an overhaul.

          Me:     Which one is Crisanna?

          Tyler:   Crisanna Carrera is her full name.

          Me:      I haven't been able to determine Roadie's gender yet.

          Tyler:   Would you want to ride a male?

          Me:     Well no, but would Mom want me to ride a female? It's a predicament.

          Tyler:   Would Mom really have to be jealous of a bicycle?

          Me:     Your arguments are compelling. Did you already go through this with Morgan?

          Tyler:   Well, to be fair, I knew Crisanna long before I met Morgan.

Return from Blogcation - 4 weeks in Pictures and Thoughts

Hey, I'm back from a 4 week Blogcation!

Feeling somewhat refreshed and slightly inspired. Especially excited about the cooler weather and all the fall goodness in the air. So I thought I'd post some random pictures and thoughts from the past 4 weeks to catch everyone up on various stuff that you may or may not find interesting.

I work in DC. The other Monday I felt the blahs creeping in so I went for a walk around the Capitol Building. It really is impressive. Wish I could say the same for how much our elected members are accomplishing.

I walk by this every day. At first they were tearing it down. When they got it down to just the concrete structure, they started building it back up, adding 3 additional floors to the top. One day I stopped and talked to a foreman. He said it was going to be law offices. They wanted a penthouse suite at the top so they could see all the DC landmarks. It also happens to be just a short 2 block walk from Capitol Hill.

Just noticing stuff, you draw your own conclusions.

Regarding the Mother of all Projects - the shower fixtures are roughed in. The drywall guy is here.
Irma is HAPPY!

The other day there were wild turkeys in our backyard. Wanted to get a better picture but I knew they would scatter as soon as I stepped outside. Hey you turkeys...eat as many crickets as you want! You're welcome anytime! Can't see this living in the city.

General Patton has a cone. He's such a good sport!

If you want to really experience fall....take a bike ride. If you want to really experience the world around you...take a bike ride.

I find that dark sunglasses are a slight improvement to the Coleman Cooler helmet look.
Or am I just happier that I'm harder to recognize?

This is a black grave yard. There are many of them on the Eastern Shore. Either slaves or poor share croppers couldn't afford a burial plot at a cemetery, so they made their own. Often right along rural roads.

I have known this was there ever since we moved here. It was always overgrown. I rode by on my bike and noticed that someone had cleaned it up that day. I'm not sure if the good Samaritan was actually related or just providing some long deserved respect.

I thought it was raining.....

....but it was bugs! Hitting my face as I rode. I squinted and kept my mouth shut. I pedaled on, churning through the hatch. They came in waves, like miniature kamikazes of unintended accuracy. When I cleared the trees they thinned out and I was able to open my eyes, straighten up and catch a breath of relief.

This would be the sixth consecutive cloudy day threatening more rain. I went anyway, I didn't care if it started raining. I wanted a good ride, bugs and whatever else may come my way.

So far my 55 year old knees have held up pretty well to my increased mileage. I am consistently doing 15 milers, which might not seem like a lot. Not too many years ago riding 5 miles would result in days of knee pain, so I think I'm doing pretty well. My goal is to work my way up to 25 and then 50 pain free miles in a day. This fall I'm planning a bike camping trip with my son so I need to keep moving.

One of these days I'm going to buy a $150 helmet that looks cool. But for now I'll have to be satisfied with my $40 Coleman Cooler Helmet. Hmmm...maybe a goatee would help.

Head Clearing Ride

I'm in serious danger of becoming dull. Every weekend has been spent working on my bathroom remodeling project and you know what they say about all work and no play. So it was again this weekend, handling 40 lb sheets of hardibacker and attaching it to the shower walls. I was forced to quit when my saw blade broke and it was probably a good thing at that. I've been telling myself for 2 weeks that I needed to go for a good bike ride. When I left the project room it was about 3:00. It was still cloudy out, we never got the promised sun and I didn't really feel like going for a ride. I wanted to just sit on the porch or watch football. But my head felt thick and I was working on a good grump as well. I knew I needed a ride.

 At first I felt awkward, almost like I hadn't ridden for months. But then after a few miles I caught my stride. I was facing a pretty stiff headwind, and even though the temperature was in the mid 60's, I was glad I had worm my jacket. As I cranked down the road I was bombarded by signs of fall. Partially harvested fields of dried corn stalks. Dark green fields of soybeans that were showing the first tint of browning off. Weeds mature and tough, ready to belch seeds in every direction. The smell of wood smoke.

Traffic was especially heavy even for my back road route. Occasionally a biker runs into someone who for whatever reason regards them with contempt. Today I was stopped at a remote cross road when a pickup truck full of bushel crab baskets pulled up. The driver stopped and gave me a hateful glare for about 5 seconds, then just drove off. I'm not sure what the source of this contempt is. Does he think I'm going to call my fellow biker friends and take over his back shore turf? Or does he just hate any activity that doesn't involve a boat and a crab or a gun and a deer? I rode on and passed a fellow biker who returned my wave and a smile. We understand.

The clouds were starting to clear a little and so was my head. I rolled home in a better mood.

Wet and muddy bliss

 My cheap Trek 820 bounced like a check from a government in default as I navigated the roots and potholes of Sam's woods. The air was thick with moisture and the lush grass on the path was covered with plump drops of the days rain. As I pushed through the thick eastern shore vegetation the water on the leaves exploded towards my feet and legs drenching them in minutes. But I didn't care, June and July had been so hot and dry that I was relishing in the swim.

Today was the day we were supposed to go to the beach. We've been vacationing all week with our son and daughter-in-law. The weather reported partly cloudy and when the alarm went off at 7:00 it was still overcast. Sitting on the wet sand in the clouds didn't excite us so we postponed the trip until tomorrow. After accomplishing all the inside tasks I had lined up, I was ready to get out for a while. With a good drizzle starting I decided it was time for a woods ride.

Sam's woods is not that big but with some imagination, you can combine a variety of circular routes and still feel like you've ridden a good trail. Wildlife is abundant, I scored a meeting with 7 wild turkeys, a groundhog and more than a few deer. It supplied me with gulleys, large roots, fallen trees and numerous mud puddles.

Sam is a conservationist. He could easily sell the property for houses but prefers to maintain it for the benefit of hunters and outdoor enthusiasts. He manages a healthy game population and provides a sanctuary for birds and other wildlife species. Today I was grateful that he allowed me to add my mountain bike tracks to the muddy trail.

Summer Morning Ride

All week long I've been subjected to forced sweating to accommodate archaic business dress requirements.

 The forecast for today was 102°. I've wanted to ride my bike for a while but have been denied by home projects and unhealthy weather. This morning I left the house on "Roadie" at 6:30 AM. It was already a dripping 86°. I put a Gatorade in my bottle holder and headed out the lane. Halfway down the lane I shifted the front derailleur to the big ring and the chain immediately went completely off and wrapped around my right crank. I put it back on but my hand was then covered with black grease. I road back to the house to clean up and put some paper towels in my bag. The more I ride, I realize that I need to get better at bicycle maintenance and have the proper tools and parts with me in the event of a breakdown away from home. Right now my only plan is a cell phone to call Irma to come and get me. Not very self sufficient.

"Let's try this again", I said to myself as I headed down the lane. Even though it was already hot, once I got moving the air over my body made it feel pretty nice and the sun wasn't up enough yet to be that hot.
The roads were typically empty for a Saturday morning and I got a feeling of satisfaction knowing that I had battled the pull of the bed when the alarm went off an was now enjoying my reward. I rode down my quiet familiar country roads, enjoying the sights, smells and sounds of a summer morning.

Despite the morning haze, the sun over the dry corn field announced it's intentions for the rest of the day.

Every field irrigation I passed was running, as if in a battle of taunts with the sun over the fate of the crop in the field. I was tempted to ride through the manufactured "rain" falling on the road but I wasn't that hot yet and decided to wait for the sprinkler to turn before proceeding.

Today I had in mind to extend my ride across 544 and down to Union Church Road, adding another 4 miles to my 11 mile route. In my younger days I could ride 50 miles after school in blue jeans and not give it a second thought. Now I'm trying to gradually build up my endurance and acclimate my knees to longer mileage rides. I have big plans for myself. A weekend bike packing trip this fall with my son, and hopefully someday riding out west. My dream ride is the Colorado Trail, 500 miles from Denver to Durango. Some day, and not when it's 100° out.

But today, I was sweating for a good cause.

It's more than a ride

I feel a connection to the world around me when I'm cruising under my own power on 2 wheels. I don't feel this way about any other form of transportation. Winter, summer, cold, rain or humid heat, there something about a good long bike ride that is unmatched. I can go fast enough to cover ground at a reasonable rate, but still not miss anything.

I can look down a long open road and know that it's not just exercise, it's an experience.

I can see the haze over the field as the sun beats down from high over head. I can breath in the humid air and taste the mustiness of the wheat, brought to me by the wind over the field. I can pass some evergreens and smell the pine that immediately takes me back to my time in Colorado when the sent of mountain pine was so wonderful that I never want to forget it. Smells make great memories.

I hear the cry of a Hawk and stop to look up at a pair roosting on top of a pole. They look down on me as if I'm some strange being in this mechanized world.

I can pass a corn field and stop to stare at the dark green color. I might consider it black green.

The road is lined with spent grass and chicory with it's light blue flowers. Every mile has something to give.

And as the occasional car speeds by, I think to myself how thankful I am to be the man on the bike.

Memorial Day Road Ride with Tyler

Monday was really hot and everyone knows that I don't like hot weather. I tend to make that clear to the point of annoyance. On the Eastern Shore of Maryland we can run the heater one day and be turning on the AC the next. So with this past Monday being in the mid 90's, we wanted to get an early start to our long discussed and planned father/son bike ride. Early for us was 10 AM. I was ready to go in my bike shorts, "Wisconsin, Smell the Dairy Air" t-shirt and Red Coleman Cooler helmet. Tyler showed up in shorts and a white button down. He added the helmet after slipping off the pedals and realizing that sneakers on clipless pedals could be hazardous.  We headed out our usual route and encountered little traffic.The air was thick and hot. As I pedaled along, the sweat was quickly forming on my arms but the wind created by our 20 mph speed kept us cool enough. Breathing was a different story and my lungs felt cheated when I breathed in the hot humid air. We stopped once for a picture and were immediately attacked by deer flys. The deer fly is a terrorist. When fighting a deer fly one thing is certain, one of you will die. So being the more intelligent species we did the smart thing, we got on our bikes and ran. Once we got out to the main highway, Tyler said he wanted to see how fast he could go since he hadn't ridden for a while. Although I was trying to keep up, he was quickly putting large stretches of road between us. I'd say he's still got the biking mojo.