We wore them out!

Trip to Virginia

This weekend Irma and I took a trip to Staunton, Virgina to visit Jared and Lisa, my son and daughter-in-law. Had a great time poking around Staunton and then going to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.

Overview of Staunton from the hill. In the background the large brick buildings with white roofs were originally built in the early 1800's as a mental hospital, then a Confederate Army hospital then a prison and now they are being converted into condominiums. Each unit complete with complimentary spirit presence.

Main street Staunton.

Some of the old architecture. They seemed to have a thing for building towers and clocks back then. I think we have replaced this with the iPhone.

Monticello

Why yes, I'd be happy to join you in the parlor for some home made wine. Please serve the good stuff, not that grog you serve to George and James.

 I think this tree is as old as Tom himself.

He knows how to pick a view.

Greetings from Virginia!

This changes everything

I wonder if the designers of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge realized just how much of an affect it would have on Maryland's Eastern Shore when they first started thinking about it in the early 1900's? Did they buy property in Ocean City and load up a cryogenic freezer with shrimp, crabs and Old Bay? The first span was completed in 1952. The second span was completed in 1973 allowing a total of 5 lanes of traffic that could be used in either direction. It has definately changed the Eastern Shore by spawning numerous "bedroom" communities for people who work "on the other side" and allowing millions of people to flock to the beaches on summer weekends.

Travelling eastbound on the older 2 lane span.

Each span is about 4.3 miles long. The older 2 lane span was recently repainted at a cost that is said to have been greater than the original price of construction. When they sandbasted it prior to painting, they hung collection bags around and under the work area to collect all the sand and old paint so it wouldn't fall into the bay.

One of the many bedroom communities that has sprung up next to agricultural fields.

We moved to the Eastern Shore when I was employed by Southern States, an Ag Co-op. It was a nice place to live and raise a family. Since then I have changed careers and have become one of the daily commuters across the bridge to the "dark side". In the 11 years that I have been doing this, I estimate that I have crossed the bridge approximately 5700 times and spent $5700 on tolls. But unfortunately job opportunities on "the shore" and limited and don't pay well.

This is me next to my old communter car. The amazing Honda Civic. I was going for an endorsement offer here, but discovered that I wasn't the only one that drove one of these cars to 430,000 miles. It also survived a 15 mph glancing kiss by the Bay Bridge railing and a head-on with a straw bale at 60 mph.

One interesting effect of the increased population of non-natives: they out voted the natives. Farming and land owner rights have always been important to long time Eastern Shore residents. But this past fall, the "foreigners" shot down the farming initiatives at the polls. If you're old family born and raised here, that has got to hurt.

The low cost, high quality of life here are hard to give up. I'll just continue the crazy commute. For now.

Winter

If you enjoy the outdoors like I do, you have to like winter. Its clean and refreshing. It means you're standing up to the weather and not backing down. It's saying "bring it on, I can take it!". It's seeing opportunities that others might not see. It's getting up early and enjoying the fog that covers the field, and seeing the sun rise behind it.

It's being outside with your favorite dog, and watching him sense what you can't see. It's looking back at your house, and knowing that as much as you are enjoying this, a hot cup of coffee on a cold morning is one of life's pleasures.

So to that wonderful furry rodent, affectionately know as "Phil", I say look hard for that shadow, my groggy friend from Punxsutawney! If tomorrow's prediction is 6 more weeks of winter, I'm ok with that.

Schooled by the snow

When it comes to snow biking, I am a complete novice. My snow biking efforts this winter have been great fun. I love getting out on 2 wheels in the cold and snow, sure beats going to the mall or watching re-runs of Walker Texas Ranger. So I was really looking forward to gearing up today and toughing it through the 6 inches of snow that we got three days ago. I headed down the field lane and cut left into the untouched snow covered trail. But the 45 ° temps we had today had turned the snow into mostly slush and my forward progress stopped like I was on roller skates at the beach. I guess my 2.1 inch wide tires are not well suited for snow any deeper than about 4 inches and definitely not slush. In Alaska, they ride on bike tires that are 4 inches wide, the biking equivalent of a Monster Truck. So I settled for a mud ride and took off up and down the lane, hitting every puddle and mud hole like an 8 year old that had been told to keep his Sunday best clean.

Nothing completes a Sunday like getting dirty on a bike.

Winter commute

I took this pic of the US Capitol as I walked to work today from the Metro. The commute late yesterday was a mess. The government closed 2 hours early, just when the storm hit, so everyone got dumped out on the streets at the same time. There were abandoned cars everywhere this morning. It's amazing what 6 - 8 inches of snow can do in this part of the country. In New England or the mid-west, it would be just another winter day. I got up at 4:30 this morning and left in good time to get to work. I'm all for driving safely in the snow, but I always seem to get behind someone going ridiculously slow, like 20 mph when you could do 45. I'm looking forward to a good snowy bike ride this weekend.

Road Ride!

I enjoy winter in Maryland. Unlike summer where the bugs out number everything else in the universe, there are no bugs in winter. Except that crazy new immortal stinkbug that must have been designed by a rogue nation. So I wanted to get a good road ride in before more snow and ice arrives. It was 27 ºF (-3 ºC) with 20 mile winds. I layered up and covered every bit of exposed skin that I could and headed down Truslow Road towards Rt 213 looking like a ninja that decided a large bike helmet and Columbia jacket was extra intimidating. I took a left on Fey Road where I traveled for about 3 miles along the frozen Chester River. The road turned right into a long uphill grade for about a mile. I put it in high gear and stood on the pedals until I got to the top. By then, I was sweating and sucking cold air into my lungs that immediately condensed on exhale and fogged my glasses up. I turned around, mainly because my feet were getting pretty cold and I still had to return home. Road riding in winter is a lot colder than mountain bike riding because you can go a lot faster. I can really get overheated picking my way through the woods at 10 mph. But yesterday, going all out downhill at about 25 mph with a head wind after sweating uphill, well that's a wakeup call that you want to avoid if at all possible. Even my best ninja gear didn't keep that cold out. I need to do a lot more of these shakedown runs before I attempt any 50 milers in winter.