I wasn't made to sit.....

....so I got up and took a walk. Outside, on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, when I should have been answering emails and supervising staff. But I had been doing that since 8:00 AM after sitting on the bus for 75 minutes which came after sitting in my car for 30 minutes. This lifestyle is my own choice and that of many others. It seems that salary is directly proportional to the sedentary nature of the job. The more you move, the less you make. And our bodies were designed to move. Of course technology hasn't helped resolve this issue.

So I have to take the time to move, to get out. And even in the city, there are rewards waiting.

One day I will get paid to ride my bike and travel to the mountains. 

I won't get paid much, but that's fine with me.

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.