Friday May 16 |
 | Bicycling (Commute) 45:00 [3] 12.03 mi (3:43 / mi) | |
| slept:5.25 weight:179.5lbs (injured) |
| From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. I once again proved that it's best not to decide just when waking up whether I'll ride or not. It was raining and the forecast called for a lot more. Having had a few falls in the rain, I shy away from wet rides though I'm usually comfortable riding when I'm out in them. Since it was Bike to Work Day, I proceded to get ready for riding anyway. It was an ominous coincidence that I grabbed my Bike to Work shirt from 2006--it was on top of the pile. The rain had stoped but as I started getting Max in his trailer, it started to sprinkle. He was covered but I once again doubted the wisdom of riding in to work as I splashed mud going up the unpaved Georgetown Branch Trail to Max's daycare school. Leaving him and emerging on my commuter from the tunnel under the Air Rights Building, I was happy about my choice again. Hords of cyclists were at Bethesda Ave, Woodmont Ave. intersection. They were looking at vendor tents, getting free mechanical tuning and waiting around tents while lottery numbers were being called. Though I didn't stop, it felt good to be a part of it. As I rode on a little slower than usual in the on and off showers, I got to thinking again about how nice it is to connect with the world this way, rather than be in a bubble all the time. My cycle computer could have used a bubble because the water shorted it out several times along the way--time and distance are estimated. |
| Bicycling (Commute) 48:54 [3] 11.85 mi (4:07 / mi) | |
| (injured) |
| From C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. As I left the building at work and stepped into a courtyard to get my bicycle, I knew immediately that it was going to be a windy ride home. It actually felt colder than the morning and swirls were forceful. Exiting the gate to C. St., a blast of wind caught me. Even my balance was going to be tested. The worst was on Ohio Dr. where head winds off the Potomac River were sure to have been exceeding 30mph. They slowed me to just 11mph. Once to Georgetown, there was partial protection. One thing of note there with all the weird weather is that for the first time, I saw that the sea walls were up at the waterfront. The rest of the way home my speeds hardly exceeded 16mph. Besides the winds, I guess I'm rather heavy and was feeling tired too--not much motivation to push. Once in the protections of the tunnel at Bethesda, things were reversed and I easily got up to 20mph before grabbing Max's trailer. |
Wednesday May 14 |
| Bicycling (Commute) 50:34 [3] 13.63 mi (3:42 / mi) | |
| slept:5.75 weight:177.5lbs (injured) |
| From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. Today after riding Max to his daycare, I discovered that I again had forgotten to bring his lunch--Max was tired and not having one of his better mornings. This and getting late trying to give him some medicine distracted me. I rode back to pickup and drop off his lunch then rode in pretty much alone. I was tired and slowish. I got passed in the last mile going into Georgetown but I held on for a draft doing +22mph. My current normal route was detoured. The sidewalk along the Potomac River in the Georgetown waterfront was closed due to the high water. I had a slight headwind getting to the 14th St. Bridge. |
| Bicycling (Commute) 45:31  12.08 mi (3:45 / mi) | |
| (injured) |
| From 14th & Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C., to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. Initially, it appeared that there were tailwinds but I couldn't seem to generate much wattage. There were lots of cars about and many people playing sports. About a mile out of Georgetown, I got passed by a guy doing 19mph on the flats. I sucked off his wheel all the way up to the water treatment overpass then pulled for a mile or more. He took over from there until the last mile into Bethesda. I remember pulling for this man last year but he was in much better shape than I am right now. In the last mile, there were hords of pedestrians doing some kind of organized walk including what looked like a beauty queen sashed and crowned. The rest was normal after picking up Max's trailer. |
Tuesday May 13 |
| Bicycling (Commute) 42:39 [3] 11.72 mi (3:38 / mi) | |
| slept:6.0 weight:77lbs (injured) |
| From Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD to 12th & C. St. SW, Washington, D.C. Due to the dampness from the recent heavy rains I had planned to take the metro to work. I pushed Max in a stroller to his daycare school but I forgot his lunch and quilts so I walked back home. Once there I decided to bicycle since the weather was getting nice so fast and I thought it might actually be quicker to bike back to the daycare with Max's lunch and go to work than it would be to walk and use the metro trains. By the time I changed clothes, it probably worked out to be the same length of time. The ride was nice and cool and breezy--about 59-60F with only a few slippery/wet spots. |
| Bicycling (Commute) 43:40 [3] 11.36 mi (3:50 / mi) | |
| (injured) |
| From C St. SW, Washington, D.C. to Rosedale Ave., Bethesda, MD. It was nice going home. I had to detour a bit going through the Georgetown waterfront. A portion of the way along the water was submerged by the rising waters. It was fairly dry on the path here earlier. I also encountered mixed headwinds and tailwinds. My pace up the hill was good until getting closer to Bethesda. Slow downs due to high pedestrian traffic and the subsequent speedups took it out of me. |
Sunday May 11 |
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| Event: QOC Balls Bluff
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| Orienteering (Foot) 41:12 [1] 1.15 mi (35:48 / mi) | |
| slept:5.0 weight:176lbs (injured) |
| Balls Bluff Regional Park, VA. Whie Peggy ran the Red course, I walked with Max doing a portion of the White course. Max was tired starting out. He stopped several times along the road--this was manifested as a knight who got rusty. My oil can fixed it twice. Alex Merka had already run the course so Max didn't have the frenzy of play pals to keep him going. By the time we got to the 3rd control at the bottom of a hill, he said he wanted to go back so we did. On the way, we got a few more controls but I had to hoist him on my shoulders for the last two. I liked what I saw of the park. It looked like it would be a lot of fun to run and the map expansion seems like a great addition to QOC's inventory. The woods weren't wide open but in many places it was delightful. The map was a work in progress. I noted several things on my walk including a missing reentrant. The rains held off until just as we got into the car to go see my mother and famile for Mother's Day. |