Hurricane Irene

With great fanfare, Hurricane Irene arrived at my location late Saturday morning.  After a 5.9 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, this promised to be an exciting end to a week of odd weather in our part of the world.  We haven’t had a hurricane visit us since 2003, and that one (Isabelle) did a great deal of damage.  After 20 hours of solid rain and 30-40 mph winds, the excitement was over a little after daybreak on Sunday.  Peaking out my windows, the storm didn’t appear to do much damage.  After cleaning up my own yard, I decided to break out my hybrid and have a look around.

Having seen first hand the devastation at Homestead, Florida, as a result of Hurricane Andrew, it seems inappropriate to call what I witnessed “hurricane damage.”  There was an occasional fallen tree and lots of branches/leaves in the road.  That’s about it.  A better phrase would be “strong storm damage.”  The eye of the hurricane stayed next to the Virginia coast, about 100 miles from where I live, so my area got off quite lightly.

There are reportedly hundreds of thousands of people without power in the DC area.  I’ve had no problems but four miles into my ride I caught a glimpse of the challenges faced by the local utility companies.  Northern Virginia Electric Company (NOVEC) was working to fix a downed power line near the Dale City Moose Lodge.

I was happy to have my hybrid (aka “Old Ironsides”) out with me.  I haven’t ridden it in over three months and it was good to take it out for a spin.  With its flat pedals, its easier to hop on and off while investigating things and the fatter tires make handling the road debris a little easier.  And if I break it, it’s a lot less expensive than the Trek!  I was particularly happy to be on it as I passed under Waterway Drive, using a cart path for the local golf course.  I almost became mired in some nasty, wet goo at the bottom of this dark passageway.  I am certain the Trek would have become stuck, forcing a rapid unclip followed by a dismount and trudging through ankle-deep muck for 30 feet.  Not cool.  As it was, Old Ironsides plowed through it in good form and I emerged with clean feet.

I wandered through some side streets and found nothing out of order.  People were outside, picking up twigs and blowing leaves with their leaf blowers.  That’s as exciting as it got, I’m afraid.  I paused on my way back for a pic by a damaged pear tree on Waterway Drive.  These trees are notoriously weak and any strong storm usually claims at least one of them.

With the temperature at 90 degrees, I pulled back into my drive after a refreshing 10 mile pedal.  It’s good to know Old Ironsides is still ready to serve.  As the weather turns in the next few months, I’ll be reaching for it more often.

My Photo Shoot

 As an Important and Influential Blogger, it should be of no surprise to you that a professional photographer recently requested permission to photograph me while I demonstrated my cycling technique.  After learning more about this event, you might point out that the photographer was my daughter, who only wanted the pictures so she could complete a homework assignment for her college photography course.  You would be right.  You would also be a killjoy.  So let us focus on the more uplifting aspects of this event and avoid the more mundane portions, shall we?

For the backdrop of our photo shoot, my photographer selected a parking lot at the extremely glamorous and scenic Montclair Elementary School (home of the Cardinals!).  After setting up her equipment and checking the lighting, we got to work on her primary goal: a photograph which blurred the background behind me while keeping me in focus.  Behold, the first-ever photograph of Yours Truly on a bicycle, taken by someone other than Yours Truly!

It took a surprisingly large number of attempts to get this photo.  There were several technical details involved that I was only dimly aware of.  Having completed our main project, my photographer decided to do some experimenting.  The below “Salvador Dali” photo was the result.  My photographer informs me that she is in the process of applying some of the dark arts of photo editing to further alter the picture.  That should be interesting!

Then we took some black and white shots, because nothing says “Up-Scale and Hip Photography” like black and white!

Here, I demonstrate a proper (ie., “cool”) resting position.  There are accepted techniques for standing around with your bike.  This is one of them.  Enjoy.

My photographer then wanted to get the rider out of the picture so she could focus on subjects that were more visually appealing, like my bike by itself.  I did my best to keep it upright by holding the rear tire out of frame.  My photographer asked me why I didn’t have a kick stand for my bike.  I laughed.  A lot.  Then I told her it was too hard to explain.

Here’s another shot of the bike, sans rider. 

I must say that I am very impressed with my photographer’s work.  It’s not easy making me look acceptable and I believe she has done so admirably.  Incidentally, if you are in the Northern Virginia area and would like some pictures taken, she is available for a small fee.  You can reach her at this website:  FreeThinking Photography.

Plodding Along

click for details

10 miles in a freezing moonless night was the best I could do today.  My concerns over visibility forced me onto the neighborhood sidewalks, where I contended with seams in the cement, walkers, joggers, and pet owners.  The poor lighting also caused me to slow down, all of which kept my pace embarrassingly slow. 

I tried an experiment on the local golf course.  I thought perhaps the cart path would make a nice ride.  I wouldn’t recommend this, especially on dark nights.  It was way too difficult to figure out where the path picked up on each hole.  After wandering over three holes, I gave up and pressed on.

Sunset tomorrow will be one minute later than it was today.  Baby steps.

Christmas Ride

I’ve never ridden a bike on Christmas Day, primarily due to the fact that I’ve usually lived in places where riding a bike in December is viewed as a symptom of mental imbalance.  However, after a season of cycling I now understand that there is no place too cold for cycling.  At least that’s what all the other cyclists say and they can’t all be wrong, can they?  I therefore resolved to head out for a short pedal.

The roads and paths are still a little dicey with ice, so I opted for the hybrid bike.  This gave me an opportunity to go off-road a bit and visit Lake Montclair.  As you can see from the photo, the lake is frozen.  We’ve gone entire winters without the lake freezing, so this is a good indication of the kind of winter we have had – not much snow but freakin’ cold.  Almost every day in December has been below seasonal norms.  Sigh.

I had a chance to dabble in the mountain biking discipline by riding a narrow path next to the lake.  I can report that the knobs you find on mountain bike tires are very useful.  I know this because my hybrid’s tires lack this feature and I found myself wishing for those knobs about every twenty feet.  Each root, rut, rock, and other protrusion in the trail threatened to send me off the path and down a five foot embarkment onto the lake ice.  I strongly suspected the ice would not withstand that impact.  Despite the element of danger, it was a fun 1/2 mile.  

Once back on the neighborhood roads, I headed in an unusual (for me) direction – east.  This takes me toward the congested areas of the county and I therefore seldom venture this way.  My goal was a modest one – to read and photograph a historical marker on Benita Fitzgerald Drive.  I drive past this marker almost every day on my commute.  The markers are almost always on the side of the road, but the writing is too small and lengthy to read as you drive by, which I find very frustrating and just a tad self-defeating.  If you put up a sign and nobody can read it, what exactly is the point?  This marker is tucked into some shrubs, making it impossible to even read the title.

The Benita Fitzgerald marker in its natural setting

As it turns out, this was a first in my growing collection of historical markers.  Most markers highlight a significant event that occurred on or near a given spot.  This marker explains why a road was given its name.  Benita Fitzgerald Road’s namesake grew up in this area in the 1970s and attended a highschool a few miles from this location.  During her youth, this specific area was nothing but woodland, but lets not let that detail get in the way of a good historical marker!

Click for details

I pedaled back to the traffic signal in the background of the above picture and turned onto Cloverdale Drive.  Like the rest of this trip, I was pedaling through neighborhoods and competing with light but alarmingly inept traffic.  It must have been the holiday, but I came too close to a “significant event” on three occasions, each one with a driver racing up to the street I was on and hoping to quickly make a turn onto it.  The absence of other cars emboldened these drivers, who didn’t notice the fool riding his bike in the cold weather.

I successfully avoided any mishap and finished my ride in fine form.  My Garmin informed me that the temperature was 34 degrees.  I am taking solace in the fact that the solstice occurred a few days ago and therefore every day has slightly more sunlight than the previous one.  The end is in sight!

Not much competition for sitting on the bench

In The Dark

Perhaps those of you living in the Northern Hemisphere have noticed – the days are getting shorter.  This means that any sort of evening ride will involve hours of limited visibility.  I’ve been working in one or two night rides every week for some time now, but as the sun sets earlier and the temperatures drop with each passing day, my wife has begun to question the wisdom of this practice.  Tonight was no exception.  Our conversation went something like this:

Wife:  I see you have your cycling clothes on.  Are you going out for a ride?

Me: The thought crossed my mind.

Wife:  I see.  Tell me, do you see other cyclists out there at this time of day?

Me:  Come to think of it, not really.

Wife:  Perhaps there’s a reason for that.

Me:  Perhaps.  Maybe it will occur to me while I’m on my ride.

Wife:  Maybe.  Have fun on your ride.  It’s been good to know you.

And then I was off.  I decided to wander through the neighborhoods where I live.  This was a bit daring as most of these streets I’ve never been on in broad daylight, let alone an overcast evening with a fading moon.  In some ways it was easier than staying on the Spriggs Road path.  The headlights from cars on that road were blinding me and it was difficult to see the path.  On the back roads, my eyes could adjust and my sole concern was avoiding any maniacs that might come flying up behind me and not notice my blinking red light.

As luck would have it, I did not come into contact with any maniacs.  I had a pleasant ride in 50 degree temps.  It just started to rain as I pedaled into my drive.  Old Ironsides performed very well and all is right with the world.

And for the record, over 15.6 miles I saw two groups of walkers (five people total) and no cyclists.  I’m still ruminating on my wife’s question!

The Last Great Day Of Summer?

As the calendar moves deeper into October, there are fewer Summer-like days.  Today, Summer made a mid-Autumn appearance with a cloudless sky, low humidity, gentle breezes, and a temperature hovering around 80 degrees.  We may not get many more days like today for some time and I took advantage of it.

I tried to take some pics of the bike from different angles while I was riding.  Here are some of the better ones:

This is the bike path on Rte 234.  Hard to believe you can hit someone on this path at night while using a light, but I’ve almost done it twice!  Walkers, please note that black jackets and jeans are a bad combination at night.

I tried to get creative with a shadow pic.

Self-portraits while mounted (and clipped in) are a bit challenging.  I don’t like my expression, but I thought the image of my arm, the road, and my shadow in my sunglasses was pretty cool.

It took more than a few shots to get this angle lined up properly!

I took these pics over the first seven miles of the ride.  After passing the Lake Jackson Dam on Rte 234, I turned onto the Prince William Parkway and made my way over to Yates Ford Road.  On my way, I ate my first Power Bar and was very pleased.  It is more moist than my Clif Bars and required far less water to wash it down.  I have no idea which has more nutritional value.  I guess I should read the label and figure that out!

After a short while on Yates Ford Road, I turned onto Davis Ford Road and took full advantage of the big descent leading down to the Occoquan River.  I managed to break the 40 mph barrier – barely.  I hit 40.2 mph but I believe I could have squeezed 2-3 more mph out of it had I not been so worried about the car that was following me.  Traveling 40 mph on  a bike in traffic definitely keeps you focused!

A couple of miles later, I came to the Bacon Race Cemetery.  Since there were historical markers, I had no choice but to stop and take some pics.

Bacon Race Church was the first Baptist Church built in Prince William County (c. 1774).  Two more churches were built on this site, the most recent one collapsing in rather ominous fashion on Christmas Eve, 1987.     Below are all the details:

During the Civil War, a South Carolina brigade under the command of Colonel Wade Hampton used the church for its winter headquarters.   Yet another marker for a Confederate happening.  It’s quite remarkable that these historical markers dot the landscape but I have yet to find one which commemorates some aspect of Union activity.  This is especially odd as the area was under Federal control for most of the war.  I can’t imagine why this oversight has occurred!

The church is gone but the cemetery remains.  I hopped off my bike for a moment to take a drink and snap this picture:

The rest of my ride was uneventful.  The horses were out as I passed the farm on Hoadly road and I had a pleasant chat with a 20-something Burger King manager who was pedaling to work on his Schwinn.  He bikes 10 miles to work each way, five days a week.  Not bad!  I pulled into the drive and tried to remember the feeling of cycling on a hot day.  I don’t think I’ll have many more of those for the next six months!

Cycling in the Dark, Cold, Rain

Here’s a tip: you can’t see rain clouds when it’s dark out, so check your local weather channel or website before you begin your night ride.  Otherwise, you might find yourself cycling in a 55-degree rainstorm as I did last night.  It was a great character-building experience, but I hope not to repeat it anytime soon.

There’s no need to thank me – I’m happy to help.

I elected to keep Old Ironsides as my evening bike.  I generally keep those rides to around 15 miles and I think it can handle that load.  I also haven’t switched my light setup to the Trek.  I could easily make the switch but I would be mortified if I wrecked my new bike on a darkened wet trail. 

It was good to “work the kinks out” from this weekend’s ride.  Hopefully I’ll get another ride in tonight, then I can go for some longer trips on the weekend when the weather is forecasted to be great.

Prince William Forest & Quantico

On Saturday, I traveled around Prince William Forest and did a couple of laps on Quantico Marine Corps Base.  Although the calendar informed me it was Fall, the weather was decidedly summer-like, with temps in the mid 90s.  I’ve traveled all these roads at least once before so there was very little new to report, other than the Modern Day Marine Expo, which I passed on my way by the post HQ. 

From the outside, there wasn’t much to see other than a bunch of white “beer tents.”  I’m sure it is very nice and the Marines are very proud of it, but I had finished only 20 of my 45 miles and couldn’t be bothered to stop.  Instead, I took my break on a bench at the Quantico Elementary School playground.  It was in the shade and nobody was there.  Much better than a tent full of Marine stuff.

Here is this ride’s installment of “Virginia Historical Marker Picture.”  This marker is on Rte 234, near the entrance to my subdivision, Montclair:

And this is what it looks like in its natural setting:

I finished the ride in good shape and in a better-than-average pace of almost 15 mph.  There was only a small issue, namely that when I got off the bike I had no feeling in the ring and pinky fingers of my left hand.  This continued for most of the day, which was a tad disconcerting.  Some one-handed google searches informed me that I was suffering from handlebar palsy, an overuse injury caused by excessive compression of the ulnar nerve which runs down the arm and (most importantly for this story) the outer portion of the hand, ending in (you guessed it!) the ring and pinky fingers.  It is also responsible for hand strength, which explains why I had a tough time using my left hand to properly operate a clothes pin later that evening.

The treatment for this condition is rest, usually 2-4 weeks.  I’ll give it six days.  Various websites also recommend frequently changing hand positions  (something I already do) and additional padding in riding gloves (something I will definitely look into).  The hand is already doing much better and I am even using it to type this post – yippee!

Today, I took the Trek back to Revolution Cycles to give it a tune up prior to next weekend’s ride in Culpeper.  The cables, derailleurs, brakes, and whatnot on new bikes have a break-in period.  Small adjustments are usually necessary after the first couple hundred miles.  Such was the case with my bike.  After a few small tweaks and a chain lube, the Trek was right as rain.  I briefly loitered at the glove section, hoping to find a pair of full-fingered gloves for my winter riding.  I found several, but none for less than the cost of dinner at a fine restaurant.  I think I’ll shop around a bit!

17 Miles In The Drops

Most people are familiar with the curved aspect of touring/racing handlebars.  This type of handlebar is formally known as a “drop handlebar.”   Unlike flat handlebars, this type of setup allows for a more aggressive stance which reduces wind resistance and improves performance.  When a cyclist wants to really maximize his performance, he places his hands “in the drops,” meaning the lowest portion of the bar.  In addition to helping the cyclist go faster, this position is more tiring than the upright positions made possible by gripping the top portion of the bar.

I’ve fiddled with this position since getting the Trek two weeks ago, but I haven’t really measured the improved performance you can get with it.  So today I decided to “put the hammer down” (cycling jargon for “go fast”) and do my entire ride in the drops.

The result: a rocket-like (for me, anyway) pace of 18.7 mph. 

By way of comparison, I ran 18.0 mph on a 15 mile course just four days ago, using the drops sparingly.  My PBR for my Crosstrail was a pedestrian 16.8 mph.  So the drops definitely make a significant difference.  And I do understand that this is hardly a breakthrough in the field of cycling science and is probably of no interest to anyone except myself. 

I also began to feel the limits of this technique.  After 17 miles, my hands were turning numb and my “fun reservoir” had almost run dry.  Serious suffering was beginning to ensue.  It was a helluva workout and I believe this PBR will stand for some time.  The good news is that there were plenty of gears left for me to go to should I ever improve my fitness to properly “drop the hammer.”  A more apt description of my current abilities would be more like “drop the comfy pillow.”

In other news, the CCC ride has published their route maps for this year’s event.  You can find the map here.  Now it’s time to do my detailed terrain analysis and plan the perfect ride strategy which I will jettison in a fit of panic and/or elation within the first five miles!

Hot And Humid

It rained this morning, which forced me to change my plans for the day.  I had originally wanted to circumnavigate Prince William Forest, but by the time the weather cleared I would find myself on Route 1 in mid-afternoon on a Sunday.  Bad idea.  So after cutting my lawn, I opted for a 31 mile route to the northwest.  I had previously completed this route with a 15.7 mph average and wanted to beat that mark.  I thought the humidity which lingered after the morning rains would effect me and I was right.  Boy, was I right.

When I’m on a stationary bike at the gym, it is not unusual for beads of sweat to come off my arms and collect in an ever-growing puddle on the floor.  I have never experienced that on a bicycle until today.  My shirt was completely drenched, my gloves were soaked and felt like wet sponges when I squeezed my grips.  And I could see the sweat dripping off my hands as I rode along.  It was pretty nasty, but my pace was good and I had a shot at a Personal Best Record (PBR).

Sweating as I was, I regretted not bringing my Camelbak on this ride.  All I had was my water bottle, into which I poured a Hammer Gel packet before the ride.  BIG MISTAKE.  As much as I enjoyed the gel straight out of the packet, I could barely stomach it when diluted into water.  The resulting concoction tasted like dirty water taken from a bucket in the back yard, with a dash of apples and cinnamon.  Seeing as this was the only hydration I had available to me, I forced myself to suck the stuff down and dealt with the revolting aftertaste as best as I could.

In the end, I was only able to tie my PBR pace.  I would like to give myself a one minute time bonus to reflect the fact I stopped to give directions to a lost motorist, but that would be sniveling and sniveling is not nice.  I was completely drained by this ride and immediately sucked down as much Gatorade and water as I could.  Still, I burned another 1,500 calories and avoided my Bike Shop.  Another good day!