As regular readers know (and are becoming increasingly bored with hearing about), my feet have been giving me problems this year. I’m fairly certain this is due to an aggravated nerve under the toes of my right foot, although the left foot has been known to join in the fun as well. I suspect this […]
Category: Battlefields
Wilderness 200K Brevet (Part 2)
Now, where was I? Oh yes – just heading back after a lovely sandwich and Mountain Dew at the Spotsylvania 7-11. Did I mention I had a slight breeze at my back all the way down from Bristow? It was in my face now. Nothing serious, mind you. It was only 5-10 mph and only […]
Wilderness 200k Brevet (Part 1)
As is always the case with the DC Randonneurs, check in was a breeze and there were ample supplies of food and drink to help us store up some energy for the day. I was very pleased to finally meet Mary, local cycling heroine and author of the blog, Chasing Mailboxes. Mary was running a […]
DC Randonneurs Civil War Tour 200K Brevet (Part 2)
So there I was, zipping through the streets of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, hoping my depleted energy reserves after 69 miles of climbing would be sufficient to help me outrun an approaching thunderstorm. I’ve outrun storms before. It’s kind of a cool notion, that you can actually outpace a force of nature while riding a bicycle. However, […]
DC Randonneurs Civil War Tour 200K Brevet (Part 1)
And so it came to pass that I found myself in Frederick, MD, with 33 serious cyclists for the DC Randonneurs’ 200 km brevet (pronounced Bra-Vaye, for those who haven’t bothered to learn French). How serious were these cyclists? As I have discussed elsewhere, a 200 km ride is one of the shortest distances these people cover. […]
Haymarket
Although I have traveled west of Route 28 on several occasions, it is still a major step for me and I still view it as “the frontier” of my cycling range. Beyond Route 28 lies Route 29, which I have crossed only once about 13 months ago. If Route 28 is “The Frontier,” then Route […]
Wilderness Campaign 200K ACP Brevet
See the fancy title I used for this ride? I can do this because I am now officially a Randonneur and entitled to use the arcane acronyms of this exclusive club. Here’s how it happened: We gathered at the Caribou Coffee in Bristow to register, pick up our control sheets (more on that later), prep our […]
Bristow
Sometimes, goals can be helpful and today was one of those times. The cold and wind would have certainly kept me indoors but for my goal of reaching 3,000 miles for the year. I was 35 miles away and it was mocking me. I would certainly have broken the mark with my evening rides, but […]
Night
“Take the highway to the end of the night. Take a journey to the bright midnight.” – The Doors This weekend marks the end of Daylight Savings Time, which means (barring days off from work) all my weekday cycling will occur during hours of darkness. Daylight Savings Time returns on March 11, 2012. For […]
Chancellorsville
I got ambitious yesterday. Aided by my wife, who transported me and my bike 30 miles to Fredericksburg, I headed out to the Chancellorsville Battlefield for a look-see and then a 55-mile return trip, the first 20 miles I had never traversed before. I had been wanting to do this trip for several months and […]
There And Back Again 