Marine Corps Half Marathon

I was running again.  This time I participated in the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon, held in “historic” Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Truth be told, there isn’t very much about Fredericksburg that is historic, except that on one December day in 1862 several tens of thousands of Union soldiers proved that assaulting prepared defensive works on high ground […]

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.  […]

The Post Where I Make My Wife’s Major Accomplishment A Story About Me

I went on a 40-mile ride yesterday afternoon.  It was nice, but I would prefer to tell you about what I did yesterday morning.  I watched my wife run her first half marathon. This was the scene at the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon, just a few minutes before the start.  I had accompanied my […]

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 […]

Fredericksburg Battlefield Ride

   I tried something different today.  Rather than set out from home my wife drove me to Fredericksburg and deposited me at the National Military Park, where I began heading home on a 34-mile route.  I’ve pretty much exhausted the “loop rides” that can be accomplished from my neighborhood and this gave me an opportunity […]