Friday, March 18, 2011
Beautiful Weather!
I've been in a training class all week and was lucky enough to get out early today. The wife headed home early as well and we did a quick little 9 mile bike ride down and back up the B&A. Glad that she was wanting to go out though I am looking forward to a solo bike ride so I can up the speed.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
A lot has been going on recently with me... I haven't posted in a few months due to... well, not really riding. I have done a few shorter rides, staying in my neighborhood, but the weather has kept me from doing much. I still haven't convinced myself to go out in sub 50 weather...
But, on the awesome side, my wife and I finally purchased a house! It is still in the process of being built, but once it completes, it will be a few miles from where our townhouse is, in Severn. 3.5 miles from the BWI loop and about 4 miles from B&A. It will be done January 31, so in a month we will be packing up and moving on in!
Today we went out shopping and I was surprised to see how warm it was, a nice 52 degrees. I decided to jump on my bike and do my normal Elvaton-B&A-East/West loop. Having never ridden in weather this cold (hey, its cold for me!) I donned bike shorts and a long sleeve Under Armor shirt with my new Dogfish Head jersey. Just a few pics... but I learned quite a bit. First off, gloves are necessary. It wasn't that bad, but my hands were very unresponsive. Second, I need a second layer of long, wind proof on my upper body. My legs, however were quite fine.
It also looks like they have made ZERO progression on fixing the B&A from where it washed out over a year ago.
Looks like Garmin Connect switched from Google Maps to Bing.
But, on the awesome side, my wife and I finally purchased a house! It is still in the process of being built, but once it completes, it will be a few miles from where our townhouse is, in Severn. 3.5 miles from the BWI loop and about 4 miles from B&A. It will be done January 31, so in a month we will be packing up and moving on in!
Today we went out shopping and I was surprised to see how warm it was, a nice 52 degrees. I decided to jump on my bike and do my normal Elvaton-B&A-East/West loop. Having never ridden in weather this cold (hey, its cold for me!) I donned bike shorts and a long sleeve Under Armor shirt with my new Dogfish Head jersey. Just a few pics... but I learned quite a bit. First off, gloves are necessary. It wasn't that bad, but my hands were very unresponsive. Second, I need a second layer of long, wind proof on my upper body. My legs, however were quite fine.
It also looks like they have made ZERO progression on fixing the B&A from where it washed out over a year ago.
Looks like Garmin Connect switched from Google Maps to Bing.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Beautiful day down to Annapolis
This weekend's weather has been phenomenal. I decided to get back out on the bike and head down to Annapolis. Not surprisingly for such a wonderful day, Annapolis was packed. I had a good time getting lost around town, going down roads I wasn't aware of. They had a band playing down on the docks and a food festival of some sorts going on as well. And tons of boats out!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Aluminum Man
Well, it has been nearly two weeks since I did the 114 miles on the C&O. My buddy who went with me apparently got hit by a car while biking in downtown Frederick and walked away with a severe concussion. Glad to hear he is ok, but scary none-the-less. I haven't been biking since. I weighed myself when I got home and was startled to see I was down to 139 pounds, a weight I can honestly say I don't ever remember seeing, even in high school when I was playing soccer every day. 139 pounds is an unhealthy low and I spent the next couple days packing on weight to get myself back up to a more healthy 145. I started lifting weights again as well, which has been a lot of fun. I destroyed my legs doing squats and that put me on the sideline of any cardio training for a few days. But I am feeling great now.
So the title of this post is Aluminum Man. What is the Aluminum Man? Well, talking with my buddy we realized that over the past few years we have done the running and biking portions of the Ironman. A few years back we backpacked 27 miles in a day. While we certainly weren't running and it did take us a good portion of the day, we were carrying close to 70 pounds on our backs. And just two weekends ago we did 114 miles of biking. The only thing left is the 2.4 mile swim.
Looking at that, we decided to come up with a half iron man we could do back to back in a single day. 1.1 miles of swimming, 57 miles of biking, and 13.1 miles of running. I devised a way we could do this self-contained and dubbed it the Aluminum Man (Iron's atomic number is 26, aluminum is 13). We would take off from my house, go to the B&A, ride around the BWI Loop four times then come back to my house. From there we would leave our bikes, switch into running clothes and run down East West to the B&A and follow that all the way south to the Naval Academy Bridge. Once there we would jump in the Severn River and swim 1.1 miles northward to the other bridge and exit there.
The reasoning behind this route is that we are never very far away from water or food. If we coordinate it well, we can park a car at the airport loop with food and water. Each lap, if we needed it, we could go to the car and get fresh water and/or food before continuing. Of course we can refill when we get back to my house. The run is a bit different. We might need a swag biker to stay with us with a backpack full of food and water that we can use as we run south. At the swimming point we can have another car to change in, refuel, and then have a canoe accompany us across the river for safety. Once there we can have the canoe-ist take us back across the river to the car and call it a day.
We are planning this for this time next year. I know the biking portion will be simple and I have confidence in my swimming ability. The only question will be the running, but if we give ourselves a full year of training, I see this being very very doable.
So the title of this post is Aluminum Man. What is the Aluminum Man? Well, talking with my buddy we realized that over the past few years we have done the running and biking portions of the Ironman. A few years back we backpacked 27 miles in a day. While we certainly weren't running and it did take us a good portion of the day, we were carrying close to 70 pounds on our backs. And just two weekends ago we did 114 miles of biking. The only thing left is the 2.4 mile swim.
Looking at that, we decided to come up with a half iron man we could do back to back in a single day. 1.1 miles of swimming, 57 miles of biking, and 13.1 miles of running. I devised a way we could do this self-contained and dubbed it the Aluminum Man (Iron's atomic number is 26, aluminum is 13). We would take off from my house, go to the B&A, ride around the BWI Loop four times then come back to my house. From there we would leave our bikes, switch into running clothes and run down East West to the B&A and follow that all the way south to the Naval Academy Bridge. Once there we would jump in the Severn River and swim 1.1 miles northward to the other bridge and exit there.
The reasoning behind this route is that we are never very far away from water or food. If we coordinate it well, we can park a car at the airport loop with food and water. Each lap, if we needed it, we could go to the car and get fresh water and/or food before continuing. Of course we can refill when we get back to my house. The run is a bit different. We might need a swag biker to stay with us with a backpack full of food and water that we can use as we run south. At the swimming point we can have another car to change in, refuel, and then have a canoe accompany us across the river for safety. Once there we can have the canoe-ist take us back across the river to the car and call it a day.
We are planning this for this time next year. I know the biking portion will be simple and I have confidence in my swimming ability. The only question will be the running, but if we give ourselves a full year of training, I see this being very very doable.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
114 miles of the C&O canal
Well, that was an adventure. Saturday morning I went and grabbed Eric from his parents house at about 630am and headed up to Cumberland, MD, which is where the C&O Canal officially "ends". Of course, we would be using that as a starting point. The drive to Cumberland is amazing. Rolling across mountains with spectacular views and through the sides of mountains that were blasted in half to make the road.
Anyways, we arrived in Cumberland and found a parking deck which was free for the weekend. We had to park on the top level, the only "public" parking level and we set ourselves to prepping our bikes and getting our gear in order. The first thing was stripping and putting on our bike shorts and chamois cream... something neither of us have used before. We had a good laugh at eachother rubbing that shit all over....
And then we headed out to find the canal. It started right on the edge of town.
And then we started off. Our original goal of 124 miles to harper's ferry meant the half way point would be in a small town called Hancock which promised a bike shop (if we needed any more tubes) and a good lunch. The quarter way point was a rather long tunnel built for the canal called the Paw Paw Tunnel. We decided it would be best to take short breaks every 15 miles or so, and since we started off at a good clip, this was great. Unfortunately, by the end of the ride, these 15 mile breaks would cease and we would stop at every water pump we came across.
So, 30 miles in we reached the paw paw tunnel. A few years ago Eric and I did a bit of a crazy hike around these parts and we were looking forward to doing this tunnel again. We stopped there and ate a power bar and had some water before riding through the pitch black tunnel.
And the other side of the tunnel is spectacular. There is a wooden boardwalk that cuts through the mountain with the canal on one side.
With another 30 miles to go until lunch, we took off. During this next stretch we saw many deer and, even cooler, a single black bear running along the drained canal. By the time I could come to a stop to take out the camera, he was already in the trees on the other side. About 20 miles later we hopped off the C&O canal and onto the Western Maryland Rail Trail, a 22 mile paved course similar to the B&A I ride all the time. Unfortunately, this trail was uphill all the way to Hancock and there was no water, at all, on the route. I was dumb and skipped a previous water stop, so I had to push through 11 miles with absolutely no water. It was terrible. Fortunately, this rail trail does shave 5 miles off the canal.
Eventually we made it to Hancock. The pleasant town I was expecting was... not so pleasant. In fact, it was hardly a town at all. More like a few gas stations and that was it. We grabbed a sandwich from Sheetz, a bottle of gatorade, and some bananas and snacked down.
Hancock:
There was a bum passed out where we wanted to go eat. We didn't see him until we sat down and thought he was dead. We checked him breathing then left him alone. From the bottle of vodka in that blue bag... I think he was sleeping off a rather heavy drinking night.
After we left Hancock, we continued on the Western Maryland Rail Trail until it connected back to the C&O around 70 miles in. Surprisingly, I didn't even notice we had done a metric century... wish I would have taken a picture. Oh well.
And then we hit a wall. Both of us were fatigued. We slowed our pace down considerably. I got a stitch in my side and had to pull off for a few minutes to get it out. When we jumped back on the bike we caught a second wind and upped our pace. By mile 80-ish we knew, due to daylight, our goal of 124 miles was out of the question. We called our parents to figure out where to get picked up sooner. We knew we wanted to get a full 100 miles in and the next closest town after that was Shepherdstown, West Virginia at mile 73 on the canal. Unfortunately... somewhere along the way, we hit a detour. Apparently the canal towpath had washed out and we had to head across mountainous side roads. Up and down hills for 10 miles is not something we looked forward to.
Eventually the detour reconnected with the C&O and we pushed out the remaining 12 miles or so. As we hit the 73 mile signpost we saw an opening ahead that would lead to a parking lot where we expected to meet Eric's parents.
And then... after 114 miles of biking over the course of 11 hours. After dodging potholes and limbs. After accidently rolling off the side of the towpath and having to bunny hop over a log. After all that... I freaking fell. I was drafting Eric as we got to the parking lot and he made a sharp turn to get around a signpost. I saw it at the last second and slammed on my breaks. I missed the sign, but with no speed and starting up a hill, and absolutely no power left in my legs, I just fell over. Feet still clipped in. Damn.
We went home, I took a bath, ate as much as I could consume and swiftly fell asleep.
Some other random pictures from the trip:
So... the August 150 is officially cleared and done. my goal of 400 miles for August is nowhere near complete, but I don't think I will be biking much this week. 114 miles on a mountain bike... not bad, not bad at all.
Anyways, we arrived in Cumberland and found a parking deck which was free for the weekend. We had to park on the top level, the only "public" parking level and we set ourselves to prepping our bikes and getting our gear in order. The first thing was stripping and putting on our bike shorts and chamois cream... something neither of us have used before. We had a good laugh at eachother rubbing that shit all over....
And then we started off. Our original goal of 124 miles to harper's ferry meant the half way point would be in a small town called Hancock which promised a bike shop (if we needed any more tubes) and a good lunch. The quarter way point was a rather long tunnel built for the canal called the Paw Paw Tunnel. We decided it would be best to take short breaks every 15 miles or so, and since we started off at a good clip, this was great. Unfortunately, by the end of the ride, these 15 mile breaks would cease and we would stop at every water pump we came across.
So, 30 miles in we reached the paw paw tunnel. A few years ago Eric and I did a bit of a crazy hike around these parts and we were looking forward to doing this tunnel again. We stopped there and ate a power bar and had some water before riding through the pitch black tunnel.
And the other side of the tunnel is spectacular. There is a wooden boardwalk that cuts through the mountain with the canal on one side.
With another 30 miles to go until lunch, we took off. During this next stretch we saw many deer and, even cooler, a single black bear running along the drained canal. By the time I could come to a stop to take out the camera, he was already in the trees on the other side. About 20 miles later we hopped off the C&O canal and onto the Western Maryland Rail Trail, a 22 mile paved course similar to the B&A I ride all the time. Unfortunately, this trail was uphill all the way to Hancock and there was no water, at all, on the route. I was dumb and skipped a previous water stop, so I had to push through 11 miles with absolutely no water. It was terrible. Fortunately, this rail trail does shave 5 miles off the canal.
Eventually we made it to Hancock. The pleasant town I was expecting was... not so pleasant. In fact, it was hardly a town at all. More like a few gas stations and that was it. We grabbed a sandwich from Sheetz, a bottle of gatorade, and some bananas and snacked down.
Hancock:
After we left Hancock, we continued on the Western Maryland Rail Trail until it connected back to the C&O around 70 miles in. Surprisingly, I didn't even notice we had done a metric century... wish I would have taken a picture. Oh well.
And then we hit a wall. Both of us were fatigued. We slowed our pace down considerably. I got a stitch in my side and had to pull off for a few minutes to get it out. When we jumped back on the bike we caught a second wind and upped our pace. By mile 80-ish we knew, due to daylight, our goal of 124 miles was out of the question. We called our parents to figure out where to get picked up sooner. We knew we wanted to get a full 100 miles in and the next closest town after that was Shepherdstown, West Virginia at mile 73 on the canal. Unfortunately... somewhere along the way, we hit a detour. Apparently the canal towpath had washed out and we had to head across mountainous side roads. Up and down hills for 10 miles is not something we looked forward to.
Eventually the detour reconnected with the C&O and we pushed out the remaining 12 miles or so. As we hit the 73 mile signpost we saw an opening ahead that would lead to a parking lot where we expected to meet Eric's parents.
And then... after 114 miles of biking over the course of 11 hours. After dodging potholes and limbs. After accidently rolling off the side of the towpath and having to bunny hop over a log. After all that... I freaking fell. I was drafting Eric as we got to the parking lot and he made a sharp turn to get around a signpost. I saw it at the last second and slammed on my breaks. I missed the sign, but with no speed and starting up a hill, and absolutely no power left in my legs, I just fell over. Feet still clipped in. Damn.
We went home, I took a bath, ate as much as I could consume and swiftly fell asleep.
Some other random pictures from the trip:
Friday, August 20, 2010
C&O canal this weekend
The guy that came down and road into Annapolis a few weekends ago and I are heading out to Cumberland tomorrow morning to start the 185 mile ride into Washington DC. On day 1 we are hoping to make it to Point of Rocks, which is just 10 miles or so south of both our parents houses. We are going to get picked up and spend the night at my parent's house and then get dropped back off in the morning to continue the ride.
On day 1 we are hoping to do 136 miles, which will more than double my longest ride. The only saving fact is there are enough places to bail out that if we don't make it, then we aren't stranded int he middle of nowhere. I am hoping to wake up and get up to Cumberland to start the ride at 7:30am, which would put us in Hancock for lunch. There is also a small bike shop that we can restock if we need to.
I am hoping to make it to Harper's Ferry for dinner... this is where my mom and I rode to about a month or two ago. If we make it that far, we will call my parents to come scoop us at Point of Rocks, a 12 mile bike ride away.
I am a bit of an analyzer... if there is any data I can scrounge up, I will use it to make out some form of... form. So, while I can promise you on Sunday I will return with "the best laid plans of mice and men..." but in the meantime... if we keep an average pace of 12 mph... this will be our timing schedule.
On day 1 we are hoping to do 136 miles, which will more than double my longest ride. The only saving fact is there are enough places to bail out that if we don't make it, then we aren't stranded int he middle of nowhere. I am hoping to wake up and get up to Cumberland to start the ride at 7:30am, which would put us in Hancock for lunch. There is also a small bike shop that we can restock if we need to.
I am hoping to make it to Harper's Ferry for dinner... this is where my mom and I rode to about a month or two ago. If we make it that far, we will call my parents to come scoop us at Point of Rocks, a 12 mile bike ride away.
I am a bit of an analyzer... if there is any data I can scrounge up, I will use it to make out some form of... form. So, while I can promise you on Sunday I will return with "the best laid plans of mice and men..." but in the meantime... if we keep an average pace of 12 mph... this will be our timing schedule.
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