Road Trip

Headed to North Carolina today for some camping and a music festival. Looking forward to a change of pace for the next few days. I'll be back on Monday, hopefully with some campfire tales to tell.

Daily Dose

Either you're extremely busy right now, or you're really bored. I'm the former.

Ingested my daily dose of gnats on my way home from work this evening. The Potomac River, just as I recall along the Schuylkill River, is an excellent breeding ground for these small grey fliers. Look out over a field of soy or corn seedlings, and what you think is heat rising off the newborn crops are really these same gnats, indulging in the warm, moist ether.

Along with the gnats came the 10 or so miles of riding that comprise my twice daily commute. In the morning there's a steady stream of lycra-clad suburbanites flying down the trail on incomprehensibly expensive two wheelers. I imagine that they're imagining themselves as rounding the final bends in the breakaway leg of a Tour de France stage. Of course, they're headed downhill, and there's generally a northwesterly breeze (headwind for me, tailwind for them) so they've accumulated just about as much momentum as their carbon frames can offer and are moving at a staggering clip. They're also in peloton formation, each taking shifts on the front of the pack, where the work is done. This is as close to carpooling as you get on a bike.

I, of course, am headed uphill, into the wind, on a clydesdale of sorts. It's my daily commuter, but it's beefy, built to haul loads. Today I managed to stay in the third (largest) chainring for most of the uphill. I've gotten to be able to approximate my speed my knowing which gear I'm in, something that's taken quite a bit of practice.

Speaking of practice, Sunday I went on a jaunt out northeast of the city, into USDA research lands. The street names out there are surreal: N Dairy Ln, Bio Control Rd, Soil Conservation Rd. Beautiful countryside, all things considered. You can't quite escape motor traffic down here no matter how hard you try, but it was a great ride. Last Sunday I took my fixie out to Valley Forge and back (I was in Philly for the weekend), for about 50 miles. There's nothing closer to riding on a trainer than the Valley Forge trail on a fixed gear.

I've been getting my fill of cycling miles, and vertical feet climbing as well. Last night I took a course in lead climbing at the rock gym I belong to. Lot's to absorb, plenty of practice ahead of me. This seems to be the next step as I progress in the bouldering and top-roping areas. Looking forward to the new experience. Plenty of fears to overcome.

My feet have been feeling OK. I get more and more finicky with them the better they feel, which kind of masks the progress I've been making a little. Some days they feel great, and it's easy to get discouraged by a few minor twinges and stiff mornings. Overall, they're on the up and up.

Tomorrow I'm leaving early, headed into the cool Potomac breeze toward my gym in Bethesda to do a bit of lifting. Here's an area I never thought I'd find myself. I'm into it lately. I really notice the gains from it. For now it's basic lifts: flat benches, barbell squats, deadlifts, and the occasional power clean and press. Makes me feel strong, less overly specialized.

Haste

Don't seem to have a whole lot of time for this lately. Things are going well. Just busy.

My feet noticeably improve on a daily basis. They're still far from the point where I'd be comfortable to run on them, but I'm happy to note day to day progress.

Biking in this weather has been unbelievable. More on that to come.