I made sure to give Dean and Gwen a hard time about dragging me to Northern Virginia. But Gwen had a multipass to Sportrock she had to use up before she moves to the west coast in May. And I thought it would be a nice change to test out some of the competition.
It's been interesting trying out various rock gyms. There are definite stylistic variations between gyms that are probably the result of certain cultural (with respect to the staff) idiosyncrasies. In addition, the rating of routes (classifying their difficulty) varies on a subjective basis. Those with short fingers have a difficult time playing Rachmaninoff.
Tonight the routes I chose seemed to feature lots of vertical edge type holds, requiring certain balance maneuvers more than pure strength. It's amazing how the most subtle adjustments in posture can influence the difficulty of a move. Twist your hips one way, stick a leg out another way, pull your knee in, etc. These technicalities are what draw me to indoor climbing. Total physical problem solving. I messed around on some top rope routes for a little over an hour, then moved to the bouldering area. Overall the climbing was fairly laid back and I didn't do any supplemental exercises.
Looks like it'll be a chilly but sunny morning so I'm planning on skipping the gym and riding in to work tomorrow. The evening ride home promises full spring splendor.
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