Activity: road cycling
Location: Glen Echo, MD > Poolesville, MD
Distance: 55.4 miles
Duration: 2:57
Weather: hazy and humid, 77 degrees
Avg HR: 154 (est.)
Type: aerobic
An early morning ride for a Sunday, and I would’ve ridden to Glen Echo if not for the fact that I started out a little slow this morning. However, the ride was great, and I was pulling a good pace throughout. I averaged 18.8 mph for the ride, which is a fast pace, given the hills involved in the ride. By ride’s end, I still felt fresh – probably could’ve gone another 25 or 30 miles without a problem. If I can pull more miles like this going into September, I’ll be ready for the century ride without any problem.
I’ve got a busy schedule over the next two-and-change months. In addtion to work and cycling, the following tasks are on tap:
- Back-to-school for Georgetown University students (August 27).
- Bachelor outing for Sam (Labor Day weekend).
- Start of new semester of grad school courses (second week of September).
- Trip to England for sprite’s cousin’s wedding (third and fourth week of September).
- Sam and Alexis’ wedding (Columbus Day weekend).
Quite the time crunch. Thus, I’ve decided that the Civil War Century is the best 100-mile option for this year. It’s on September 10, and the route takes in three Civil War battlefields (Antietam, Gettysburg and South Mountain). The PPTC Century falls during our UK trip, which is a bummer, but not the end of the world.
Any way you look at it, though: it’s a century!
I’ve been passing time this afternoon (between frantic user calls) by tweaking two things:
- I’ve reorganized the links on the side and added a few choice new ones to the mix.
- I finally added a link on the bottom of the page to allow access to older entries. It’s about friggin’ time, ain’t it?
So, with that, I carry on into what promises to be a wonderful weekend, full of cycling, relaxing, and an Elvis and Emmylou show on Sunday night.
The most local level of DC politics is the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, or ANC. These people are essentially the people’s watchdogs, who make sure that DC’s higher elected officials and government agencies actually do things for their constituents. It’s a tough job, and I admire those who take it on.
One of the local ANC folk, Rob Halligan, just started a blog that chronicles the ANC experience, warts and all. It’s a great read, and I hope he keeps it up.
Why Do We Tolerate DC Gov Abusing Its Customers?
Found via DC Blogs.
Now that I’m back to a more-or-less normal state-of-mind, it’s time to post about the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. This year’s fest was the 17th edition of this annual music, dance, camping and r&r happening, and it was a nice break from the usual workday.
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Y’know, Google Labs needs to be given a big ass award for opening up the API to their Google Maps service.
Case in point: a pedometer that allows you to trace your route on a Google Map, telling you the distance covered. This is great for making things like cue sheets for bike rides.
GMap Pedometer
I guess I’m a few pounds lighter and a few shades more tan, thanks to the relentless heat and sun that was the story of this year’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. It was okay – not the best FRFF, but not the worst. There was a lot of heat and humidity, as well as a nice thunderstorm that brought forth a fantastic Saturday. I’ll post more in days ahead, but it was a nice break.
Also, a shout out to my old high school ski racing buddy, Levi Leipheimer, who placed a career-best sixth-place in this year’s Tour de France. He raced a good race, and hopefully will be on the podium in 2006.
Activity: road cycling
Location: Hillsdale, NY > Copake Falls, NY
Distance: 16.7 miles
Duration: 1:35
Weather: hot and sunny, 84 degrees
Avg HR: 147 (est.)
Type: aerobic
Not nearly as hot as the previous day’s ride, sprite and I rode to the Ore Pit Pond swimming hole at Taconic State Park. We rode at a slower pace, as sprite is still developing as a cyclist (though she keeps up a good pace, better than she thinks). The ride from Long Hill Farm to Copake Falls cuts through some wonderful farmland, and has a few rolling hills.
We took our time on the hills and were rewarded with some wonderful swimming in the Ore Pit Pond. The pond was originally an iron ore quarry in the 1800s, and was flooded when iron production in Copake Falls dwindled in the late-1890s. The mine decided to flood the pit with natural spring water flow, and locals soon discovered it to be a wonderful swimming pond. Since 1927, the pond has been a great place to swim and cool off on a hot summer day. The pond’s swimming area ranges from 8 ro 40 feet deep, so big dives are possible, though not encouraged by the ever-present lifeguards.
After the swim, I rode up the Bash Bish Falls notch again (tougher this time, riding from a cold start after lying in the sun, and also carrying more weight with my rack, towel and aqua socks), then caught up with sprite back in Hillsdale. It was a great time away from the music, the crowds and the heat.
Activity: road cycling
Location: Hillsdale, NY > Copake Falls, NY > Millerton, NY
Distance: 36 miles
Duration: 1:55
Weather: hazy, hot and humid and overcast, 88 degrees (heat index: 95 degrees)
Avg HR: 157 (est.)
Type: aerobic
While at FRFF, I went on this fun morning ride. The highlight of this was scaling the Bash Bish Falls road notch twice. This road, which is 2.1 miles in length from Copake Falls to the top of the notch, averages 7 percent grade, with the steepest part being 12 percent. If not for its short length, the climb would rate high in the UCI climbing ranks (with its short length, though, this is something like a Category 2, at best). I felt good, so I did it twice. The rest of the ride had some longer, more sustained hills, with some nice shade, some friendly bovines, a wild turkey and a lot of sweat.
I’m gonna go quiet (more or less) until the 25th, as I’m off to New York to take in a show (Spamalot), a folk music festival (Falcon Ridge Folk Festival), and some great bike rides in the greater-Hillsdale area (with Bash Bish Falls, Copake Lake, and the Merchant-Ivory estate as scenic markers).
Until then, make sure you keep the aisles reasonably clean.
31/07/2005 | 
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