Archive: September, 2007

workout log: 29 september 2007

author randomduck | timestamp 29/09/2007 | categories Comments Off

Activity: road cycling
Location: Frederick, MD > Thurmont > Middletown > Frederick
Distance: 73.4 miles (hilly – mostly in last two-thirds)
Duration: 3:58
Weather: sunny and mild, 57-74 degrees
Avg HR: 137 (max 170)
Type: aerobic

PPTC “Tour du Thurmont Extended” ride. This was my first major ride on the new Jamis, and it was a fun one. The ride had great turnout, and most of the regular gang was there: Wolfgang, Joyce, Chris, Jonathan, Al, Flyin’ Brian, Kevin, and many more.

The first third of the ride was mostly flat with a few rollers – good for building up pace. And I was pacing by feel, as I haven’t yet installed my computer on my bike (the ride time is from a fellow rider who finished with me). After the first rest stop in Thurmont (where we all froze – it was probably 10 degrees colder only 17 miles north of Frederick), the climbing started. I climbed well, if not as explosively as in recent weeks. In fact, all of the folks in our group – Wolfgang, Al, Brian, Joyce and me – were a bit “off” today (well, perhaps not Brian), but we rode well.

The route was most beautiful (view it here), with some great views of the Catoctin hills. And the Jamis rode like a champ, too.

categories cycling, outdoors, workout

the jamis…

author randomduck | timestamp 26/09/2007 | categories Comments Off

…is built.

Pictures to come soon.

categories cycling

workout log: 25 september 2007

author randomduck | timestamp 25/09/2007 | categories Comments Off

Activity: road cycling
Location: Dupont Circle > Palisades > Dupont Circle
Distance: 13.2 miles (rolling hills)
Duration: 0:54
Weather: sunny with rapidly-approaching dusk, 82-84 degrees
Avg HR: 135 (max 160)
Type: aerobic

PPTC “Downtown Breakaway” ride…. sorta. It was a ride that started out well enough: we had great turnout with an earlier start time, as this was the final DB ride of the season. We left with a group of 10-or-so, and made good progress toward Chain Bridge Road.

Then I flatted behind the Russian Embassy. Even with a spare tube (thanks, Pam!), I managed to botch the repair, breaking off the valve stem with my CO2 inflator. I managed to get about 60 psi of air into my tire with the hobbled tube, enough to limp my bike back to The Burrow….

…. where I changed into my SPD sandals, hopped onto my Marin mountain bike, and rushed out to meet the pack as they returned from the Mohican Hills. Glen, Pam and Jonathan were on their way back, and I met up with them just short of Sibley Hospital. We rode the rest of the route together, and I kept up just fine at a 20-22 mph pace on my knobby-tire-clad bike (perhaps I’ll use it to lead BB-class rides this winter).

At any rate, I still got a workout, still enjoyed myself, and used the ride as motivation to finish building the Jamis frame.

ETA: I’d be completely remiss if I didn’t mention sprite’s role in this ride. She talked me into heading back out on the Marin, after I sulked a wee bit about missing out on the rest of the ride. She rocks.

categories cycling, outdoors, random, workout

last game at rfk

author randomduck | timestamp 24/09/2007 | categories Comments Off

Well, the last baseball game, at least.

sprite and I had a great time at the game. I managed to get us seats in the outfield mezzanine, which allowed for a great view from left field. We really got to see the extent of the crowd on hand, which was the largest attendance for a Nats game in 2007 (slightly over 41,000 seats sold – not a sellout, amazingly enough, given the historic nature of the game).

The Presidents Race was a fun one, as the Nats’ bullpen emptied to try and help Teddy win. They blocked Abe, George and Tom, but to no avail: Teddy ended up at the new ballpark, where he ran to home plate with no competition (or live audience, other than construction workers and a camera crew). The audience booed the other presidents, chanting “we want Teddy” for a few minutes after the race’s conclusion.

And the Nats played well. They went out to win their final outing at RFK, and kept on the offensive and defensive pressure throughout the game. Even though Chad “The Chief” Cordero threatened to blow his save opportunity by allowing a run, but he then struck out the final batter – “theeeeee Nats win!”

And after the game’s conclusion, the ceremonies continued for another hour or so. The players gave away their game jerseys to lucky fans. Manny Acta dug up home plate to transfer it to the new ballpark. Screech the Eagle entered RFK on a zipline. Fireworks were launched over the outfield for the final time.

sprite and I wandered around the stadium for a few minutes before leaving. We went up to the yellow, upper-deck seats to see one of the white seats where Frank Howard’s home runs landed in the late-60s and early-70s. We marveled at exactly how long these home runs were, looking back toward home plate from almost 500 feet away.

And then it was over.

Fare thee well, RFK. Sure, I’ll be back for DC United games and the occasional concert, but I’ll miss baseball in your old, shaky shell.

(You can see photos from the game here.)

categories baseball

workout log: 23 september 2007

author randomduck | timestamp 23/09/2007 | categories Comments Off

Activity: road cycling
Location: Bowie, MD > Friendship, MD > Bowie
Distance: 52.8 miles (rolling hills)
Duration: 2:52
Weather: sunny with a breeze, 70-80 degrees
Avg HR: 131 (max 170)
Type: aerobic

PPTC “Bowie To The Beach And Back (In Time For Baseball)” ride, led by me. This ride left Allen Pond Park at 7:45 in the morning, so only one intrepid soul showed up to ride with me. But that was good, as we improvised a route that fit the time constraints necessary to get back in time to drive to RFK. But the early start time also meant precious little traffic and more wildlife sightings than usual – I saw at least three red foxes on the ride.

Stopped at Fabulous Brew in Friendship for a latté around mile 26, which was fantastic – and the owners were really pleased that “some of you cyclists finally stopped in to say hello.” I’ll definitely return.

categories cycling, outdoors, workout

workout log: 22 september 2007

author randomduck | timestamp 22/09/2007 | categories Comments Off

Activity: road cycling
Location: Laytonsville, MD > Woodbine > Mt. Airy > Laytonsville
Distance: 68.6 miles (rolling hills)
Duration: 3:39
Weather: sunny and a touch humid, 73-83 degrees
Avg HR: 142 (max 172)
Type: aerobic

PPTC “Another Laytonsville Ride.” A good ride, with some killer rollers and a small-but-sincere A group. I wasn’t firing on all cylinders compared to last weekend, but I was still strong on the hills. I consciously tried to save a bit of energy for Sunday’s early morning ride.

categories cycling, workout

getting there, sans car and yarny thoughts

author randomduck | timestamp 21/09/2007 | categories 1 Comment

The theme isn’t quite where I want it to be (and for those of you reading this via Bloglines, Feedburner or Google Reader, you really should check it out), but it’s getting there.

I need the Flickr module to look a bit more formatted – CSS tweaking involved, shouldn’t be too difficult to finish. And I don’t like the caption spacing in the del.icio.us block – again, something CSS related.

But it’s a change, and I’m happy with the new look. Let me know what y’all think!

– — – — –

In other news, Car Free Week continues without issues. The daily commute has been good, and Tuesday night’s PPTC ride went off without a hitch (and there’s a log entry forthcoming, but I’ve been too busy with other stuff to bother copying and pasting forging it from raw bits and bytes).

Granted, I did have to drive to a location out in Alexandria that’s not easily accessible via mass transit (ah, sprawl without adequate planning, how I love thee), which leads me to….

– — – — –

Hat and HarlotLast night’s outing, where sprite and I went to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee – better know as The Yarn Harlot – speak at the Borders Books at Bailey’s Crossroads. Stephanie is the superhero du jour of the knitting community, especially those who are part of the yarncraft blogosphere.

And she’s popular for good reason: she’s extremely funny. sprite was quite sure that I’d appreciate her humor (or “humour,” as she’s a Canuck), and she was right: the Yarn Harlot knows how to make the somewhat zen endeavor of knitting seem like the most interesting, funny, engrossing form of activity on the planet. If there were a World Knitting Association, I nominate her to be the spokesperson – she’s that good.

Granted, I didn’t stay for the whole event – I had to pick up some odds-and-ends for both the Pedal Force (a.k.a. “Das Rudi Projekt”) and the Jamis (a.k.a. “Son of Rudi Projekt”) across the street at Performance Bike – but the Q&A was still going strong when I returned after an hour’s absence. And the crowd hadn’t thinned in that time. In fact, I’m willing to wager that it grew, as curious patrons of the bookstore, who to that moment hadn’t a bit of interest in knitting, were sucked in by the celebrity and stage presence of a witty woman from Toronto.

categories cycling, random

testing in progress

author randomduck | timestamp 20/09/2007 | categories 1 Comment

New theme in the works for fall – beware falling pixels!

categories random

wednesday random ten

author randomduck | timestamp 19/09/2007 | categories 2 Comments

Since Sweetpea has posted a lot today, I’ll go with my random ten iPod/iTunes songs du jour:

  1. “One Slip” – Pink Floyd
  2. “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out” – Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
  3. “Matchbox” – The Beatles
  4. “Highway To Hell” – Tiny Tim
  5. “Space Oddity” – The Langley Schools Music Project
  6. “Let It Be” – The Beatles
  7. “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?” – The Rolling Stones
  8. “Again” – Lenny Kravitz
  9. “Garden Song” – John Denver
  10. “Gravity’s Rainbow (Van She Remix)” – Klaxons

Post your list of ten in the comments – arrrrrr!

categories music, random

more be of the pira-sea

author randomduck | timestamp 19/09/2007 | categories Comments Off

My pirate name is Calico Tom Read

Often indecisive, you can’t even choose a favorite color. You’re apt to follow wherever the wind blows you, just like Calico Jack Rackham, your namesake. Even through many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You’ve got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.

I tip me hat to Iron Mary Rackham fer this bit of fun.

categories random

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