The view from my handlebars. Congress works there.
A lot has been going down the last month, I’ve got video to edit (something I’ve grown increasingly delinquent in) stories to tell, and exams to start prepping for. I wonder which will gain priority…
DC seems to have finally snapped out of its wintry personality for the year. Between Snowmageddon Parts One and Two, all the travel, and my own laziness, my bike hadn’t been off the rack for over 4 months! Terribly sad, I know, particularly since I spent most of my liquidity building it last summer. I’ve mainly been doing a lot of climbing, and tempering with a Crossfit-style metcon (metabolic conditioning – i.e. sucking-wind-misery). My first realization on my first ride: I AM SLOW. Having not spun my legs months, nor even done much running, my speed is way down. All good though, it’ll come back quick (optimism).
Slowness aside, the last few weeks have been a banner time for temps and aesthetics in the DC area. Some soccer on the National Mall, and I’ve been hitting the Mt. Vernon trail on the bike – from my door the full shabang offers a nice 40 mile roundtrip. Getting there you blow by the tidal basin and the Cherry Blossom festival, and the ride itself winds up the Potomac all the way to George Washington’s old place. I actually time trialed it the other day and pulled a PR (probably mostly because hardly any people dodging since everyone’s looking at the Cherry Blossoms on the other side of the river…).
Crossing the river back into DC. Also the site of my recent iPhone destruction. Lesson learned: cycling and texting don't mix.
The last few weeks I’ve been mostly just chillin at home doing nothing (and getting ankle surgery). However, I’ve also been utilizing my free time and lack of substantial income to build myself up a new steed. I’ve been riding my good ole Specialized Allez cromo for almost 5 years now, and she’s been good to me. No, check that, she’s been fantastic.
Hanging out in a Silverton coffee shop, every few moments I can hear the crowd cheer as another rider flies up the final hill to finish the Ironhorse Bicycle Classic. This weekend is the first official “Alumni Reunion” for the former staff of Kanakuk Colorado. On Thursday Jamie Norman, Sam Duregger, and I drove through the night to come hang out for the weekend, check out the ole digs, and get some fellowship with a great group of folks we haven’t seen in way too long.