I wish everyday was Columbus day - in terms of commuting to work. Being a Federal holiday - the roads were totally clean this morning (lot of Federal agencies here) - took me 25 minutes to get to work, as opposed to the regular hour and 15 minutes to go 17 miles.
Work sped by - good to have a project that encompasses you. Got all wrapped up for my ride (the temperature dropped) - it was a really chilly ride. Well, when you are out in low 45 degree weather, in the dark doing anything for 2 hours you get chilly.
I biked out to Peonnian Springs and back, 43 miles. On the way out, I biked with this one dude who was drafting me for a bit then finally saddled up, we got to talking. He's been commuting to work 3 days a week, 20 miles each way - for 14 years on the W & OD bike trail. he was an interesting guy, told me about how the trail has changed in that time. Now it's almost suburban - back in the beginning - was purely rural. I said farewell to him as I turned around in Peonnian Springs.
On the way back, another biker saddled up to me as it was getting really dar - I had on my lights. He says "'ya mind if I bike with ya til Ashburn? I forgot my lamps" I was like sure. I recognized him as one of the guys I biked with on the Reston Century back in July. We reminiced - it was a really hot day - and here we were biking in the dark, 45 degrees outside. He left me at Ashburn and I continued on - the battery on my light ran out about a mile from my car - It was difficult to see, but I got back. I need to charge it daily now - I've been charging it every 3 days.
Got my "flash stick" in the mail today - it's a mini-portable memory drive. Holds a Gigabyte of data on it - 1000 megabytes of space to transport. The things is tiny (1.5 inches long, 1/2 inch wide, 1/4 inch thick), fits in a USB port, no drivers needed.