I almost needed a pair of waste high hip waders (for fishing) to get around Washington, DC today - it rained all fucking day, or most of it. I went with my parents to a Toulouse Lautrec exhibit at the National Gallery of Art - what a fantastic exhibit. Then continued on to see an exhibit on the portrait painter (most famous for his presidential portraits - especially Washington), Gilbert Stuart.

After 3 hours of museological romping, we decided to get a bite to eat at the Carlyle, a fantastic restaurant in Shirlington, VA - the very start of the bike trail I ride on. The restaurant has a very "Toulouse Lautrec" theme to it - replete with Moulin Rouge (the "Red Windmill", in French - which was an old windmill turned into a bohemian club up on a hill).


After lunch - I was going to head to Vienna to embark on a long weekend-day training ride, about 45+ miles, it stopped raining. I get to Vienna, unpack bike from car, assemble it...go through my routine of changing intop my bike clothes..then I realise that I left my bike shoes back at home - crap. I cannot bike without my bike shoes - my pedals are specific to it, it was tragic - it was if I had suited up and forgot to bring my bike (I had the shoes at home drying after the wet ride I had last night). I was pissed, but realized that I could spend the late afternoon apartment hunting, which was really only good for identifying the flavor of the neighborhoods I was looking at (at this point, most rental places were about to close - and I had to drive all the way to Reston and Ashburn).

I saw a few places - was nice. The day cleared up - turned pleasant. Then on my way home...more fricken rain. It's still raining as I sit here and change my clocks to reflect Daylight savings time.

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Perfect circles...perfect circles...perfect circles....

This is what I say over and over in my head when I'm biking these days - in training, I try to concentrate on making "perfect circles". This means that on a single revolution in pedalling, you give equal momentum and pushdown on one leg as you do with the same mumentum of up-pull (up-pull is when your feet are clipped into your pedals, and you are pulling up the pedal). This maximizes the pedalling stroke in both legs, creating a fluid full circle of power...full perfect circles. It takes a little practice to concentrate to do it until it becomes natural. Sometimes to reinforce this - you work out on a trainer - using only one leg at a time, in 10 minute intervals - this emphasizes the use of the up-pull pedal stroke.

Work was just work - but it was Friday, people were jovial. I set out on my training ride and knew I was going to get rained on a little on the way back. Dead wrong - I got caught in a full downpour the last 30 minutes. And to make matters worse - I got a flat tire, on my rear tire. So here it is, April 1st - April Fool's Day - the last day of biking in the dark (Daylight savings time is Sunday) - It's pouring rain, dark, getting cold - and I get a flat. I'm out in the middle of nowhere. FOrtunately my headlights are detachable so I can see what I am doing. I get flats every now and then - with the amount and frequency of my training, they happen often. But i dislike it when it's cold and dark - and raining. I quickly changed the tube and pedalled on. I was soaked by the time I reached my car - even wearing rain gear. It was a nice 38 mile ride.

Tomorrow morning, I'm going to join my parents to see the Toulouse Lautrec (pronounced too-loose-lah-trek) exhibit at the National Museum of Art - It's going to be a great exhibit, then have tapas at a place in Arlington - then head out to a long bike ride (hopefully not raining). It will be a relaxing weekend.

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(click to enlarge, opens new window)


This is the end of March. Fin. Tomorrow is April('s Fools Day).

Oh joy.

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Wowee Wowee Wow Wow WOW! (does my best Christopher Walken impression) Another fantastic day (weatherwise). Just a complete spitting image of yesterday, I even biked the same 44 mileage. Work was work, bike ride was fabulous - I veered off the route near the end to do a drive by look at some apartments that I was interested in. In a great part of a town I like - but one thing that really turned me off, was the address. It's name was my bosses name+way (as an example, "Jeff's Way" - only using the name "Jeff" to illustrate this, and my Boss, nor any of my co-worker's names are Jeff). I just couldn't imagine after spending a day in the office to drive home to "Jeff's Way". Weirded me out. Not as if I saw orbs or anything. Hee hee.

Strange to think that this month is almost over. Went too quickly. Time will fly faster as I find an apartment and prepare to move - then to furnish it (I need a few new things). Then after that - the hunt for a new car. It just all continues. On weekends from May through Septemeber, I'll be doing many biking events - calendar is booked. I'll take a week off in June to vacation - probably with my parents down at their lake house. ALways relaxing - I take my bike, some great old country roads, rolling hills.

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It is now officially Spring. By far, it was the warmest day yet so far (in this season - we've had a freaky few days over winter where it went above 60-70 degrees). Yesterday was a total mess of rain, well today, besides a nice breeze, the sky shown it's pretty blue face and the clouds just freekishly danced around, making tender love to my virgin eyes. Oy vay. It was in the high 60s.

Screw talking about work - it was just that. I couldn't wait to gear up at the end of the day. It was the FIRST time (after work) since October when I didn't have to wear my long bike tights, full gloves, jacket, toe/shoe covers of some sort. I was like 2-3lbs lighter. I felt naked and free, fast and furious. SO I went on an extra long 44 miler training ride tonight. Because I was a few lbs lighter, and less bulky from the non-areodynamic nature of my jackets - I seemed to go wickedly fast, undersuspicion that the wind was pushing me, but it wasn't the case - there was no wind. I was just riding faster. My winter trainin paid off - the resistence of all the weight of my gear bogged me down - like biking on a heavier bike.

What a glorious ride. I bumped into a few folks from my bike club - we hauled fast ass to East Falls Church and back, a schweet ride. One of my clubmates asked me why I don't race - it never really occured to me that I could. I asked him back, should I? He said, "heck yea, I race all season - you and I train all the time, why not try a few this season". Got my mind racing - sheesh..the old guy circuit of amateur racers - 35+ years old. Sounds like fun though. Will table that thought for another day - I'm up past my nipples in looking for an apartment. I have narrowed a few localities, and know what I want and what I don't want. It's gonna be a busy few weeks/month(s).

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Rain rain, go away...get the heck out of here ya meaniebutt!

It rained all freekin day. From the time I got up...until now..and it's still raining. We had flood warnings, it just dumped and dumped. We had over 5 inches od rain. I'm glas it wasn't freezing - or we would have had 3 feet of snow.

Work went by like a blur - a flurry of activity. I was reluctant to go out in the rain to bike - it was still safe, just would be miserable. I'd come back sopping wet with long bike tights on, dripping, teeth chattering, then the drive home with all the windows fogged up from the humidity from all the wet clothes in the car on high heat. I said to myself as I was about to unload my bike...screw this.

I have a new gym membership at the gym (through my office), I thought..what the heck..it's just down the street...lemme go and see if they have stationary bikes...or spinner bikes..or whatnot. ALbeit..I was dressed in long bike tight pants, long sleeve cycling jersey - I thought..if anything..I'll look...and maybe do a few things.

I walked in (never been to this gym before), they scanned my card and I asked...do you have spinning cycles?....the dude said..yes...he looked me over, noticed I was in my outdoor bike gear...said, you are gonna be a little warm. I said - I was just checking it out - soo cool, they have the new LeMond Revmaster spinner cycles...about 12 of them in a row....with multi-clip pedal systems...so I can wear my regular cycling shoes, bring my water bottlesadjust to my size, and calibre...they have spinning classes 2 times a week. I'm psyched....I may just do the advanced spinning class for it's hour as a warmup and then go out for another 90 minute ride, or if the weather is shitty, do the spinning class and then stay and do some upper body weights. I am soo psyched.

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Gee, it must be Easter.

Absolutely. Raining, dreary - on the cold side. I slept in, did a few things around the house in preparation for my afternoon training ride. I had Easter plans - but I refused to sit in the car for 4 hours for a 2 hour easter meal, and no time to train. Naw - I skipped out.

I drove out to Leesburg for a new training experience - to start doing mountains on the weekends (in training for Mountains of Misery late May). I took part of my cue sheet from the Reston Century which took me up into the mountains at the border of West Virginia. I took this particular run very light - since I was re-familarising myself with the roads, it was cold, slick and raining - and because I was recovering from yesterday's 68 mile ride.

It was actually a nice Easter ride - very isolated, solitude aplenty with the drizzle, the mountain fog - twas quite a trek to Hillsborough and back. 46 miles in all - but took me a while, being hilly terrain. I'm gettin ready for 'Misery.

Came home, took a nice hot shower, had dinner then did domestic crap (laundry, cleaning), made some clam dip. Now just relaxing after an arduous weekend of training, and suffering a little Sunday night before-work-week anxiety.

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