Of Moose And Men
The Best Laid Plans Of Both Often Go Astray

First, I’m loving not having to shift gears. You just get on and start pedaling – no worrying about whether you left it in the right gear, whether it’ll be too loose or too tight to get going, you just go. If there’s a hill, it’s harder to pedal, if it’s downhill, it’s easier. Simple.

Second, it has a kick stand. I cannot express how awesome that is. For years now the “cool” bikes did not come with kick stands (and probably still don’t). And certainly, if you were using your bike for racing (which I’ve done on each of my other bikes), you didn’t want a kick stand, for practical as well as “cool” reasons. But being able to prop the bike up on its own while I fumble with getting the lock and cable out and in place? Priceless.

The brakes are still a little noisy, especially on a quick stop, but I’m sure that’ll work out as they get worn in.

The other bike store I tried also did not have shoes in my size (grrr!), so it looks like I may have to order some from online. Not my favorite choice, as my feet seem are odd enough that I pretty much always want to try shoes on right in the store to ensure proper fit, without endless back and forth shipping of shoes. Blah. But not having clips on the pedals, while not fatal, was kind of annoying. I wanted the increased power of being able to do the full rotation of the pedal and not just mash down on them; I’m definitely far more comfortable being clipped in as it gives one a better control over pedaling and balance.

Anyway, so far so good. Won’t be able to bike to work tomorrow as I have a long night planned with my friend Drew beginning right after work, but I do look forward to trying it out on the morning and evening commutes.

For some reason the reintegration back into real life has been a bit difficult. There was the inevitable backup of work at the BGA (“vacation is its own punishment”), breaking things off with someone I’d been dating, adjustment back to east coast time (which means I have to try and fight my normal nature to be a night owl), and just doing the little things like unpacking everything and putting it all away, sorting mail, grocery shopping, etc. Still haven’t done the grocery shopping, so I’ve been subsisting on ever-shrinking supplies of staples from the freezer and cabinet. Not a bad thing, it’s good to clear those out every now and again, but not perhaps the healthiest meals I could be eating.

One thing I’ve been doing to integrate some of our practices from DLOC has been to post “appreciations” over on FaceBook. Just little things to acknowledge those things I’m appreciative of for whatever reason. It does help to make one more mindful of what’s going on in your life, which has made it a useful tool for me.

Past that I’m trying to find my motivation to get back to tri training for my last two races this season, and finish up my commitment with the club’s volunteer work this month. “The Pile” of books has grown since coming back, including some re-reading of classics I feel the need to reexamine in light of the DLOC and SF experiences (The Ethical Slut, the Tao Te Ching/Dao De Jing). I’m about 1/2 an inch from finishing sock #2 on pair #2, and I have another pull ball ready to go on the next set, but the one sock’s been sitting here unloved as I try to work myself back into life.

Picked up another bike yesterday. I wanted something a bit better for zipping around town than my mountain bike (which is a good bike, but not the best for commuting). I went in a slightly different direction, a single gear, and put “campus pedals” on it (clipless on one side, regular pedal platform on the other), so I don’t have to throw on bike shoes just to zip somewhere if I wish to bike out. My goal there is to bike about more to things in town, and sweat be damned. It even came with a kickstand! I feel so retro with a kickstand on a bike – I don’t think I’ve had one of those since high school. With the bike, though, comes the last big purchase for the year, I think. Need to back off and pay off the remnants of vacation and the bike and plan for the end of the year and Giftmas. And to plan for the next body electric workshop next year, of course.

It’s hard to fully describe the changes wrought by DLOC, but I’ll be working on them this year.

Just got the alert from DC EMS (yay push email on a phone right beside your ear on the night stand); the bridges into the city have now been closed. And contrary to what I first thought, I am really and truly trapped in DC now – all of the bridges that could get me out of DC to head south (the direction I’m most likely to go, given that close family all lives south of here) are now closed off. Glad I stocked up on groceries.

A shame it woke me up, I was in the middle of a pretty snarky dream wherein I was verbally getting the best (not that it was difficult) of a pair of camp counselor types. Some of the zingers were quite fun.

Took a sleep aid last night, and for the first time had a bad reaction to it. Woke up groggy this morning, went in late, and by noon I hadn’t really woken up, despite coffee, so I went home and napped. Oh, and while on the way to work I managed to leave my badge at home, so I returned to get it rather than go through the rigmarole that work inflicts upon you when you forget it. Nothing like walking back and forth to Metro twice. Totally not my day today.

Once I got up, I did go swim this evening, doing a mile once all was said and done. Felt good to get moving again, and I think it worked the last of the stuff out of my system. What a mess. Won’t be using that again any time soon, which is a shame, because it had worked okay before.

On an unrelated note, if clementines were more readily available, I’d eat more fruit on a regular basis. Love those things, was happy to see them at Safeway on the way home from the pool.

Children should not be allowed out without adult supervision. Case in point, the kids running down the wrong way on the escalator to make the train in the Metro. At least they didn’t stop the thing like the last group of urchins I encountered on their way home from school.

And yes, this does make me a grumpy old man. Which makes the fact that BC’s mom keeps hinting at wanting us to have kids all the more amusing (amusing to me, not so much to him, but then again she’s not my biological mother – my own mother has said nothing of the sort and seemed kind of surprised when I mentioned children).

Heading back to the office after getting a sty looked at. Nothing big, and thank heavens Metro is reliable most days, allowing me to zip out & back without too much delay.

[side note – did we not outlaw mullets yet? Why would someone wear something so bad looking on their head?]

Tourists are out in force today. I’d have expected more of them next weekend rather than this weekend, given the holiday.

Heading to the cooking expo this weekend with BC to drool over ovens & cooktops I can’t yet afford or fit into my kitchen. I enjoyed it last year, and am looking forward to checking out the gadgets. I’d like to find a place that offers a knife skills class that’s both convenient and that won’t try to make me do something like de-bone a duck. I’m not holding my breath on that, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled.

I just saw a woman wearing black Crocs with her pants suit. It’s a shame they don’t give us honorary fashion police ticket books, or she’d have gotten one.

I need to teach my clients the concept of “admission against interest.” Just because someone has asked for information doesn’t mean you have to divulge everything, only what they asked for, narrowly tailored to fit the request. This is not an opportunity to throw on a hair shirt and get out the scourge, folks.

Saw Stardust this weekend. Marvelous film. Will enjoy getting it on DVD once it’s out – this was definitely an over-and-over-again type of film for me. And Michelle Pfeiffer was hot as the witch queen.

Rode out to BC’s place on Saturday. If that type of commute is going to become a regular thing, which it may, I’ll need to get another bike. I rode the tri bike, which meant carrying a bag on my back. Not terribly comfortable for 2 hours. I need a bike with a rack for panniers, and the mountain bike simply is not up to that kind of riding. Maybe in the spring I’ll look for a road bike. And figure out where to store a third bicycle.

Getting back into the swing of things, post head cold and pre-races. The swim is still the most nerve-inducing part, but I expect it to go more smoothly than previous races. I’m less anxious about it than I have been in the past, and I think it’ll be fine.

I’m glad I gave up the morning paper, I am making it through more in the way of other reading, but the magazine pile hasn’t really diminished. I have made it through 1.5 books, though, and the last Harry Potter is sitting out, beckoning.

I don’t think it’s a portent for the day, but when I got into my office this morning and went to change out of bicycling clothes and into work drag, I managed to step right on top of a purple jelly bean. Good thing I keep extra napkins in the office.

Got in a long ride this weekend, but no long run, so went out and did 7ish miles this morning before work. Was well behaved and kept my heart rate down in a semi-decent zone, rather than my usual overdoing it. I suspect I’m going to have a couple things I want to focus on after mid-september’s races, including some fat loss, weight work, and practice staying down in heart rate zones one and two. Might go for broke and get myself one of the new garmin heart rate monitor/gps units, too. BC just got one, and I was pleasantly surprised at how multi-sport friendly it was, unlike my nice, but kludgey, polar unit – it’s good for single sport training, and will give you great info for each sport, but you can’t do multi-sport workouts or races and keep the data in one file, which is a major weakness in my opinion. Perhaps a birthday present for myself this year. Probably better for me in the long run than, say, a Wii, too.

Not that a Wii wouldn’t be fun, as seen Saturday night when we were out at a friend’s house and played Wii bowling. Good job, Nintendo, even if it is still easier to get crack in DC than it is to find a Wii on the shelves in the area. Cheaper, too.

Earlier today I finally posted one of the three race reports that I need to do. Still have this past weekend’s 10k and the 1/2 marathon from April yet to write up.

Work’s gotten a tad better. I spent a good bit of time cleaning off my desk, recycling or filing things. Part of that was finally having passed a draft to management of a long-term project, so while I waited for feedback I took some time to make some more work space available. Did get the needed feedback later in the afternoon so I now have more direction on which way to go, which is a very good thing, and I feel a lot better about the project. I suspect I’d have been better off chatting with da boss for a bit on this thing rather than operating in quite the vacuum I was working in, but so be it. A lesson for next time. In the meantime, I’m good to go and feeling better.

The crush continues apace. We spent most of pride weekend together, a lovely bit of time with friends and hanging out and wandering around seeing tons of folks whom I never see because either I or they never go out (or never go out to the same places). A tad too much alcohol was consumed Saturday, but these things happen. At least a couple people met the crush and I got approvals back from those who did.

Back to serious training this week. Cycled this morning, will run and swim tomorrow. 88 more days until the half-ironman, aka “Ironman 70.3” race as they’re calling them these days (if you total up the swim, bike and run miles it comes to 70.3 miles: 1.2, 56, and 13.1; a full Ironman is twice that). I can do it, and I’m pretty sure I’ll actually enjoy it, too, but it’ll certainly be a challenge. Looking forward to it.

Left work early this evening to bike home ahead of a line of thunderstorms that rolled through downtown around 5:35 or so. Just managed to get in before the rain started, so glad I left when I did. Wasn’t very long, but was very intense, and was right at closing time for me. Did up a batch of steamed dumplings for dinner. I’m trying out various pre-made ones and so far this manufacturer is winning hands down. Interesting taste, spiced just right, cooked easily, stayed together, but didn’t stick to one another. The first batch was okay, the second (boiled) batch turned into one giant mass-of-dumpling-dough-and-filling.

Attended my second cult co-op meeting of the week tonight. While I led the last meeting (which is less formal than most), this one I wish I had led. Oh. Em. Gee. Talk about toxic. The older committee members seem to have some sort of complex about years of perceived abuse that’s supposedly been heaped on them and they’re just a mess. I think we could have gotten all of the work done in an hour, maybe a little more, rather than the 1.5+ hour rambling session that passed for a meeting. What a cluster fuck. I may have to shoot the board member who talked me into getting on this thing.

Oh, and last but not least the little man purse extra small messenger bag I ordered to tool around town with finally arrived today (not those colors, though – I did a custom one in burgundy/steel/burgundy with a moss liner and a silver logo). Mmm, pretty… I wanted something to carry a few small things with if I bike somewhere in town that wasn’t my huge messenger bag (both to have the smaller bag and not to layer my entire back in a nice, unbreathing sweat bag). I think it’ll do the trick nicely.

The drive from DC to Chesapeake (Great Bridge, specifically), usually takes somewhere around 4 hours, give or take a bit, depending on wind speed, police presence, etc. Today it took 6 hours.

Six. Hours.

There had been some sort of accident north of Richmond, so it took me four hours to get to Richmond itself. When we passed the spot where the accident had occurred, of course there was no sign of the accident itself, we were simply experiencing the aftermath of the original slow down, which is probably still inflicting itself upon the poor fools stuck driving on I-95 this evening.

The worst was the constant signs from the Ever-helpful folks at VDOT who told us “Accident X Miles Ahead; Expect Major Delays; Consider Alternate Routes”. The alternate route I considered was an expanded and decent rail system that would actually get me all the way down into Chesapeake, but alas, that is not to be. It would have been a bit more helpful if, say, they’d had VDOT or VSP officials out waiving folks along to keep them moving past the accident site and avoided the slow down entirely, but of course, that would be useful. Or if they’d actually suggested what some alternate routes might be, instead of leaving us with no idea how to hop off and get around the mess on the highway.

(I did call my parents and asked for alternate routes, but the one would have had me incredibly out of the way and the other only intersected with the highway where the accident site was, making it not terribly useful)

Now I remember why I don’t drive. I’m sorely tempted next time, even though it will add to the overall time of the trip, to take the train down to the Peninsula and rent a car there rather than have to drive all the way down and up on 95 again. Gah.

I was a tad worried this morning about the race tomorrow, my ankle started to bother me after all the walking yesterday, but it appears to be fine this evening. The 6 hours of rest in the car helped it, no doubt. Crashed out in the motor home this time so I have a real bed on which to sleep before the race tomorrow. Phone’s set to play reveille at 5 am, we’re getting to the race site at 7. 1,500 racers are registered. It’s a flat out and back, so should be good. Looking forward to dropping back down to shorter distances for the immediate future after this, too. I’ll be back up there in September for this fall’s big race, but in the meantime I want some time down to focus on biking.

Good intro meeting for the newbies this morning. Got out and biked there and back. Nice lunch in Georgetown with some of the volunteers. Finally rearranged the cables to the TV and computer, so they don’t show or stretch. Vacuumed. Should have napped, but just didn’t.

The warmer weather was good today. I’m hopeful that in the next couple weeks I’ll be able to take the tri bike off the trainer and use it outside, though I fear it was a false start, given the forecast for the next week). That and I’d like to be able to bike to work again. It’s not quite up to the right temps in the morning to make it comortable; I’d like it to be above freezing so my toes don’t fall off. The fact that they don’t make booties to go over mountain bike shoes doesn’t help (wool socks alone don’t cut it). The bus is fine, but the bike is faster.

I also want it warm enough to do the morning rides with the club once they start up again on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Annual meeting of the club tomorrow, making up for the lost one last Sunday when it snowed and made the roads so crazy.  Should be relatively pro-forma, though thankfully we’re moving the annual meeting to the fall after this one (pending a vote to change the bylaws). Good way to round out the tri weekend, but I’ll be glad when it’s done.