Riding a "new" section of the C&O Canal

Well, technically it's not new, but a recently re-opened section that had been closed since 1996...

 Just below Williamsport, MD, in an area known as Big Slackwater (the Potomac flows very slowly here),  a section of the towpath had washed out in two big storms that year. As a result, a detour on local farm roads was created, that took you about five miles out of your way. More importantly, it spoiled the otherwise entirely "car free" aspect of an end to end Canal ride. For many years, it seemed this situation would never be resolved, much to the disappointment of folks like me.

The view looking downstream at the upper end of the Big Slackwater section.

Much to my surprise and delight, I read some time ago that they were actually working on a fix for the washed out portion of the towpath, due to be completed this fall! The official opening ceremonies were October 12th, but apparently the path was open to users prior to that. I wasn't able to make it before the opening, or attend the big event, but C and I did make it up there a week later, on Sunday the 21st.  Parking our car at the Cushwa Basin in Williamsport, we rode down stream a few miles to the "new" section, which looks to have been quite a big project. There are several portions where they put in concrete pilings and a really solid looking concrete walkway, much like a bridge. Given the number of times this section washed out prior to the closure in '96, I'm glad they put in the extra effort to build something lasting.

Now I can't wait to do another end to end ride on the towpath... staying on the path the whole way!

More info can be found at:

http://www.canaltrust.org/trust/index.php?page=big-slackwater

http://www.nps.gov/choh/parknews/big-slackwater.htm

Summer's Gone

And where the heck did it go?

And what the heck have I been up to?  Clearly not writing, at least here.  Sure, I've been writing my usual column for the Vienna Patch, and short posts for the bikes@vienna blog and our Facebook page, but that's about it.

So, I've decided to try to get back in the swing of writing, starting with a recap of what I've been doing all summer, starting with my latest adventures...

The photo above is from the northern end of Assateague Island, in Maryland. I've loved Assateague and neighboring Chincoteague for about as long as I can remember. Between a dimly remembered childhood visit and reading Margueurite Henry's Misty of Chincoteague and her other related books about the islands' famous ponies, coupled with the simple natural beauty of the islands, it's a place I can go back to again and again. Luckily for me, my girlfriend feels the same way, so last weekend off we went to camp on Chincoteague Island, at a campground right outside the National Wildlife Refuge.

Now, folks who know me, or who have followed this blog, know that I really like my Brompton folding bike, so it should come as no surprise that we each brought our Bromptons on this trip. A bike is a great way to explore the islands, and the packability of the Bromptons makes them an ideal addition to any trip there. An added bonus was that cyclists aren't charged the usual entry fee for the Refuge, saving us about $15 a day!

While it was a short visit, we packed in a lot of fun. The Refuge has beautiful beaches, and after Labor Day, the crowds really drop off. There's also a hike/bike access point for the beach that puts you about a mile north of where most folks park their cars and hang out on the beach, so it was pretty easy to find a deserted stretch of beach. We had gorgeous blue skies, and saw lots of gulls, terns, plovers, and sandpipers. We even spotted a few bald eagles, including a young one, not yet fully in its adult plumage. Such a beautiful, (relatively) unspoiled place.

The bikes also gave us the opportunity to explore the marshes, since there's a lovely multi use trail that winds through them and links up to the beach. The salt marshes there are just alive with all manner of critters, most notably wading birds and wild ponies. The ponies are hard to get close to, but the birds are everywhere. I've never been anywhere with so many snowy egrets... such beautiful birds. We also spotted some of the diminutive Sika deer (an Asian species introduced to the US at some point) Assateague is also known for.

No trip to the islands is complete without a visit to the quaint town of Chincoteague, a classic little island town... once primarily a fishing/oystering village, now a vacation destination. While it certainly has its share of touristy shops and restaurants, Chincoteague has largely avoided the sort of over-development that has ruined (in my opinion) so many beach towns. It's a sweet little place to tootle around on a bike, checking out small art galleries and book stores (of which there's an extraordinary number).

The only negative to the whole trip was the bugs. Thanks to a lot of recent rain, we were warned that the mosquitoes and flies were particularly bad. Luckily the wind was strong enough at the campsite that we weren't too bothered by the mosquitoes there. And the flies were really only bad at the beach, and really only bad on one of our several long walks... but they were VERY bad that day. Neither of has has ever seen anything like it... basically we were shadowed by a swarm of flies the entire two and a half hours we were out. And while they didn't land too many really serious bites, it was pretty unpleasant to have them hovering all the time, and landing on us frequently. Still, we managed to have a good time, and it was otherwise a beautiful, sunny day.

And one positive, if strange, "side effect" of sorts... we got to see the aerial spraying of the town with insecticide. Why is that positive? Well, I'm an old plane buff, so I got a kick out of seeing that they were using a vintage Beechcraft Model 18, the famous "Twin Beech" of the '40s. Very cool. Unfortunately, by the time I grabbed my camera, it was too far for a good shot.

We wound up the trip by driving up to the northern end of Assateague, up in Maryland. I've been to that area a bunch of times over the years, more than to the southern end near Chincoteague, but my girlfriend hadn't been there, at least that she could remember. With no town and no real buildings on the island, and the nearest town some distance away, the northern end feels a bit more "wild" than the southern end. There we took a short beach walk, and saw several flights of pelicans, then went off in search of ponies. We didn't manage to sight any really close up, but it was still fun to explore the marshes, and we got to watch a beautiful sunset to boot. The perfect end to a nearly perfect trip!

More photos at:  Chincoteague/Assateague 9/2012

Strange Bird Incident

It's been far too long since I've written here.  It's not that nothing noteworthy happens in my life... it's simply finding the time to sit and write.

But tonight I break the dry spell because something really odd just happened... something I've never seen before.  I was working in the shop after closing, with the lights on, including lights right near the front window.  Suddenly I heard a soft "thump", followed by a fluttering sound... then another thump, some more fluttering, then silence.  I looked over just as the fluttering was dying down, just in time to realize a bird had just flown into the glass window, and now lay pressed against the glass, wings spread, face pressed right to the glass.

Apparently it was drawn by the light. I looked closely at it, and it was clear it was a chimney swift. A pretty common bird here in the evening, but I've never seen one do what this one was doing. Concerned, and seeing that it didn't seem to be at all inclined to extricate itself, I turned off the lights, then went outside to see if there was anything I could do. I was afraid the little guy had been injured, but a few seconds after I stepped outside, with a great flurry of wings, he took off, a bit unsteady at first, and flew across our lot and vanished.

Curious, I poked around online a bit and found advice for how to get a swift out of your living room if it comes down your chimney... and sure enough, one of the first steps is to turn off the lights, so it is drawn back up the chimney by the light outside.  Who knew?

Remember...?

... that rose colored Bridgestone mixte I posted about some time ago here?

Well, just a bit of an update, as I've changed a few things out on the bike.  Some of the changes are more technical, such as reducing the size of the chainrings, giving a lower and more useful gear range on the bike. Back when the bike was built, a 14 tooth small sprocket was the norm on the rear, with a 28 tooth large sprocket, so the 40/52 combination on the front made some sense. These days however, with sprocket clusters more typically having 13, 12, or even 11 teeth as the smallest sprocket. Paired with a 52 tooth big chainring that gives you a higher top gear than most mere mortals need, at about 108 gear inches for a 52x13 combination, even higher for the 12 or 13. The new arrangement has 36 and 48 teeth in the front, 13 - 30 in the back, which gives a rather nice range of about 32 to 100 gear inches. If you're old enough to remember when "10 - speeds" were the hot new thing, the top end is about what we had back then and the low is a bit lower, or easier on hills. I think that will work out well for this bike.

On the less techncal side, I've installed a shiny new set of Velo Orange Fluted Fenders, a Velo Orange Constructeur rear rack and a Portland Design Works Fenderbot tail light, bolted to the rear fender. One of the nice things about metal fenders (as opposed to the plastic ones the bike previously had, from SKS) is that they are strong and rigid enough to mount lights to, and can work in concert with a rack like the Constructeur rack to make a solid "system" of rack and fenders.  They look sharp too!

Remaining to be done on the Bridgestone? Cork grips are next, and after that, I don't know. We'll keep you posted.

What a difference...

... 10 or 12 degrees can make!

When I went out on my ride Thursday morning, the radio said it was 54 degrees out. This morning they were saying it was 42. So I was curious how different it might be out on the trail today.

Well, first thing I noticed was that I was glad I'd put on a bit more clothing! Thursday I was fine in just my Earth Wind and Rider long sleeve wool jersey, but today I was glad to have a thin Ibex long sleeve wool tee shirt under my Ibex jersey, AND a light windbreaker over that! And honestly, for the first half hour or so, I wouldn't have minded something to keep my ears warmer! Ah well, I warmed up soon enough.

The other major difference was the frogs. On the outbound leg of my ride, there were only a few spring peepers gamely chirruping away, sounding a bit forlorn.  By the time I was headed back home, the chorus had grown in both size and enthusiasm, but it was still a faint shadow of the sounds of Thursday. And most interesting... NO wood frogs singing at all!  Apparently they need warmer temperatures than the peepers to feel like singing.

One very happy discovery though... and a surprise... as I was just about back home, I saw a bird flitting into the underbrush... and it didn't look like any I'd seen of late. Curiosity caused me to stop and turn around, and I'm glad it did, because when I peered into the foliage, I saw a Northern Oriole! I haven't seen one of those in a very long time... such a pretty bird, and sadly not all that common any more, it seems.

All in all, it was a beautiful morning, even if it was a bit chilly at first.  Fewer folks were out to enjoy it, but I'm glad I got out there to enjoy it!

Sure looks... feels... and SOUNDS... like...

SPRING!!!!!!!

Yes, I went out for a bike ride this morning... a short one, but a good one, and all of my senses were picking up signs of spring! Traces of fresh color at the tips of branches and in the underbrush, warm sunlight on my face, and frogs, both spring peepers and wood frogs, singing at the top of their lungs!

This is the earliest I recall ever hearing them, and it was quite a pleasant surprise. The W&OD Trail I was riding has a number of stream crossings and little wetland areas, and a couple of those were just alive with frog song today. We'd had a fair amount of rain yesterday, so the streams were swollen and there was a lot of standing water in the woods and brush, which I'm sure had a lot to do with the liveliness of the frogs. Birds were also in abundance, from chickadees and titmice to crows and red-shouldered hawks.

Needless to say, the trail was busier than it's been in a while, at least for a weekday morning. A lot of cyclists, runners and walkers were out and about. Before you know it, it will be absolutely crowded out there, especially on weekends, but for now it was just fun to enjoy the weather with like-minded folk.

Appropriately, today was the first day of "meteorological spring" here. Of course, having lived in this area a long time, I know that March, and even April, can sometimes bring some chilly, even wintry spells. But given the very mild winter we've had so far, I can't help but think today was truly the beginning of spring, even if we do have a few cold spells left.

More pictures from this morning can be seen here:

W&OD Trail, March 1, 2012

What ever happened to that VO Mixte?

The Velo Orange Mixte, as of 2/26/12

Some of you out there may be wondering what ever became of the Velo Orange Mixte Project... the frameset I bought for my girlfriend for Christmas 2010. Well, it's been a longer process than either of us imagined, and there are still some things to be added and/or worked out (such as this mysterious noise it's now making... argh!)... but the bike has been on the road for some time now, and I've added bits and pieces over time to make it "just right".  For now, here's a quick photo of how it's decked out right now, as a teaser.  I'll write more about it soon, and hopefully get better photos up as well.