Morning Ride

Well, it was very humid this morning, and it started to sprinkle just a little as I was headed home, but I still had a nice morning ride.

One highlight...  The blackberries are starting to ripen! Ever since I was a kid, playing in the woods and fields around home, I've loved that aspect of summer... the dark, sweet berries, so delicious... all the more so for the nicks and cuts gotten picking them. As I understand it, blackberries are a "boundary plant", meaning they thrive where woods and open spaces meet... which means bike paths are an ideal location for them! Sure enough, the W&OD has quite a few brambles along the trail, and I had my first taste of ripe, wild blackberries for this season.  Yum!

Another bright spot in today's otherwise overcast ride as sighting a few goldfinches zooming and darting through the air along the way. Such gorgeous birds! So graceful, agile and bright. Too quick to get a picture of, but still nice to see.

Genderalizations

Another morning ride on the W&OD this morning. And today was even more of the "Three Hs - Hazy, Hot, and Humid! You could feel and see it in the air, as the photo shows. As for my usual "critter report", today I saw both a pretty large black rat snake and a garter snake crossing the trail. Alas, both were far too quick to get a picture. Aside from that, a few birds and a chipmunk or two.

What set this morning apart was when I suddenly heard voices behind me... women's voices... a number of them, approaching. I sound found myself being passed by a group of 8 - 10 women on bikes, which isn't that common an event on the trail. I don't mean it's unusual for me to be passed by female cyclists... honestly, I'm not that fast a rider, so lots of folks pass me. What was unusual was seeing this large a group of women together on bikes.

And what made it all the more interesting was when they settled into a pace that neatly matched my own, so I could sit at the back of the group and observe. What I saw fascinated me. Compared to a similar group of men, these women were actually TALKING to one another as they rode. And enjoying each others' company! Now, I'm not saying men never talk while riding, and never enjoy riding together... but I'm hard pressed to say I can ever recall seeing a group of more than three men on bikes having much social interaction among themselves.

And it's not that these women were just dawdling along, chatting away. They were riding at a good, steady clip, and all seemed to be fit and for the most part, experienced riders. It's just that they included actual conversation into their ride in a way I rarely see in groups of male riders. I don't know if it's simply that men aren't as talkative in general, or that male riders are more "serious" (I mean in terms of image, not substance) and competitive when riding, or what it is, but it does seem there's a general difference.

Sadly, one other thing I realized set this group of women apart from the male riders, both solo and in groups, that pass me on the trail. As this group passed me this morning, nearly each and every one of them warned me politely and clearly of their approach. More often than not, the more "serious" male cyclists simply blow by without a word, heads down, as if I weren't there.

I know I'm painting with a bit of a broad brush here, but I don't think I'm totally off the mark. What do you folks think?

Hot this morning!

So, I went out for a ride this morning about 8am, and it was already really warm... over 80 degrees, and growing warmer by the minute it seemed.


The bike today was my 1992 Bridgestone RB-2. It's the "raciest" bike I have, in the modern sense. It's got a long top tube and the stem has a long "reach" as well, so it stretches me out more than most of my bikes, as well as skinny, "fast" tires.






Ironically, today I chose to take a side trip on the bridle trail that parallels the bike path! I'd reached my turn-around point, and the simplest way to turn back was to use the bridle path to reverse direction. Once I had done that, I figured what the heck, I'd stick to it a ways. The bike handled it perfectly fine... I wouldn't pick it out for a day of dirt riding, but with a little care and attention, it zipped right along in the dirt.

Which gave me a chance to see something I'd not seen along the trail before. There's an auto repair shop near the trail that has set up a table and chairs beside the trail, as well as a couple of bird feeders and a bird house. I imagine the staff must enjoy lunch outside, and appreciate the birds that visit the feeders. It's nice to see something like that.






And once again, I saw a box turtle along the trail. I first saw him on the way out, on the path itself, slowly making his way across from the far side.  When I was on my return trip, he was back at the edge of the path, as if he'd been picked up and put back where he'd started. Yet he was still slowly making his way toward the other side. I figured if he was so set on getting across, I'd give him a hand, so I picked him up and place him in the grass on the other side.







And finally, here's a cool shot I got of a bumblebee just as he was taking off from a flower.

All in all, another nice ride, despite the heat.

A few more pics can be seen here:  W&OD, June 8, 2011

Lovely Summer Evening Ride

Well, I've been having a tough time squeezing in bike rides so far this summer, but this evening I had a lovely one, even if it was short. I left work about 7:30 and rode out our local rail trail, the W&OD. It was a gorgeous evening, bright blue skies and warm but not hot, and for a change, not humid either!

I decided to ride another relatively recent addition to my "stable" of bikes... my 1978 Trek 530 road bike. Those of you paying close attention to my bike collection might notice that I seem to have a disproportionate number of bikes built in 1978... at least 4 at last count! I have no idea why this is... it's certainly not been intentional. But while 1978 has no particular magic for me, that general era of late 70s to early 80s does have a special appeal, as that was the period in which I first got into cycling.

Folks who know me also know of my fondness for road bikes from that era built by Trek. Back when I bought my first Trek, in 1980, they were still a fairly obscure company, not the dominant force in the industry they are today. It was kind of "you mean someone is building high quality bikes in Wisconsin????" at the time. And back then, they were largely handbuilt, using what at the time were pretty standard construction methods, but which today are considered "classic" (or antiquated, depending on your point of view!). I've been fortunate enough to own a total of five of their bikes from this period, and the 530 is one of the three I currently own. It's one of their more "racing oriented" models, so it feels a bit more nimble and agile than my other two, which were "sport touring" bikes.

Another feature of this bike is that it has most of its original components, unlike my 1980 Trek 414, which has been modified time and again over the years, and now sports a semi-modern set of components. The 530, on the other hand, has vintage 1978 Shimano 600 parts mostly, from what's commonly known as the "Arabesque" era of that parts group. You can see the fancy curlicues that give the group it's nickname in this photo of the left shift lever. Cranks, brakes, brake levers, shifters and derailleurs are all the original Shimano 600 parts, while the hubs are period correct Sunshine Professionals, a high quality Japanese hub of the era. The rims are curent model Sun M13IIs, which look about as "period" as any modern rim does. Bars and stem and seat post are all from Sakae Ringyo (SR), which was typical of Treks back in the day. Of course, those of you who know me or follow this blog are not surprised to see the Brooks saddle or Carradice saddlebag... personal favorites of mine.

Aside from having a good time riding this particular bike, it was just a gorgeous evening all around. A fair amount of folks were out enjoying the trail, and I also saw several deer and rabbits, as well as one rather blasé groundhog who was unimpressed by my passing. Since it was getting on toward sunset, the light was cutting across the landscape at a very shallow angle, which I always find dramatic and beautiful. It made for sketchy visibility on the ride out, but sunglasses help with that. All in all a wonderful ride.

Windy Wednesday Ride!

One of the odd things about working in a bicycle shop is that you generally don't have a conventional weekend. Over the three-plus years I've worked full time at bikes@vienna, I've had a number of different permutations of a work week. Currently, my "weekend" is Tuesday and Wednesday. Aside from the typical advantages (and disadvantages) of a non-traditional weekend, such as short lines at the bank compared to Saturday mornings, I get to enjoy our local bike trails when they are at their least crowded! So yesterday, after a bout of cleaning at home, I headed out on my new bike and rode out the W&OD trail to Ashburn.

At first I was afraid I'd dressed to lightly... it was chillier than I expected, and I immediately ran into a very light rain shower. But after warming up from the exertion, and the sun coming out more strongly, it felt great. And as I had hoped, the dogwood were in bloom! This beautiful tree has been a favorite of mine since childhood, when we had a sprinkling of them at the edge of the woods at our back yard. And as an adult, it's a major marker of spring for me. So I was glad to see them popping out all along the trail.

Also out in force were the ubiquitous "redbud" trees... You can see some here on a nearby golf course, along with dogwood, both contrasting with the still-bare branches of what I think is a sycamore. I've always wondered what these spectacularly pink early spring trees were, and several friends have recently assured me they are called redbud trees. If that is truly the case, I have to say the person who came up with that name had a remarkable lack of originality! They sure are pretty trees though.

You can't really tell from the photos, but the wind yesterday was pretty amazing. I don't know what official numbers were, but there was a strong steady breeze from roughly the west, and many, many abrupt gusts that I'm sure were at least 30 mph. Pretty wild on a bicycle. And with the route of the W&OD, I was riding into the wind the whole way out. In some of the more open stretches of trail, I was really struggling.

The upside of course was that the ride home was MUCH easier and faster, with the wind now behind me. I felt like I was flying sometimes, when it would really hit me and push me along. All in all a gorgeous, gloriously fun day. Even the critters found something to enjoy... this black snake lay stock still on the pavement, soaking up the sun. And the birds were out in great numbers, considering the wind.

The one jarring note on the ride, aside from the typical go-fast riders passing without warning, was the realization of how much the scenic beauty of the trail has been impacted by development and power lines. Despite the economy, there are still areas of former woods and farmland being cleared for new houses. And as this photo shows, the sky is carved up by power lines and poles and towers all along the trail. The juxtaposition of the dogwood and electrical lines really jumped out at me. I know we all use and need the juice in our homes... I just hope some day we find ways to use it more wisely and provide it less obtrusively.

A guy can dream, can't he?

Despite that, all in all it was a wonderful ride. My legs today are feeling the 30 miles and headwind, but it's a good feeling!