Shedding

v. the act of exploring the Frederick Watershed.

If you are up there, be advised that the annual(?) road maintenance is underway, and all the normally well packed roads are graveled and graded, with lots of stones and new sharp edges. Hawbottom Rd. is one big series of puddles.

Wonderful!

Leesburg Bakers Dozen - 2009 Impressions

Just a couple of things, most of them obvious:

Failing to train does not do much for performance.

My bike is finally set up the way I like it.

You can say what you want about clipless efficiency, blah, blah, blah. I'm sold on Vans and BMX pinned platforms for anything but fixed gear riding. My feet felt great all weekend.

My friends who were there all rock, but 'All SSOFT' teammates Kevin and Jojo were great! We all had a similar set of goals and a clear idea of placing fun above competitiveness, and we met or exceeded our plans. Let's do it again next year!

Check your lockring. Duh.

99% of riders on the course were really polite when passing me. I really wouldn't know about me passing anyone.

It helps to remember your water when you go out for a lap. Especially if your pump is the the pack with your water..... Fortunately I got through without mishap.

If you gotta crash, the way to do it is so you come down on about 6 inches of soft and dreamy pine needle fluff like I did, not on rocks and boulders like Jason did.

Doubling up the cycling shorts for the last three laps was a good idea. No discomfort at all after that.

Ergon grips and a lighter grip on the bars made the stutter bumps of the farm lane more manageable this year. Only one forearm was jelly this year, compared to both fore and upper arms last year. About the only time I envy riders with suspension.

Rob and Plum Grove Cyclery sure put on a nice event.

*Photo Credit: Mic Dunn

Spellchecker Wanted

Dear Maryland State Highway Administration, Please check your work.

New Ride

Not quite the kind of bike I usually post about, but after a 13 year break without a motorcycle, I finally got a new one. Kawasaki KLR650. Quite happy so far. They call these bikes dual sport, as they are supposed to handle on both pavement and dirt. That's the kind of riding I did years ago on the BMW, and it's my favorite kind of bicycling terrain as well, so this should be a good choice. It will mainly be used to supplement the bicycle for commuting and the odd weekend camping. It will be easier to get the Mrs. or one of the kids to tag along if they know there is less pedaling involved. :^)