There are so many bike trails in and around DC. Every time I think I know all of them, I learn about another one. On Sunday, we went down to DC to ride the Capital Crescent Trail with Zach and Sarah. Adding in the Rock Creek Parkway makes this a 20 mile loop with a variety of terrain.
From what I can tell, the Capital Crescent Trail is still in the process of being developed. Like the W&OD, it's a converted railway line. There actually seems to be a sizable initiative to transform rail lines into biking/hiking trails around the area, which is pretty neat. This one starts in Silver Spring and runs in an arch to Georgetown, along the proposed purple line route. Not that the purple line will exist in my lifetime, but it's a cool bit of forward thinking to tie these together like the orange line is for the end (beginning?) of the W&OD trail.
The trail itself is more dirt than asphalt.This made for a harder ride, though it wasn't as bad as the Accotink Trail. The Rock Creek Parkway was bumpy enough that I lost my water bottle at one point, but the Crescent Creek trail was packed pretty well. It was more difficult than I'm used to, and I was definitely bringing up the rear of the group for most of the ride. Probably because I haven't actually been on my bike for a few weeks. Stupid summer sapping my energy and motivation (we've reached the part of the year where I come home from work and basically collapse on the couch).
Through Georgetown (maybe? I didn't have the clearest idea of where we were for most of the ride), the trail got very crowded. I got stuck behind a child who was wobbling all over the place on his bike because I couldn't figure out how to safely pass him. Once the crowd cleared up a bit, Kevin asked the kid's dad to let us by, and we were able to pick our speed back up, but it was frustrating for a while.
All in all, it wasn't my favorite trail ever. It's narrower and bumpier than the W&OD, which isn't really fair since it's still under construction and the W&OD is one of the best maintained trails out there. But I can see it getting easier with more rides. Who knows, it may even be the step I need to work up to the Accotink Trail (although something closer to a mountain bike will probably help more there).
Monday, August 31, 2015
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Crabble!
One of the first things we did when I came to visit Kevin in DC way back in 2008 was go to an all-you-can crab place. I'd never had crabs before, and Kevin was excited to share with me one of his favorite foods. I had three crabs that afternoon, while Kevin sat at the table and ate crabs for three hours.
We still make sure to eat crabs once a year, but this has changed from something we go out to do to a party we throw at our house. Where I can drink beer and hang out friends and eat something other than crabs which are not, in my opinion, worth the effort.
With more friends and tighter schedules, it's becoming harder to schedule things like this. Especially in the summer. But we did find a weekend when most people were free, and when Ben, Autumn, and Alex were able to come down from NYC. The addition of out-of-town guests morphed this from an afternoon party to a full weekend extravaganza.
Ben and Autumn arrived at our house late on Friday night. We had a few beers and visited for a bit, but it wasn't long before exhaustion took over and we went to bed. The next morning we had plans to meet the rest of our group at the National Building Museum for their "beach" exhibit: essentially a gigantic ball pit. We woke up early, and I made shakshuka for breakfast. I've been wanting to make it since we went to NYC last month, and we finally had guests I could make it for. We'll get better flatbread next time, but it was enough of a success that I'm putting it in the rotation.
We ended up at the museum half an hour before it opened. This was good. The exhibit is popular, and by getting there so early we were close to the head of the line, able to get tickets and go right in. Kevin hung back to give tickets to the other half of the group, and we spent some time playing in the ball pit. It was enormous and almost waist deep in some places. I had a really hard time standing up once I'd sat down, or even keeping my head above the balls. After the novelty wore off we wandered around the rest of the museum, which had some pretty cool architectural models and a fun exhibit on the differences between houses and homes, as presented through the history of housing in America.
Just before noon, Kevin and I departed to pick up the crabs. We went to the Fish Market, which wasn't as big as I'd been expecting. It was really cool. Boats full of fish pull up to the dock and you buy seafood right off of them. Then it was off to get a keg and prepare the shrimp boil. The shrimp boil was a great addition to this party, especially for people like me who aren't too fond of crabs. Basically, you boil a bunch of potatoes, corn, onions, sausage, and shrimp in water that's been heavily seasoned with Old Bay. It's just a tad spicy and all around delicious and easy to eat.
People started arriving around 3, and we sat in the backyard, eating and drinking beer, until some time after 7. We had 16 people at our house, and I'm actually a little surprised we managed to fit that many in the backyard. But with two tables it worked out pretty well. Still, our parties are beginning to outgrow our house. I think it's time to start thinking about upsizing. (No, it's not. But it will be before too much longer.)
When the sun went down (well, a little before) we transitioned to beer pong. Alex and I did a good job of crushing other teams for a while. Then Autumn and I had a good winning streak until I abandoned her to get some sleep.
At one point, the guys became convinced that we were going to run out of beer. Several of them spent a long time taking turns lifting the keg and trying to determine how much beer was left. It was finally decided that we were nearly out of beer and that we had better go pick up some more while there were still sober drivers around. Ben went can came back with three cases. The next morning we discovered that the keg had not really been in danger of running out. In fact, we didn't actually finish it until some time in the afternoon, and that took a concerted effort (it didn't help that the beer was warm and going flat by then).
Sunday morning was filled with mimosas and board games. We played games we haven't played in years, which was a lot of fun. And we laughed at Kina's attempts to carry a pig ear around the house. Then she tried to bury the pig ear using her bed and Alex's shirt. At which point we noticed that Alex's shirt was damp and smelled. As did Kina's dog bed. We couldn't figure out if it was beer or urine (it was probably beer), and rather than running an extensive investigation I threw everything in the washing machine. Which both ruined the dog bed and revealed a mysterious puddle of liquid on the lower shelf of the table behind the bed. I still can't fathom how it happened. It's a very awkward spot to spill a drink, but it's not like peeing there made any more sense. We cleaned it up and spent some time reminiscing about the other mystery puddles from our drunken adventures over the years. I don't think this one will ever be solved.
People started drifting out in the afternoon. We miraculously got the house cleaned up in less than three hours, which I believe is some sort of record for Kevin and me. Usually it takes a week to get the house back in shape. But with the cleaning people coming to mop and dust the next day, I was motivated to clean up as much as I could.
And now we rest until Hallowiener. After which I'm seriously considering taking the Monday off to help recover.
We still make sure to eat crabs once a year, but this has changed from something we go out to do to a party we throw at our house. Where I can drink beer and hang out friends and eat something other than crabs which are not, in my opinion, worth the effort.
With more friends and tighter schedules, it's becoming harder to schedule things like this. Especially in the summer. But we did find a weekend when most people were free, and when Ben, Autumn, and Alex were able to come down from NYC. The addition of out-of-town guests morphed this from an afternoon party to a full weekend extravaganza.
Ben and Autumn arrived at our house late on Friday night. We had a few beers and visited for a bit, but it wasn't long before exhaustion took over and we went to bed. The next morning we had plans to meet the rest of our group at the National Building Museum for their "beach" exhibit: essentially a gigantic ball pit. We woke up early, and I made shakshuka for breakfast. I've been wanting to make it since we went to NYC last month, and we finally had guests I could make it for. We'll get better flatbread next time, but it was enough of a success that I'm putting it in the rotation.
We ended up at the museum half an hour before it opened. This was good. The exhibit is popular, and by getting there so early we were close to the head of the line, able to get tickets and go right in. Kevin hung back to give tickets to the other half of the group, and we spent some time playing in the ball pit. It was enormous and almost waist deep in some places. I had a really hard time standing up once I'd sat down, or even keeping my head above the balls. After the novelty wore off we wandered around the rest of the museum, which had some pretty cool architectural models and a fun exhibit on the differences between houses and homes, as presented through the history of housing in America.
Just before noon, Kevin and I departed to pick up the crabs. We went to the Fish Market, which wasn't as big as I'd been expecting. It was really cool. Boats full of fish pull up to the dock and you buy seafood right off of them. Then it was off to get a keg and prepare the shrimp boil. The shrimp boil was a great addition to this party, especially for people like me who aren't too fond of crabs. Basically, you boil a bunch of potatoes, corn, onions, sausage, and shrimp in water that's been heavily seasoned with Old Bay. It's just a tad spicy and all around delicious and easy to eat.
People started arriving around 3, and we sat in the backyard, eating and drinking beer, until some time after 7. We had 16 people at our house, and I'm actually a little surprised we managed to fit that many in the backyard. But with two tables it worked out pretty well. Still, our parties are beginning to outgrow our house. I think it's time to start thinking about upsizing. (No, it's not. But it will be before too much longer.)
When the sun went down (well, a little before) we transitioned to beer pong. Alex and I did a good job of crushing other teams for a while. Then Autumn and I had a good winning streak until I abandoned her to get some sleep.
At one point, the guys became convinced that we were going to run out of beer. Several of them spent a long time taking turns lifting the keg and trying to determine how much beer was left. It was finally decided that we were nearly out of beer and that we had better go pick up some more while there were still sober drivers around. Ben went can came back with three cases. The next morning we discovered that the keg had not really been in danger of running out. In fact, we didn't actually finish it until some time in the afternoon, and that took a concerted effort (it didn't help that the beer was warm and going flat by then).
Sunday morning was filled with mimosas and board games. We played games we haven't played in years, which was a lot of fun. And we laughed at Kina's attempts to carry a pig ear around the house. Then she tried to bury the pig ear using her bed and Alex's shirt. At which point we noticed that Alex's shirt was damp and smelled. As did Kina's dog bed. We couldn't figure out if it was beer or urine (it was probably beer), and rather than running an extensive investigation I threw everything in the washing machine. Which both ruined the dog bed and revealed a mysterious puddle of liquid on the lower shelf of the table behind the bed. I still can't fathom how it happened. It's a very awkward spot to spill a drink, but it's not like peeing there made any more sense. We cleaned it up and spent some time reminiscing about the other mystery puddles from our drunken adventures over the years. I don't think this one will ever be solved.
People started drifting out in the afternoon. We miraculously got the house cleaned up in less than three hours, which I believe is some sort of record for Kevin and me. Usually it takes a week to get the house back in shape. But with the cleaning people coming to mop and dust the next day, I was motivated to clean up as much as I could.
And now we rest until Hallowiener. After which I'm seriously considering taking the Monday off to help recover.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Tubing
This past weekend Jen organized a camping and tubing trip for her birthday. We couldn't find anyone to watch Kina for us, so we had to skip out on the camping part. But Kevin and I drove out to West Virginia on Saturday to go tubing with the group.
It's always difficult to wrangle a large group of people. And the organization we went with wasn't great at it either. We came close to getting split up across two different buses, but we ultimately had a few people standing in the aisle and holding their tubes so we could keep our group together. This probably wasn't the safest thing ever, but the bus only goes a couple of miles and those on back roads. We made it to the river without incident.
Jen had made sandwiches for everyone for the trip, and we quickly found a sort of secluded beach where we could gather and eat them. We spent some time wading and eating and hanging out, only leaving the beach when another group showed up wanting to use it. Then we lashed all our tubes together in a circle and floated down the river for the next few hours.
Ultimately we were on the river for over 3 hours, which is pretty impressive for a 2 mile journey. The river moves pretty slowly, though, and we did spend a lot of time on the beach. I managed to not get sunburned, and I think I've finally discovered the secret formula (which I've known for years but am getting better about implementing). If you put sunscreen on 30-45 minutes before you go outside (so in the car up) and then reapply right before going outside, it's far more effective. That also prevents it from all washing off in the water. Go me and my lack of sunburn!
We had tentative plans to meet up with friends in the city after the tubing. Having gone tubing last year, I knew it was very unlikely we'd actually make it. Sure enough we didn't even get home until after 8, at which point we were completely exhausted. Sitting in the sun and drinking beer is hard work, it turns out. Next year we'll be smart and not even make tentative plans for after tubing.
It's always difficult to wrangle a large group of people. And the organization we went with wasn't great at it either. We came close to getting split up across two different buses, but we ultimately had a few people standing in the aisle and holding their tubes so we could keep our group together. This probably wasn't the safest thing ever, but the bus only goes a couple of miles and those on back roads. We made it to the river without incident.
Jen had made sandwiches for everyone for the trip, and we quickly found a sort of secluded beach where we could gather and eat them. We spent some time wading and eating and hanging out, only leaving the beach when another group showed up wanting to use it. Then we lashed all our tubes together in a circle and floated down the river for the next few hours.
Ultimately we were on the river for over 3 hours, which is pretty impressive for a 2 mile journey. The river moves pretty slowly, though, and we did spend a lot of time on the beach. I managed to not get sunburned, and I think I've finally discovered the secret formula (which I've known for years but am getting better about implementing). If you put sunscreen on 30-45 minutes before you go outside (so in the car up) and then reapply right before going outside, it's far more effective. That also prevents it from all washing off in the water. Go me and my lack of sunburn!
We had tentative plans to meet up with friends in the city after the tubing. Having gone tubing last year, I knew it was very unlikely we'd actually make it. Sure enough we didn't even get home until after 8, at which point we were completely exhausted. Sitting in the sun and drinking beer is hard work, it turns out. Next year we'll be smart and not even make tentative plans for after tubing.
Friday, August 14, 2015
W&OD Trail
This past weekend Kevin and I decided to ride the W&OD trail from end to end. I've been wanting to do this for a while, but I was a little hesitant. I haven't been biking nearly as much as I wanted to in the past month, so I didn't feel as though I were in proper shape for a 45-mile ride. Then again, the weather was perfect and we had no other plans. Plus, the trail passes right by our house about 35 miles in. I know I can bike 35 miles, so in the worst case I'd just peel off and head home at that point.
I did end up biking the entire trail, but I also found my limit. By the end of the ride I was grumpy, hungry, and tired. This also started to happen about halfway through the ride. Both times we took a break and ate some food (Kevin came well prepared). If I go on any more longish rides, this is definitely something I'm going to have to pay attention to. Taking a break is a bit of a mental block for me. It feels like I'm cheating, even though I know that isn't true. Having Kevin around to insist certainly helps, but it's something I ought to get used to doing on my own.
At any rate, the ride was really nice. We had perfect weather. It was cloudy and breezy, and maybe a little humid, but not too bad. We started in Purcellville and ended in Shirlington, which means that the ride is basically downhill. You lose about 600 feet in elevation going that way. But it is by no means all downhill. There are two longish (~3 miles) uphill sections as you enter the towns of Herndon and Vienna. The first one I wasn't expecting and it came right before our snack break in Herndon. Going up that hill was rough, and probably the worst part of the ride. The second one was a stretch of the trail that I'm more familiar with, so it didn't seem as bad.
We decided to get lunch in Crystal City after the ride, which meant an additional couple of miles of biking. It was further than I thought, which did nothing to help my mood. Also by then the sun was out and my sunscreen was reaching the end of it's effectiveness. And after four hours on a bike my butt was killing me. But we made it to a sports bar and got some food and caffeine and I was feeling better.
Then it was time to get home and collect Kevin's car from the trail head, which ultimately took longer than the ride itself. It would have been fine, except that metro was closed between a couple of stations. Getting home meant taking the blue train to Roslyn, switching to the orange train, getting off the train and onto a bus for 5 miles, then getting back on the train for the last few miles. If we'd been feeling up to it, it probably would have been faster to bike home. But we'd already gone nearly 50 miles and another 10 or 15 was just out of the question for me. It took two hours to get home after lunch and then it was another 2 hour round trip to get Kevin's car. But it all worked out in the end.
I'm hoping I can do this ride once more this year. It really does take an entire day (we left our house at 7:45 AM and ultimately got home just before 6:00 PM), so it may be hard to schedule. But now that I have a better idea of what to expect, I think I'll be less grumpy next time. Half the battle for me is mental preparation, so knowing what I'm getting into makes everything easier.
I did end up biking the entire trail, but I also found my limit. By the end of the ride I was grumpy, hungry, and tired. This also started to happen about halfway through the ride. Both times we took a break and ate some food (Kevin came well prepared). If I go on any more longish rides, this is definitely something I'm going to have to pay attention to. Taking a break is a bit of a mental block for me. It feels like I'm cheating, even though I know that isn't true. Having Kevin around to insist certainly helps, but it's something I ought to get used to doing on my own.
At any rate, the ride was really nice. We had perfect weather. It was cloudy and breezy, and maybe a little humid, but not too bad. We started in Purcellville and ended in Shirlington, which means that the ride is basically downhill. You lose about 600 feet in elevation going that way. But it is by no means all downhill. There are two longish (~3 miles) uphill sections as you enter the towns of Herndon and Vienna. The first one I wasn't expecting and it came right before our snack break in Herndon. Going up that hill was rough, and probably the worst part of the ride. The second one was a stretch of the trail that I'm more familiar with, so it didn't seem as bad.
We decided to get lunch in Crystal City after the ride, which meant an additional couple of miles of biking. It was further than I thought, which did nothing to help my mood. Also by then the sun was out and my sunscreen was reaching the end of it's effectiveness. And after four hours on a bike my butt was killing me. But we made it to a sports bar and got some food and caffeine and I was feeling better.
Then it was time to get home and collect Kevin's car from the trail head, which ultimately took longer than the ride itself. It would have been fine, except that metro was closed between a couple of stations. Getting home meant taking the blue train to Roslyn, switching to the orange train, getting off the train and onto a bus for 5 miles, then getting back on the train for the last few miles. If we'd been feeling up to it, it probably would have been faster to bike home. But we'd already gone nearly 50 miles and another 10 or 15 was just out of the question for me. It took two hours to get home after lunch and then it was another 2 hour round trip to get Kevin's car. But it all worked out in the end.
I'm hoping I can do this ride once more this year. It really does take an entire day (we left our house at 7:45 AM and ultimately got home just before 6:00 PM), so it may be hard to schedule. But now that I have a better idea of what to expect, I think I'll be less grumpy next time. Half the battle for me is mental preparation, so knowing what I'm getting into makes everything easier.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Motivating Myself...Again
It's amazing how quickly reasons become excuses. The weather got hot enough that I stopped riding my bike to work as often. Then Kevin was out of town for a few days. We were bust on the weekends. Before I knew it, I was barely getting in one bike ride a week, and I wasn't exercising at all outside of that.
I knew this was going to happen. There always comes a point in summer when the last thing I want to do is go outside. So biking to work as my only form of exercise wasn't going to be sustainable for long. This is why I started building up a home gym back in January. I have everything I need to work out down in the basement. The trick now is to actually do it consistently.
My plan is to start getting on the exercise bike for a half hour in the mornings again. That worked well last winter once I made it a habit, and I think I can do it again. Then I'll lift a few evenings a week and still go on long bike rides when I can on weekends.
The real trick here is going to be the evening work out. Somehow this wasn't really a problem when I was going to the gym, but I'm usually starving when I get home from work. The last thing I want to do is delay dinner 45 more minutes than I need to. Which is where snacks come in. I'm really not much of a snacker, but I bought some yogurts to have when I get home. Hopefully that will be enough to tide me over for a little while.
This should all work. I just need to stick with it. Wish me luck and motivation.
I knew this was going to happen. There always comes a point in summer when the last thing I want to do is go outside. So biking to work as my only form of exercise wasn't going to be sustainable for long. This is why I started building up a home gym back in January. I have everything I need to work out down in the basement. The trick now is to actually do it consistently.
My plan is to start getting on the exercise bike for a half hour in the mornings again. That worked well last winter once I made it a habit, and I think I can do it again. Then I'll lift a few evenings a week and still go on long bike rides when I can on weekends.
The real trick here is going to be the evening work out. Somehow this wasn't really a problem when I was going to the gym, but I'm usually starving when I get home from work. The last thing I want to do is delay dinner 45 more minutes than I need to. Which is where snacks come in. I'm really not much of a snacker, but I bought some yogurts to have when I get home. Hopefully that will be enough to tide me over for a little while.
This should all work. I just need to stick with it. Wish me luck and motivation.
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