A Little Bit Of Free Time

With only two days (including travel time) in Northern Virginia, I didn’t think we would have time to get out on our bikes. We brought them just in case, and somehow we managed to find the time to ride. One of the local shops recommended a trail really close by, the Conway Robinson State Forest.

The locals said it was pretty easy, and since we didn’t have a whole lot of time I was kinda glad for that.  Even though it’s really close to the mountains, it’s surprisingly flat.

We rolled out, thinking that this would be a really easy ride.  I was on my single speed, and I was spinning like crazy.  The only thing that kept it interesting were a couple of log piles and strategically placed rocks.

As we rounded a corner, I saw something odd.  It was some sort of teepee, probably made by some local kids.  I had to get in it though.

After that brief stop, we continued along the flat (but still fun) trail.  All of a sudden we came to an intersection, so we decided to take it.  Immediately the terrain changed.

Just that that it felt like we were kinda in the mountains.  There were rocks upon rocks, and a few more “features.”  I had Little Miss Sunshine pose for me on one of them.

The trail got progressively steeper and rockier after that, much to my delight.  I felt like I was actually mountain biking, instead of riding along in the woods on fire roads.  It was really fun.

Plenty of rocks and steep drops, which were a sharp contrast to the trail leading up to that point.  We were really having a good time out there.

After that loop, we got back to the main (read: flat) trail.  The scenery was a little better though, so I stopped for another photo.

What made this so nice was the fact that we were right next to the site of the First and Second Battle of Manassas (or Bull Run depending on who you talk to.)  The state forest is right next to the Manassas National Battlefield Park, which I’ve visited many times throughout my life.  It’s a pretty cool place to visit for sure.

Back on the main trail, we ended up on a section that goes over an old railroad line used during the Civil War.  It was flat too of course, but it looked like something out of a story book.

The trail got a little bit technical after that, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle.  In fact, I don’t think I was even breathing heavy.  The last leg going back to the parking lot went over a little creek, so we got to ride across a neat little bridge.

It was a fun ride. That first loop was only about four miles, so we headed back out to do it again. Not an epic ride by any means, but at least I got to ride a little bit while we were away.  The next time I go back up there I’ll be sure to hit it again. It wasn’t really supposed to be a fun trip, but we did manage to have a good time (when we had the time.) I got to partake in another one of my passions up there, so tomorrow will most likely be all about that.

Cheers!

Short Trip, Long Days

Since it was a last minute decision to get up to the DC area, we didn’t have much time to plan anything. We loaded up my truck after I got out of work on Friday and set out to drive as far as we could before we got too tired. We made it as far as Harrisonburg, VA before we decided to call it a night. Since there had been a ton of storms in the area, most of the hotels were full. We eventually found a place and settled in for the night, and got some rest so we could head out the next day to finish our journey.

I hear there’s some good riding up that way, and we did bring our bikes.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to ride anything.  We still had about two hours to go.

After a long day at work and a long drive, we slept in a little bit that morning. We hit the road and made it to Manassas, VA, heading right over to see my family. You see, my trip to the DC area wasn’t for pleasure. I love going up there to visit my family, but this time it was mainly to see my 92 year old Uncle and spend a little time with him before he moves on. He was in good spirits, and the house was full of people. It wasn’t really sad, and I’m glad we were able to be there to spend time with him and the rest of the family. 

A few of us cousins headed over to a local sports bar for lunch, and I enjoyed a few brews and I think I got my cousin hooked on IPAs. After that we headed over to a park which is directly behind my Uncle’s house. 

This is on the hill behind his house, and it was used during the Civil War as an overlook for the Battle of Bull Run. Funny thing is, I played around there when I was little and I didn’t know the significance of it all. Now it’s an official city park, and they’ve obviously spruced up the place a bit. We spent a little time up there reading all the information, and even visited an old Civil War cemetery and brushed up on our history.

We left the house and headed over to our hotel.  We decided to stop in a bike shop on the way to see if there were any trails in the area. We brought our bikes along “just in case”, and asked the locals there if there was anything worth riding. They gave us a few spots to check out, and we planned to get out and pedal if we had time. Meanwhile though, we shopped.

I noticed that they carried some good stuff in there, including ProGold products:

And some Honey Stinger goodness:

We were too tired to ride that night, so we checked into the hotel and cleaned ourselves up a bit. I took the little lady all over town and showed her where my family came from, and we even headed over to the local cemetery for a little history lesson. My Great Great Great Great Grandparents came over from England in the 1800’s to settle in Manassas, and they are buried in that cemetery.

Little Miss Sunshine thought that was pretty cool, but I felt weird for taking photos of a grave marker. All in the name of history I guess. I even found an interesting bit of info about my ancestors and one of the largest breweries in the South. Stay tuned for that one.

After that we took a ride through D.C., but since we didn’t get out to walk around I only got one photo.

It was another late night because we crammed so much stuff into one day, but as usual we made the most of it. We decided that we would have time to ride the next morning.

So yeah, tomorrow will be a ride report.

Drive Time

Little Miss Sunshine and I left after work on Friday headed for D.C., spent time up there visiting my Uncle and the rest of the family, and I just got back about 1:00 this morning. 

I’m tired and I still feel like I’m driving.

It was an unexpected trip, but I’m glad I got to spend time with my family.  We got into a few adventures while we were out, so I do have a few stories to tell.

I just don’t feel like telling them today.

I’ll be back tomorrow to get things back to normal.

I Have Nothing

I have things going on, but for some reason there’s nothing to talk about.  Sure, I’ve worked on bikes, ridden bikes, worked on trails, and drank beer.  That’s the usual around here for sure, but I can’t seem to get any kind of story out of it right now.

I guess I have so much going on that it feels like nothing.  Does that even make sense?

Anyway, it looks like I’m heading up to the D.C. area for family stuff today after work, so that’s where my mind is at the moment.

Sorry I can’t come up with anything good right now.

I’ll be back, eventually…

And hopefully I can get this blog back on track.

Nothing Can Stop Me

Even though I’m still on call for work (this is the last night for a while), I managed to find some time to get on my bike.  One of those times was out at Fisher Farm in nearby Davidson for a little single speed action.  After getting out there by myself for a while, I rolled through the parking lot to refill my bottles before I headed back out for another lap.  I noticed that I had some company…

Little Miss Sunshine decided to show up and ride with me.

And she apparently had an issue with her sock selection.

She also brought her single speed, and we took another lap around the trail.  I’m really amazed at how much of a better rider she’s becoming just from riding her SS.  I asked told her how I am starting to prefer riding only one gear all the time, and asked if she would be doing the same in the near future.

“No, I like my gears.”

I used to say that too.

Riding a single speed has done wonders for my strength on the climbs, and I really like the fact that she’s getting the same benefit.  I’ll keep pushing her to give up the gears, because I know it’s the right thing to do.  She has fun every time she rides it, and she can keep up with me just fine.

The single speed…this is the weapon of a Jedi.  Not as clumsy or random as a geared bike, an elegant weapon for more civilized days.

I got in another ride, but I didn’t take any photos.  That’s too bad, because the Dirty Party Cycle made an appearance.  He doesn’t get out my way too much these days.

I think I’m done for today.  I got a lot of shit going on. 

I should be back here tomorrow though…

The Big Payback

Remember those freaking hornets that tried to kill us?  Well, I went back out there to get some payback.  First rule of payback?  Get a weapon.

In this case I got two.

I stocked up on wasp & hornet killer and rode my ass over there to exact my revenge on those little bastards.  They were pissing on the wheels of progress at Captain Jim Bob’s Space Adventure, and I wasn’t having that shit.  I rolled up on ‘em all sneaky-like, and doused their asses with a whole can of my death spray.  Not being satisfied, I unloaded the second can shortly thereafter.

I stood there and took pleasure in watching them succumb to the poison, and I kinda felt like some kind of villain.   They all eventually perished, and I was able to retrieve the tools we had to leave behind the last time we were out there.  I didn’t really have time for any work on the trail, but I did bring along one of our leftover squishy bikes to test out the trail again.

Now when I go back I should have a clear and easy path to get that section done.  Just in case though, I went out and bought more poison.  It will be by my side just in case those little fuckers called in for reinforcements before they died.

Work should resume in the very near future.

Speaking of work, Saturday was more of the same.  I had to go in early (I was on call, remember?), and I ended up staying all day.  I did think to bring along my bike, and I finally got out in the heat of the day for a ride.  Not that I’m complaining about the heat, but it was a little warm.

That was at about 5:30 or so, and I guess it was too warm for everyone else.  Since I was the only one brave enough to get out there in the heat, I had the trail all to myself.  That’s just the way I like it though.

I had a good ride, but at ~6 miles per lap I started getting bored after going around a couple of times.  It was so hot out there that the squirrels didn’t even run away.  They sorta wandered off the trail as I came by.  I did catch some wildlife though, and since I was all alone I stopped for a photo.  I saw this rather large winged creature go over my head and settle in a tree, so I stopped to say hello.

I asked him how many licks it took to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, and he told me it was to damn hot for that shit.  So, I pedaled on my merry way.

When I got back to my truck, I felt great.  Being out in the heat riding your ass off can do wonders, and it was just what I needed to get away from the stress of being on call for work (and actually working.)  I think it’s funny to hear people complaining about the heat, because they are the same ones that bitch about the cold weather in the winter.  If you want to sit on your ass in the house and cry about the weather, fine.  As for me, I’ll be out there enjoying my life on two wheels.

Oh yeah, tomorrow is a holiday in case you didn’t know.  That means I won’t be here.  You should find something else to do, like trying to blow off your fingers with firecrackers or something like that.

Work Is For Suckers

And I was an all day one on Friday. After spending the day working way up in Salisbury (about an hour away from home), I was all set to get home and start my weekend. Work had other plans though, and I ended up having to drive all the way back into the city after 5:00. Once I got there it didn’t take long to fix the issue, but I knew that any chance of riding after work was ruined. Luckily, Little Miss Sunshine was nearby so we decided to take part in our other hobby…

Eating and drinking. 

We hit up this little Cajun place in the Hipster District, and I got to have some alligator (and of course a beer.)  It wasn’t as good as riding of course, but it was nice to spend time with the little lady and enjoy some good food.  Of course I grew up eating alligator, so it was nice to get back to my roots.  I also lived in Louisiana for a while back in early 90’s, and pigging out on swamp creatures was a good enough substitute for bike riding.

One of my favorite foods back when I lived in the bayou state were seafood PoBoys, and this place happened to have a crawfish one.

It was friggin’ delicious, and served with a side of cheese grits.  Damn, it’s been a while since I had some good home cookin’.

So yeah, Friday started off sucky because of extra work, but it ended up being a pretty cool.  I ride enough so I don’t feel guilty about getting my grub on, and having great food with great company turned a shitty day into a nice one. 

I even got home just in time to see my neighbor putting on a fireworks show.

Work sucked, but we made the best of it.  Would it continue for the next two days?  Come back tomorrow and I might tell you.