An Urban Boychick Takes on the Outdoors

Last weekend's NOVA Casual Bike Group Meetup got rescheduled to today, and as an attendee at last weekend's cancelled version I automatically got signed up for it. It was my first day home after Misissippi and New Orleans, but I figured, "what the heck" and decided to go. After all, the alternative would have been to hang out with my mother-in-law. At the start of the ride in Shirlington the leader announced that this group wasn't the "Bad cyclists" - the kind who speed by you without warning. Here's some of the things I observed the good cyclists doing: Gathering for the pre-ride talk right in front of the entrance to the Shirlington Library, making it hard for patrons to get in and out of the building. Stopping traffic for extended period so the whole cycling group could cross together (cyclists always have the right of way, don't they?). Speeding by other trail users without warning. Ignoring traffic signs on the street and trail. P...

Well, this was certainly an active weekend. Saturday morning Valerie and I did our monthly 5K. This month’s event was held in conjunction with the Arlington County Fair and the course was primarily several laps around the fairgrounds. We both expected a fairly easy course, since the race was held at 8 AM and the weather forecast didn’t call for extreme heat. Unfortunately, the morning was humid and the temperature climbed quickly as the sun rose in the sky, so it would up being a slow, sticky slog with some significant hills. Still, as I walked from the car to the packet pick-up I enjoyed the unusual sight of people watering livestock in the TJ Center parking lot. Cows at TJ. Cool. Valerie crossing the finish line Sunday morning we were out the door early again, this time to go paddle boarding with Ted at Key Bridge Boathouse (nee Jack’s). My limited experience with paddleboards has taught me that they’re more stable than they seem, and so one of the big considerations is the ...

Yes, this blog is about my adventures in the wilderness, but not all wild adventures involve leaving the house. I went to make coffee this morning but I had trouble getting to the coffee pot. Someone (my son? his weirdo friend who has been visiting so long that I'm beginning to suspect he's moved in with us?) left some weirdo Asian instant coffee out on the counter, and my other son's electric kettle is there too. Next, it was time to make lunch. I went to try and get my lunch bag from the hall closet but the door was blocked by many pairs of shoes - my sons', along with the weirdo friend from Detroit who may have moved in with us. Then, it was back to the kitchen to make lunch. I already mentioned the mess around the coffee pot. The rest of our counter space was covered with other clutter including a gigantic Slurpee mug, our blender, and some ice packs which have been sitting there since last weekend. For the record, I bought those ice packs earlier th...

Yesterday I rode the Lynsky to work. For one thing, I have broken yet another spoke on the beater bike. Also, it was my intention to check out the infamous Freshbikes Tuesday night ride . I started my day with a nice discovery. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of leaving my bike outside all day and so I went down to the garage in search of a place to lock up my bike - a pipe or something I could lock to. Well, I was thrilled to discover that my building actually has a bike storage cage - in fact, there's two! I didn't have to leave my nice bike out front, and I'll no longer have to chat with the homeless man who spends his evenings in the vestibule next to the outside bike racks. After work I saddled up and rode the block over to Freshbikes. As regular readers of this blog know (assuming there are any), I'm no fan of cute little bike outfits. I was recently thrilled to learn two biking terms: Lycra Lout - a term describing the poorly behaved, race-clad biker s...