Boyscout, I am not....
yesterday I tried to do a quick post work ride
often my 45 minute to an hour ride is an effort to leave work, ride, and return home shortly after lisa arrives home from work and grabs Grant from Soledad and Dean from the Rosemount Center
where I usually give a kiss to everyone's forehead and then grab the dogs (sometimes Dean or Grant) and head to the woods
sometimes things do not go as planned
often things do not go as planned
sometimes Chatty Cathy (me!) runs into an old friend and starts catching up
other times the ride takes longer than anticipated
and this time
the combination of a flat tire and meeting with a contractor friend to discuss my plans all took up major time
major time!
the flat should not have taken that long....but....my 29incher needs 15mm wrench fo the bolt on rear wheel and a large 29 inch tube were in my camel back along with a multitool for last Saturday's race (tale of woe written bellow...the 22 miles ending in a one second loss)
I was over around Key Bridge on the Virginia side
I had detoured onto a dirt trail
what seemed like a couple of hundred yards while rolling on the single speed
turned out to be a tad longer when I walked/jogged back
a strange lesson to be relearned for a well seasoned commuter....
pack it all in their with you
be self contained
and BE PREPARED!
there were 26 inch tube and some tools
but no, 29 inch tube and no 15mm wrench
what a rookie mistake!
I walked across the Key Bridge taking in the view of the Potomac River bellow
went to Revolution Cycles on M Street
(no chance that my friends at Big Wheel would have a 29 inch tube)
once repaired I flew out of Revolution Cycles as fast as I had stormed in
zipped up and across town
through various neighborhoods
experiencing a stark contrast between the archetecture, culture, and economics between Georgetown and Petworth and the various neighborhoods in between
the meeting with a friend was more social...he had little input to the plans other than they look good, but you better have all the information and you best get it right
so I called lisa on the cell serveral times to update her on my situation
had she been looking at some sort of GPS tracking device she would have noticed that I was always 5-10 minutes from the house
circling and passing
getting distracted and held up by various encounters....several Chatty Cathy incidents
(hanging with Super Dave at Revolution Cycles....chatting about the permit with contractor Lev, and shooting the shit with old friend Clark who just got a new motorcycle)
the cell phone showed it benefits and I met the family at Lamont Park on the Mount Pleasant Strip
Lisa had her hands full....she had Grant in the backpack, the dogs on the leashes, and Dean was cruising circles around her on his bicycle with training wheels.
I rolled up on my HUGE KARATE MONKEY with its 22 inch frame and its 29 inch wheels
DEAN saw me lit up and challenged me to a race!
I zipped up the handicapped ramp with Dean peadling fast behind me
the dogs nearly decapitated four young boys who were tamely petting them
this scenario was repeated for the next 30 minutes
as the race became more of a follow the leader with Dean and myself and a young Asian boy on a scooter in tow
after many figure eights and zig zagging loops we all pointed for home
stomachs were growling
and attitudes were beginning to surface
Dean and I raced ahead of Lisa, Grant, and the dogs
We rode along side of each other down the urban alleys behind the 100 year old row houses
Dean blew my mind how comfortable he has grown on the bicycle
he was fast and secure
as well as responsive and responsible
we slowed to a stop at each intersection
Dean pulled over to the right hand side of the alley at my request
as we ZOOMED past an old neighbor behind our old Lamont Street house
Tim gave us a wave, I nodded and kept my focus on Dean and our Safety

The whole ride was a rush
downhill all the way
only 4 blocks
we got home so fast that we went ahead and raced down the sidewalk past our house
offering more time for lisa. grant, and the dogs to arrive home with the keys

we went inside
Dean helped me make cheese quesadilla, which we call soft tacos
we talked about our day
lisa fed Grant
then while lisa put Grant to bed, Dean and I played with blocks
it was a good evening
flat tire and all

here are a few rough digital sketches of some logo ideas I did for Mount Pleasant Main Streed
similar to the Chain Reaction stuff
everything was shelved for months and months and then years
when they woke up for movement forward
I had lost interest and motivation
not to mention a change in careers (no real graphic design right now)
and a change in family dynamics (dean is older and on the move and grant has arrived)





at one point in time many years ago Mount Pleasant was a trolley stop
as were many of the other neighborhoods in DC
the tracks still remain under the asphault and concrete
revealed each winter through crater sized potholls are the tracks and the cobble stones