short post work ride

rained all day
it rained all day and i was in the office alone catching up on work all day
it was a long day....
had to go in a few minutes early
had to stay a few minutes late

when the whistle blew I did not slide down the dinosaur
no... this fred flintstone gets on the bike
rode the old jamis cross bike rather than the even older colnago fixed gear today
lets are feeling a little tired and a little beaten lately
even with as little riding as I have been doing
guess chasing the kids and jumping in the pool can take its toll as well

the rain had been steady and hard all day
when it was time to head home I was not feeling much like a ride
but... I had not done much more than a few minutes around town in the days prior...
on top of a weekend without any biking...
well....
best I get a little time on the bike
there was not much time
with the wife at a pta meeting I have a few minutes before I have to free up the babysitter

thinking I had no more than an hour I moved through the traffic of Georgetown to the Capitol Crescent Trail
the go around at the first fallen tree there was a muddy girl scout route
then the second fallen tree looked like a climb
heard there was a third fallen tree
so I turned around and headed towards the Mount Vernon Trail
thinking that the view of the flooded potomac may be better than the steeple chase of the capitol crescent trail

with lights flashing on my backpack it was not dark enough for me to bother with my mini headlamp that was fastened to my helmet

with images of the tour I tried to flow on the crossbike
imagining I was fast and fluid
imagining that my legs were strong and that I was moving my bike with great force
riding and smiling with that same pleasure I discovered as a child

the ride took me across the 14th Street Bridge into Virginia then back into the District on Key Bridge
once in Georgetown I took a set of streets that I do not normally travel
yet a road I have traveled enough times to know well
as I am not a stranger to this town

the fantasy of the bike race continued
as I went block to block up the hill I stayed out of the saddle
tried to climb fast and fluid
cautious as I approach each intersection
trying to time to running of the stop signs with some fluidity

up through georgetown then over to dupont
up the hill to adams morgan
then a few more congested blocks into mount pleasant then home
a short little post work ride
lots of eye candy
the rain had stopped but the streets were still wet

arrived home and asked the babysitter to hang out while I cleaned up
but was not able to clean up as I was fully occupied by my little welcoming commitee
both with haircuts
both in their pjs after a shower
after showing the boys the images that I made and put on the blog I downloaded a movie trailer for CARS
played it once as I undressed
started the shower for a warm up
played the same trailer as I jumped into the shower and tried to soap the dirt and grime off my body
dried off and made sure that my younger son was not deep in the preferences messing with my OS

then some books and some bed
well...
intended for some books
they were too wild for books
wrestled with them for a while
the wife subbed in
she fought a good fight then bowed out
then I got in and was able to finish the job
putting the kids to bed is clearly more exhausting than a 55 minute ride on the bike