fantastic... I have been watching this with my kids

THE AVATAR

Wiki Synopsis

the weekend had some weather

women in sports....

women in sports!

I can remember enjoying watching Women's Field Hockey when I was in High School
better than watching the cheer leaders at the high school football game
(cheerleaders in college take it to another level... and the pros! they are pros!)

potty humor

I dropped my phone in the toilet

I wonder what those patches say... I bet they start to tell part of the story

WOW!

Uncontacted Indian tribe spotted in Brazil

The Associated Press

National Geographic News

cross walk

three perspectives from the same spot

soccer and sustainability...

DC STODDERT SOCCER

Fields
Astro Turf at Palisades
definitely the way to go
too much pick up soccer occurs when the fields should be closed

rain coming... afternoon games risk being canceled
my riding was canceled
forcast called for laziness

Weekly Hazardous Waste Drop Off in DC

News Release for Immediate Release
May 16, 2008

Mayor Fenty, DPW Announce New Weekly Hazardous and Electronic Waste Collections to Begin Saturday, May 17

DC DOT GOV

listening to my body or being lazy?

last year's DCMTB Team Photo
pimp hat added electronically by RickyD

listening to my body or being lazy?

it is tough
am I listening to my body or am I being lazy?
right now a cast of characters from the DCMTB squad are hammering the hills and ripping through the rock gardens at Gambril State Park in Frederick Maryland
me... I slept late and am getting a late start after a late evening
but sleep is what I needed
the late night was not needed, but the sleep was most definitely needed
or so I must tell myself

a 7:30 am call from CityBikesMike rousted me from bed
after weaseling out of the last minute reminder of this epic group ride opportunity I crawled back into bed to hug the pillow for another hour
woke up three hours later
guess my brain did not get the memo that I wanted to leave out for Schaeffer Farms for a solo spin at nine am

this is all fine
yesterday I got out of work a few minutes early and battled the demons of malaise
thrusday after work I tried to ride from downtown to the Fort Dupont/Fort Circle Trails
turned around at the Anacostia bridge
was not feeling it
when Friday came along and I saw my departure time was coming close I let some liquid alter my mood
I slammed a power drink... not sure what it was... it was some free hand out I got on the corner some days earlier

sure enough... the energy that this drink gave me helped me to push through all the voices telling me not to ride

once out of work in my ancient DCMTB City Bikes Orange and Red kit with my oversized backpack on my back I rode through Georgetown to mile zero of the C&O Canal

spinning at a good pace but not sprinting I rode the geared Karate Monkey on the tow path alongside the canal
no effort to get hypoxic
I spent most of the ride moving fast in an upright no handed position
the camera was in my bag
my attention was on turtle counting
lost track of my total, but I did count 13 turtles on one long

a number of people on bikes coming the opposite way
a few of these bikes were loaded down with panniers
as I zipped past I asked... are you riding the whole canal?
a grabbled answer which I took as a yes chased me as the distance between us increased

to my right on the man made waters of the C&O Canal were a variety of casual boaters
some in rentals from Fletcher's boat house
while more aggressive kayakers and canoers were on the Potomac
out of view behind the trees is a slalom course where olympic hopefuls train
no time to slow and watch

fisherman of sport and fisherman of sustanance inched closer to the water or parted like the red sea as I passed
runners with leashless dogs seemed confident that their pets would not step infront of my front wheel
for obstacles that may demand braking I slowed my pace and took my thumbs out of the thoracic region of my backpack

the bird activity was slight
some hissing geeze with their gozlings on the packed gravel pack
and some malard families with packs of little ducklings
no winged migration moments with great blue heron

with little time and almost no effort I was at the foot bridge that would take me over the canal to a wide path that would climb up an unrideable set of terraced stairs up to the hsitoric One Lane Bridge at MacArthur Boulevard
the sidewalk was clear so I spared the cars on the road

as with everyday on this section of road the cars were misbehaving because of the back up

after the bridge I took the bike path so I could pass the long line of bumper to bumper cars
then took to the street after the all way stop that creates the blockage
in the short distance between the line of stopped cars and Seven Locks Road and I was passed in an obnoxious fashion by nearly every car
some making eye contact and gesturing a message that I could not decipher
I day dreamed about a post... THE WAY OF THE PEACEFUL CYCLIST
as I recalled my post from a few weeks back about a ride on this stretch of road where I hammered at a good pace out to Great Falls on the Maryland side and back

as I turned up Seven Locks I debated about the wooded trails to my right
but figured I could dip into the woods on the left before River Road
when I got to the short section of trail along side of River Road before the light I could not find the trailhead
nothing by honey suckle
well... honey suckle, poison ivy, and thorny branches of assorted varieties
so I got on the shoulder and rode the final half mile of road before the trailhead of the Cabin John trails on River Road

warmed up and ready to ride I dipped into the woods
the body felt good
the bike felt okay
the brakes have never been that great on this bike
hard to go super fast when the braking is a sluggish and slow

but these trails are not designed for an excess of speed
the sight lines are short
lots of twists and turns between overgrown vines and tight trees
hikers and dog walkers are common on these suburban trails in the woods

the trail is well worn
wider and more beaten than the last time I had ridden here
most of my approaches to the Cabin John trails are at night with lights
the area is not that asctetic or that technical
and the night ride decreases the risk of collidiing with a dog or a dog walker

the Cabin John trails involve a linkage of patches of woods with requisite street crossing
it is what it is
I live in Washington DC.... not California
this area of Potomac Maryland is suburban DC
the builders and designers have done well squeezing in as much development as they can around here

gwadzilla mention of Cabin John Trails

with one eye on the watch I rode out and did a few loops behind the locust center

sorry never got to finish this...

good morning to you too Mr. Cargo Mike

good morning to you too Mr. Cargo Mike!
and
good luck at the Hoo Ha in Virginia this weekend!
wish I could be racing there as well!

The Massanutten Hoo Ha!

good luck to Dave V. as well... take it easy on the water slide with the kids
you need your energy for the race!

alternate forms of transportation...

in this post work photograph people can be seen in cars, taxis, buses, on foot, and on roller blades
be creative in your commute

live outside the box

car=box
bus=rectangular box

think outside the box

projects promised... projects undone

a photo from the cover of the Washington Post in 1985
a snow day dc and the surrounding area
no school so we went sledding at Battery Kimble Park
woke up the next day to this image on the front page of the Washington Post

this post is to remind me to get a printed copy of that full page mounted, framed, and hung on the wall

someone said they wanted to see a photo of me from high school
well... there is a photo of me from high school hanging out with some friends

this photo was taken after we launched this trusty old tobogan off a jump at speed

snow days... better than a planned vacation day!
as these days call out to spontaneous adventure

not many snow days these days
not even in the winter

more photos before and after work of the streets of washington dc

that looks like KC
looks like KC is traveling on a different bike
KC on Gwadzilla last week

fast moving bicycle with faster moving traffic on Independence Avenue


bicycles on Columbia Road are a familiar site

Express Bicycle Bus!

Express Bicycle Bus
this is an idea!

the Aspen Times has a story on the Express Bicycle Bus

interesting...

the commuter could mix their modes of transport in the DC area to cover more ground more quickly

their daily commute would start on the bicycle
they could get to their stop
which may not be the closest stop
but... more distance can be traveled on bike than on foot in the same amount of time

then get a ride on the bus which does not stop at every stop
then get dropped not at the stop which is most close to their place of work
finishing their trip on their bicycle
but
arriving there more quickly
because the bus was Express rather than Local (LOCO!)
also more rapid because of the use of the bicycle rather than walking

the use of DC Smart Bikes may also become part of the DC Commuter of the Future!

DC's Mayor Adrian Fenty

The Washington Post has an article about DC's Mayor Adrian Fenty taking a break from his work day for his triathalon training
in today's Metro Section of the Washington Post

the beginning and the end of my day

the beginning and the end of my day...

the legs felt tired all day today
not sure why... as there was no prework walk, run, or ride

well... I walked the dog and rode to work
but the durations of both events are too short to measure
which is funny because the duration of my standard ride or standard hike are shorter than most riders or hikers would consider a real ride or a real hike

after the work the legs felt tired
maybe it was not my legs
maybe my soul is tired
either way.... I did not feel like going for a ride
feeling less than inspired I broke free of my trajectory
I was on my geared karate monkey headed down Pennsylvania Avenue in southeast headed towards Fort Dupont/Fort Circle right across the bridge
was not looking to do much more than get the tires on dirt
but then I decided not

there was not a mess of excuses
there was not much argument
there was no fight from either end
I just turned around at the bridge by the old Congressional Cemetary

instead I pushed the pedals at a casual pace towards home
the camera dangled around my neck
I pushed the shutter to distract myself from the fact that I was not riding when I could be riding

the camera offered a process
the battery needs to be charge so I had to try and time my shot
there had to be some anticipation of the approaching bicycle
this old digital camera is slow to wake up and there is no turning off the display splash screen
many shots are missed while the splash screen loads
and no if can not be turned off

the camera showed a dramatic delay due to low power
this camera is old school but good for its time
that time is not now so there is some digital delay
many shots are missed due to digital delay

got home before lisa got home from picking up the boys
not sure... maybe they went to the park

I walked the dog then joined up with the family
the walk was also short due to lack of energy and lack of ambition
the boys were all over the place
the home made none lighting up light sabers made of pink and black tape on cardboard tubes are still high in the rotation

the night is still not over
this blog post was spit out as the boys threw down some mint chocolate chip ice cream out on the back porch while staring through the gap in the trees
I asked if they saw any bats
they told me it is still not dark enough for the bats to come out to eat

when dean comes back upstairs after taking down the dishes he needs to brush his teeth
after both the boys brush their teeth I think we are going to play some chess

bicycle registrations

bicycle registration

bicycle registration is no longer mandatory in washington dc

but... bicycle registration is still a good idea
the powers that be feel that registering through the National Bike Registry is THE SMART WAY TO GO!

www.nationalbikeregistry.com

seal... I still have not gotten enough of seal's first album

seal
I still have not gotten enough of seal's first album

seal myspace
crazy on youtube

willie nelso wrote crazy.... not patsy cline

I have never seen project runway

big bear west virginia

granny gear's 24 hours of big bear in west virginia

DCMTB Colors are Flying out west in AZ!

dcmtb:DC Mountain Biking
mayhem meghan in the new DCMTB kit

www.yehudamoon.com

www.yehudamoon.com

then some classic PSA Announcements
watch them both
share them both

roadside memorials

awareness test

wild and crazy guys

TWO WILD AND CRAZY GUYS!

the boston tea party

I wonder...
I wonder how the masses felt about the Boston Tea Party when it happened
I wonder
I wonder who were in support and who thought that this was misrepresentation of the cause

I guess I could Wiki it and answer my question

Critical Mass is something that I do not fully agree with yet I respect it
it does not entirely represent me or my ideas
the Critical Mass represents the ideas of the Critical Mass
I guess I am thankful of the gains achieved by the actions of Critical Mass but do not enjoy the backlash that I get from Critical Mass

sadly... if the people do not stand up against the actions around them that are wrong
then those committing the wrong actions may feel as if they are right
thus enabling them

I do not feel that one car represents all cars
so I would figure that car drivers would not think that one cyclist represents all cyclists

the war between the bicycle and the car needs to be discussed
the disputes need to be resolved

who would think that one person would represent the full group?
who would think that a sub group would represent the whole?

sure enough
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party

chris and his four day weekend

chris and his four day weekend
team-bi-atch.blogspot.com

and then this...

Seven Springs, 1996. Part 3 is the cross country
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgKsZAJFhSM
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4IrB6rceP0
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDDeu3PhGsU

some stuff worth sharing... thanks chris

The Bicycle Thief
salon.com


Trains, Buses, and Bikes, Oh MY!
www.ourfuture.org

title to the blog post here

words that people ignore here
more words here that people scroll past so that they can get to the next set of photographs

words about the photographs here

more words about the photographs here

not sure what the protest is about...

Vagina Bicycle Taxi
jalopnik.com

perhaps not suitable for work
no... that is not the vagina bicycle taxi
that is a painting by Georgia O'Keefe
I was not ready to post the image of the Vagina Bicycle Taxi

WABA Bike Prom Photos are UP!

Jeff Peel mocking my religion
maybe next time I go out I will get a water bottle, put black Xes on my hands, and make fun of Straight Edge people
which I think is done by walking around like I have a stick in my ass

moderation
which I think is half an X on each hand

WABA Bike Prom Photos on Flickr
WABA:Washington Area Bicycle Association