no RACE REPORT from the Capitol Cross Classic
no photos from the Capitol Cross Classic
no sweat... no dirt... no bumps and no bruises from the Capitol Cross Classic
at least in my world
there may be these things from others
but you will not find these things from me
as I was not in attendance at the 2012 Capital Cross Classic

no...
family responsibility took precedence


my wife is spearheading the Christmas Tree Sale at our younger son's school
which means that I am assisting her in this project
so...
if I am not selling trees I need to be loading trees and tying them down on people's car
or at least... I need to be entertaining the kids

a glance at the weekend weather had me thinking that it would be a good opportunity to get the boys on the bike
the majority of my Saturday was spent at the Christmas Tree Sale
but Sunday... well Sunday I had alternate plans

I planned on taking the boys mountain biking
when propose I was met by opposition from my younger son
this is not rare
it is common for him to refute anything I have to suggest

but...
rather than being a fascist I weighed his opinion into my plan
I understood that he wanted to hang out at the tree sale and respected that
which was fine... as this allowed my 11 year old son and I to move at an eleven year old pace
rather than setting the pace at the movement of 8 year old Grant

Sunday morning came and I was far from ready to roll
I woke up slow and was even slower getting my day started
when it was time to walk the dog I was frustrated by my boys being hypnotized by the television screen
so I enlisted them to join me

GET DRESSED! TURN THE TV OFF!

we took a short loop in the woods of Rock Creek Park
once home I noticed that the grocery list had gotten longer and realized that my wife's request for me to go grocery shopping was more than just a request
so... when my wife got back from her morning road ride I left out with my list

good to have a list
always with the best intention for it not to turn out to be another chapter in the tale of Jack and the Bean Stalk

when I was back from the grocery story my wife had left off with our younger son for the Christmas Tree Sale
I enlisted Dean to help with unloading the groceries from the car while I unloaded the groceries in the kitchen
it was a nice little assembly line system

once that task was completed I had Dean suit up to ride
and then assist with the transfer of gear and bikes to the car
then... hours later than planned we were in the car driving out of town 
headed to Schaeffer Farms in Germantown Maryland

in the car we fueled up...
I made us each ham and cheese sandwiches on pumpernickel 
then also brought a banana and a doughnut 
the doughnut was a special request that was met with a smile

the drive was pretty much traffic free
we arrived at the dirt road that leads to the Schaeffer Farms trail head 
I did not pull in because another mountain biker was pulling out
apparently the trails were closed for a "controlled hunt"

I saw the Yellow Sign... but did not bother to read it
I took the other cyclists turning around as a symbol to our need to turn around

the deer population in this area is out of control
apparently this was one of the dates selected to try and "thin the herd"

oh... dam... darn... piss... shit.... f_ck

we could have selected any number of places for our afternoon in the woods
why did we select Schaeffer...

rather than shed a tear or break a sweat from an elevated heart rate we drove across the street to the SoccerPlex Parking lot where we could ride the pump track and then hit the Hoys Mill Trail

I told the other cyclist about the trail across the street and he asked if we could show him the way
I lead him to a parking spot and then over to the Pump Track

our trip through the pump track was short and sweet
I have never found the rhythm or flow at the Schaeffer Pump Track as I have found at the Rockburn Pump Track
so... after a few laps around the little dirt track we pointed towards the woods
there was also the notion that we had a shortage of time

the Hoys Mill Trail is not something that I am that familiar with
yes... I have ridden it a few times before
yes... I recall taking this route at the start of the MOCO EPIC
but...

in each occasion I was not the lead rider

we dipped into the woods and chased the beaten path and followed the blue blazes

I was spinning the single speed and Dean as chasing behind
I wanted to let Dean move at his own pace
then again...
I was on my single speed which asks that I maintain a decent cadence which will dictate my pace


Dean was clearing anything this course offered up
small rock garden... check!
stream crossing... check!
lots of leaf covered twists and turns... CHECK!


we did the out and back
Dean was enjoying himself
just like his old man he was a tad frustrated with the ratio of ROAD to SINGLE TRACK
but he had a good time just the same

we were able to do our out and back and get back in the car 
then drive back downtown where we were able to assist with the final hours of the school Christmas Tree Sale
I sold some trees... loaded even more trees onto people's cars
and then cleaned up the playground
happily using a borrowed leaf blower to remove the pine needles and leaving the playground cleaner than we started

good weekend
good day
nice use of an unseasonably warm December weekend

photos not from this day or this ride
but tossed some photos from a few rides from a few weeks back to fill the void