no time on the bike today

no time on the bike today... well...
nothing more than the standard straight shot into work then the straight shot home after work
nothing aggressive... did not even enough to break a sweat... more looking to take pictures than go for a ride
the body was not feeling much like riding

yesterday was a little more than today
did not feel like riding yesterday either... but I rode a little further with the camera around my neck
and the day before that was Sunday... the weekend involved some riding
the weekend had started with that urban off road epic
roughly three hours on the mountain bike

that urban epic took me from downtown along the the C&O canal on the tow path to Seven Locks
up on MacArthur on the road to Seven Locks on the road to River Road on the shoulder
the off road options start at Sevel Locks but i was not looking for a hike-a-bike or a thorn induced flat tire
so it was up north on River Road past the old quarry and that natural spring to the Cabin John trailhead

a little more than an hour in the woods on the heavily beaten off road trails of Cabin John then took the direct route back home
a straight shot up River Road into the city

the time on the shoulder on River was not as peaceful as the towpath option along the canal
it was direct but not placid

did not get to count turtles
did not get a chance for that winged migration moment with the great blue heron
got to grit my teeth, grip the handle bars, and hope for the best

the cars on river road moved at near highway speed until nearly the capital crescent underpass
the speed comes down but the aggressive driving does not change the risk for the cyclist
the cranks went around and the big wheels spun
still feeling good I got up river road over to macomb then down to macomb park
just enough time to catch some of dean's baseball game

after the game I rolled home
lisa took dean and grant to grandma's for a sleep over
then lisa and I walked over to columbia heights for dinner

after dinner lisa went to bed and I had a few beers down the block with some friends

the morning came without any plans to go riding
in my head there had been ideas about solo assaults on schaffer farms or rosaryville
but the morning drifted into the afternoon
the storm clouds drifted in with the afternoon
my mountain bike ride was quickly downgraded to an extended walk with the dog
completely bypassing any ride at all... not even a road ride
after the walk with the dog I grabbed an umbrella and walked to target to grab some plastic junk made in china

thunder and lightning along with tornado warnings canceled both dean's soccer game and his baseball game
legos entertained the boys
then some neighbors came over from a few houses down
the boys from down the block joined in on the lego fun as I made each of the kids a light saber out of a cardboard shipping tube coated in colored tape... decorated to their liking

sunday morning came with only a small window of opportunity for riding dirt
not being an early riser I decided to sleep late and then do a short local road ride
the storms the day prior brought a volume of rain that surely soaked out many of the dirt options
ran into my brother and chris clarke on beach drive
they had just finished a fast work out
I did an up and back to east west highway on their cool down pace
then I did another up and back at my pace... that pace may have been slower then their cool down pace

that was some solid riding
riding tucked in between dinner dates and trips to the pool
there were school picnics in rock creek park and bike rides in the alley
no racing... no dirt on the weekend proper... but friday blended in with saturday and sunday
a good weekend
the friday afternoon epic was so grand that I would have been fine without any riding at all
yet I managed to sneak in that one road ride to balance things out

today's lack of riding was balanced by dean's soccer practice
not feeling like riding I sacked the trail-a-bike option and drove
thus taking grant along with us
thus freeing up lisa to go running with the dog
soccer was good
I hung with grant... or should I say grant hung/climbed on me as the kids played soccer