five extra pounds on vacation...

it is true... I gained five more pounds while on vacation in florida
I had thought I had lost some weight
but instead it was a combination of me holding my stomach in and so many of the people around me being more weighty than myself

today I got on the bike in the woods
it was the first time in the woods in a few weeks
it was the first time on the bike for more than a hour in a few weeks
a combination of my weight and fitness made for a difficult day on the bike

Saturday was filled with soccer games and flying kites
it was a stellar day for a father and his family
then Sunday came along with more parental obligations
but before filling a friend's mini van up with kids and heading to an eight year old's birthday party in Columbia Maryland I did something for me
I RODE MY BIKE

while waiting for a table at Cactus Cantina with the family on Saturday Night I made the call... Cargo Mike was available and game
there was some was discussion and consideration of the various places to ride
due to a variety of factors it was decided that Rosaryville would be our riding destination of choice
proximity was as much a factor as fun
there was agreement that we needed to have fun on the bike

Cargo Mike was riding his single speed with his freshly built 650B Wheels and I rode my Rip Nine
although the Rigid Monkey is usually the ride of choice for the swooping single track at Rosaryville I felt that I needed to grow better acquainted with this machine as the Rip Nine is going to be the race machine of choice for me in the season to come
sure I plan to race some of the local stuff on my Single Speed
but if I plan on going more than an hour outside the city I expect to be riding thing plush!

it was a good day on the bike
although I was not feeling particularly strong the day still brought many smiles
the trails were buff and the temps were warm
the parking lot was full but the trails were vacant
so many cars... many of these cars were owned by the people who were breaking a sweat not hiking or biking... but instead were working on the trails

the trails at Rosaryville are some fast flowing fun trails that offer smiles to a wide range of riders
I have taken my seven year old son on his bmx bike while towing my four year old son on the trail a bike
I have ridden with my wife at Rosaryville
and of course... I have chased the wheel of many a faster rider at Rosaryville
today was one of those days... with all my travel front and rear and my multiple gears I was still huffing and puffing several turns behind Cargo Mike on his single speed machine with its spiffy new wheels... 650B... not sure why he needs a bigger wheel... I think that he should tie a rope to some cinderblocks and pull that... too fast already with the 26ers... rolling fast... not sure how he felt about the gear... looked like he set it up with a fast gear... not hard... not difficult... clearly fast moving... the more air or obstacles that Cargo Mike got into... the fast her pedaled... the fun fueled him...

we rode the interior loop on our second and last lap
well... perhaps I should say that Cargo Mike rode the interior loop
while I rode the trail along side the man made fun
the tall log and the log ride are not really part of my vocabulary
it would make sense for me to build up to some of this stuff instead of ignoring it

larry camps always talks about drills
I need to go to larry camp obstacle boot camp!

this post is days old
the details are forgotten as well is the trajectory of this rant

good to get on the bike
manage to time the ride pretty much perfect
well... a wrong turn coming back into the city put us on an awkward side of the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler traffic
which had me make Cargo Mike ride home from my house as I was scheduled to drive four boys to an 8 year old's birthday party in Columbia Maryland... one of those rooms filled with a variety of moon bounce structures... the kids love it! I have some fun too

great weekend that involved kid's soccer games... kite flying... birthday parties... family dinners out on the town... and a sweet day in the woods in the bike