Gratuitously Inconsiderate

Time for another predawn wake-up. This time for 95 mile loop headed north from Rockville, at the end of the Red Line.

I switched to eating peanuts, orange juice, and gatorade instead of clif bars. It seemed to work much better. Less sugar energy spikes (clif bars are mostly rice syrup, aka sugar).

Quadratic Drive?

Albuagh Rd. The gravel of Old West Falls Rd a few miles back was better 'cause it was shady.

I stopped for lunch in Mt. Airy when the weather was starting to get very hot. At least it seems that way when you've been riding for hours and there isn't much shade to be had. Luckily, I started packing 3 water bottles instead of two. I used a whole bottle just dumping water on my head and back.

It was hot enough by mile 85, I had to stop and dip my feet in a roadside stream and spotted this wild strawberry. That's how you know it's been hot the last few weeks.

Wild strawberries...

Had some encounters with gratuitously inconsiderate Maryland drivers. Apparently, asking them to wait the 1 second for oncoming traffic to clear is too much to ask.

Georgeous Prince George's

That's the PG County motto, and I hardly thought it applied given what I previously knew about PG county, mostly their car-centric Metro station design (stations surrounded by acres of parking, with poor pedestrian accessibility and no businesses).

After numerous trips out the C&O canal and surrounding areas west of DC I thought it was time to give the east side a try. I found a 200K route through the area. It doubled back on itself which can be boring if ridden frequently, but was ok this time. I shortened it to 80 miles so I could be back in time for an afternoon appointment.

Fridays are my day off and the metro starts running at 5am (instead of 7am on the weekends), so I can reach the start of the ride by 6am, perfect for warmer weather and it allows me to get things done later in the day. All I have to do is wake up at 4:45am, no problem, right?

Watching the sun rise over West Hyattsville.

This is why it's worth it to wake up that early... I remember now.

The USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Facility

Beaver Dam Road

But, you are still in Maryland. People love their trucks...and littering on the side of the road.

I ran into this a few hundred yards before I was supposed to cross the Patuxent River. I was really hoping it didn't turn into this. The closest crossing was many miles away and was on a major highway. I decided to investigate further. The small bridge was fine for bikes. But perhaps it had been damaged enough to prevent it from carrying car traffic. I saw 2 other walkers using the closed off road as well. Closing a road to cars sure makes it pleasant for walking and biking, and no more potholes, infrastructure problems: SOLVED.

I made it all the way to Deale, MD before turning back.

Made it back the metro at exactly noon for six hours of riding, including 15 minutes of breaks. I had some trouble eating enough food while riding, Clif Bars are not cutting it anymore (too much simple sugars). Time to do some more research on Glycemic Index, maybe I will switch back to using peanuts and orange juice like I did in France.

Party Time!!!

Loaded up with all the party supplies. Perhaps we should retain this bike-based tradition so our parties don't get out of hand (sorry, no bounce houses in our future).

A pinata in the front basket.

Doing what Oscar does best, getting everyone's attention. In this case yelling "It's CAKE time!!!"

Ghost cake pops. Oscar led the charge and finished off at least 6, falling asleep and eating one on the way home.

Happy Mother's Day

We had a great mother's day. Rebecca's friend+daughter came over for a visit.

First, Oscar and Co. had to go pick up some plants from our friend in Mt. Pleasant. Don't bother going to Mt. Pleasant without instruments, you'll be run out of the neighborhood.

There were wonderful covers of Erie Canal as well as original songs such as "Ukelele Dukelele No. 3"

Then we went to a restaurant, where there was grilled cheese and peek-a-boo.

Then describing the chef's tasting menu (more gouda on the grilled cheese) on the chalkboard...

Hope your mother's day was special...