Week One

May 6, 2015

I've decided to consolidate the week into one page and just hit the highlights:

Thursday, May 7, 2015:

Nothing special. We rose early and had a decent breakfast at the Ocean Grill (mental note to return here for breakfast when we push off for New Jersey and points north). We then packed the car and headed west. I believe Happy did all the driving. It seemed to go quickly! Of course, I was not used to traveling at 60 mph either . . .

Crossing the Bay Bridge is always the highlight of this trip, and it did not disappoint us. Being a bridge engineer at heart, I was able to discourse on all things bridge to my captive audience.

On arrival, I pretty much promptly took my bike to Freshbikes for a checkup. Originally, I had planned to leave my bike in Lewes, but in the last week or so it had developed a disturbing noise that I could only associate with the crankset. And it varied from day-to-day and the gear I was in. But it had become increasingly worse. The guys at Freshbikes are great and took me immediately (although I was prepared to check it in for several days). Their quick examination indicated a loose bottom bracket (maybe installed too quickly back in Florida when it was replaced with the crankset). Regardless, they said they would be in touch Friday (tomorrow). I left, fingers crossed.

Fresh Bikes in Arlington, Virginia (Ballston), two blocks from home.

Friday, May 8, 2015:

Friday was back-to-work day! Yes, yes, I am part-time, but part of the deal with my company was to put in the full hours during my two-week layover. So I dutifully reported. Of course, I had stayed engaged while on the road, logging hours and time as appropriate, so it was relatively easy to get back into things (and felt good to a certain extent!).

Late in the day, Freshbikes called and said my bike was ready! Good deal, but no details. I will pick it up Saturday . . .

Saturday, May 9, 2015:

Slept in and was mostly lazy all day (not really, but I caught up on things around the house). Picked up the bike in the afternoon and rode it to lunch at Rocklands for a barbecue sandwich:

Barbecue at Rocklands. Not sure it was much worse (or better) than anything I had down south . . . with fried okra and coleslaw!

Then rode it for about seven miles on local roads and the Custis and W&OD Bike Trails. Very smooth, and the "click" was gone. All for $40.00. Good deal.

Sunday, May 10, 2015:

Now the real test ride. Mark and I rode one of my standard rides around town. We only did a little over 24 miles, but we climbed 1,513 feet. The Southern Leg had only one day with more climbing (Point South to Charleston), and we had to ride 83 miles to climb 1,572 feet! So this was a hilly day for me (by comparison). It felt good, though. I need to get back into hills to be ready for the Northern Leg.

Today's ride, Beltway Insider

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Monday, May 11, 2015:

Back to work and culture. We have two major proposals due this week, so I jumped into both. But more important . . . I had to move my opera tickets to accommodate my bike trip. That was successful, so off to the Kennedy Center to see La Cenerentola (Cinderella) (1817).

Tuesday, May 12, 2015:

I woke up to bad news. Someone in my garage had backed into my car! My 2001 Miata with only 47K miles on it! Fortunately, they left a note and were insured with the same company I am (GEICO). Still, this is a headache I do not need!

Relatively minor damage, but not going to get fixed until I return from Halifax . . . and it turned out to be drivable!

The good news today was the groundbreaking ceremony for one of my premier projects, Capitol Crossing.

Capitol Crossing is the name of a major redevelopment of the air rights over I-395 through downtown Washington. Major reworking of the interstate highway was required, including the tunnel ventilation to the north of the site.

A panoramic of the site . . . several city blocks long.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015:

Jerry Cowden, an experienced cross-country tourer, has decided to join Happy and me on the Northern Leg! The more, the merrier! We got together tonight at Busboys and Poets to discuss logistics and the trip in general. Jerry needs to be in California by June 9, so he will only ride to Massachusetts or possibly Portsmouth before heading home. We also decided to look harder at the routing and add a day between New York, NY and Portland, ME and another day between Portland, ME and Saint John, NB. It's only going to get hillier!

Thursday, May 14, 2015:

Dentist day! I moved my appointment to make it work with my time back in town. So off to the dentist. I had elected NOT to take my COBRA dental plan when I went part-time, thinking it would be cheaper to pay out-of-pocket . . . wrong. $355 wrong. Fortunately, I have till May 30th to elect to take the COBRA, and it is retroactive to April 1. More things to do! But also a good idea. You never know when you might go headfirst over the handlebars!

Friday, May 15, 2015:

Bike to Work Day. Way to go, Tom and his crew! We had a good turnout!

Bike to Work Day. At the Ballston Pit Stop!

I met one of my traffic engineers there. Andrew is new to biking but follows the boss's lead lol!

Freedom Plaza (Washington, DC) Pit Stop.

The DC crew, top to bottom and left to right, Andrew, me, Karlynn, Ian, Terry, and Tyler.

Today's ride, Bike to Work Day

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Later we did happy hour at The Clarendon Ballroom's rooftop deck.

Some of these folks came in from the Fairfax office . . .

Saturday, May 16, 2015:

OK. Today we did more serious riding! This time it was Mark, Wayne, and Tom! And we climbed almost 3,000 feet in 45 miles. Mark and I love to climb hills:

Today's ride, Mountain Gate

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Mark, on a different ride. His first tour in fact.

Mark and Wayne on the Blue Ridger (last year).

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