I haven’t posted in a while, and I blame that on a)Lunarpages having lousy shared servers and b)the Wordpress Postie plugin being a real CPU hog for some reason.
So here’s an update on what I’ve been doing:
Some running routes
May 18, 2009 – 12:52 pm
DC Rollergirls
March 14, 2009 – 11:17 pm
Forgot my camera, this is the only non-blurry picture I’ve been able to get. My phone just isn’t made to handle this kind of high-intensity action!
Lane Closures
March 9, 2009 – 8:24 pm
I’m about 90 miles fron Reston so I’m making my last gas and stretch stop. I’m a little behind where I thought I’d be because I had to replace my battery in Rocky Mount. It finally gave up on me and I barely made it out of the Bojangles parking lot in Nashville. I think the DOT is trying to see how many different places they can close a lane along 95/295. I don’t mind though. It’s a beautiful day for riding (windy though) and I don’t think I’ve ever intentionally riden so slow on the Interstate.
Eating cheese fries, watching
March 7, 2009 – 7:04 pm
Just saw a man, a woman, and a wheelchair on a custom trike and another motorcycle towing a boat; “The Black Pearl”
Down to Atlanta and over to Austin
March 5, 2009 – 6:34 pm
*This has been sitting in my drafts folder for two days. Pretend it’s backdated to the 3rd.
Unfortunately I had to leave Charlotte really early to get to a tour I had scheduled at Georgia Tech. Unfortunate because I didn’t get to see my wonderful hosts again and unfortunate because it was so incredibly cold. Well, the high teens is usually fine if I’m just going in to work. It’s a different story when I’m riding for 4 hours. In the 30s my heated liners make me feel cozy and warm. In the teens, they just keep my digits from falling off. There were signs of the thaw and refreeze, especially on exit ramps, which I took with an abundance of caution. Fortunately I only need about a six-inch wide section of road surface so I could avoid the fingers of ice running down the slope of the highway in places. I’d have to say (with gentle sarcasm) that the highlight of the day was getting behind a snow plow which sporadically pelted me with rock salt somewhere near the South Carolina line. I’m glad it was mostly powdery snow that the east coast got so that when my beloved cage drivers hit 70 mph, the monumental snow drifts that tumbled off their roofs and trunks scattered into harmless flakes instead of the sailing sheets of solid ice I see so often in Northern Virginia.
After five hours, a cup of hot chocolate, and the can of deicer it took to get my gas cap off, I arrived in Atlanta where it had warmed up to a remarkable 30 degrees fareinheit under sunny skies. My visit to Atlanta itself was pretty uneventful, except for the tourguide who always walked backwards. It was a little disorienting.
Starting the day in Charlotte, blowing through South Carolina, hanging out in downtown Atlanta, then catching a plane to Texas did do something to make me feel a bit rushed.
The only one dumb enough
March 4, 2009 – 3:31 am
Today makes the third day in a row that I haven’t seen another biker on the road. That’s actually pretty unusual. Maybe DC bikers are heartier than most, but I usually see at least one other on my way to work even on the coldest days. These have been cold days.
The ride from Raleigh to Charlotte was beautiful. The sun was bright the whole way, the weather was relatively warm (that is, bearable), and everything was covered in a frosty blanket of pure white. I kept thinking it looked like Narnia under the White Witch. You know, without barbaric ruler turning everybody to stone. The road was clear of snow and of cars.
I got to town a little after 1, with plenty of time for Bojangles and visiting before going over to Katie and Michael’s beautiful house for dinner. I was impressed to find that Katie is quite the accomplished cook. No surprise there though. I really enjoyed the excellent hospitality and they were even kind enough to let me use the snuggie. I felt like royalty!
Only been hit with one snowball
March 2, 2009 – 5:30 pm
It’s cold and windy but beautiful. I’m somewhere near Lexington now, warming my hands and body with some coffee. Everything is covered in powder-white snow. Props to the NC DOT. I-85 is pristine exept for the snow and ice coming off truicks. Very little traffic so I’m making great time. Speaking of that, I’m going to get back on the road.
