The Day of Rest

Um...yeah right! There is no rest for the wicked. I have a laundry list of things to do around the house - all of which won't be tackled today. I guess if I want to spend my free time two-wheeling, then I must designate at least one day to take care of my other resposibilities :). I need to clean the office which has been our catch-all room for the better part of a year and my major project is OPERATION : BUZZ OFF. That's right, an underground bee's nest has taken hold in front of our house. Nothing like the smell of bee spray at dusk! Details and hopefully successful outcome to follow!!

So I didn't have time to post yesterday due to my jam-packed schedule. First up was a morning ride at Loch Raven's Seminary Trail with two of my riding cohorts - Hoppe and Volk (pic: center and right). We also ended up having someone tag along with us as well, Alvin (pic: left). A fast pace was set early, unfortunately so were the mechanicals and spills. We were able to overcome the bike issues and enjoy the great singletrack Loch Raven has to offer.

Note to self: Don't talk about other's accidents before a ride, it will surely set yourself up for multiple spills.

We tackled a majority of the Seminary and Providence-side trails before we called it a day . We logged three chain-sucked cassettes, numerous ghost shifts and approximately a half dozen spills. As they say, "A bad day riding always beats - well - most everything." I also became reaquainted with my digital camera and plan on taking tons of pictures again!! I'm glad, however, that I didn't take it along for the ride. I may invest in an inexpensive digi cam for trails rides.


After the ride, my crew headed out for burritos and I headed home for the second leg of my day - visiting my two aunts in Virginia. Sorry, you must wait until Friday for the weekly family update!

SATURDAY'S RIDE: Mountain Bike, Loch Raven - Seminary/Providence Loops

Approx. Distance: 15 miles

SUNDAY'S RIDE: No Dice - Cleanliness is next to "Wife Being Happy"-ness

Approx. Clean: 90%

Fish Fry Friday

Not much to report on the homefront. Last night's "commute" took me to Performance Bike to pick up some Continental Gatorskins {crossing fingers}. I was going to strap them on the road machine, but I made good on my word and delivered a bottle of wine to my SAG wagon driver yesterday. I picked up a bottle of Red Bicyclette Syrah, which was supposed to be a offering of thanks. Well the offering turned into a toast, which turned into dinner. To the good life and good friends!!

My plan for tonight is to get a town loop in before the forecasted showers. I also hope to tune my mountain rigs too. The Surly needs some help on the rear wheel and the Sugar keeps on ghost shifting...nightmare on hill climbs. Hopefully I can get a Loch ride in this weekend.

So what's with today's blog title? Well, my grandpa used to email the entire family every Friday to keep us in the loop. He lived for his family and was very proud of each and everyone of us, which poured out of his weekly epistles - "Pecene Ribe Petak", Croatian for "Fish Fry Friday". So every Friday I will try to report a little bit about the goings on of my family. Of course this means we have to communicate a little better. So if you are reading this, and I know you are, write a comment below and tell me what's going on! The following is a excerpt from his obituary:

His daughter, Barbara Chesnik, had bought him a computer. He was soon corresponding with the extended family, getting people in touch with each other. Then he began his own family newsletter, distributing it nearly every Friday by e-mail. Chesnik called his newsletter "Pecene Ribe Petak" - Slovenian for Fish Fry Friday, said another daughter, Linda Evans. "He did it so everybody would know what everybody was doing," Evans said. "We have bound copies - this is the fourth year for sure. His family was really what made him tick. He was just such an enthusiastic person for all of us."

POP goes my tire, cuz my tire goes POP!

A picture says a thousand words. I should have racked out with my pup this morning. She had the right idea. So I am commuting in to work this AM and I run over some road debris that I failed to negotiate. I was ready for the ensuing pit stop. I pull off the tire and tube in record time and did the usual once over for any possible tire or wheel damage...none. I start to slightly inflate my spare and I hear...hisssssssssss! Oh shnikees! The spare was also popped. Fantastic! No patch kit, no second spare, no luck!!

However, I did just re-enter the digital age and picked up a cell phone last week. After multiple commutes and endless road rides, I've never really had the need for a phone. I just had a feeling that I should get one in case of emergency. Someone is smiling down on me. Not that this was life threatning, but I would still be hoofin' it on Butler Road without it.

So, I call my wife, but she's in a meeting. I call a couple times in hopes that her phone makes some sort of noise...no dice. I call my buddy, Keith, who luckily was in B-more, but unluckily had an appointment. There is light at the end of this tunnel though. His wife was at home and she was able to gather my sorry butt. THANK YOU BEC! There's a bottle of vino with you name on it somewhere!

Now on to the real problem. My tires are quite possibly the worst selection ever!! They are size 20 Michelin Axials made for racing and I'm assuming on the most pristine of surfaces. I picked them up cheap...now I know why!!!They have given me grief ever since I bought them. Well they are being sent to the archives and this kid is picking up a new set of super duty's!! Hopefully this minimizes my troubles. I'm also going to start carrying a patch kit and a CO2 pump

Oh well, I'm safe....The funniest part happened while I was waiting on the side of the road. I hear a jingle come from my bag denoting that my wife was calling...Always look on the bright side of life {insert whistle}.

TODAY'S RIDE: Commute (kinda)

Morning
Distance: 4ish miles by bike, 4ish by Envoy, remainder by Jeep

Evening
Distance: Whatever the distance to the LBS is.

I'm Mr. Heat Miser....

Wow...that's all I got! I was fully prepared to commute this morning when I turned on the morning news. The weather man said there was a good chance of thunderstorms, some severe - which I guess is always the case during the dog days of summer. The kicker was the 107 degree Heat Index slated for my ride home. Now I'm not opposed to harsh riding conditions, but I'm not riding in that kind of weather unless I'm hanging out with this guy:

I'm Mister Heat Blister
I'm Mister Hundred and One
They call me Heat Miser,
What ever I touch
Starts to melt in my clutch
I'm too much!

*For those not in the know, my riding partner would be the Heat Miser from Rankin-Bass fame and above is his little ditty.

In other news, I successfully campaigned for a bike rack for my work's parking lot. I asked for a covered space, but a rack will do...for now. I thought there were only two commuters, but it turns out that there are a few more, which is great to see. It is somewhat ironic, however, being that I work at one of the world's largest fleet vehicle management companies.

Speaking of work...I need to start!!!

The first annual 24 Hours After Party is in the planning stages set to take place at Gambrill State Park. THe EtD crew is looking forward to a weekend full of riding. The tricky part will be finding the time for all to be there. Bikes, Beers and Bratwurst...life should always be so good. We are also looking to hit up the local brew pub, Brewer's Alley...life is good, indeed!!

Ride On!!

Logo created by Matt Hoppe

TODAY'S RIDE: NADA

Both my plan and back-up plan (evening loop around Owings Mills) got scratched due to weather. It also looks like it will foil my Thursday ride at Loch Raven. That and the fact that both my Surly and Sugar need some serious attention. I am packing my commute gear for a heater tomorrow!

First Bliggity-Blog!!

I am going to give this blog thing a shot. I'm not too good at keeping things updated, so please don't hate!!! I plan on keeping a journal of my biking exploits, including my commutes, weekend road rides, weekly mountain bike jaunts and other biking adventures.

I also plan to jot down the fun, trivial stuff that makes my world go 'round - most notably my beautiful wife, K, the dog the world will come to know and love, Cobi Joan, my wonderful fam and the greatest friends in the world!

On with the ride! My work commute takes me from the heart of Glyndon, Maryland to the flourishing rural PHH headquarters in Sparks, MD. A round trip will log you 28.2 miles on the back roads. A pretty decent ride filled with some short steep ascents and some slow grinders. The plus side is that the ride has it's fair share of fast rollers. It definitely gets this "bad morning" person up and ready for the work day. I don't need no stinkin' coffee (kidding...send me all the samples you want :).

TODAY'S RIDE: WORK COMMUTE

Morning
Distance: 14.1 miles
Time: 56 minutes
Avg Speed: 15.1 mph
Conditions: Starting to heat up. 85 degrees (Felt like 95)

Evening
Distance: 14.1 miles
Time: 1hr 01 min
Avg Speed: 14 mph
Conditions: Holy @#$%!!! It was HOT. Not "geez, I have sweat on my brow" hot, but "something smells like melting rubber" hot. I typically don't make excuses about riding in the extreme elements, but today was rididulous!!