Weekend Update...

      For the most part, this past weekend was very enjoyable. On Saturday morning we were still under siege by the remains of what was hurricane Ida. It seemed like the rain was NEVER going to stop. I was contemplating trading my bike in for a kayak. I know that other places in the country had it a lot worse than we did, but I was tired of the rain and I wanted to ride.

      When I woke up Saturday morning, I looked out and saw that there were actual dry spots on the driveway. That meant that it had not rained for at least an hour, and if I was to believe the weather prognosticators, the rain was supposed to be out of the Annapolis area on Saturday morning. Well, it was Saturday morning and apparently it had not rained in a couple of hours...excellent, I am going for a ride. I put on my layers and other bike 'stuff' and off I went.

       I was headed out to do my typical Saturday ride to the Coast Guard Station and back by way of City Dock and Annapolis Mall. Typically on my Saturday rides I concentrate on keeping my cadence up for as long as possible before having to take a break and recover. I made it to the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail (see the link on the right) feeling very good about my ride so far... cadence and speed were up, legs were feeling strong and ready to ride more. I made it to City Dock and was headed out to the Coast Guard Station when I noticed the drops of mist begin to form on my glasses. It was not too bad, I can ride through mist, and it meant that I would have to wipe down my bike when I get home, but it needed to be cleaned anyways, so no biggie. I continued out past the Coast Guard Station and headed back towards City Dock. By this time the mist had turned into rain and I have had to slow down considerable to keep the bike upright. (skinny tires on wet leaves and pavement are very slippery) Looking at my bike computer I see that I have about 35 minutes to get to the Farmers Market where I was going to meet Bev for coffee. That was cutting it close, so I decided to fore go my Iced Mocha at the Hard Bean and head straight to the market. As I made my way around Church circle, I began to feel the first signs of a tire going flat. I looked down and it appeared to still have a good amount of air in it, so I continued to ride, trying to put as little pressure on the back wheel as possible. I made it to traffic circle by Taylor Ave before it had gone totally flat.

     NOW, a choice had to be made. I carry a spare tube for situations just like this one. I also carry a cell phone for situations just like this one. It was an EASY choice. I called Bev and asked her come pick me up. I purposely leave her the keys to my car so she can use it to come an get me.

     I won't even go into the circus that was me changing the flat in the garage Saturday night. Here are the Stats for Saturdays ride -
          Miles -  20
          Time -   70 minutes
          Flat Tires - 1 (this is if you don't count the ones in the garage on Saturday evening)
         

     For as bad as Saturdays ride turned out to be, Sundays ride was that good. First of all, Sundays ride was brought to you by Chris and Will at Capitol Bicycle in Annapolis. They changed my tire and tube 5 minutes before they closed on Saturday. Thanks guys!

     The weather on Sunday was AWESOME. I think we got into the mid 70's which is GREAT for mid November. I enjoyed being on the bike, on the road, without the rain. I was able to get out early, so there was very little traffic on the roads.

      On my way out to the Coast Guard Station there is a house... well more along the lines of a mansion, that is really beautiful. I will post a photo when I get one, but picture 2 football fields separated by a driveway that leads to a brick mansion with the Chesapeake Bay in the backyard. The property is bordered by trees and almost every time I go by on my bike there are deer in the yard. Sunday was no exception. There were 2 does grazing. It would have made a beautiful picture had I had my camera.

      The same road that the mansion is on is the only place that I have seen black squirrels. They look identical to the typical grey squirrels we have in these parts but with black fur. Maybe they dye their fur? Who knows. Anyway, to cap off the wildlife ride on Sunday, I also saw a red fox, a rabbit and another deer while I was on the B&A trail. I guess the critters were enjoying the dry, warm weather as well.

Stats for Sundays ride
          Miles - 44
          Time - 170 minutes (2 hrs 50 minutes of ride time)
          Flat tires - 0
          Wildlife spotted - 3 deer, 1 red fox, 1 rabbit, 3 black squirrels, countless grey squirrels.

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