Bob has been bike commuting to his job, approximately 7 miles from home, since returning from the summer trip. I think he's driven his car once.
He was riding along the other day and saw an older fellow on a big 'ol cruiser bike up ahead. This man was transporting a 2x4 across his handlebars (Bob theorizes he took it from the bridge construction along the bike path). So here's this piece of lumber sticking out several feet on either side of the handlebars...
Bob starts to pass him, just as the dude starts turning in front of him. Well Bob just kept going, plowing into the 2x4 but not falling over (great skills, Bob!) . The man in question did tumble however, so Bob stopped to make sure he was okay. He was a gruff old guy, and Bob realized that he had alcohol on his breath, perhaps from the night before, but he was not altogether with it. After Bob felt sure he was okay, he went his merry way.
A drunk bike driver, early in the morning, carrying a 2x4 across his handlebars -- an unlikely combination indeed. Bob was okay, badly scraping up his hand but otherwise in tact!
Oct 20, 2008
Oct 15, 2008
Beach Weekend
Roy and Yoli hosted their official house-warming party at their new place in Bethany over Columbus weekend. There were 15 people in attendance - a good sized crowd! Bob and I took advantage of our Friday on the drive there to do a bike ride. Ironically, we parked at the boat put-in at Trap Pond State Park, but we didn't put our boats in. Instead we took our bikes out for a 27 mile ride.
It was quite windy - and very flat of course, being Delaware. Anna worked on her drafting skills, and we did speed sprints also for a a very fun ride.
On Saturday a whole crew of us went kayaking in Assawoman Bay. Here's Sally and Sarah (daughter and mom, from L to R) getting ready for their tandem adventure!
It was quite windy - and very flat of course, being Delaware. Anna worked on her drafting skills, and we did speed sprints also for a a very fun ride.On Saturday a whole crew of us went kayaking in Assawoman Bay. Here's Sally and Sarah (daughter and mom, from L to R) getting ready for their tandem adventure!
Oct 7, 2008
Happy Anniversary!
October 3rd marked 21 years of marriage for Bob and me. It's been a pretty amazing stretch of good times together, and we hope for at least 21 more years!
We've been wanting to go up to Canaan Valley in West Virginia to do some mountain biking, so we decided to celebrate our anniversary with a long weekend up there. We haven't mountain biked up there for probably 12-15 years so we were eager to see what new trails have been developed. After establishing camp at Blackwater Falls State Park, we rode our bikes into Davis - 1 mile away - to check out the local bike shop. The shop is great, friendly folks and a good vibe. The owner of Blackwater Bikes, Roger Lilley, mentioned his annual group ride that he does every year and we decided to join in...
Here we are on Saturday morning before launching into an epic ride. Canaan Valley is notorious for it's mountain biking, especially the Plantation Trail, which is 8+ miles of very technical riding. Many of the trails are similar with rocks, roots, mud, bogs and of course uphill terrain to negotiate.
Within the first few miles, the first of several field repairs were undertaken. That's Roger with the helmet on, helping out the rider with a bent derailleur hanger. He is such a nice fellow!
The first 10 miles just about kicked my (Anna) butt. It was hard, technical riding and I was very proud of the obstacles I was able to successfully ride through. But by the time we reached the dirt Canaan Loop Rd (bail-out point number 1) I had already crashed 5 times, 2 of which were minor, 1 was pretty bad and the remaining were somewhere in-between. Knowing that the next segment was even more brutal, I decided to take an alternative route. Bob being the great friend he is stayed with me.
So... we decided to hook up to the infamous Plantation Trail to do some more trail riding. There were stretches that were relatively nice which we had great fun on, and there were plenty places where we walked as well. Bob had a flat tire, and he got seriously stuck in mud. Thankfully he did not go over the handle bars when the bike suddenly stopped!
We made it to the end of the trail, and rode the rest of the way to our campground on the Loop Road, then the paved roads. Our ride was 25 miles, which is a long mountain bike ride. We went back into Davis shortly after finishing and those who hadn't bailed out after we did were still on the trail, like 6.5 hours after starting.
We had a great time, and we especially enjoyed the almost peaking autumn leaves. Here's a nice shot of some trees at Pendleton Lake in Blackwater Falls State Park.
We've been wanting to go up to Canaan Valley in West Virginia to do some mountain biking, so we decided to celebrate our anniversary with a long weekend up there. We haven't mountain biked up there for probably 12-15 years so we were eager to see what new trails have been developed. After establishing camp at Blackwater Falls State Park, we rode our bikes into Davis - 1 mile away - to check out the local bike shop. The shop is great, friendly folks and a good vibe. The owner of Blackwater Bikes, Roger Lilley, mentioned his annual group ride that he does every year and we decided to join in...
Here we are on Saturday morning before launching into an epic ride. Canaan Valley is notorious for it's mountain biking, especially the Plantation Trail, which is 8+ miles of very technical riding. Many of the trails are similar with rocks, roots, mud, bogs and of course uphill terrain to negotiate.Within the first few miles, the first of several field repairs were undertaken. That's Roger with the helmet on, helping out the rider with a bent derailleur hanger. He is such a nice fellow!
The first 10 miles just about kicked my (Anna) butt. It was hard, technical riding and I was very proud of the obstacles I was able to successfully ride through. But by the time we reached the dirt Canaan Loop Rd (bail-out point number 1) I had already crashed 5 times, 2 of which were minor, 1 was pretty bad and the remaining were somewhere in-between. Knowing that the next segment was even more brutal, I decided to take an alternative route. Bob being the great friend he is stayed with me.So... we decided to hook up to the infamous Plantation Trail to do some more trail riding. There were stretches that were relatively nice which we had great fun on, and there were plenty places where we walked as well. Bob had a flat tire, and he got seriously stuck in mud. Thankfully he did not go over the handle bars when the bike suddenly stopped!
We made it to the end of the trail, and rode the rest of the way to our campground on the Loop Road, then the paved roads. Our ride was 25 miles, which is a long mountain bike ride. We went back into Davis shortly after finishing and those who hadn't bailed out after we did were still on the trail, like 6.5 hours after starting.
We had a great time, and we especially enjoyed the almost peaking autumn leaves. Here's a nice shot of some trees at Pendleton Lake in Blackwater Falls State Park.
Woodturning Fun
Our wood turning buddy next door, Frank, had his friend C.A. over to do a demonstration of how to turn "chatter" tops. After the top is turned, a special tool is judiciously scraped along the wood which bounces along the surface creating a chatter pattern. Next, color is applied with Sharpie pens to create something like these:
Anna was given the opportunity to try her hand at all this. Here is C.A. demonstrating how to hold the gouge. She managed to turn one of these things, but with a lot of help!
Anna was given the opportunity to try her hand at all this. Here is C.A. demonstrating how to hold the gouge. She managed to turn one of these things, but with a lot of help!
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