New biz card

After playing with this idea for a couple of days, I was able to Photoshop myself a new business card. I like the way it came out. Much more hip than my previous one. The orange, white and black colors stem from my Baltimore roots (Orioles colors). The wings and chainring on the front represent the freedom cycling continues to give me. And the back of the card is framed with the view finder of a Pentax K1000, .35mm camera - the camera I first learned black & white chemical photography with.

Origin8 48T ring

I put in 20 miles on the fixed gear today and let me just tell you: It was damned hot today! My goal was to find a decent 48 tooth single speed chainring and eighth inch chain. I ended up going with an Origin8 48T track ring and a simple BMX chain. I really like the rugged beefiness of running a robust drivetrain on the fixed gear. I don't trust standard chains under the kind of torque this bike gets. This weekend I'll swap out the rings and put the new chain on. The bike should be running dead silent again; I can't wait!

Fixing my hood

Last night I took a nice spin around my neck of the jungle on my favorite city bike; my fixed gear. I've been riding my Bianchi Pista since August of 2004. Yesterday evening I wiped all the winter salt from the frame and took it out for a joy ride around my neighborhood and fell in love with the bike all over again. Although it rides great, it's drivetrain is a bit shotty. I'm running a 48 X 16 set up and the teeth on my chainring are completely whooped. There are no flats at the peak of each tooth, instead the flats have worn away to severe points. This also makes the bike a bit noisy. With a proper drivetrain this bike is dead silent. So, I believe I will be replacing the chain and chainring this weekend. The 16T cog on the rear hub is practically new so that's all good.

My major concern with this bike is the frame. During the last bottom bracket replacement, I noticed an considerable amount of rust dust built up in the bottom bracket shell. I really need to spray the inside of my frame with Frame Saver. I suppose some internal rust is to be expected after riding this bike to work through rain and snow over many years.

Picture of the day

Taken at 2:30 this afternoon on the boardwalk at Coney Island with my Canon S90. 1/1250sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80.

Three days on the West Rim Trail

What an awesome three days of hiking. Spoiler alert: we didn't complete the whole West Rim Trail. We did however, put in an average of nine miles per day. In order to complete the whole 30 miles of trail, we needed to cover about 13 miles on the first day. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. We all had a good time though, and when I say "all" I mean: Rob (who invited me along), Evan, Kristen, Shaggy, Lucky, Jess and myself. Here's how it played out:

Saturday:

Our plans to compete the West Rim Trail were foiled when all seven of us missed a turn at mile six of the trek. Where the trail just about doubled back on itself, we trudged forward in what seemed to be the right direction. Geographic features matched the contours of topo map providing a false sense of security. A couple hours later, after walking reluctantly along logging roads and not seeing any trail blazes, we knew we were off track. Much to our dismay, the GPS on a friend's iPhone revealed our true location: miles west of where we were supposed to be. Though we got turned around the first day, the views of the canyon, river and wildlife were quite amazing.

After hiking back to the trail we decided to call it a day. We had hiked about ten miles and we were all feeling it. Here's the strange part: while collecting fire wood we discovered that we were camping in, pretty much, the exact spot where we took the wrong trail. We set up camp, got a nice fire going and all sat around cooking dinner, talking and goofing off in general. The bugs weren't bad at all and we all fell asleep to the sound of a babbling creek next to our campsite. At about 4:00am I was woken by the sound of an animal brushing up against my tent. I think it was a raccoon. A loud shout and some hand clapping scared it off. After a few minutes I pulled my boots on and stepped out into the early morning to take a look around. I was expecting to see a raccoon staring down at me from a nearby tree, but no luck. I stood by the creek for a few moments before headed back to my tent.

Sunday:

Since our plans to complete the entire West Rim Trail were out the window, we decided to hike about 5 miles further south, camp for the night, and then take a shortcut back to the cars on Monday morning. Sunday's hike started off with grueling climbs, unforgiving switch-backs and nettles that poked your legs and made you itch! On the plus side, the scenery was excellent. The forest was exceptionally green and lush with vegetation. We hiked through sections where the ground was completely covered in ferns. Several overlooks presented themselves along the rim of the canyon and we all took a few moments to soak in the sights when the bugs weren't too aggressive. At times, the bugs were so terrible that you could hardly stand still long enough to fetch an item from your pack!

We set up camp in a secluded little campsite a little bit off of the trail. Another great creek flowed through the site and made for a great little resting spot. We sat on the banks of the creek dangling our toes in the soothing yet frigid waters. In the evening we ate and sat around the fire. A few rumblings of thunder got our attention and when lightening began to flash we knew we were in for a storm. As I laid in my tent with my head near the screened entrance, I looked up into the tree tops which were illuminated by the flashes of lightening. Inevitably, the patter of rain drops put me to sleep and I was out cold.

Monday:

By 7:00 we were up and at em'. We wanted to carry a fast pace out to the cars so that we could all get home at a reasonable hour. Rain from the night had soaked our campsite and made for a messy clean-up before leaving camp. I flicked slugs from my tent as I rolled it into a heavy wet mess. The sun was shining brightly and sent "God rays" down through the tree tops while mist rose from the creek creating a truly beautiful site as we hiked. I really didn't want to leave. At the same time, my mind was fixed on getting home, taking a shower and ordering a pizza. We cranked out the last 8 miles in about 3 hours.

When we were finished we all stopped into the Smoking Barrel for lunch. Greasy food never tasted so good! I'm sure we were the slinkiest, dirtiest people in the bar but we didn't care. Looking around the table I kind of laughed to myself while I looked at the mud, scratches and bug bites all over our bodies. We were a motley crew. I am looking forward to conquering the West Rim Trail either later this summer or next spring!

West Rim Trail 30-miler

It's been a long week. A long week full of travel misfortunes. Three out of my four flights were severely delayed.  Also, on three out of my four flights, I was seated in the very last seat next to the bathroom (hooray!). What are the odds? Nevertheless I was unlocking the door to my apartment at 2:00am this morning, and crashing hard. After spending the week in South Carolina and Georgia, I cannot adequately express how nice it is to be back in the Big Apple. I missed the hustle & bustle while I was stuck in the south.

Though I'm glad to be back, I won't be home during this long weekend either. A coworker invited me on a 3-day trek he and his college buddies are embarking upon this weekend. I'm pretty excited about it and look forward to putting in some miles. We'll be hiking the West Rim Trail in Pennsylvania. Headed north to south we will cover 30 miles known as the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. My gear is packed, camera battery charged and food has been picked out. I'll be eating dehydrated meals again on this trip, using my home-made alcohol stove. Minimal is the word on this trip: I'm bringing next to nothing with me this time. Ultra light all the way. I hope it doesn't rain the entire weekend!

Picture of the day

I took this picture a couple of weeks ago while I was in Shenandoah National Park. Great gnarly
tree out in the middle of the field...

Rainy camping & newts

Above: My tent; set up and ready for a storm.

This past weekend my friend Jay and I did a quick n' easy overnight on The Timp in Harriman State Park. Instead of taking the typical 3-4 mile route over West Mountain, we decided to take the easy way in and hike about a mile and a half in to The Timp along the 1777 Trail. Ominous weather threatened rain storms during the hike in and while we set up the tents, but it held off until after supper. Dinner for myself was one of Mountain House's dehydrated meals: Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken. It was actually pretty awesome. I used my MSR Isopro stove to boil the 1 1/2 cups of water for my noodle & bird rejuvenation. Hanging the bear bag proved to be quite comical. It took us entirely too long to loop some rope over a bow and hoist our smellables out of reach of bears/racoons.

Above left: the bear bag. Above right: view from my tent Sunday morning.

Above left: flowers growing on the west side of The Timp. Above right: The 1777 Trail.

I have to say, the rain was a big plus on this trip. The past several trips have all been in fair weather. Both Jay and I have the gear for wet conditions and there's nothing quite like riding out a thunderstorm on top of a mountain under a few thin sheets of vinyl. The rain also brought out some of the cooler critters you don't usually see. Namely newts. During Sunday morning's soggy hike out, we passed several bright-orange colored newts.

Above left: Blimey! A newt! Above right: A newt in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Above left: Jay hikes past a withered laurel tree. Above right: green life carpeting the rocks.

Above left: Rain bring out the best in nature. Above right: a rock cairn marks the junction of the 1776 trail and the Timp-Torne Trail.

Until next time...

Shenandoah National Park

I’m sitting in the Charlottesville Airport as I write this, perhaps the smallest airport I have ever been in. Looking out over the Blue Ridge Mountains I sit in a rocking chair, while I wait for my flight to Dulles Airport in DC. I’m reminded of my short-lived career as an aircraft mechanic as I watch regional jets landing and taking-off every twenty minutes or so. I’ve spent the last two days in Charlottesville, and had a really good time. Luckily for me, I finished early yesterday and today and took advantage of what this area of Virginia had to offer.

Above: I had to pull over a few times on my way to Shenandoah National Park. The mountains just loomed higher and higher over the farm country; beautiful.

Yesterday I drove to Shenandoah National Park and drove north on the infamous Skyline Drive. Skyline Drive spans 105 miles, the entire length of the Park and features over 75 scenic overlooks of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I entered the park about halfway up Skyline Drive and took it north 20 or 30 miles before stopping for dinner at Sky Land. It costs $15 to enter the park, however your receipt will get you in for the entire week, so I held on to that. This afternoon when I finished my work, I entered the park at about the same location and took it south. I stopped many times, got out, took pictures, meditated and even picked up a hiker who needed a ride. In general, I do not pick up hitchhikers, but being a backpacker myself, and seeing this hiker standing in the hot sun thumbing for a ride; I didn’t think twice about pulling over.

Above: A typical overlook along Skyline Drive.

I drove him to the southern end of the Park where he had started his northbound hike, four days earlier. During that 30-minute drive we exchanged several humorous stories of camping, fishing, loosing toenails and exchanged opinions on alcohol stoves and backpacking tents. Though I didn’t quite catch his full name when I dropped him near his car, he did say that he goes by the name of “Excuses”. It was nice meeting him and he left me with an even better opinion of Virginia than I had already gathered during the last two days here.

My flight to Dulles is just a connecting flight. From there, I catch another flight to Chicago. I’ll spend tonight and tomorrow night in the Windy City before flying home to NY on Thursday night. Looking forward to exploring Chicago; I’ve been there a couple of times before and had a good time. This time I plan to rent a bike and get more exploring in. I’ll be visiting a company, which will be supplying the passenger and cab seating for the WMATA Project. It may not be the most exciting facility, but I’ve been surprised before; you never know what to expect when auditing a new company. We shall see.

Colorado rocked my world

Wheels touched down yesterday afternoon at LaGuardia Airport officially putting an end to my two day dream vacation. I spent two days riding with my good friend Hoffman in the Denver area. He and his girlfriend, April were fantastic hosts and really showed me a great time in the mile high city! The trails we rode were incredible! From the twisty, cactus-strewn, singletrack that dove down through the canyons and skirted the buttes of the desert in Pueblo, to the tight switchbacks and abundant water-bars (sweet launch pads!) in the dense pine forests of Three Sisters Park; it was all top notch, premium grade, deluxe singe track.

Friday at Pueblo:

Hoffman and I grabed breakfast at Chef Zorba's, a sweet little Greek diner around the corner from his place. A big ol' plate of Huevos Rancheros, some OJ, and thick bacon would be our fuel for the day. After that we threw the bikes on the car and headed south to Pueblo. My jaw dropped over and over as glimpses of the snow-capped Rockies came into view. Colorado is shockingly beautiful in every way. I don't know how many times I was smacked across the face with an intensely gorgeous site. POW! BOOM! SMACK!

The riding at Pueblo was insane... cactus and patches of grass were scattered about the desert landscape. Through it, a 12” wide strip of singletrack wove like a sidewinder over gentle grades around big bushes and down through canyons. The canyons were really exciting. I could sense them coming as I reeled in the terrain, but once I hit them it was like “Dayamn!”. Canyons are just filled with loose rocks the size of small dinner plates that clinked and clattered under my tires as I floated across them. Stepped ledges and rocks that jutted from the walls of the canyon at head height, had my full attention while zipping down, down, down... by the time we rolled out of pueblo, my face had formed a permanent grin.

Saturday at Three Sisters:

Saturday's riding was completely different from the day before at Pueblo. The topography is the exact opposite. It's very hilly, has a lot of pine trees, big boulders, TIGHT switchbacks, and lots of super-fun water-bars. The weather was a little cooler as well and I was glad I brought my wool jersey because the flakes were flying for a little while. At the same time, Hoffman and I were flying. Although he, much more so than I. I was really hurting from the altitude and had a hell of a hard time getting any oxygen into my lungs. I felt extremely week! After only 6 miles I could barely go on. That's pretty embarrassing to admit to the entire world wide web but next time (NEXT TIME!) I will be acclimated and I plan to hit these trails up again! (With a vengeance even! I'm serious. I have already packed a bag full of vengeance, exclusively for next time!)

A big thank you hug goes out to Hoffman & April for having me out there; you guys are the best!