Relocating

I’m relocating to Westminster, MD, the suburbs (pronounced: [suhb-urbs]) just outside of Baltimore (my old stomping grounds and where I cut my teeth on all things messenger, urban decay and city life). This Saturday I will be driving a 17’ U-Haul truck down to the land of pleasant living. I’ll miss NYC. I only got to live here for four years, but a career opportunity that’s just too good to pass has been extended and I have to accept. I’ll miss so many things about the city; all of the local goodies and things that make living here so easy. I’ll miss the diversity of people, the good friends I’ve made, and my family. But I am approaching this new stage of my life with a positive outlook and in the spirit of adventure and personal progress. Although I won’t be able to step out my door and pick up a fantastic coffee at the bodega, (I’ll have to drive/ride miles into town) or order sushi, pizza, or Chinese (I’ll have to drive/ride miles into town), I do look forward to life in the ‘burbs. Bonfires, dirt bike riding, shooting my airguns from the picnic table in the back yard, raking leaves, working on bikes in a dedicated bike room and perhaps the most missed luxury taken for granted by suburbanites the world over: owning a grill. I can already smell the bbq burgers and feel the spattering fat stinging my forearms. “Beer me!”.

With the move comes a reconnection with some of the best riding I’ve ever experienced. Schaefer Farms for example. Schaefer is a Mecca of hard-packed singletrack that dips dives and lofts you into the air over and over. I can already hear the hum of my WTB’s as I zip through the piney sections and around the perimeter of those corn fields like a jaguar on roller skates. I’ll also be reunited with the Water Shed of Frederick. My All Mountain bike has no idea what it’s in for. It’ll be perfectly at home taking drop after drop, stunt after stunt, over and over as I shuttle the ‘shed with my old riding buddies I’ve missed so much. I’ll be stoked to be hanging on for dear life with the saddle in my throat and the back tire shredding fibers off my shorts as I get back as far as I can on those drops and mega-steep rollers! I’m not even mentioning the fun I’ve missed at Patapsco (Pronounced “Pa-tap-dat-ass-co” by the locals) and the luscious loops around Lock Raven Reservoir.

Need I even mention the use my road bike is going to get? Yes.

Where I’ll be living, 28 miles from down town Baltimore, is smack-dab in the center of where my old racing team used to train. Which bring to mind thoughts of getting back in shape and establishing some base mileage. I haven’t trained seriously in the last 4 years. I’d love to be racing at the level where I left off (Cat 4 road and Cat 3 CX). We’ll have to see about that, but rest assured, my skinny-tired friend will be rolling down some familiar roads once again; something I’ve missed while living in the big apple.