thanksgiving day

riding...

great ride sunday with mike & matt at patapsco. rode just about everything and rode it, well not fast, but quickly. not many stops, a few bobbles, and few times where i just new i was on. worked myself right to the line by the end of the day, which was much better than crossing over it last weekend at the shed. had my p&s camera with me, but we didn't stop for pics.

the weirwolf lt on the front got a little squirrely a few time on some new trail that was a little slimy. it might turn out to be a great summer tire, but it's time for winter tires now. maybe i'll just go back to the big exiwolf up front. negevals might still be overkill.

things are buzzing around the house. new windows and doors are almost finished thanks to the folks at metro gutter & home services, we've taken out some bushes in front of the house, and we're getting a new fence put in to replace the one that's been falling down since we moved in. next up are new shutters and heather's pet project: window boxes. there are some projects moving inside the house as well.

for most people thanksgiving weekend is a time to relax, but it looks like we'll be in full home-improvement mode.

team ride

we got as close as we ever have to an official team ride yesterday. a good portion of the team that wasn't racing at race pace met up at hamburg road and spent the afternoon riding around the trails (and fireroads) of the watershed. even gwadz & klasmeier, who are rarely seen riding at the weekend outside of a race, made it to the ride.

good to ride with the team. the pace was steady and quick, but not race-pace. just right for fall and winding down the year. i had a mixed day... some moments of great technical riding, floating through rockgardens that i've never cleaned before, but a couple of crashes and a complete meltdown on the climb out to the cars as my legs cramped up. i've lost my form a little more quickly this year than before. maybe it's the almost complete lack of riding since landahl?

heather and i had pizza & beers at paradiso with matt after the ride... i was in a hoppy hood (pizza does that to me) so i tried the lagunitas kill ugly radio (tasty, relatively light & sparkly body with a really floral hop), then had a bear republic racer 5 (a perennial favorite, more kick than the kill ugly radio), and finished with a sierra nevada celebration.

home

we've been home for a few days now. after getting through customs in miami on saturday we managed to get an earlier flight to national than i'd booked and avoided a long layover. i'll post more about the patagonia later, once we're caught up on thank you notes and getting the house back in order. there are many projects at home that were put off in the lead up to the wedding and they're all coming due.