KnitCrit

My Intermediate Sprint

As a member of the Tour de France KAL, I am way behind.  I'm lagging in both my project (the second one cast on) and in reading the blog entries of other participants.  However, I have not given up.  Yesterday and today, I have been knitting like a sprinter.  Today, I made a personal commitment to the second intermediate sprint competition.

This sprint emphasizes regions.  One of three choices for the sprint entries, the "cycling option" and the one I selected, is to "get on your bike and show us something special about your own region where you live and cycle!" 

I live in a DC suburb, Chevy Chase, Maryland.  Four blocks from my house, I can access the Capital Crescent Trail.  It's tagline, "the outstanding Washington Area Hiker-Biker Trail," could not be more accurate.  It is a primary reason that we chose to live where we do.
 
Unfortunately, the trail is in trouble.  The new "Purple Line" of the area's mass transit rail system is expected to be built right where the trail currently exists.  Because the cost of building an underground tunnel for the subway is prohibitive, and because the area desperately needs the line to connect the ends of the existing system, there are simply not many reasonable alternatives. I "get that," to some extent, but the thought of losing the trail saddens me. 

Recently, one of the tunnels on the trail became the target of a hotel developer.  It pours out into downtown Bethesda, Maryland, with its many shops, businesses and residences. 

Bethesda also has a subway station, thereby making it an attractive setting for a hotel.  Routing trail traffic around the tunnel will mean that trail users will have to cross the very busy and congested Wisconsin Avenue.  This controversy threatens the trail immediately.  A large building beside the tunnel has already been abandoned.  I have been a part of a large group who reject the project and hopefully, our words and concerns will be heard by the officials who will make the ultimate decision.

Moving down the trail from Bethesda, about 3 miles later, you leave Maryland, entering into DC.  Almost immediately, the Potomac River is on your right and the C&O Canal on the left.  The towpath of the canal runs from Georgetown to the far western corner of Maryland, in Cumberland.  In fact, I once went on a weekend ride between Georgetown and Harper's Ferry, a distance of about 50 miles each way.  The trip was magnificent; with peaceful and beautiful spots all along the path.

Here, at Fletcher's, situated just above Georgetown, a variety of fun activities are available, from canoes and kayaks to fishing and picnics.


For us on this very hot DC day, the $2 bottles of very cold water were a godsend.  About a third of the water got poured on my head and down my shirt!

The trail ends just below Whitehurst Freeway, one of the thoroughfares between Georgetown and downtown DC. 

Also from this spot, you can see an underside view of Key Bridge. 

Not far beyond the end of the trail, you emerge from under the freeway and onto a trail that runs beside Rock Creek Parkway.  This road takes you next to Watergate and then under the Kennedy Center patio.

Growing up as a child in DC, recreational activity on the river was prohibited because of the pollution in the Potomac.  Although it is not fully clean today, it is wonderful to watch the kayakers and boaters out on the river.  I drive (and sometimes ride) this route to work every day and there is almost always someone out on the river.

Once beyond the Kennedy Center, we went to and over the 14th Street Bridge to Virginia, via the road to Hains Point.  This is the area next to the Tidal Basin where the cherry blossoms bloom each spring.  In fact, cycling there during cherry blossom time is a test of patience and cycling skills, with the thousands of tourists who flock to DC for them. 

Our quick cycling tour of DC ended in Virginia, where we turned around and rode the same route back home. 
 
There is never a time that I ride the route we did today that I don't fall in love all over again with Washington, DC.  I grew up in the area and then was away for over 20 years.  Almost 11 years ago, I moved back and I believe that you can come home again.

This post was not begun as a plea to save the trail.  But, if you are in the area yourself, or just want to be a part of the contingent to save it, please go to the site and help.  Hopefully, you will be able to enjoy the trail ride into and/or around DC sometime, yourself.  If you are in the area and seeking cycling pals, let me know.

PS#1: It was very, very hot while we rode and my little digital camera got wet from sweat and some of the pictures didn't turn out; the really good ones, of course :-|. 

PS#2: For those of you who watch the Versus Tour coverage, you no-doubt know about the Saab commercials, ad nauseum.  We needed a new car and I guess the commercials became so ingrained in this family that look what we bought - a Saab Sport-combi!

No TDF Ritual

The Tour de France is, simply put, my favorite sports event of the year.  I really get into the Super Bowl and NCAA Basketball finals, but it's the Tour that I anticipate for weeks in advance.

For the past few years, my husband and I have done the same thing on the first day of the Tour.  We sit in front of the TV in our little get-away house.  I knit while he stays glued to the tube, usually with the Tour Edition of Velonews in his lap.  Everything else in the world stops.

This year's plans were no different. 

The night before, while cooking dinner during a thunderstorm, there was a brilliant flash and then a noise that sounded like an explosion.  This was followed by the smell of electrical burning, and then the power went out.  Three hours later, it came back on, and we surveyed any damage.  As you can probably guess by now, the lightning strike affected the TV; it zapped our satellite TV box.

We tried to figure out what options were available.  I called hotels in the area to find out if Versus was on their channel listing.  Nope.  We considered calling the one couple we know there who would understand.  It was too late and they probably had family visiting for the holiday weekend.  We even considered going home.  I cried.  It became more and more obvious that our ritual was not going to occur and that we would miss the first day, and likely the second day, too, of the Tour de France.

You may be wondering at this point, why we didn't consider just streaming online.  Well, we only have dial-up Internet there which is useless. 

I did, however, cast on my Tour de France knit-along project on Saturday morning.  This is going to be a Category 3 climb, for sure.   It's doable, without much pain, but I have to pay attention.  Each row is charted, with decreases, increases or other design features throughout.  This may be asking Robbie McEwen to get to the summit of Alpe d'Huez first.  More to follow in the next week.

In closing, how about that showing by Will Frischkorn on Stage 3?  He's a kid that I've watched race since he was about 13 years old.  I was going nuts throughout the entire stage! 

p.s. I have been trying to get this post completed for four days.  We are having Internet connectivity issues, on top of serious Typepad sluggishness problems, and having to use the desktop, not the fast laptop that I dropped onto the floor last week.  I don't know how the next few days are going to go.  So far, though, no crash.

132 Miles on the RiverRide

One more time, I'm going to post about cycling.  I have three FOs to post about next, after a long drought; I know.  So you can look forward to three pattern review posts, and there may be a fourth, possibly even a fifth, by the time I can post all of them!

The ride day of the RiverRide 2007 began as a crisp, early autumn day on the Northern Neck.  The temperature was in the mid-50's, with a 10-15 MPH wind that could not make up its mind from which direction it was going to blow.  Therefore, it was going to be a headwind for most of the day; of course, strongest the closer we rode to a body of water.

This year was only the second year that this particular ride has been held.  Last year, there were about 275 riders, so the Bike Virginia folks figured that they were thinking aggressively when they established a cut-off of 600 this year.  Instead, they were turning away riders at 675!

The pictures will tell the rest:

Here, Bruce preps the bikes for the ride...

These are taken at the second rest stop, mile #50, in Morattico, Virginia, a sweet little town that juts out into the Rappahannock River.  After four years of exploring the Northern Neck, this was our first time here.  There, we caught up with two cycling friends, Nathan and Fletcher, from our Sunday group.  This was the best rest stop.  The food was great, the decorations were made up of symbols of fall - mums, Indian corn, other wild flowers; and the views were fantastic...








About 13 miles later, the route took us to Merry Point, where we crossed the Corrotoman River by ferry.  Due to the number of life jackets aboard, only twelve cyclists at a time could ride.  While waiting, a rider took a picture of Bruce and me.  The shoreline and cove here is typical of the area - much of it still undeveloped and pristine...







The lunch stop at mile #80 was a welcome relief.  After a chicken salad sandwich, more trail mix, and banana # 867 (or so it seemed), we were off to finish the century.  Soon, though, we encountered the worst headwind of the day as we approached the Chesapeake Bay at Windmill Point.  So, there's good reason that it was so-named!  Since that part of the route was a down-and-back, the ride back, with the first real tailwind of the day, was invigorating!

We caught up with Fletcher for the last few miles back to the camp, and although those were the hardest of the 102 miles, it didn't matter.  We did it!  We finished the century ride - my second, Bruce's first.  We're in our 50's, so to do the ride at an average pace of about 16 mph; we were very full of proud of ourselves!

We packed up the bikes and, ahhhhhhhhhhhh....



For Sunday, we had volunteered to lead a "no frills ride" as a part of the event weekend.  Much to our surprise, about a dozen cyclists showed up.  None of them had ridden the full century the day before; some the metric century, others the half century.  The pace was slower than it had been the day before, but we enjoyed 30 miles of meeting more fellow cyclists and sharing with them the place the love the most; the Northern Neck.

Come join us in 2008 for the 3rd Annual RiverRide!

I Introduce You to Axel

I love Eddy.  Eddy is my bike.  In fact, he has been my most treasured possession.  I purchased Eddy in 1997.  That was before Lance rode TREK bicycles.  That was when TREK first introduced their patented carbon fiber technology - OCLV. 

Eddy has been thousands of miles with me.  I rode him in multiple training rides for MS150s in North Carolina and Maryland.  I rode him in my first century - the Seagull century - in 2002.  It's the bike I rode when I convinced my new husband, five years ago, to trade-in his running shoes for cycling shoes. 

I drove him into the garage while he was riding on top of the car - the garage door lost that battle ($2,000 later), while Eddy just needed a new saddle.  He tried to avoid that dog that ran after us on my 50th birthday ride of 50 miles.  We crashed, but we both survived with a few simply bandaged cuts. 

I'm not sure how bike years compare to human years, though I suspect it's about an 8 to 1 ratio.  Lately, Eddy has creaked and he has squeaked.  His bottom bracket got re-packed.  He's gotten some new cables here and there.   But his doc mechanic has turned to me with upturned palms lately and a shake of his head.  Eddy has to go to the basement now.

Eddy was named for the great Eddy Merckx, who has been regarded as the greatest cyclist of all time, even after Lance won #7.  I have referred to him - the bike - as "Fast Eddy" and he has helped me ride faster many a mile out on the road.  Eddy Merckx' son, Axel, rode as a pro until 2007; he recently announced his retirement.  So, when I bought the new bike, of course, I didn't hesitate in naming him Axel.

Ta da...I PRESENT AXEL:

 
            

He's a TREK Pilot 5.2. 

It may take me awhile to adjust to the triple crank and relaxed geometry, but so far, I'm in love.  Yesterday, after a 40 mile ride, I rode at an average of 0.5 mph higher than I usually ride the same route. 

The real test comes on Saturday, September 29th.  That's when I ride with my husband in his first century - the River Ride - on the Northern Neck of Virginia.  I can't wait!

The Tour...

I stated in my last post that I would cry and that I would have chills at the finish, as they rode onto the Champs-Elysees.  I did all that.  I also finished my yellow socks:

   

Now, a few hours after I watched it all live, I am really pissed.  I just read this in my "local" paper, The Washington Post:

All the right elements were there: The smiling winner in his bright yellow jersey. The fans several rows deep under the majestic trees of the Champs-Elysees. But something seemed broken about the Tour de France on Sunday _ perhaps forever.

How much longer fans will remain loyal to a race where cheating has skewed the results for more than a decade.

How to regard cycling. Is it really still a sport or just drug-fueled entertainment on wheels, where observers think "what's he taking?" not "didn't he ride well?"

Dammit, enough...

Alberto Contador, Congratulations, to you and the entire Discovery Team!

The End of the Journey

In my May 25th post, I introduced you to Xiaoyu, as he began his bike ride across the US.  Last Wednesday, I was one of the cyclists who rode the final 13 miles, from Williamsburg to Yorktown, with Xiaoyu.  There, he was met by many clients and self-advocates who fully honored him as their hero.

We who are related to The Arc have enormous pride that such a brilliant young man would donate his time and support dollars to our organization.  After the ride, he spent a couple of days at my home and it was really hard to drop him at the airport last night.  I hope he will keep in touch.

This was a difficult week for cycling fans, as one rider and team after another was forced to drop out of the Tour de France because of doping.  Why, with all the attention and testing, would they do that?  I've pondered that all week.  Yet, I am planning on celebrating the end of the Tour as I always do; with chills and tears and a renewal of my passion for the sport.

Thank you, Xiaoyu, for helping me - not only in continuing my passion for the sport - but also in my belief that the hardest of goals are achievable, one mile at a time.   

Update: I am NOT Alexandre Vinokourav

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/tour07/news/?id=/news/2007/jul07/jul25news

It is very sad what these professional athletes are doing to this beautiful sport that I love.

I am Alexandre Vinokourov

In our household for the past twelve years, our world stops during the weeks of the Tour de France.  We watched pre-Lance, during his rein, and post-Lance.  This depicts a typical tour night:

                     

This year, I joined the Tour de France KAL; my project a pair of yellow cycling socks.  From the Prologue to Stage 5, they were rolling along quite nicely.  But then, suddenly,  as I was watching Stage 5, I noticed my sock was too big.  I'd tried it on before then and they'd seemed fine, but it was at this point that I crashed, just like "Vino."

                     

I gritted my teeth and rolled my eyes and grimaced a lot, but it was clear that I had to frog the sock, get back on those needles and finish!  I cast them on again.  But, a few rows into the cuff, they still didn't seem right.  I fell off the back and ripped out those needles again. 

Yesterday, during the first mountain stage, the first sock was cast on again, this time with smaller needles, after another measurement of the foot.  Parallel to Alexandre, it was a really strong showing with increasing strength today. 

                     

Tomorrow is a rest day for the tour.  For me, I may do a little recovery knitting, so that I can complete other projects for future pattern critique posts.  Those, however, may be less frequent during the Tour. 

I urge you to watch the most beautiful sport in the world!  It's great for knitting.

The Real KnitCrit Comes Forward

Look at the new profile picture!  I have updated it to reflect the real KnitCrit - me!

Yesterday, we were at the CSC Invitational and during the Mens 1/2/3 race, I found a bench in the shade and started to knit.  It was the perfect viewing point.  And then it struck me.  If Bruce took a picture of me knitting, with the criterium in the background, then it would make the perfect KnitCrit photo.  For any new readers, KnitCrit is a combination of knitting, and cycling, and pattern critiques.  "Crits" are bicycle races held on a short course, usually in a downtown area with multiple turns, thereby making them extremely technical and challenging.

Weeks ago, I went to the race website and the call for volunteers included a request for host housing.  I immediately jumped on the opportunity to have pro cyclists in our home.  By the end of the day, I was contacted by Carmen D'Aluisio, the team director for the Aaron's Pro Women's Cycling Team and arrangements were made.

Friday afternoon, four members of the team arrived - Rebecca Larson, Sarah Caravella, Shannon Hutchison-Krupat and Catherine Powers.  Shannon and Rebecca wanted to go on a ride and so graciously accepted my husband's offer to go with them.   I'd been sick all week and couldn't go, too, so I was surely jealous.  Instead, I enjoyed time with Catherine and poor Sarah, who arrived after getting a little turned around and completely circumnavigating the Beltway, during Friday rush hour in DC. 

The riders came in and showered and we all sat down to dinner; a hopeful combination of protein and carbs.  After dinner, over birthday cake for Sarah, the women began talking race strategy for the next day.  Several times they apologized for "boring" Bruce and me.  I don't think they had the slightest clue how awesome the conversation was for us to listen to; we could have it repeated nightly and it would never become boring.

Early Saturday morning, we were all up and early for breakfast.  I had completely forgotten to buy eggs (sorry, Sarah), so we just had cereal, bagels and OJ.   

Their race was amazing!  On the 42nd of 50 laps, Rebecca went out on a break with Cheerwine rider Laura Van Gilder.  The two never looked back and it was a sprint for the finish, with Laura taking it by inches.

Sarah Caravella took fifth place and Catherine Powers was obviously a favorite of the race announcer, who took every opportunity to complement her racing prowess.  Included on the podium was Sarah Uhl, another Cheerwine rider.  I'd watched her race as a junior, often with my son.  Later, she ended out living for a short time in the "cycling house" at PSU, where my son lived with a bunch of cyclists who have since turned pro.

      

I know I've stated this before, but I simply love the sport of cycling.  I love watching it at every level and I love doing it, wherever and whenever.  Sometimes I feel like a 50 year old groupie to pro cyclists, but then I think it must be preparation for my next life.  I know that I will come back in another life to learn of the joys of cycling at an earlier age, become pro, move on to manage and coach, and then ultimately own a cycling team.  And along the way, during the hours of travel, I will knit.  And in the cities where I go, I will buy yarn. How's that for planning ahead?

In closing, good luck to Rebecca and Sarah and Shannon and Catherine.  Come back whenever you can, you are welcome anytime, and we'll be cheering you on from the sidelines the next time we are able to see you race.   

One Man's Journey

Meet Xiaoyu.

                  

I just "met" him yesterday, when I received an email with a link to his blog.

I am posting this for several reasons that I want to share:

1. His passion is advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  It is mine, too.  It is my son's, too.  We don't have a family member but thanks to our passion, we have had the pleasure to meet hundreds of persons for whom Xiaoyu's ride will support.
2. The Arc is a national organization - the oldest and largest national organization advocating for services and supports of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilites.  A primary source of its funding is private support - that's us, and I hope you, through Xiaoyu's journey.
3. I am so envious of this ride.  I want it to be me on that bike.  Thanks to his blog, I am able to share in his ride and while I read it, I am removed from this office in a suburb of DC and replaced as a Clif Bar in his pannier. 

There's only one difference.  My route would include LYSs. 

Go Xiaoyu!