Over Doing It

Ah the weekend. As usual the Washington area decided we've already had enough of spring and moved on to summer. Today will mark the third straight day the temperature will be in the 90s. Pretty amazing. As far as my activities, this weekend was a lot like last weekend. To recap:

Friday - It was a workday, but I did make it over to Sandy Run during my lunch break and worked in a quick row up to Fountainhead Park and back. It was an ok row, but my endurance is way down. I need to work on that. Friday evening The Son came over for pizza and we watched the Capitals play the Rangers. The Capitals scored early and often so it made for a fun time if you were a Caps fan. We're Rocking the Red here.

Saturday - My day for a bike ride since the high schools were on the Occoquan for a regatta making rowing impossible. Ann decided she's done with bike rides, at least for a while. Since I was on my own, I decided to up the miles from 20 to 25. I luckily got one of the last parking places available in the parking lot off RT 28 where I pick up the W&OD Trail. I headed east toward Herndon figuring I'd go 2 1/2 miles that way before turning around and riding to Leesburg. I started off about 9:40 and it was cool and not hot at all. Heading east, I missed the mile marker 21.5 and ended up at mile marker 21. So no problem, it would just be another mile. No sweat. I turned around and headed west. Have I mentioned that I love the new bike. It can get up and go.The ride to Leesburg was pretty uneventful and no near accidents this time. Heading back, I hooked up with a couple also heading east. They didn't seem to mind I was drafting off them so all was good. By the time I was returning to the car, it was in the 11:00 hour and the Trail was butt crowded. I know the Trail is open to all, but walking with those huge double strollers that take up almost half the trail just seems to be an accident waiting to happen. They are a pain to get around and it's one of the reasons I eventually lost the couple I was riding with around Smith Station. I'll also mention that the last few miles were tough on my butt. My bike seat is not built for comfort and i was feeling it. I had to stand up a lot more than I would have liked to give me some relief. I need to look into getting a new seat. Besides having a sore butt, my legs were not quite sore, but more stiff. I had to keep stretching them out on the ride home in the minivan. I also missed a turn on the ride home what with the daydreaming and ended up riding around western Fairfax County before getting back on track. After getting home and changing, Ann and I headed off to grocery shop and stock up for the week. We ended the afternoon watching the Nationals get pounded by the Mets. Blah. The Son came over again and we grilled some ribs. I had also made some baked beans to go with them. I'm not that handy in the kitchen, but I can make some tasty baked beans. After that heavy meal, all the three of us wanted to do was lay around. I ended up going to bed at 8:30. Pretty lame.

Sunday - Ann guilted me into going to early Mass instead of heady over to Sandy Run for an early morning row. By the time mass was over and I got changed and the laundry started, I didn't arrive at the Park until 9:30. When I pulled into the parking lot, there was a lot of cars filling the lot. Seeing as this was the first really nice weekend we've had, I figured everyone had turned out to take advantage of the nice weather. As it turned out, almost all the cars belonged to members of the George Mason Men's Crew Team who were having a Sunday morning practice. The crew team wasn't the only ones out on the water. There were plenty of fisherman and kayakers. Kayakers aren't usually a problem. They are pretty easy to spot and they're slow and tend to stay close to shore. The fishermen are another story. Some, although not all, seem more intent in rushing in their power boats from spot to spot rather than fishing. They are oblivious to their wakes or just don't care. I got waked twice before even getting off the dock. They also don't seem to see the need to let rowers know when they are moving across their path. As we rowers are moving with our back to our forward motion and yes, we look over our shoulders to check to make sure the way is clear from time to time, they still move across our path without telling us. The row itself was a bit hurting. I think a 7 mile row on Friday, followed by a 26 mile bike ride on Saturday and then another 7 mile row on Sunday may have Bern a row too far. My lower back screamed out as i started away from the dock and my legs were still stiff from the day before. My back eventually loosened up a bit, but it was still a slow row up and back to Fountainhead Park. I'm glad the weather was nice and hadn't really gotten hot yet. It was easy to track my path through the water as the water was covered in tree pollen. It was like God had sprinkled a light yellow powder across the water. After struggling through that row, and was putting the boat away, the George Mason Women's Crew showed up. It looked like they were having some sort of party. Good for them. Later that day, I had my own party to go to. the Occoquan Boat Club was having its annual membership meeting as well as celebrating their 30th anniversary. I dragged Ann along for a club paid Italian buffet. Both Ann and I are not great in making small talk with people we don't really know, but we ended up at a table with some nice women so all was well. The wine didn't hurt either. During the proceedings, one of the members transported the club's new lightweight Quad to the restaurant for a christening ceremony. They named the shell after the original founding member of the club, which I thought was a nice touch. He got to pour pure Occoquan reservoir water over the bow. I think half the club is salivating to take it out for a row. It looks really sweet. Black with gold lettering.

After dinner, we came home and just crashed in front of the TV. Another full weekend - tiring but fun.