first poop

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

Get up early in the morning (or up all night)

Even with the crappy phone camera you can see first light in the sky at 4:59am.

What a day.

Up at 4:30 to ride the trails with W at 5.

nice way to start the day.

Quality time at the shop during the lunch hour(s)

Getting bikes dialed in for the cranky monkey 12 hr suffer-fest on saturday.

Then Thor makes us proud parents by dropping off his first kid in the pool this evening.  A monumental moment for sure.  I've been proud of some of my poops along the way, but I've never felt as good as I do about the first one from my first born.  Sorry about the lack of photos.  The camera wasn't handy.

I would have celebrated with a beer but I'm trying to limit that to the weekends in my quest to get down to fightin' weight.  Less than 3 months to Charm City.

Over and out.  Up again for another early session on the bike with the TMR in the morning.

dirt for breakfast

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

'Twas another Saturday on Dawn Patrol sampling the goods of Patapsco Avalon. We had a nice group of TMR brethren (mostly riding 1 gear bikes).

The trails are in primo early season form with all the newly-sprouted vegetation sucking up moisture like an infant's diaper...I've become an expert on the absorption properties of diapers.

I'm not sure how to express the sublime fun that was this ride. There was plenty of climbing and railing curvy singletrack. I love riding the technical stuff over on the Balt Co side of the park. The challenges (downhill AND uphill) require a focus that intensifies the enjoyment of the ride.

We stopped at various spots to session logs, skinnies, etc and just to bullshit and enjoy the social side of mountain biking.

Best of all, I got in a long-ish ride and was still home in time to enjoy pancakes for breakfast with the rest of the day open to enjoying time with my family. Getting up before the roosters has a lot of benefits.

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

the tits

MC rocking it off-road style


Another off-road TMR in the books. The start was muy sketchy. The dirt road through Rockburn was covered in ice. We didn't see it until we were on it. My rear wheel started to come around my front wheel. My sphincter puckered up tight. But my tires found dirt again so I stayed upright.

After that the trails were great. Frozen solid with only a few small patches of ice and some frozen ruts where douchebags have been riding in the mud.

Nice ride and a gorgeous sunrise! I know I'm a broken record, but a night/sunrise mountain bike ride to start the day is the tits!

One of the things that I love most about France is that instead of Starbucks there's a bakery on nearly every corner. Freshly baked artisanal bread is part of everyday life.

We've discovered the Great Harvest Bakery very close to our house. They're good people and they make a big variety of tasty breads. You can sample any of them for free at the front counter. Like good beer and pre-work mtb rides, good bread adds to quality of life. Check 'em out!

the warmest room

Another nice snow (ice) TMR ride in the books Thursday morning. My neighbor KR is the man, opening his house with hot coffee ready at 5:30am! W rallied from a sleepless night to post for the ride. The pull of a pre-work mountain bike ride is a tough force to resist. Even on a very cold day the woods becomes the warmest room.

This was my third ride on the Panaracer Rampage 29er 2.35's and so far I like them a lot.



This photo from Amsterdam (Summer of 2004) highlights the Dutch attributes of practicality and fashion. The Dutch minivan rocks! I'm still on the lookout for a pair of those gold lame' cycling shorts.



'Cross Worlds this weekend. I wonder what the atmosphere will be like in Italy...
Next year they'll be back in The Nederlands.



Here she comes again & I'm biting my lip but it won't be long

Kicking it off right

New Year's Day Ride with the extended TMR crew
Big group, fun ride, and a great way to kick off 2008!



Happy New Year!

NYE TMR

"I just dropped in to see what conditions my condition was in."
The Morning Ride New Year's Eve Edition

At 5:30 the roads were damp and the temps were mid-30's. With no wind
it was actually quite pleasant out. I warmed up on BB and arrived at
DD in time to enjoy the corporeal delights of a cup of hot coffee and
a chocolate glazed.

As I finished my pre-ride snack SK rolled up to the front door. The
soundtrack for the ride was provided by Grover Washington Jr. with
"Just The Two of Us" and Bob Marley's "Mellow Mood".

We were surprised that nobody else showed, but we were not deterred.
We had a very nice ride to close out 2007. The pace was
conversational and traffic was even lighter than usual. We took the
trolley path for the climb out of the valley. I really dig that climb
in that the grade is constant and not too steep. You can just keep a
nice tempo and even effort all the way up.

By the time we entered the Park the temperature dropped enough for us
to notice. Fingers got colder and frost appeared on the sides of the
road. Out on Montgomery we had a few tire slips. The roads were
icing up in spots. We quickly learned to stay seated and keep a
smooth pedal stroke. No sudden movements or accelerations. No funny
stuff, Lebowski.

Making the right on Montgomery after Giant to head over to Rockburn
the ice was very evident so we rode even more gingerly through there.
It was fine as long as you didn't get silly.

It was kind of cool to see the conditions change like that. Driving
into work I heard stories of black ice and typically arrogant
motorists arrogantly ignoring the conditions. Not surprisingly the
I-83 skating rink was closed (or would that be open?). A number of my
colleagues have still not made it in.

Anyway, it was a very nice ride to close out the year. I'm glad I got
this one in. Thanks for the company Steve.