Street View of Alpe d' Huez

There is no other climb in all of cycling as famous as the Alpe d' Huez. It's not the steepest or longest, but it is "the climb."

There are probably thousands of pictures of it and videos of cyclists going up it, but I found it a lot of fun to do my own virtual ride up it using Google's "Street View."

Google hasn't street mapped many places in Europe, but luckily they decided to drive up the Alpe d' Huez. Maybe they are cycling fans...

Below is a snapshot of what one of the 21 switchbacks looks like with snow capped mountains in the background. A great thing about street view is that you can look 360 degrees from every point along the route.

Nice Temps, Nice Ride

I skipped the 8am group ride for a later solo ride.  I decided banana blueberry pancakes and 2 cups of Peets coffee as well as 39 degree temps instead of 29 degree temps were all worth the wait until 11am.

My plan for this ride was to do an easy ride and not push my legs.  I think I need to do more of that this winter.  My legs are feeling a little heavy.  This is my new favorite ride out this way.

I first went on this ride with the NCVC Cat4/5 group a few Saturdays ago.  That's the group I didn't go with this morning.  It was doable, but I didn't feel like dealing with the cold and knew that I wouldn't ride the exact pace I wanted.

The ride wound up being 47 miles and the temperature got up past the mid 40s.

Below is a pic (click on the pics to enlarge them) of the first part of Berryville Road.  It's a fun, quiet road that is a little rough, but worth it.   

This is the biggest house with the most property on Berryville Road.  I stopped to get this pic and eat some of my Clif Blocks.  

A screen shot of the ride is below.  You can also see it at: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/1689761

Northwest of DC is definitely the best place to ride around DC, I'm convinced/sold.

If I'm riding a new route, one thing I like to do is see if Google Maps has a "street view" for that area.  Street view is priceless for previewing a route and looking at what kind of road it is and what the shoulder is like.

Google hasn't gotten over to Europe with their cameras to record too much for street view, but they happened to street view the Alpe d' Huez climb.  Lucky cycling fans!  That's for the next blog post.

Below is the street view scene of the beginning of Berryville Rd.  Surprisingly similar to my pic above.

And below is the street view of that huge house.

All in all, a relaxing and quality ride today.  Hopefully the weather will be nice tomorrow to get out for an easy spin.

Holiday Fun

Santa was good this year!

Cezanne got me some surprises and some stuff I knew she was getting me. Actually, I knew she was getting stuff from www.competitivecyclist.com for me, but I just didn't know what.

I'm actually surprised I had the willpower not to check my competitive cyclist account and look at the last order, because then I would see exactly what was ordered! Cezanne used my account for 2 reasons. The first is that you can "save items," so I had about 8-10 saved items that she could easily move into the "cart." The second is that competitive cyclist automatically gives me a 10% discount on all items at check-out. This is something they do for all active duty military. Awesome. Thank you!

Below is our little set-up at our apartment in D.C. Yup, that's our Christmas tree to the right, all lit up!


Below is handsome Mr. Bono!


And it was over to Jon and Jen's in Annapolis on Christmas morning for some present opening and food! Jon makes some killer scones. He gives credit to his time as the Superintendent's Supply Aide and getting the recipe from the Sup's cooks.


The kids had tons of gifts! If I were Jon and Jen, I might have tried to keep some wrapped and saved them for next year! That's Santa Papa Jimmy (my Dad) on the right of the picture.


After all the ruckus the one common calming (say that 3 times fast) thing is a movie. This quickly settles the kids down.


I got my new favorite t-shirt for Christmas. This was one of the surprises (because it wasn't a saved items). It's an "Alpe d' Huez" t-shirt by Twin Six and it's awesome. Thanks babes!


Meghan is playing with her toy camera and Cezanne is showing off her cute dimple! Oh, and she's showing off one of the new sweaters I got her.


And below is Nathan loving up on Bono. We went to Annapolis again a few days after Christmas and Bono was a big hit with the kids. Meghan and Nathan loved hugging him and Bono was a good sport. Cezanne is also showing off her bling in this pic!


And last, but not least, the Holidays offer a time to reunite with friends. We had a great highschool crew reunion of about 10 of us. We started out at Turtle's house. He was in from Los Angeles. He's below in the beard.

From there we swung by Kyma on our way to Ram's Head. It was my first time in Kyma and the owner is a friend. When the owner, Nick, saw Screech (a lot of nicknames here) and I, he called us over and ordered us a round a what we wanted (we picked Yuengling) and then unfortunately ordered each of us a shot of Yagermeister... ugh...

So, it was my first shot in probably at least 4 years and I'm glad it was Yager over a lot of other stuff.

So, that was some Holiday and Christmas fun. Next up is New Years. Of course, we're driving in to Annapolis for that one, but it's going to be pretty chill.

I'm thinking of riding my bike back from Annapolis the day after New Years. I think I have a good/safe route mapped. It's about 57 miles. Our place is only 35 miles from Annapolis, but I have to bob and weave and come in to DC from the north instead of from the east because of the roads. We'll see.

Navy Bowl Game

Navy lost to Wake Forest, but it was still a good time.

I took the metro down to RFK and met up with my brother Jonnie and his son Carter. Jonnie was able to get us tickets to the "Brigade of Midshipmen" tailgater which was in the D.C. Armory (pic below). It was REALLY nice, complete with DJ, live band, eggs, sausage, danishes, bagels, waffles, french toast, roast beef being sliced to order...

Jonnie and I were joking a little bit about our concert going experiences at RFK and we were figuring out where we usually parked for them. We saw a few Grateful Dead concerts there while in Highschool as well as one Dave Matthews Band concert which we were guessing was in 2000.

I was able to briefly meet up with Squeak, Todd Benke ('98), Josh Greene and Eilis. I got to hang out most of the game with Nate (Rodenbarger). His Dad had a box, so Jonnie, Carter and I spent the first quarter watching from our seats (pic below) and then the rest of the game in the box. Thanks CAPT Syd!

As an extra bonus that day I saw my ex-wife :) She and her cousin were walking by where we were tailgating. It was awkward, but cordial and nice to catch up with what her cousin was up to.

Indoor Trainer = Lame/Outside Riding = Bundle up

Tonight feels nice.  I'm full (but not stuffed) from dinner, I'm blogging, Bono is taking a nap, and Cezanne is wrapping presents and is excited about Christmas!

Winter in DC and actually, winter in San Diego, requires riding indoors.  Riding indoors in San Diego is exclusively a factor of the length of the days (sunset drops all the way to 4:45pm) and riding indoors in DC is a combination of the length of the days (mainly) and a little bit because of the cold.

I used to be better about riding indoors.  It seemed I was doing it a lot during early primary season out in San Diego.  I used to watch the Presidential Primary debates and usually rode on the trainer for about 1.5 hours.

Now I can barely muster an hour.  It's more psychological than anything I think.  Below is a pic of our new place and me on the trainer!  I still have the bright neon shoes!

Below is another angle!  I have the towel there to wipe off the sweat.  One change from San Diego on the trainer is that I have a fan blowing on me while I'm on the trainer now.  It keeps the sweat to a minimum.

Riding in the winter in DC is serious business.  Serious because of how the cold cuts through you.  It's Assos clothing to the rescue.  Below is the main winter outfit I've been sporting.  Cezanne thought I look funny so she took a picture of me getting ready to brave the 30 degree weather.

I only wore the balaclava for the first 10 minutes of the ride, then it became too hot, even though it was about 29-30 degrees out and the wind was gusting over 20 mph.  I also wear winter shoe covers which I hadn't gotten on by this point.

You can see the shinier wind-blocking material on the front of the blue winter tights that ends just below the knees.  The jacket has it too, on the front of the arms and the front of the chest/abdomen, but it's harder to see. 

So, the winter will go on, the temps will only get colder, and my goofy, bright, tight winter outfit will continue to be worn.

Army-Navy

There's something special about the Army-Navy football game, even if you aren't a fan of either one of the teams.  Too bad it's been a little lopsided lately.

Cezanne, Ryan (my brother-in-law) and I went to the game yesterday.  We all decided to go simple and just make a day trip about it.  That was the easiest way since we wanted to leave our dogs at home and not worry about having someone look after them.

We drove up and met Ryan near the house Cezanne owns in Philadelphia.  We took the train then subway down to the stadium.  Security was a little tight given the President was there.

Cezanne and Ryan below.

Cezanne and I below.  I really need to work on getting some Navy cold-weather gear so I can show my team spirit!

The stadium below.  If you click on the picture and enlarge it you can see the Military Academy cadets on the left and the Naval Academy Midshipmen on the right.  Ah, the memories.

Below is the President switching sides at halftime.  He is walking with the Naval Academy Superintendent and Defense Secretary Gates.

No stop to Philly would be complete without a Philly Cheesesteak.  I'm not an expert and I don't want to start a cheesesteak war (although I'm sure there is one waging), but below is a pic of the best place to get one.  Cezanne, Ryan and I stopped by after we got back to the cars.  It's only about a mile and a half from her rental property.

It snowed on our way home, the first I've seen it this year.  It made for slow traveling back, but we made it in one piece and Bono held it with no problem. 

A beautiful day and a Thanksgiving pic

Few people know about my love of coffee like my wife Cezanne.  I often mention to her that I can't wait to get to bed because it means I'm so much closer to that exquisite morning cup of coffee.  This will eventually end up in my going to bed at 7pm...6pm...3pm...right after breakfast (when I'm retired). 

What makes the best cup?  Peets brand and fresh ground.  We don't have a grinder these days, so typically the closest we get to fresh ground is the first day the bag is open.  It is interesting to note the difference between that first cup and cups from the same bag 2 days or more later.  It's just so much better that first day.  TOMORROW IS THAT DAY!

Instead of getting Peets (Major Dickason's) from the local Giant grocery store I decided to order Peet's Holiday Blend since it was really good last year.  It arrived in the mail today, a whole 2 pounds of it.

I also have what Cezanne calls, "a fear of weak coffee," so I typically add a little extra grounds beyond which is the normal "dosing."

Thanksgiving was really special this year.  We got the whole gang together, Mom, Dad, all five of their sons, their wives, their children.  It was such an enjoyable time.

I spent most of my time in the kid's room making sure they played nice and enforced the ever important "sharing" concept.  They know that one well!