solstice sail

Technically the solstice was yesterday, but I'm taking a literary liberty. Anyway.....after a very long week of nursing my back, struggling to make it through work, and missing what was one of the best windsurfing days of the season, I finally got a long overdue session on the water.

I spent the morning at the chiropractor and my massage therapist. They both worked me over pretty good and I left their office a whole lot better than a week ago. I'm still moving slow and stopping fast, but at least I'm moving!

Sarah left work early and met me at the boat around five. We had a nice sail across the Bay and got back to the dock just after sunset. Sarah did all of the work, and on the pretense of my back being a wreck, I hung out in the rear of the boat, gave orders and steered. Sometimes it is good to be the Captain!!!

may daze

Saturday night I left work with the plans for an early bike ride Sunday morning. I got home and put a pot of water on the stove for the pasta and threw a jar of my favorite sauce on the other burner.
The sun was starting to set and the clouds across street were bright red. I grabbed the camera and walked over to the marina to snap a few pictures. Of course by the time I got there the vivid colors had already faded.
OH Shit....the pasta. Big problem, I had turned the water to low and the sauce to high. The water hadn't boiled, but the sauce had. I returned from my "photo shoot" to find Sarah wiping pasta sauce off about every conceivable surface in the kitchen. OOPS!
A short while later I filled up my carbo tank with bow ties and piping hot pasta sauce, did a few stretches and went to bed in anticipation on the Sunday morning ride.



We were awakened at 6 am not by the alarm, but by a wicked thunderstorm and torrential rain. What happened to Sunday's sunny forecast? I flipped on the computer and the weather radar showed a narrow band of red and yellow working its way from DC to the Chesapeake Bay.
Also working his way from DC to Annapolis was our friend Iggy who had decided to ride his bike the 45 miles to Annapolis to join us for the ride. About 8am, just about the time a very soggy Iggy arrived on our door step, the skies began to clear.

Iggy

We pushed the ride back from 8:30 to 9 in order to give Iggy and the roads a chance to dry out a bit. It turned into a beautiful day and Sarah, Tammy, Iggy and I had a nice 36 mile ride.
We arrived back to City dock and took in the sights and sounds of the harbor. Tammy took off and the rest of us headed back to the house for cheese burgers. Play then eat.

We loaded up the cooler with Gatorade and more food and headed off the the boat. Iggy's girlfriend Maureen had driven to Cambridge earlier in the morning to pre-ride the course of the Eagle Man Triathlon that she is racing in a couple of weeks, and she met us at the boat.

When we got down to the dock, John was teaching Lilly and Nora to windsurf. The girls were doing great. They would sail across the creek and then John would reel them back across. I expect they will be doing it without help from dad soon.

Nora, John, Lilly

We left Whitehall, sailed across the mouth of Severn River, the back north to the Bay Bridge.
We had about 12 knots of wind and "Captain Mo" did a great job of driving the boat. Almost out of nowhere, (no clouds, no squalls, nada) the wind went from 12 to 25 in about 10 minutes. I took over the helm from Mo and sailed back to Whitehall. We cleaned up the boat and then stopped for pizza before Maureen and Iggy headed back to DC. More play and more eat.

Capt. Mo

Sweet DAZE off!

memorial day weekend

Sarah and I began our Sunday with an early morning paddle around Annapolis.

We headed up to Patapsco and met Chris for an afternoon ride. It was my first mountain bike ride of the season, and I felt really out of shape, but it was great to be in the woods riding.

In our absence we taped the Indy 500, and then stayed up way too late watching the replay. Way to go Helio!

We slept in Monday morning and then took off for a short road ride.

Attention Smokers...............the road is not your ashtray!

Sarah & I navigated the garbage on the roadways and headed out to Sandy Point State Park where the Memorial Day bar-b-ques were in full swing.

We rode back towards Annapolis and and stopped by the Maryland WWII Memorial.

To all that have served, and to all those still serving...................Thanks.
Happy Memorial Day.

got da blues

GO NAVY!
One of the cool things about living in Annapolis is getting the to watch the Blue Angels perform during Commissioning Week at the Naval Academy.

I had a lady in the shop on Tuesday complaining about the waste of money, and the huge negative impact on the environment. She has some valid points, but yesterday when I slipped away from work to watch the show and saw the look of pride on the Midshipman, the excitement on the faces of both little kids and adults, somehow I think the cost is worth it.









Congratulations USNA Class of 2009!

ben on the water

So far, 2009 seems to be (with all due respects to Robby, Laird, and all) the year of the waterman. Sailing, windsurfing, surfing, stand up, I just can't get enough.
It is hard to believe it is mid-May and I have barely been on my bikes. I have not even had the mountain bike out of the basement.
The bikes beckon, but Mother Ocean keeps calling louder.
I took two winter trips to Florida to surf. Sarah and I have already had the boat out several times. I have windsurfed in Annapolis a couple of times, and I had a killer windsurf/surf trip to Hatteras last week. I paddle my SUP before work every chance I get. I didn't get out this morning, I think I'm having withdrawals. I keep re watching the "Endless Summer" for the millionth time. Sarah's nephew Dan thinks we are going to Beaufort next month for his wedding. Really....I'm heading down there to surf or sail, it just happens I will stop by the ceremony and hit the reception for some free food!

It is windy today. I want to be on the water. It is calling . Unfortunately WORK is calling too. Better go.

I love playing in the frozen snow, but some reason, right now it is all about the unfrozen snow. I'm not going to fight it. Might as well roll with it.



Aloha,

MB

ben to hatteras

Just returned from Hatteras. It was good. Windy, warm, sunny, and Windy.






........more coming soon.

got spring butt!

I thought about calling this "ben training", but two days of riding hardly qualifies. I could have called it "why is the seat so small, and my bike shorts so tight?" It could have been called " why did I have to ride the last mile standing up?" But(t) the bottom line (pun intended) is that after just over 20 miles yesterday with Sarah, and 28 miles this afternoon on my own, I have a grand case of Spring Butt. Oh the joys of pedaling ones bicycle in the spring. I guess it is a small ( well maybe not so small) price to pay for the great rides, challenges, and adventures that lay ahead this summer. Boy, it is hard to type standing up.

Speaking of challenges; much earlier this winter (in a display of machoism) I challenged a certain young lady to race against me in the sport class at the Greenbriar Challenge Mountain Bike Race that takes place in two weeks. I told her we could ride the course together and then sprint the last hundred yards to the finish for bragging rights. Loser buys pizza after the race. Christine........what do you want on your pizza????? If you want to race, I'm game. It won't be pretty. In fact I'm pretty sure it will be butt ugly.

MORE SPRING SHENANIGANS

It is hard to believe that just a week ago that we were playing in all that pow in Steamboat, but yesterday after going to Easter Services, I dusted off the windsurfing gear and got in a short session on the Severn River. It was gusty, puffy and shifty, but I got in a couple of good runs back and forth across the river. Water is still really cold and I worked hard not to fall in and keep my head dry.




Last weekend were playing in the frozen snow, this weekend we play in the un-frozen snow!