October - A big riding month!

[Tony DeFilippo]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kMCZ6f1Q0aSKA7s32

October was a REALLY good month on the bike for me (good month all around).  I don't have alot of spare time for dedicated weekday or weekend riding for the sake of riding so I have to stretch my commutes out and I've never been more successful at that than this past month.  Between work travel and daddy duties I don't really have a meaningful 'average' monthly mileage over the past 18 months or so but my 320 miles in October stands 90 miles over my previous (Sep of this year) high and 130 miles over any other previous monthly high's. I'm using strava these days and my records only go back to Feb '16 but since that time my riding has been pretty similar - commutes and errands with a bit of singletrack here and there.

The miles are one way to cut it but as I was thinking about making a post I looked at the pictures from this month and was even more pleased.  For one thing, the weather was splendid in DC this Oct and for another alot of my rides explored some new-to-me routes and were in the company of good friends.  Two solo coffee outside's - one in the rain, a ride up to the National Cathedral for pre-work coffee with lister Erl, two explorations of a new route home through Oxon Hill and across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, an early work departure singletrack-ramble through the Fort Circle Park Trail in SE DC (who would have thought you'd startle deer in the woods within the city limits!), a DMV car registration trip via bike... lots of good rides.

I was definitely inspired by Bill's 10x200 self-challenge over the last couple months and while I haven't made that kind of time in my schedule I'm really satisfied with pushing some of my own personal bests within the confines of the 'commute'.  I'm hoping to keep pushing the miles/hours in the saddle into Nov and Dec.  Work travel, vacation and other parts of life will definitely intervene but I'll keep making the most out of the rides I get.  

Riv content - 90% of the month has been on my Saluki pictured below which has performed splendidly. I feel more comfortable and capable on the bike than I ever have having gotten a lot of riding in over the past 3 months.  It's really dialed in but the new tubeless Compass EL BSP's put the road feel over the top.  I'm at about 350 miles on the new tires and couldn't be happier.  Picture below is approaching Oxon Hill with the new MGM Grand Casino in National Harbor poking up over the trees.  I made it up the hill without dismounting for LCG use for the first time on this day and while I was still painfully slow I was absolutely thrilled with the achievement.

[Doug H.]

Thanks for sharing Tony. I enjoyed the photos. In the second photos of your Clementine, what is mounted on the left side of the handlebar? It seems to be a bell but looks wooden.

Doug

[Tony DeFilippo]

Hi Doug thanks!  It is a bell, a cheap dimension 'woodpecker bell'. Neat looking and my wife likes it but not a great performer from a bell perspective.

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[WETH]

Tony,
Great photos and congrats on a great month of riding. I am happy to have played a small part in your adventures.
All the best,
Erl

[Pondero]

Well done, Tony!  I thought I saw a foreshadowing sparkle in your eye when I was out there in September.  Grabbing these moments in an appropriate balance, I believe, helps make for better family engagement when it counts.  Who knows?  Maybe there will be a decent weather window when I'm out there again in February, and I can experience some of your new found treasure destinations.  We can hope...

Chris Johnson

Sanger, Texas

[Bill Lindsay]

APPROVE!  APPROVE!  a thousand times APPROVE!

I particularly enjoy the triumph of 'cleaning' a hill that you've never cleaned before.  That's freaking awesome.  That's on my 'next list' of cycling goals, as we transition in to Mountain Bike Racing Season.  There's a famous East Bay loop in Redwood Park and that loop includes a climb I've never cleaned, called Canyon Trail.  Our top racer, Matt, has told me he's going to make sure I achieve that goal.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA