My Job

Riding to work

In my quest to remove the economic power from the middle east, I have started to ride to work twice a week. I figure the less oil I require, the less money a knucklehead like Ahmadinejad has to do the stuff Iran does in the middle east.

I ran into a guy on a bus that bikes regularly, so I chatted him up about the routes he uses. He works in downtown DC and bikes in 3 or 4 times a week. He turned me on to the bike friendly routes that I should use. The route to work starts off with about 3/4 mile up a hill then is mostly downhill, and there is very little traffic. I go up Kingstowne Village Parkway, hit South Van Dorn Street, then turn on to Eisenhower Avenue. Ike Ave is a very nice route, mostly downhill on the way in. At the end of Eisenhower I wind onto Commonwealth Ave in Alexandria, this route has a dedicated bike lane, which is cool. At the end of Commonwealth I run into two bike paths - - the first is a section of 4 Mile Run which parallels a creek that runs into the Potomac River. 4 Mile Run intersects the MT Vernon trail, which runs along the Potomac until it hits the Memorial Bridge and a series of smaller trails that run into the Pentagon.

Like I said, the way in is downhill, that means (according to Beckman's Law of Physical Geography) the way back home is uphill. For the most part, the uphills aren't too bad, but there are two fierce uphills on Van Dorn, after those uphills, there are some good downs, so that is ok.

I had been riding my road bike in, a beautiful, light, nimble Motebecane bicycle. I rode the Motebecane to work when I live in NC, the back roads at FT Bragg were ideal for commuting, not a lot of traffic, nice rolling hills and there were only a few stops and goes. Alexandria is very different: It is much more urban, more stops and goes, and the pavement is not as smooth. To remedy that, I bought a Schwinn cyclo-cross bicycle, it is much heavier, more rugged, so I think it will be a better ride. It is also geared differently, even though it isn't geared for speed, my ride to and from work is a little faster because the gearing is set up for hilly terrain. So, now I have two bikes.

How small is the world? The guy I bought the bicycle from is from: Lincoln, NE! He lives in downtown DC, very close to Union Station in a very small apartment. He had 5 bikes and had to get rid of one of them. I have no idea how his apartment looked with 5 bikes in it, I hope he has more room though.

It is funny, normally bike people look at fast, sexy triathlon bikes and drool, there are several at the Pentagon bike rack. I have actually caught a couple of folks checking out my Schwinn, they envy the ruggedness I guess.

Tan Man and the Zombie Update

For those of you out there that are concerned about such things, Tan Man and the Zombie are doing just fine, both maintaining their Modus Operandii: Walking around the gym's locker room sans clothes. I actually saw Tan Man walking around the Pentagon, he is a suit wearing civilian, a fine upstanding member of the Pentagon community. I have not seen the Zombie walking around the Pentagon, but I am sure that I will run into him one of these days.

AFPAK Hand TV Star:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QigtjT1vqUE

These are the folks that we have been recruiting and training, I work with Geoff Kent, very smart guy, I now tease him about being a You Tube star.

Interesting Pentagon Tradition

Apparently, work at the Pentagon is stressful. I have no idea why. There is a small community of Pentagon members that take a little "stress relief" nap during the day. It is kind of like back in kindergarten, they go to the gym, change into gym clothes, go to the pool, lay down on the chaise lounges, put a towel over their head and take a little nap. Someone told me about it, I didn't believe it until I saw it. So, the Tan Man, Zombie and the Nap Boys. How on earth does our nation stay safe?