Training Log Archive: Nadim

From Northfield Rd. to Heampsteadt Rd. and back. Max, Peggy and I rode to Max's soccer game. Max scored a few times.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD with Max on his bike, then to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. I moved fast after leaving Max though it took me a few miles to shake out soreness from my legs. I slowly caught-up to a pair who were picking up speed, then I sat on them. As we got around slower riders and construction, we were hitting 24mph and 25mph for a long while. Construction slowed us again after Fletcher's Boathouse. The lead rider slowed and for a short while I followed second in line. I took over and somehow lost the other two on the flats, doing 21-23mph. There were headwinds after Georgetown again but I hit the traffic lights well for what seemed to be a fast ride.

From C St., SW, Washington, D.C. to Arlington Rd., Bethesda, MD, then to Northfield Rd. with Max on his bicycle. I had a pretty nice tailwind almost the whole way home. Along the way, as in the morning, I saw Kris Beecroft's brother. I tried not to push too hard and rode alone until picking-up Max. It was warm out.

From Northfield Rd. to Elm St. to watch a movie, then back. It was a much nicer temperature than earlier when coming home from work.

From Northfield Rd., to Arlington Rd., with Max's bike, then to the Bethesda Metro station.

From the Bethesda Metro Station to Arlington Rd., the to Northfield Rd. with Max.

From Northfield Rd., Bethesda, MD, to 12th and C St. SW, Washington, D.C. With Max on the bus I went straight-in to day. The trail was being well today. I rode alone passing various groups and moving well. My legs were a bit tired from the hiking last weekend and not getting enough sleep last night. Headwinds after Georgetown slowed me a lot but I hit the traffic lights pretty well.

From C St., SW, Washington, D.C. to Northfield Rd. MD. I rushed home to get Max to soccer practice. I made good time on bike and through trafficked areas. The winds were mixed but mostly coming from behind. Car traffic after getting home got us to soccer practice late.

Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV. From the Dobbin Grade Trail (TR 526) near the west fork of Red Creek, to the Upper Red Creek Trail, TR 509), west on the Blackbird Knob Trail, south on the Red Creek Trail, west on TR 553, north on Forest Rd. 80, to the Valley View Trail, to the Rock Ridge Trail, then down the Dobbin Grade Trail to our campsite.



With it being windy, a plan to loop the Rocky Ridge and Raven RidgeTrail was abandoned for a loop that would take us to Red Creek. The loop planned was thought to be 8 miles but turned out to be much longer.







Our compromise let us lunch at Red Creek before following a route on TR 553 that we'd backpacked in 2011 to Forest Rd. 80. I got ahead of the group and took a detour along the ridge on the Valley View Trail. It was really good to see the different terrain and sweeping views.







I ran part so of the grassy ridge before rejoining the group, and going back with a few of them. We were all pretty tired by the end of the hike, shortened from 8 to 10 miles long. The day had warmed-up a little so we were comfortable hiking. Most people got reddened by the sun. There were a lot of other people hiking and backpacking but not so many that it felt crowded.

Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV. From the Dobbin Grade Trail (TR 526) near the west fork of Red Creek, to Beaver Dam Trail (TR 520), to Forest Rd. 75. Since it was going to be another cool and breezy night and some were cold, we decided to pack it out after snacks and a rest from our earlier hike. I was concerned that the kids would really be dragging after already having done almost a 10 mile hike earlier but they did really well. There was no real complaining; only some tired faces and a sense of accomplishment.



Everyone was supportive. At the crossing of Red Creek, Jan Merka pushed on so that he could get a car and shuttle other drivers, saving the group another +1 mile.







The low light at the end of the day was really nice and brought out the spring in the grand landscape. The Dobbin Grade Trail, an old railroad grade had a lot of muddy parts getting to the Beaver Dam Trail. After finishing we had a nice warm dinner in Petersburg and drive across the mountains in the dark to get home to warm beds.