bike rides
Mon May 4 16:00 EDT 2020
I went for a ride before work - just down George Mason Drive and the Bluemont Junction trail to pick up the W&OD out to Falls Church, and then back home. The trails were not crowded, but there were people out. My thermometer was up to 84°F/28.9°C when I got home.
There's a lot of street paving going on these days. Maybe they're taking advantage of the lighter traffic?
Tuesday 01:39
I have tried to leave for a ride 3 times tonight. I got about 10 blocks from home when I heard my phone ring. The work from the weekend included a few steps for tonight, and there was suddenly confusion about whether they were even supposed to happen. So I went back home, and got back on line. And I thought we got that sorted out.
I set out a 2nd time, and about a block away I realized I forgot my mirror. (I'd put almost everything in odd places when I got home because I was expecting to go out again.) Coming back I came in the driveway at a different angle because I wasn't heading for the shed. And I saw a beer bottle under the van. So I needed to get a broom to fish it out. (Turned out to be an empty bottle.) But there's more broken glass under the van.
With the mirror, I set out a 3rd time. There was an animal sitting in the intersection, just watching me. I thought it was a cat, and thought that was a very strange behavior. It moved off at my approach. I think it was a fox. (Definitely not a cat.) And about 2 blocks later, my phone starts pinging. Text messages. About no email about tonight's last task from the weekend. The step was changing a value in a config file, and the old value in the plan didn't match the current value in the file. Very likely the plan was out of date, and the current value was correct. And the current value matched the primary and backup servers that were done (or maybe not done?) Saturday. And tonight's work was for the backup data center, which also has primary and backup servers, but this step was updating only the primary - so 2 things raising questions about the step. Having the backup site match the primary site is usually a good choice, so that was my recommendation until the people who knew why the value was set to whatever it was set could look at it tomorrow. This server (and its ignored twin) wouldn't even be in use unless something serious takes out the primary data center, so not likely to need urgent correction.
But there's an email thread documenting each step of the plan. If you decide for some reason that you should not do a step, there needs to be an email saying that. And the person who was (not) doing the step did not send email, and now she couldn't be reached, and we got texts - what's going on with step 16.8a?
So I've replied, and maybe now I can ride?
It's 02:00. I'd hoped to ride 20 miles and be back by now.
And I have only 14.5 work hours left for the next 4 days.
Tuesday 06:17
I eventually got a good ride - the less-steep route to the W&OD, and out through Falls Church and Vienna to Clark's Crossing - not quite as far as Hunter Mill Rd. 33.76mi (54.33km) for the day, if you count this as part of Monday. I saw several more foxes. I don't know whether I'm seeing so many because I'm out so late or because there's less activity with people staying home. And I saw another cyclist out tonight; that's a pandemic first. He was stopped (checking his phone?), but he had a good light. And I saw one pedestrian, but in Arlington this time. Sauntering across Route 29 with nothing reflective. (I.e. he shouldn't assume that traffic will see him. But he's not expecting any traffic either. He certainly didn't expect to see a bicycle at 04:00.)
I'm getting to bed way too late.
Wednesday 19:15
Our forecast was rain, but we had some sunshine late in the day. But I've been busy all day with something for work. (Something that really could wait, because it's already taken months. And we had a meeting about it today and discovered that it doesn't even need to be done. But what's been done still needs to be documented.) And I'm very likely to hit my 80 hours today. 2 days off?
Maybe I can ride later tonight?
Wednesday 21:28
Yep, I've gone over my 80 hours. I guess I've got the next 2 days off. (They would have been short days, anyway, with 12 hours to split amongst Wed/Thu/Fri.)
I don't know why I didn't notice this before, but people send "OOO" - Out Of Office - email when they're going to be out unavailable. But most of these people didn't work at the office to begin with, and now the rest of us are working from home too, so "OOO" is the norm. I guess I will send an "OOH" - Out of Hours - email.
Wednesday 23:24
I was hoping I might get out for a ride tonight, but it's probably raining for the next couple of hours.
Thursday 19:06
The weather has been nice today, sunny but a bit cool. I slept until my phone woke me around 11:00, which was too early. (I wish I'd thought to silence the phone before I went to sleep.) And the rest of the day I've been too tired to do anything.
Friday 01:27
Bike Arlington reports:Trail Use is Up.
... March 2020, traffic on three local trails was up 50% to 243% over the three-year March average (2017-2019)....
... usage slightly peaking from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. But on the weekends, the trails are seeing significant crowding. The Mt Vernon Trail and W&OD Trail counters have each shown several weekend afternoons in March 2020 with more than 600 pedestrians and bicycles per hour passing by.
Saturday 03:58
Just back from another ride - this time waay out the street I live on, Old Dominion Drive. It's a state highway, and a main connection between Arlington and McLean, so it's normally pretty busy. And it used to be an inter-city light-rail route, so it has gentle grades - attractive for cycling. But much of it is also narrow (railway!), only one lane each way. So not good for cycling most of the time; there's not enough road to share. (It was a much flatter route from our house to my old job, but I would go that way only between 02:00-05:00 when traffic to/from McLean was minimal.)
But in these quaran-times, there's more empty time on the road. It's good pavement, much better than most trails. And it's a simple route. At the end of the road you're in Great Falls Park. But the park is closed at night, so I turned left onto Georgetown Pike, and went as far as the Village of Great Falls. Round trip 21.76mi (35.02km). The Pike was hillier and curvier than Old Dominion.
The (just-past?-)full moon was notable. It was cold, 35°F/1.7°C, but I was dressed for it. And there was headwind going out, tailwind returning; counterbalancing the overall downhill out and uphill return. There were a few red lights I had to ignore. (If the sensors don't respond to bicycles, the signal is legally defective.) Overall, a nice route. But I may have to give it up if traffic returns to normal.
I used to ride out to Great Falls when I lived in McLean. There was an outdoor concert series. There's also a Grange Hall where I think they still gather(ed - until quaran-time) for shape-note singing. So some of it was familiar. There's more mansions out there now.
Monday 01:52
I repeated most of Friday night's ride out Old Dominion Dr, but only as far as Georgetown Pike, where I turned around. There was a lovely just-risen waning gibbous moon, looking larger than usual ("supermoon"). I saw lots of foxes again, but sometimes in twos or threes tonight. There was one sitting just off the road with it's back to me, surprised as I rolled up silently behind it, quite close before it looked back and dashed away. And I saw lots of deer tonight, in people's yards. It was warmer tonight, 50°F/10°C. 17.58mi (28.29km).
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/1144243.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
I went for a ride before work - just down George Mason Drive and the Bluemont Junction trail to pick up the W&OD out to Falls Church, and then back home. The trails were not crowded, but there were people out. My thermometer was up to 84°F/28.9°C when I got home.
There's a lot of street paving going on these days. Maybe they're taking advantage of the lighter traffic?
Tuesday 01:39
I have tried to leave for a ride 3 times tonight. I got about 10 blocks from home when I heard my phone ring. The work from the weekend included a few steps for tonight, and there was suddenly confusion about whether they were even supposed to happen. So I went back home, and got back on line. And I thought we got that sorted out.
I set out a 2nd time, and about a block away I realized I forgot my mirror. (I'd put almost everything in odd places when I got home because I was expecting to go out again.) Coming back I came in the driveway at a different angle because I wasn't heading for the shed. And I saw a beer bottle under the van. So I needed to get a broom to fish it out. (Turned out to be an empty bottle.) But there's more broken glass under the van.
With the mirror, I set out a 3rd time. There was an animal sitting in the intersection, just watching me. I thought it was a cat, and thought that was a very strange behavior. It moved off at my approach. I think it was a fox. (Definitely not a cat.) And about 2 blocks later, my phone starts pinging. Text messages. About no email about tonight's last task from the weekend. The step was changing a value in a config file, and the old value in the plan didn't match the current value in the file. Very likely the plan was out of date, and the current value was correct. And the current value matched the primary and backup servers that were done (or maybe not done?) Saturday. And tonight's work was for the backup data center, which also has primary and backup servers, but this step was updating only the primary - so 2 things raising questions about the step. Having the backup site match the primary site is usually a good choice, so that was my recommendation until the people who knew why the value was set to whatever it was set could look at it tomorrow. This server (and its ignored twin) wouldn't even be in use unless something serious takes out the primary data center, so not likely to need urgent correction.
But there's an email thread documenting each step of the plan. If you decide for some reason that you should not do a step, there needs to be an email saying that. And the person who was (not) doing the step did not send email, and now she couldn't be reached, and we got texts - what's going on with step 16.8a?
So I've replied, and maybe now I can ride?
It's 02:00. I'd hoped to ride 20 miles and be back by now.
And I have only 14.5 work hours left for the next 4 days.
Tuesday 06:17
I eventually got a good ride - the less-steep route to the W&OD, and out through Falls Church and Vienna to Clark's Crossing - not quite as far as Hunter Mill Rd. 33.76mi (54.33km) for the day, if you count this as part of Monday. I saw several more foxes. I don't know whether I'm seeing so many because I'm out so late or because there's less activity with people staying home. And I saw another cyclist out tonight; that's a pandemic first. He was stopped (checking his phone?), but he had a good light. And I saw one pedestrian, but in Arlington this time. Sauntering across Route 29 with nothing reflective. (I.e. he shouldn't assume that traffic will see him. But he's not expecting any traffic either. He certainly didn't expect to see a bicycle at 04:00.)
I'm getting to bed way too late.
Wednesday 19:15
Our forecast was rain, but we had some sunshine late in the day. But I've been busy all day with something for work. (Something that really could wait, because it's already taken months. And we had a meeting about it today and discovered that it doesn't even need to be done. But what's been done still needs to be documented.) And I'm very likely to hit my 80 hours today. 2 days off?
Maybe I can ride later tonight?
Wednesday 21:28
Yep, I've gone over my 80 hours. I guess I've got the next 2 days off. (They would have been short days, anyway, with 12 hours to split amongst Wed/Thu/Fri.)
I don't know why I didn't notice this before, but people send "OOO" - Out Of Office - email when they're going to be out unavailable. But most of these people didn't work at the office to begin with, and now the rest of us are working from home too, so "OOO" is the norm. I guess I will send an "OOH" - Out of Hours - email.
Wednesday 23:24
I was hoping I might get out for a ride tonight, but it's probably raining for the next couple of hours.
Thursday 19:06
The weather has been nice today, sunny but a bit cool. I slept until my phone woke me around 11:00, which was too early. (I wish I'd thought to silence the phone before I went to sleep.) And the rest of the day I've been too tired to do anything.
Friday 01:27
Bike Arlington reports:Trail Use is Up.
... March 2020, traffic on three local trails was up 50% to 243% over the three-year March average (2017-2019)....
... usage slightly peaking from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. But on the weekends, the trails are seeing significant crowding. The Mt Vernon Trail and W&OD Trail counters have each shown several weekend afternoons in March 2020 with more than 600 pedestrians and bicycles per hour passing by.
Saturday 03:58
Just back from another ride - this time waay out the street I live on, Old Dominion Drive. It's a state highway, and a main connection between Arlington and McLean, so it's normally pretty busy. And it used to be an inter-city light-rail route, so it has gentle grades - attractive for cycling. But much of it is also narrow (railway!), only one lane each way. So not good for cycling most of the time; there's not enough road to share. (It was a much flatter route from our house to my old job, but I would go that way only between 02:00-05:00 when traffic to/from McLean was minimal.)
But in these quaran-times, there's more empty time on the road. It's good pavement, much better than most trails. And it's a simple route. At the end of the road you're in Great Falls Park. But the park is closed at night, so I turned left onto Georgetown Pike, and went as far as the Village of Great Falls. Round trip 21.76mi (35.02km). The Pike was hillier and curvier than Old Dominion.
The (just-past?-)full moon was notable. It was cold, 35°F/1.7°C, but I was dressed for it. And there was headwind going out, tailwind returning; counterbalancing the overall downhill out and uphill return. There were a few red lights I had to ignore. (If the sensors don't respond to bicycles, the signal is legally defective.) Overall, a nice route. But I may have to give it up if traffic returns to normal.
I used to ride out to Great Falls when I lived in McLean. There was an outdoor concert series. There's also a Grange Hall where I think they still gather(ed - until quaran-time) for shape-note singing. So some of it was familiar. There's more mansions out there now.
Monday 01:52
I repeated most of Friday night's ride out Old Dominion Dr, but only as far as Georgetown Pike, where I turned around. There was a lovely just-risen waning gibbous moon, looking larger than usual ("supermoon"). I saw lots of foxes again, but sometimes in twos or threes tonight. There was one sitting just off the road with it's back to me, surprised as I rolled up silently behind it, quite close before it looked back and dashed away. And I saw lots of deer tonight, in people's yards. It was warmer tonight, 50°F/10°C. 17.58mi (28.29km).
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/1144243.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]