Okay, I have a bunch of random stuff that's on my mind and I need to empty out my head (hence the post title) before trying to tackle this toggle-multiple-checkboxes-javascript problem.

I'm sure I've complained about the W&OD trail before (browse the Bicycling category). When I say I don't like the W&OD, I mean I don't like the 90% of other bikers. Peds, runners, dogs, etc. all are fine. It's my fellow two wheeled comrades I have issues with:

1. This is a multi use trail, not a training track. That means YOU, tri geeks and wannabe ITTers. Blasting along at 25 mph, leaning on your aerobars and swerving in and out of trail traffic is pointless, not to mention dangerous to the rest of us. If you want to play Speed Biker, do it on I-66. (Or look for on-road bike routes.) Dumbass.
2. LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING THE ROAD. It's one of the first traffic rules you learn as a kid! (That, and hold a grownup's hand.) Not long ago, I saw this guy zip across two intersections without even looking. I know for a fact that both of these crossings aren't the type you can scope out without stopping. I at least slow waaaaayyy down so in case there is a car coming that I didn't see, I can stop in time. This guy didn't even look up! He just flew down the hill, across the road, then back through the next crossing and then swinging left onto the road. Dude. Are you TRYING to get killed?
3. Along the lines of looking both ways… people who are too lazy to stop and unclip from their pedals at a stoplight. I saw a guy who rode halfway across the crosswalk at Gallows Rd (against the light) and then started weaving in teeny little circles in the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD while traffic was zooming by in both directions! Really… is your own life worth the 30 extra seconds you save by doing that?
4. Dudes that smoke cigarettes while riding their bikes.

Okay, I feel a little better now.

Second item. Last night I went to the DC United vs. Houston Dynamo [the postponed version of the postponed game] in hopes of seeing my home team trounce the 2007 MLS Cup Champions. No such luck. The first half (which I missed about 23 minutes of due to staying late at work) was pretty dismal performance-wise. In the meantime, a very large storm system was making its way toward D.C…. and the skies finally opened up around the 50th minute. The guys kept playing while we chanted even louder in hopes of boosting our flagging team's morale. Finally, 6 minutes later, the stadium lights went out (AGAIN! Fenty, we need a new stadium!) and play was halted. Meanwhile, we kept jumping up and down and cheering until the lightning/thunder forced us inside.

I decided to call it quits around 9:30, as the field had basically turned into a muckity mess and I was convinced they'd call the game in favor of Houston. Not quite. Turns out they decided to wait out the worst, squeegee the fields, and restart the game… two hours later. And we still lost.

To some degree, I'm not shocked — the Dynamo whooped our asses last Saturday at the SuperLiga game, and they're overall a very, very good team. It didn't help that the team is a) exhausted from the slew of recent matches, b) missing 20% of the roster due to injuries, c) without our $1.5 million Argentinean sensation due to excuse (b), and d) playing in a stadium that is 50 years old and is basically falling down around them. (That last part doesn't fit in with the other excuses, but I wanted to take the opportunity to point out that a team as hardworking as DCU deserves something that'll stay lit up for a full 90 minute game.)

A few weeks ago I mentioned I was planning on biking to work. I'm finally doing it, and so far it's been relatively successful.

This isn't the first job where I've rode my bike to work. When I was 18, I rode to my summer job almost every day (~12 miles round trip) and went through the entire summer on 1 1/2 tanks of gas in my car. (I had to get to the barn somehow.) A few years later, I rode to my summer internship at Pratt & Whitney (~16 miles round trip). In 2005, I biked to my job at EchoDitto (Fairfax -> Arlington), and then in 2006 from Rosslyn to Georgetown.

Anyway, it's about 21 miles round trip, and takes me anywhere from 40-50 minutes. Going to work takes longer than going home as it's 95% uphill and I'm loaded down with my lunch… sans daily can of Diet Coke. I figure I can do without the 12 extra ounces.

The only thing that really stinks is getting out of the Tysons Corner area. My office is basically gridlocked by Routes 7 and 123, the Toll Road, and 495. Essentially, in order to get to relatively safe roads, I have to be Really Careful: crossing Route 7 to the frontage road is one bad spot, then across 123, then Old Courthouse. I'd feel more comfortable if there were crosswalks there (have already put a call into VDOT in hopes they'll consider it, especially since the Dulles Metrorail extension is supposed to go right through there).

Since I am not super hardcore, I'm hoping to do this about three times a week… perhaps more, depending on how high the price of gas gets. But either way, it's nice to be out in the air and sunshine instead of stuck in traffic.

No, not the computer virus or the narsty Mountain Dew. I'm talking about the air quality index, thanks in part to the Hades-caliber heat we've had over the past two days.

Air Quality indexes basically fall into 7 different levels, much like the absurd minorly informative Homeland Security Threat Level system. Good (0-50) is green, moderate (51-100) is yellow, not-so-great/"Unhealthy for sensitive groups" (101-150) is orange, and so on until we've reached maroon, a.k.a. "there's been a volcanic eruption, and if you haven't died from that, you'll probably get emphysema in 10 minutes and die in another 20" (301-500).

This week is my unofficial three year anniversary of living in the D.C. area, and probably my first experience of a "Code Red" day. I knew that the combination of heat, humidity, and pollution was probably going to up the index but didn't realize that it was that bad until I saw an Arlington ART bus pass by with "Free Rides Today" flashing. That being said — it's nice to know proactive steps are being taken when the air is this unhealthy. Not only is it good for those who would otherwise be walking and breathing in tainted air, but it also cuts down on emissions. Well, theoretically.

That being said… my goal this summer is to start biking to work again. I had a pretty good gig going when I first moved down to DC - I was living in Fairfax, so I would bike to work in Arlington, bike home, then drive to the barn to ride. Then, when I moved to Arlington and started working in the city, I'd ride to work, back home, then drive to the barn. Pattern that works with biking to work: home -> work -> home -> barn. Pattern that doesn't: home -> work -> barn -> home, which is what I doing when I went to the barn every day. Now that I'm horseless and only have to ride a few times a week, it frees up three days for me to bike to work.

Now that it's June, and I have no more excuses to avoid bike commuting, I need to get my ass in gear. I think I've found a route, it's only about 9 or 10 miles door to door. Stay tuned for adventures in bike commuting. One less car! (Three times a week.)

DC exploration ride #2… a.k.a., "I am a complete moron."

In a nutshell: went up through N. Arlington, across Chain Bridge (yes, you are supposed to use the sidewalk, otherwise you can't get to the bike path - learned that the hard way), through Friendship Heights/Chevy Chase, into Rock Creek Park, totally missed my turn and didn't realize it until I was practically in Silver Spring, eventually found my way into NE D.C. (a complete 180 from the posh suburbia that lays a few streets west), realized if I continued my original route it would take me closer to 40 miles instead of the 30 I had planned and thus considered taking the metro home. Then it occurred to me that taking the metro requires a) money or b) my SmartTrip card, neither of which I had… so I picked my way downtown over to Georgetown, across the Key Bridge, and safely back in Arlington.

I'll have to put this in more detail later, but again I highly doubt anyone actually reads this frequently enough to care that I'm cutting out early.

As you can see below, I ended up having to double back once and then ended up north of Walter Reed, not south as I had originally intended.

Modified route:

Yesterday's ride was "educational," as Marty McFly would say. I decided to use my D.C. bike map and for once, actually ride in the city that I claim to live in. (Which, in reality, is Arlington, but "DC" sounds so much cooler.)

The only problem I could foresee was how to get downtown without getting mauled by an errant MetroBus driver. Unfortunately, this required riding on some sidewalks (after the Rock Creek Park trail ended and required me to cross the RC Pwky), which was NOT fun as the monuments were crawling with tourists. Silly me, I thought it being a holiday would mean people were spending all day in church! Apparently not, and I felt like a complete tool for having to ride on the sidewalk until I hit Jefferson Dr.

Being on the New Bike, I didn't have a bell, and I was a bit worried I'd run down some toddler or old person. (That leash law I talked about earlier would help out a lot here.) For some reason, either no one hears and/or understands me if I say, "On your left" when I'm trying to pass someone. However, I noticed a lot people didn't need a verbal warning. New Bike has Campagnolo components, and true to Campy fashion, the freewheel is super noisy… so whenever I coast, my bike emits this loud zizz-zizz-zizz-zizz sound and people turn around and go, "What the…?" — as if some gigantic bee is about to land on them.

Anyway. My turnaround point was RFK Stadium, and I figured I'd give my friend Bobby a shoutout by taking a photo of me with his old 'home' in the background.

I originally intended to head back through the Mall and past the Washington monument as before, but instead I figured I'd risk the [surprisingly minimal] traffic and go down Independence and then cut across the Tidal Basin. (Yes, my bike rides on water.)

Actually, I just did the sidewalk thing again. Which turned out to be worthwhile, as I spotted a giant, black furry dog wearing sunglasses. (Turns out they're Doggles.) Back across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, then around to the Mt. Vernon trail, where I stopped and took this photo:

One of many large clusters of daffodils planted along the trail (marked on the map below). I passed on taking a photo with the Lincoln Memorial in the background, as the smelly shores of TR Island were in the way.

Cyclometer says 24 miles ridden — the map isn't entirely accurate, as I'm not going to point out where I live, so the start point isn't right. You just, just in case there's actually someone reading this and feels the need to egg my house.