Fruddled Gruntbugglies

Author: lpaulriddle

  • Ride/Brew Notes

    Today’s ride took me west from Bethany to Frankford (DE) and back, passing through the town of Omar along the way. On the whole, this is a more pleasant ride than south through Bayard, because there is less traffic, and the roads are wider and more bike-friendly. The town of Frankford itself is something of an exception, with more traffic and narrower roads that are not exceptionally well-maintained, but that’s a rather small portion of the ride. My total distance was just under 24 miles, which is about what I set out for today. From Frankford, the route can be extended by heading north to Dagsboro, South to Selbyville, or even east to Fenwick via DE-20 and DE-54.

    I’ve been making a glass of cold brew every day this week, and I think I’ve gotten it nailed down to this recipe:

    1. Pre-moisten 2 new or used paper AeroPress filters
    2. Set AeroPress up in inverted orientation
    3. Add 1 heaping scoop (roughly 15 grams) Wellsley Farms Breakfast Blend pre-ground medium roast coffee
    4. Fill AeroPress a little over halfway with room temperature water
    5. Stir vigorously for 1 minute
    6. Press slowly into an 8-ounce glass
    7. Add ice and top with water

    I had been brewing this in standard orientation previously, but a lot of water was dripping through while stirring, which the inverted orientation avoids. I think inverted produced a slightly superior result, but I’d have to do a blind taste test to say for sure. Next time, I think I’m going to try topping off with milk or cream, and see how that tastes.

    I also found that using the drip coffee brewer makes a better hot cup with this coffee than the AeroPress method I was using earlier in the week. I’ve been using 4 level tablespoons coffee to 8 ounces (1 cup) water. I’m sure I could get better results from the AP with a little bit of tweaking, but haven’t really bothered fooling around with it.

  • Run Notes

    I ran at the shore for a second time this week. I had hoped to do a 10-miler today, but it was extremely humid, and I was only carrying 16 ounces of water. In spite of that, I ran just over 8 miles at 11 minutes/mile on average. I started out faster than on Monday, and really slowed down towards the end as the temperature was rising, but at no point did I feel like I was struggling. My form felt great throughout, with no discomfort or muscle tightness anywhere. It was the best I’ve felt on a run in a while. If I had had more water and/or some kind of electrolyte drink or energy gel, I could have easily gone farther. I feel like I’ve acclimated to running in the humidity, but if I want to go farther than 6 to 8 miles, I’m probably going to need to invest in a hydration vest. With that said, I do like the Amphipod 16-ounce soft water bottle I’ve been running with lately. When I first started out, I was using a hip belt with a holder for a regular bike-style water bottle, and I used to hate how the water would slosh around in the hard plastic bottle. The soft bottle contracts as I drink the water, so there’s no air in there, and hence, no sloshing. I wasn’t sure I was going to like having to carry the bottle in my hand, but it really doesn’t get in the way at all. It’s a great bottle for shorter runs in warm/humid conditions.

  • Millsboro Pond

    Today’s paddle brought us to Millsboro Pond in Sussex County, DE. This is about a 30 minute drive west from where we are staying in Bethany Beach. I had paddled here at about the same time last year, and wanted to come back with my better half. We spent 90 leisurely minutes on the water and covered about 3 miles. The area of the pond to the north of the boat launch is mostly undeveloped, shallow, and scenic, with lots of wildlife. We saw numerous herons, turtles, dragonflies, damselflies, and various and sundry other creatures. Lily pads are plentiful, and there are a lot of really nice little side channels to explore. I believe this is a man-made pond. I’ve never paddled south from the launch, where I presume the dam is located. From what I’ve seen from the road, that part of the pond is more developed, with numerous docks, waterfront homes, artificial erosion barriers, etc., all of which make it less desirable for paddling in my book (if I wanted developed shoreline, all I have to do is drive 15 minutes from home to Anne Arundel County). There are several geocaches placed around the north end of the pond, and that’s what initially brought me here. I found several of them last year, and a couple of them today, leaving a couple more for a future visit.

    I’m hoping to get out in the kayaks one more time while we are at the shore. I’ve been eying Strawberry Landing or nearby Sassafras Landing, both of which are 15 to 20 minutes south of Bethany, and will give us an opportunity to check out Little Assawoman Bay. I rode my bike to the Sassafras Landing launch last year, and it looked like a nice place to paddle.

  • Beach Brew

    I brought my AeroPress on vacation with me, along with a big bag of Wellsley Farms Breakfast Blend pre-ground coffee, in hopes of using most of it up before its “best before” date in early August. After a few rather unsuccessful attempts to brew a good hot cup with the equipment available to me here, I decided to try the cold brew recipe from the AeroPress web site. I’ve tried making regular cold brew in a French press, which takes 24 hours and requires a coarse grind. I’ve also tried making pour-over iced coffee, also with the Wellsley Farms pre-ground beans. Both turned out pretty good, but I think the cold brew was slightly better. The AeroPress recipe produced a decent cup more quickly than the French Press and with less work than making pour-over iced coffee. I’ll probably experiment with this recipe a few more times this week. One thing that I noticed is that the long stir time allows more water than usual to drip through the filter before pressing. I might eventually try brewing this with the AP inverted (which would avoid the dripping) and see if it makes any noticeable difference.

  • Biking Notes

    Today, I took an out-and-back trip from Bethany Beach to Isle of Wight Park near Ocean City, MD. It was the first of (hopefully) 2 or 3 rides at the shore this week. My round trip distance was just under 34 miles. I rode my Masi single speed bike, which is my favorite bike to ride in coastal areas, as the flat terrain makes multiple gears mostly unnecessary. It was a really nice day for July on the east coast, but traffic has really picked up along this route in the post-COVID years, particularly near the town of Bayard. Once I crossed the border into Maryland, the roads quieted down, and I was able to enjoy the ride a little bit more. My main reason for visiting Isle of Wight park was to find a “Cache Across Maryland” geocache, plus a bonus cache. I skipped a few other caches in the area because they were back in the woods, and I forgot to bring bug repellent, which is a necessity around here this time of year, unless you really like ticks and mosquito bites.

    This was likely my longest ride of the week. The next time I get out, I’m planning on riding east to Frankford, which is about a 20-25 mile round trip. If I can get out a third time, I’ll either head north toward Holt’s Landing, or south to Fenwick Island.

  • Run Notes

    I’m at the shore this week, and hope to get 2 or 3 runs in while I’m here. Today, I ran 8.75 miles, which is farther than I had run in almost a month. It’s typically slightly more humid, but slightly cooler, at the shore than at home this time of year, and today was par for the course. I got out at 7:00am, when the temperature was still near the nighttime low of 70°F, with a dewpoint of 69 — higher than it presently is back home, but lower than it was when I last ran at home. It was the best weather I’ve had for a run in about two weeks, and my energy and form felt pretty good throughout. Everything is flat here, without much variation in terrain, so you can get into a groove and just kind of zone out, although there are a couple of spots along my route where I have to look out for traffic. I am kind of hoping to get a 10-miler in this week, but only if circumstances permit, so we’ll see if it ends up happening.

  • Pool Notes

    I had to add acid to the pool this morning for the first time this season. I think this is the latest it has ever gone before needing acid. The season started off cool, and we have yet to have a big heat wave with multiple days in the 90s (though it has been plenty humid) and as a result, the water has stayed cool as well. It finally edged over 82 yesterday, and the pH has been stable at 7.8 up until today.

    I forgot to turn the SWG back on after draining a bunch of water out of the pool yesterday morning (crazy amount of rain over the past several days) and as a result, the pool dropped from 5-6ppm Chlorine to 3ppm yesterday, which is a little bit lower than I like to keep it. I have a bucket of 73% Calcium Hypochlorite that I keep around for “emergency” chlorination, because it has a much longer shelf life than liquid Chlorine. I had not used the Cal-Hypo in over a year, and it has been sitting out in my shed the entire time. I added around 2 pounds yesterday evening, and this morning, the pool was at 8ppm free Chlorine. So, I’d say the stuff is still good. I left it indoors overnight, and by morning, the room smelled like a pool store, so I think the shed is still the right place for it. It definitely needs ventilation, as the container seems to out-gas a lot, and I know from experience that the fumes are corrosive. I’m happy to have the Cal-Hypo on hand when I need it, but for the future, I probably don’t need 50 pounds of it. A 25-pound bucket should be plenty, and is easier to handle.

  • Today’s Brew Recipe

    • Beans: Lost Dog Coffee “Mocha Sidamo” Organic Dark Roast (Ethiopia)
    • 17 grams coffee, 200 grams brew water
    • 85°C water
    • JX 1 rotation plus 6 clicks, or 36 total clicks (fine)
    • 2 pre-moistened paper filters
    1. 20 second pour
    2. 1 minute steep (no bloom or agitation)
    3. 30 second press

    This is basically a simplified version of V60 Style Aeropress (dark roast) that uses less water and eliminates the bypass. It brewed a better cup than the recipe I used yesterday, but still not the best cup I’ve gotten out of these beans. I’m still trying to figure out what I did that time and how to replicate it, but I guess I’m getting closer. Previously, I brewed the recipe at the same ratio, but used 160 grams of brew water and 40 grams of bypass. I’m curious if the bypass makes any real difference in the taste. Maybe I should brew two cups and do a blind taste test. Unfortunately, I’m starting to run low on these beans… 😀

  • Today’s Run Notes

    It’s pretty miserable out there today. Not overly hot, but very humid. I didn’t get out for my run until 9:00, and by then, it was 80°F with a dewpoint of 72°, with bright sunshine (in contrast to recent days, which have been mostly cloudy to overcast in the mornings). My first note to myself is that I really, really have to get out of the house earlier on days when it is this humid. Before 7:00am would be ideal. My chosen route had less shade than usual, because the sun had already reached a lot of areas which typically have shade earlier in the morning. I only made it 4 miles before I had to stop to avoid overheating. My splits tell the story: mile 1 was 10:47/mile, mile 2 was 11:24/mile, mile 3 was 12:22/mile, and mile 4 was 13:49/mile. I walked another 1.3 miles to get home, so my total distance on the morning was 5.3 miles. In spite of the poor weather, it felt like an OK run form-wise. I’m getting better at maintaining a high cadence in varying conditions, even though, similar to Wednesday, my average cadence (177 steps per minute) was slightly slower than ideal.

    Noteworthy today was that I ran with my new Xero HFS shoes instead of my usual Vibram V-Runs. I ordered a size 11.5 because the web site says they run small, but I probably would have been fine with size 11, as this pair feels a tiny bit large. Ironically, my Xero Terraflex trail shoes were too small at size 11, but perfect at 11.5. Go figure. Today’s run went just fine. The shoes didn’t feel like they were getting in the way, although they definitely felt “larger” than my Vibrams. I suspect that the HFS will make better winter running shoes than the Vibrams, as I’ll be able to wear warmer wool socks with them. Looking forward to testing that theory out in several months.

    No huge issues with my right ankle/foot today. It bothers me more while walking than running, I guess because of the different biomechanics involved. I did some foam rolling, light stretching, and warm-ups before going out. My right calf seems less tight today than yesterday. I’m going to keep trying to improve my ankle mobility. In particular, I’ve been doing more heel walking to try to work my tibialis anterior muscles, which oppose the calf muscles. We’ll see how this goes over time.

  • Brew Notes

    I brewed my Lost Dog Mocha Sidamo dark roast beans today using this exact recipe, just as an experiment, as it produces great results with my other bag of medium/medium-dark beans. I had brewed a variation of the same recipe with the Mocha Sidamo beans recently, and noted that it seemed a little under-extracted, so it seemed logical to try upping the temperature a little bit and using a tiny bit finer grind size. It turned out… okay, but a little bit weak tasting. Flavor-wise, it seemed fine, so maybe I need more coffee to get the richer taste I’m looking for. Or, maybe this just isn’t the ideal recipe to be using with dark roast. I seemed to get better results using a different recipe that calls for a finer grind and shorter brew time. I found this article, which has some good info about brewing dark roasted beans, and it seems to support the theory that shorter brew times are better. It’s worth noting that I preferred the other recipe at around a 1:12 ratio, while today’s was 1:13.3. I should try brewing both recipes at 1:12, and see which one turns out better. That would mean 17 grams of coffee to 200 grams of water (actually around 1:11.8).