Fruddled Gruntbugglies

Author: lpaulriddle

  • MTB Deep Freeze

    Written on

    in

    After attending an early-morning geocaching event, I arrived home wide awake at 6:45am, so I hit the PVSP trails for a mountain bike ride. Temperatures were in the upper teens to low 20s, but there wasn’t much wind. I started out on Belmont Trail and rode Morning Choice, Old Track Loop, Nacho, Garrett’s Pass, and Ridge Trail + CJS Extension on the Howard County side, plus Soapstone to Starstruck via Avalon Mill Race trail in Baltimore County. I saw 6 other hardy riders, 3 of whom were solo like me, and 3 in a group. As I was heading home in the eastbound direction on the Mill Race Trail, my rear tire went flat. Not sure what I hit, as I haven’t pulled it off and inspected it yet. But, I’m happy it didn’t happen earlier in the ride.

    For the ride, I wore a winter cycling jersey over a standard long-sleeve jersey over a 32° Heat synthetic long sleeve base layer shirt, long cycling pants, wool socks, Altra waterproof shoes with warming fleece insoles, Gore Bike Wear gloves, Bar Mitts, and medium-weight balaclava. My face was a little bit cold at the start of the ride, but I was perfectly comfortable once I got into the woods. As expected, the frozen trails were fantastic, and I rode through a few patches of frozen mud. Towards the end of the ride, some of the sunnier portions of trail were starting to thaw and get muddy.

    My winter biking gloves have lasted a long time. They are at least 10 years old, and showing their age, but I think they’ve got at least one winter left in them. One thing working in their favor is that I don’t wear them as often as I used to, because I usually can get away with lighter gloves with the Bar Mitts. The exceptions are days like today, when the temperatures are in the teens or below. They are well-made gloves, but I’ve never been crazy about the liners, as they are very difficult to put on when they are damp. That basically means that I can’t take them off during a ride unless I am prepared to either change into different gloves, or spend a lot of time fussing to get them back on. In all the time I’ve had them, though, that hasn’t been enough to deter me from wearing them for cold rides.

  • December Running Notes

    Written on

    in

    ,

    I have settled back into a pretty good running groove since getting over my latest cold and returning home from Boston. I had a 6-day break while I was in Boston — I ran about 10K the first morning I was there, but after that, I couldn’t get the weather to align with my busy conference schedule. I did get plenty of walking in, though, and I was able to complete the Historic Boston GeoTour. Since I returned last Friday, I’ve gone running 3 times. I ran 11.4 miles on Saturday, 7 miles Monday, and 7 miles today (Thursday). My pace is back to where it was prior to last summer — 10:38/mi, 10:22/mi, and 10:33/mi, respectively. All 3 runs were in my Vibram V-Runs. The weather was in the mid-30s to low 40s each day. In hindsight, I should have worn my waterproof shoes on Monday, as the pavement was wet, and my toes got damp and cold. The other two runs were dry, and my feet stayed comfortable. I suspect that when the weather and pavement are dry, I should be able to stay comfortable in the V-Runs down to about freezing. If it’s wet out, the cutoff will likely be around 50°F, and if it’s raining, I may want to wear the V-Runs without socks.

    I’ve had a slight issue with bursitis (or something that feels like it) in my right heel for the past several days. I think I picked it up while geocaching in Morgan Run Environmental Area last weekend. I did quite a bit of scrambling over rocks and steep, uneven terrain, in minimalist Lems Boulder Boots. I probably need to take it a little bit easier going forward, as I’m not a spring chicken any more, and can’t abuse my feet the way I used to. Fortunately, running (unlike walking) does not seem to aggravate the condition, and as of today, it seems to be improving.

    I think I’m going to shoot to run 25 miles a week most weeks through winter and at least early spring. If I continue to run 3 days a week, that works out to two 7-milers during the week, and an 11-12 miler on the weekend. Once a month, I’ll see if I can stretch that to 13.1 miles. Of course, all of this assumes that I don’t have too many setbacks like illness, bursitis, or nerve pain, and that the weather mostly cooperates. I think my conditioning is where it needs to be to do this, but again, I’m not 25 any more. I am, however, quite a better runner than I was when I was 25! Wish me luck.

  • Back on the bike

    Written on

    in

    After a great fall mountain biking season, December has started off slowly. Today’s ride to work was my first time on a bike in 3 weeks. My last commute was Nov 27, and my last bike/geocaching ride was Nov 24. Weather, health, and travel have been the culprits — the fall drought finally broke around the end of November, and now we are in freeze-thaw season, which makes mountain biking tougher. Wednesday is my usual day to ride in to the office, but the past few Wednesdays have been rainy. 10 or 15 years ago, that wouldn’t have stopped me, but nowadays, I’m more apt to just telecommute on rainy days. Last week, I was out of town, and the week before that, I had another cold. On top of that, this time of year, I tend to start eschewing geocaching by bike in favor of hiking. So, there you have it — kind of a perfect storm. I expect the trend will continue for a while. Today was likely my final bike commute of the year (though there’s a small chance I’ll ride in on Friday). We’ve got a cold snap coming up, so I might try to get out on the mountain bike at least one morning next week while the temperatures are below freezing. On the weekends, I’ll likely continue to favor hiking over riding, at least through December, but we’ll see. I’ve learned over the years that with everything going on during the holidays, it’s best to be flexible with planning these kinds of things.

  • Bean Alchemy Elysian Morning Blend

    Written on

    in

    • Beans “Elysian Morning Blend”
      • Roaster: Bean Alchemy Roasters (New Market, MD)
      • Origins: Bolivia, Colombia
      • Roast level: Medium
      • Roast date: 11/21/2024
      • Purchase date: 11/30/2024 at Sykesville Holiday Mart in Westminster, MD
    • V60:
      • 19.5g to 20g coffee / 300g water (1:15.4 to 1:15)
      • Ode: 5
      • Water at 95°C
      • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with 40g bloom water – finishes 02:45-02:50

    I started this bag on 12/14, which is a little longer past roast date than I typically like, but that’s how the timing worked out with travel, etc. this month. It’s only a 10oz bag, so I’ll likely use it up within a week to 10 days. I brewed my first cup using grind setting 3+1, mainly because that setting had worked well for my most recent bag of medium-roasted beans. However, these particular beans seem to like a coarser grind. Setting 5 was a noticeable improvement on 12/15, and as of 12/18, my last 2 or 3 cups at setting 5 have been excellent.

    With winter once again at our doorstep, and the house getting cooler, I’ve gone back to preheating my mug with insta-hot tap water prior to brewing. I used to also pre-rinse the V60 filter with insta-hot water, but lately, I’ve been pre-rinsing with heated water from the kettle. I also have consistently been using the plastic size 2 V60 for all of my brews, because, for whatever reason, I find I get longer draw-down times and better extraction than with the size 1. I still can’t explain this phenomenon, and there don’t seem to be many people commenting on it online. But, “it is what it is”.

    12/22: I used the last of the beans up this morning. The last 3 or 4 cups were decent, but not quite as good as the cups I brewed 12/15 thru 12/18. I tried one cup a little finer at grind setting 4, but it was on the bitter side, so I’m still thinking 5 was the ideal setting (maybe I should have tried an intermediate setting between 4 and 5). I’m thinking that most likely the beans were just getting past their prime. If I buy these again at some point, I’ll try to open and use them up a little sooner.

  • Bean Alchemy Temptation Blend

    Written on

    in

    • Beans: “Temptation Blend”
      • Roaster: Bean Alchemy Roasters (New Market, MD)
      • Origins: Central America, Indonesia
      • Roast level: Medium/Dark
      • Roast date: 11/21/2024
      • Purchase date: 11/30/2024 at Sykesville Holiday Mart in Westminster, MD
      • Process: Washed
    • V60:
      • 19.5g to 20g coffee / 300g water (1:15 to 1:15.4)
      • Ode: 5
      • Water at 90°C
      • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with 40g bloom water – finishes 03:10-03:15
    • AeroPress:
      • 17.5g coffee / 250g water (1:14.3)
      • Ode: 5
      • Water at 95°C
      • Prismo with metal + 1 paper filter (not rinsed)
      • Pour all water at once / Stir back to front 7x / Steep until 02:45 / Stir 7x again / Press slowly
    • Hotel Room AeroPress:
      • 1 heaping scoop beans + (optionally) several more for a stronger cup
      • JX: 25
      • Hot water from single-dose pod brewer machine in room
      • Put Prismo + filters on, do not rinse, add grounds, and fill to 1/4″ from top of cylinder
      • Same brewing process as above

    These beans are very dark and oily, so I’d say more on the side of a dark roast than medium. For V60, I brewed them with the same settings as my last bag of medium/dark roasted beans. The draw-down finished a little faster than those beans, but even given the (relatively) coarse grind, still slower than a typical light or medium roast. The result was a pretty good cup of dark-roasted coffee — robust and smooth, not bitter, and not all that complex.

    My first attempts with the AeroPress were on the bitter side. I probably need to use a coarser grind and/or lower water temperature. I’ll get some more practice next week, as I’ll be brewing a few cups in a hotel room.

    In the hotel, I filled the Keurig up to the “fill here” line using whatever water I had on hand (typically either tap or water cooler water). This produced just about the right amount of hot water for the AeroPress- with the Prismo, it filled the AeroPress cylinder to about 1/4″ from the top. The Prismo makes it possible to use a single paper coffee cup without the need to invert the AeroPress (which would also reduce the capacity). I used my JX hand grinder, initially at setting 20, but 25 ended up producing a smoother cup. I brewed 5 or 6 cups like this, and they were all consistently pretty good.

  • Lola Savannah Wylie Blend Cold Brew

    Written on

    in

    I received a pre-ground bag of this about a month ago. Oddly, I couldn’t find any info about it online — it must truly be a local blend only available around Wylie, TX. Per the bag, it is “100% Arabica beans with rich coconut, pecan, and praline flavorings”. No origin or roast date listed — just a best by date of 7/15/2025. Unfortunately, I think they overdid the coconut flavoring. The coconut aroma overpowers everything else, and it’s it’s more of an artificial, chemical-y kind of smell than anything I’d call pleasant. I suspect it’s best brewed with an automatic drip brewer, but I don’t have one handy to use currently, so I tried a few other methods. It was way too coarse for pour-over, and too fine for French press. AeroPress worked OK, but the coffee was not fantastic, and (as with the aroma) the coconut flavor overpowered everything else. I ended up using most of it to make cold brew with this recipe. After brewing it in the French press, I filtered out the sludge by pouring it through a standard pleated coffee basket filter, which worked, but took a very long time. I got my best cup of it by diluting with about 2 parts unsweetened almond milk to 1 part cold brew, and adding a few drops of chocolate-flavored stevia. This coffee would be much better if they eased up on the coconut flavoring a little bit, but either way, it’s clear that coffee snobs are not their target market. 😛

  • T-Day Run

    Written on

    in

    Today is Thanksgiving, and it started off with rain. I wasn’t sure I would be able to get out for a run before the day’s festivities began, but the stars aligned for me at around 10:00am. It was still drizzling when I left the house, but it let up not too long afterwards. The temperature was in the upper 40s to around 50. I ran in long running pants (in hindsight, I would have worn shorts, but I was assuming it was going to drizzle for the entire run), wool blend long-sleeve shirt, Gore-Tex rain jacket, wool socks, and Xero Mesa Trail Waterproof shoes. It was my second time running in these shoes, and I think in the long term, they’re going to work out well for running in these conditions. They did their job well by keeping my feet dry for the entire run. The first time I took them out, I laced the right shoe too tight, and by the end of the run, I had a “hot spot” on the top of my foot under the tongue. I left them a little looser today, and had no further issues. However, on the left side, I ended up with a blister on my third toe. I had worn Correct Toes under the socks, and I guess they must have been rubbing. It kind of surprised me, because I don’t typically have issues wearing the Correct Toes directly against the skin under regular socks. However, it had been a while since I ran with them. Next time, I’ll either tape the toe, or wear toe socks. As for the run itself, it went fine, with no issues. I went just under 8 miles at around 10:30/mile, which was faster than I had thought when I finished. I suspect I’ll be running in Xeros (either these, or my Terraflex hiking shoes) more often in the coming months, now that colder weather is on the way.

  • Café Medrano Medium Roast

    Written on

    in

    • Beans:
      • Café Medrano Medium Roast Organic (Kensington, MD)
      • Origin: Honduras (Copán)
      • Roast Date: 11/14/2024
      • Purchase date: 11/16/2024 at Chestertown, MD farmer’s market
    • V60:
      • 19g to 19.5g coffee / 300g water
      • Ode: 2+1
      • Water at 99°C
      • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with 40g bloom water – finishes 02:45-03:00

    I believe I had read about Café Medrano a few months back when I was looking for smaller local(ish) roasters. They seem to be unique in that a single family owns both the coffee farms in Honduras, and the roastery/café in the D.C. suburbs. Kensington is (unfortunately) not all that convenient for me to get to regularly, but I wonder if they are at any other local farmer’s markets. I will have to keep an eye out.

    First and second cups (today) were very good at grind setting 3 and 95°C water. We’ll see if it will need tweaking as the beans start to age a bit. I bought a 1-pound bag, so I’ll have them for at least a couple of weeks.

    11/28: After a couple of ever-so-slightly underextracted cups, I made a couple of adjustments, and ended up at grind setting 2+1 and 99°C water. I’ve been happy with the past couple of cups at these settings. It’s not that the previous cups were bad — I just felt that there was room for improvement. This is (coincidentally) the same as how I brewed the bag I finished just before these. The difference is that those were light-roasted beans, and these are medium-roasted beans. However, over time, I’ve learned that those terms are rather subjective.

  • An autumn to remember

    Written on

    in

    , , ,

    The title says it all here — it has been an eventful fall, for many reasons, some good and some bad.

    Good: My nephew’s wedding. He’s the first in the next generation of the family to marry. It was a great weekend in D.C.

    Bad: Losing my cousin. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was too soon, and it was rough.

    Good: Visiting college friends who recently moved to Florida. I see more of this kind of thing in our future.

    Bad: My annual October/November respiratory illness. For future reference: It started with a sore throat on 10/23, while we were still in FL. The viral part was mild. It never totally knocked me off my feet, and I’m not sure I ever even ran a temperature. The bad part was the aftermath: 3 weeks of laryngitis and middle ear/Eustachian tube congestion (flying a couple of times during the initial onset didn’t help). 4 weeks later, it’s almost out of my system, and I can finally talk normally again, but still have occasional ETD issues. The ETD has mainly affected the right ear, but I did have it in my left ear for a couple of days earlier on.

    Bad: Losing one of our cats.

    Good: Spending 2 days in Chestertown, MD, for our 24th anniversary. Great town.

    Good: Running my first half marathon at age 54 (this morning). This was one of the goals I had set for myself earlier this year, but the outcome was in doubt after a rather tough summer for running and various other obstacles that life threw in the way (some of which are listed above). The run went well, and I averaged 11-minute miles on a windy morning over hilly terrain, which isn’t too shabby for me. I’ve been slower this year than last year, for many of the same reasons it took me so long to go 13.1 miles. However, I did run 6.8 miles at 10:10/mile this past Thursday, so I don’t think I’ve lost a step — It’s more likely that I was just out of practice, and need to work up to faster speeds the same way I worked on increasing my mileage this fall. Not sure where I’ll go from here, goal-wise, but for now, I’m just going to try to run this distance about once per month through spring.

  • Final Paddle of 2024?

    Written on

    in

    I’ve found that the keys to successful weekday morning pre-work paddling are:

    1. Use a launch that is 20 or fewer minutes from home
    2. Plan the paddling route ahead of time to estimate how long it will take
    3. Do as much preparation as possible on the evening prior to paddling:
      • Put kayak on car
      • Gather supplies and clothes together
    4. Leave the house by 7:00am

    I was hoping to get out last Tuesday, but didn’t do #2 or #3, and got moving too late for #4. I had better luck today. I launched from Solley Cove Park and paddled upstream on Marley Creek until a little ways past Rt 10. It’s about 3.5 miles one way, and today was the first time I’ve paddled this far along it. It’s kind of like a different world there — very nice and secluded, with lots of waterfowl. The water was deep enough that I didn’t have to worry much about bottoming out. I probably could have gotten a little farther than I did, but the creek was getting narrow and there were a lot of downed branches, and I didn’t want to get stranded by a receding tide (turns out I was there near high tide, but I didn’t know that at the time). I was on the water for a little over 2 hours. The morning started off in the upper 40s, but warmed to near 60 by the time I finished. Initially, I wore my wetsuit, paddling hoodie, neoprene paddling socks and boots, paddling jacket, and pogies. I ditched the pogies after a couple of miles, and at my turnaround point, I traded the hoodie for a hat. Along the way, I saw the usual bevy of blue heron, cormorants, gulls, ducks, geese, and at least one bald eagle. It was a great morning for a paddle, with very little wind (unlike the same day last year). That was my final paddle of 2023, and I suspect today will end up being 2024’s swan song, but as they say, you never know!