With it getting later and later in the year, it's very dark when I leave for work at 6:30. I rode down to Bluemont Park to see if the Italians would show for practice, but it was still dark when I got there and waiting around until after seven for it to get light would have made me later for work than I wanted to be.

The weather in the morning is pretty chilly and I was glad to have some gloves on--even though my fingers got very cold. I figure eventually I'm going to have to switch to full gloves and put on my sweatpants to ride in. I'm already riding in my longsleeve shirt for the duration of the ride. The temperature was probably around 45 or so.

I'm noticing more and more folks from the races out on the trails in the morning and afternoon. Yesterday I spotted the Women's MABRA leader as I was coming home and today I rode behind a guy on the Rockville Harley Davidson team as I was leaving Arlington.

I tried to find another cross practice in Lake Fairfax Park after work, but the sun was setting and I didn't find te park immediately off the trail. Maybe I'll make it some other time. I probably added five miles of riding down various roads to find an entrance.

The rest of my ride was fairly typical, with the exception of sucking off of a guy riding a Seven road bike. He past me as I was getting back on the trail and I had to drop the hammer to stay with him. He was riding 23's and because I'm lazy, I'm still riding my cyclocross tires. But I did manage to stay either on his wheel or directly beside him all the way to the Vienna Depot. It was a good interval to do on a Wednesday. I think he was chilling a little bit since he rode the stretch with his arms draped over his handlebars.

After he turned off, I settled back in to an easy pace and felt terrific. I was turning the gears soo smoothly. In comparison to running, at least for me, the smoothness with which I ride is comparable to the "pop" that I talk about running. It's the sweet spot of cycling. Everything just feels right. I rode up the Wilson Blvd. hill spinning my gears at a stupid fast cadence and I climbed it better than I can remember.