26th birthday? Or was it 25? Or possibly 27?

It's tough to say exactly which birthday it was, but one year Katherine and I went to pick apples at an orchard out near Poolesville. We had a fantastic time! I can't recall what varieties of apples we picked, but I think we were a little late for most things. We did, however, see a goat walk up a long series of planks and stand on top of a flag pole. (It was reminiscent of seeing the orangutans on the "O-Line" at the National Zoo.) Some guy thought I worked there and started asking me questions about the goats, then got all mad when I gave him a blank stare. That put a little damper on the day, but we got over it pretty quickly.

For those of you who haven't followed my brief, and unremarkable, cycling career, you'll also be interested to learn that Poolesville is the scene of my greatest cycling exploits, including 3rd in the Poolesville High School Road Race (after a race-long breakaway), a disappointing 8th at the Michael P. Murad Memorial Road Race (due to some weird miscommunication, after a race-long breakaway), leading Brucetravis to second in the PHSRR another year, and leading Brucetravis to victory in the MABRA Road Race Championships. Great roads in that area, if you ever get a chance to ride out there.

Also, here's a picture of me in a breakaway in the PHSRR. Note that this is from my younger, softer years when I wore gloves. Weak. Somewhere there's a good picture of me with bare hands that looks much more awesome.