Bull Run Shooting Center, sporting clays, Browning Maxus, and Stevens 311 16 gauge
It finally warmed up enough to do something outside. While there is definitely a lot of snow in these pictures, it was actually in the 50s and sunny. Not a bad day for some clays at Bull Run Shooting Center. We threw the Browning Maxus and my old Stevens 311 in the truck and headed out.
My dad got to break in his new filson shooting vest that I got him for xmas. I finally found a cheap box of ammo that works in my Stevens 311. Its hard enough to find 16 gauge, but 16 gauge with a soft primer for an old gun is even worse. Fortunately, my local dicks has remington game loads that fed flawlessly in the 311. I went through 4 boxes without a single issue. Rio, Fiocchi, and Federal have primers that are too hard. I did find some winchester that works, but not at a good price point. This Remington gets the job done on the cheap, and I couldn’t be happier.
We enjoyed the mild weather and broke a lot of clays. Great day.
Bull Run Shooting Center has a learn to shoot class that only costs $35. I’ve done this class when a friend, and its definitely geared toward the first time shooter. They have a new class that teaches you the basics, and how to shoot a game. I assume they teach you 5 stand, trap, skeet, etc. They have everything you need to shoot, and its included in the cost of the classes. Don’t forget to tip the instructor. If you know how to shoot, then you don’t need anymore info from me. But if you’re looking for a local shooting instructor, the desk at the shooting center can put you in contact with one. When I wanted to get good enough to hunt, I took lessons with an instructor by the name of Dennis. I’d definitely recommend you ask for him at the front desk. Here is some more info from another blog; looks like BRSC is ADA compliant/accessible. Pretty cool.
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House of Cards’ Frank Underwood can do 500 meters in 1:39 on his water rowing machine (erg)
I finished House of Cards season 2 a while back. I’ve been meaning to post about Frank Underwood’s 500 meter time. In the show, he says he can knock out 500m in 1:39. Its been a good while since my competitive rowing days, and even then I was a coxswain. I was skeptical about Frank’s time and even more so about my ability to even come close to 1:39. I gave it a try the other day, and barely came in at 2 minutes even. I realized later I didn’t have the resistance all the way up on the machine, but I don’t even know if that matters. What I do know, is that I have my doubts about a middle aged politician rowing such an impressive time…
Be sure to Click Here to see my post about rowing in DC, heavy with pictures!
***Update: I’ve tried the FU Erg Challenge a few more times since my first post, mostly as a workout warm up. Even with the resistance at 10, my best time is still about 1:58. However, Frank and I have different rowing machines. See my other HOC posts (linked above and below) for details and links about the specifics.
******Update II: Since season three came out, I’ve had a lot of renewed interest in this post. Friend of the blog, David, did a little investigating, and had this to say:
Rented Water rower after watching House of Cards. There is no way that Frank Underwood did 500 meters in 1:39. The Water rower has a computerized meter and at 30 strokes a minute it measures about 3:50 for 500 meters. The only way he did that in 1:39 is that there was NO resistance and they put the sound of the water in afterwords. The more resistance the harder it would be to pull and the more time it would take. I rowed with the video and all he did was 30 strokes a minute. Frank Underwood is a compulsive liar so it is plausible he lied to Clair about his skills. 1:39 NO WAY!!!
In researching Frank’s assertion of his prowess , I Googled the world record for 500 meters on a rowing machine and found it to be around 1:29. I watched a video of said record done by a weight lifter with legs and arms like trees, so we can assume we have been Underwooded!!!!!
When I’m not rowing indoors, I like to be out on the Potomac (Maybe in season 3 Frank will take up the sport for real). To find out about where I row in DC, and more about FU/rowing, Click Here.
Read my post to learn how to smoke bbq like Freddy here.
I also have another HOC S2 post about the Civil War episode, Here.
If you’d just like to see more about this southern gentleman inside the beltway, click the title of my blog to see my most current posts. Thanks for checking out the blog, and feel free to follow me on twitter @bonvivantva
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NASCARs back
If you still have it on the DVR, I won’t ruin it for you. I don’t really have a driver right now, but the manufacturer I wanted to win did cross first. I used to be a Clint Bowyer fan when he was in a Chevy, but I can’t in good conscience root for a ‘yota. I at least need to get behind a team so I can be more into it this season. I’ll leave y’all with a couple of clips to get you in the racing mood.
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Evening out in DC
The wife and I got some Wizard tickets from my parents that they couldn’t use, and I made some reservations at Zaytinya. Neither of us had been to Zaytinya in about 5 years or so, so we were excited. We started out with cocktails (3pm in Istanbul for her, Turkish Storm for me), and butternut squash hummus.
The hummus was crazy. Its going to be hard to go back to plain hummus. The next three mezza to come out were the snail kibbeh, octopus santorini, and loucaniko sausage.
Everything was so good, its hard to find a standout. That said, the snails were particular good. I wouldn’t miss the octopus either.
The last two courses were the meatballs, and lamb kleftico (a special, and probably the best food of the night).
We order a couple more drinks, the fashionably date and a serefe, and a mini greek apricot yogurt dessert to share. Everything tasted amazing. This is definitely one of the best meals I’ve had in a good while. I’ll probably try to recreate or at least use some of the drinks as a muse. The fashionably date is essentially a manhattan with date syrup, and the turkish storm would just require one to make some syrup flavored with cardamom.
The game was insane. Awesome ending. And we saw Wolf again, but not as close this time.
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Sound Body
Swimsuit season will quickly be upon us. House of Cards season two was just released on netflix. What better time for a post about rowing. This time, I’ll focus on indoor rowing, but once the Potomac’s water temp reaches 55 degrees, I’ll be on the water.
* Update, click here for my picture heavy post about the first row of the season!
Frank Underwood likes the natural feel of water resistance, but I prefer the model I grew up using, the Concept 2. I would definitely recommend trying a rowing machine out at the gym before purchasing one. I rowed in high school, but as a coxswain, my technique didn’t need to be all that great. Add a decade of not rowing, and then jump back into it, and you’ve got a recipe for injury. I managed to tweak my back last season, but I’m easing myself back into it. To be clear, I believe I hurt my back rowing an actual boat, not training. I don’t think that the rowing machine is any more or less dangerous than any other machine at the gym. I do believe that the potential benefits of rowing certainly outweigh the risks. My friend that learned to row last year loves it, and fully intends to join me on the water again this year.
If you’re looking to get into the sport, Thompson Boat Center in Georgetown has a great learn to row program that gets you on the water the second day of class. I did this class last year with a friend (pictured below), and it was a blast. Upon graduation, you qualify to rent sculls and go out on your own.
If you do decide to give indoor rowing a try, make sure you get someone at your gym to explain proper technique to you, and this video won’t hurt either (***Update, my back has healed, and is good to go):
If you’ve rowed before, then you may know the basics, but its always good to have a refresher on what not to do. This may have helped me last season:
When I was rowing in high school, rage against the machine was pretty popular. It also made for great workout music. I’ll leave y’all with a video that I find quite apropos, and a short playlist to get you in the workout mood.
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The Winter Olympics
http://gearpatrol.com/2014/01/30/ode-winter-pentathlon/
The above link describes the winter pentathlon, a one time event held in 1948. The event is described thusly:
“A winter pentathlete in 1948 did the following in rapid succession: cross country skiing, shooting, downhill skiing, horse riding and…fencing.” ”
When the pentathlon was reintroduced in 1912, it was said that it:
“tested a man’s moral qualities as much as his physical resources and skills, producing thereby the ideal, complete athlete”
The modern pentathlon as explained by wikipedia:
“The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport that comprises five events: fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a final combined event of pistol shooting, and a 3200 m cross-country run.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_pentathlon
I enjoy downhill skiing, shooting, and horseback riding, but I’ve never competed as a skier. I’d love to try cross country skiing and fencing. The only competitive shooting I’ve done is with shotguns (and 22s as a boy scout), but I do know my way around a pistol. I’ve also done some show jumping as a young man. My point is that I’d love to see the winter pentathlon reintroduced. That would definitely be my favorite sport to watch. As it stands how, I’ll probably only watch ice hockey and maybe some biathlon.
The Olympics start on the 6th, but most coverage starts on the 8th.
http://www.sochi2014.com/en/schedule-and-results
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Football and BBQ
I got my dad a smoker for xmas. He called me about coming over and breaking her in before the big game. I got on the interwebs and found a recipe for beef back ribs (something I hadn’t smoked before), called around until I found some (all the way out in Springfield), threw some beers in the cooler, cooler in the truck, and headed over.
There a ton of info out there on what to buy, and how to get started smoking, so I won’t get into it in depth. I will say that no matter what kind of charcoal cooking you do, you’d be crazy not to start without a charcoal chimney. To keep an even temp in the Weber Smokey Mountain, I used the minion method. For wood, we chose mesquite and apple. Mesquite can impart too strong of a flavor in some meats, and for some people, but I tend to like it most of the time. When the grill got up to temp, and I’d rubbed the ribs and threw them on, I headed back inside. My mom isn’t a beer drinker, so I made her a margarita.
The instructions I found online for the beef ribs called for about a 5 hour smoke, so we had some time to kill. The wife got some buffalo chicken dip going in the crockpot, and we headed downstairs for some pool, pinball, and darts.
At 4:30 or so our friends started arriving. I sauced half of the ribs about then, and left the rest dry. I pulled them at 5, let them rest, and then served.
One of the wives made peanut butter cup cakes, and another guest brought a peanut butter porter. It was a pretty crazy combo. The ribs were a big hit. None of us really had a team to root for, but we had good food, good friends, and plenty of beer, so it was a great night.
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Soccer
The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is right around the corner (this summer). I couldn’t be more excited, but right now, I’m focused on my Premier League team. I decided to follow Sunderland AFC because they’re both a port/shipbuilding town (like Newport News), and a coal town (like many in WV). As it turns out, Sunderland has not had a great year this year. WVU and the Redskins had similarly bad seasons this year. I was much more interested in watching the Black Cats due to the possibility of relegation. In the Premier League, the bottom two teams are demoted to the division below the Premier League, while the top two teams from the lower division are promoted to the Premier League (the top division). So I’ve been on edge as the Mackems fight to avoid relegation. (It would also be fun to watch US Men’s National Team player Jozy Altidore score for Sunderland, if he did so more often)
I’ve been watching Sunderland on NBC Sports, and NBC Sports Live Extra. Between the two, I can see all the games. I’ve also been watching some matches on beIN Sports. beIN Sports has a program called, “90 in 30” which condenses matches to the highlights. You don’t see the build and swings in momentum, but you do see a lot of action. Its a fun way to watch teams and/or leagues you’re not personally invested in. If you’re not into soccer yet, I’d reconsider.
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