So excited!

I'm practically bouncing in my office chair. Sunday is the Backroads Century which will have us rolling through the gorgeous horse country around Berryville, VA. My friends, the hubs, and I are riding the 30 mile route and I hope to take lots of pictures this year. I'll be riding my beloved Lily again.

Before.

I also hope not to be quite so exhausted after the ride. Part of the exhaustion, I think, is because I'd never ridden that far before and part of the exhaustion was from getting up so dadgum early on a Sunday morning. I love sleep so very, very much.

After.

The main reason I hope not to be so worn out after the ride is because directly afterwards I'm driving down to Duck, NC, for a Girls' Getaway on the Outer Banks. Whoo hoo! A friend and her sisters-in-law rented a smaller house than what we've used in past years and, when it turned out that there were more bedrooms than people, I received an impromptu invitation. Hooray for good friends, having spare vacation time, and a flexible work team! Kate the beach cruiser is definitely going and Beatrix the loop frame may go as well. (One of the sisters has given into the temptation of riding and since I have bikes to spare...) I have only one bike beam and two bikes without top bars which means I'll need to send at least one bike down with my friend who has a platform bike rack on her CRV.

Since we'll be in Duck proper, rather than five miles further north on Pine Island, I'm looking forward to exploring a little further south into Southern Shores and maybe even Kitty Hawk. Can't wait!

Group ride, interrupted

The Bike Me DC group met up at the Herndon Depot yesterday for a casual ride to the Vienna Depot and back, and I rode the three miles from home to Herndon to meet the group for the ride. We had lovely weather despite one member wearing his cursed jersey again. It rains every time he wears that jersey (the Reston Century riders can thank him), except for last night. Hooray!

We took off shortly after 6pm and the speed demons left six of us in the dust. Eventually, another woman -- Rebecca -- and I pulled ahead of the last four folks. Rebecca and I had wound up pushing our bikes up the final hill during last year's Great Pumpkin Ride and discovered that our cruising speeds are compatible. We rode side by side and chattered happily about upcoming group rides, vacation plans, and bicycle maintenance. We even continued chatting as we rode up the hills that both of us find troubling. It felt great to have a riding companion with similar strength.

A couple of miles outside of Vienna, I hit a pothole. It jarred me and Lily, but she seemed okay. I heard an odd sound and thought that I might have damaged one of my tires, but they weren't losing air. Rebecca pulled ahead of me and eventually left me in the dust. I couldn't get any speed and momentum was nil. My body was starting to hurt, too: hands, back, sides, tush, and feet. I was only ten miles in, with fourteen to go, and I was miserable. As I approached the Depot, two ladies from the far behind group passed me. When I joined the group, I examined my back tire and realized that the brake clamped down on the rim at certain points. I told the ride leader that I was going to take my bike up to the Vienna branch of Spokes, Etc, and have them take a look. The guys, of course, flocked to my bike and tried to fix the problem. I stepped back and let them tweak to their hearts' content. Despite the team's best efforts, my brake still wouldn't let go of the tire. One of the guys did notice that the tire was slightly out of true and that was most likely causing the problem.

The group didn't like leaving me behind but I told them I'd be fine and would have my husband come rescue me if the bike couldn't be fixed this evening. With that, I walked my bike the half mile or so to the bike shop. The diagnosis was that I'd broken a spoke and, happily, the fix was quick and cheap. I phoned Scott, who was halfway to the shop, and told him I was good to ride back home. Since he was in my car, I didn't feel too guilty about his burning gas and toll road money for the wasted trip. He was concerned about the fading light, but I assured him I was okay with my blinky headlight and do-not-look-into-laser-with-remaining-eye tail light.

And I was okay. At least until I got out of Vienna proper when I realized that I'd left my water bottle at the service counter of the shop. Guh. Reston wasn't that far away and I could snag a bottle of water at the McD's next to the trail on Wiehle. I chased the fading light and was in full-on darkness as I approached Herndon. The ninja joggers and cyclists were out in force and I gave my bell a workout warning folks of my passing. I'm VERY happy not to have found any deer on the trail since my spotlight-the-next-county headlight was on the kitchen counter at home. I'm also VERY happy not to have hit the skunk which trundled out of the underbrush just before I got to Sterling Blvd. I don't think I've ever seen a live one in the wild and I'm glad that we passed each another without physical or aerosolized contact.

I thought that I'd be exhausted when I got home, but coasting for a mile or so revitalized me. I was tired and hurting because it's been a while since I've ridden over twenty miles, but I did manage a total of 24 miles in just over two hours, plus the twenty minutes or so of bike repair. And one of these days I'll get to complete a Bike Me DC ride with the whole group.

Let the group rides begin

The Back Roads Century is a mere two months away and I've registered the Hubs and myself for the thirty mile route. Yeah, my goal this year was to ride either the metric or full century but 1) I suck at goals and 2) my friends (and more importantly, Hubs) want to ride the shorter route. I'm an agreeable sort. I do hope our weather is as conducive to an enjoyable ride as last year's.

A foggy start for Bel, Cat, myself, and Scott on last year's ride.

Bike DC 2012 videos

Both Scott and I had a blast riding in BikeDC this morning. I have scads of photos to edit and upload. In the meantime, here are some shakey-cam videos from the northbound lanes of the George Washington Parkway in Mclean, VA, and the westbound lanes of the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge over the Potomac River. 

I'm kind of kicking myself for not taking some video along the Rock Creek Parkway because that section was bee-you-tiful. On the other hand, we were still pretty much in a pack and I needed both hands on the bars and brakes both going up and coming back down. Next year, I'll actually use the camera mount I put on my handlebar.

This is totally a bikeyface. (I was too happy to be at all self-conscious about my braces.)

Paul's Ride for Life & Cyclefest

This past Saturday was the fourth annual Paul's Ride for Life and sixth annual Cyclefest Expo in Reston, VA. Since we were riding the twenty mile route, we took our time getting ready and hit the trail just before 8:30am for the five mile ride to Reston Town Center via the W&OD. The skies were sunny when we left the house, but the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped significantly before we even got to Herndon. Check-in at the RTC pavilion was smooth and as we snapped photos of each other, two members of the Bike Me DC club joined us and we hit the trail.

This was the least blurry photo.

Yes, we dress to match our bikes.

The ride itself was pretty easy -- I mean, a third of the route was my usual commute and we've both traveled the entire route many, many times -- and everybody from volunteers to ride participants were enthused and high-spirited despite the chilly temperature. Most people alerted a pass with a "Good morning!" rather than the standard "On your left!" Lots of families joined the ride with kids on trail-a-bikes, in baby seats, or in trailers. One man even had a chihuahua in his front basket. Poor little guy looked chilly despite his fluffy jacket.  The rest stops were nicely appointed, but some hot cocoa would have been a nice touch. I was so cold when we left the second rest stop and headed back towards Reston that I suggested we stop by our house and get some warmer clothes. Mother Nature must've been listening, though, because the temperature shot up a few degrees and the wind dropped enough that I actually had a good sweat going by the time we got to our jumping-off spot. We decided to continue without stopping.

Rest stop #2 at W&OD and Claiborne Parkway.

When we got back to Reston Town Center, the Ride for Life volunteers were in celebration mode and the Cyclefest Expo was in full swing. We visited for a long while with a couple of women representing Tri Team Z. Scott's interested in triathlons and this looked like a great group with whom to get involved. He signed up for more information and will probably attend one of their next meetings.

I chatted with a representative of Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling a bit. They've organized a ride from a Reston Park-n-Ride to the Udvar-Hazy center this coming Saturday (available to WABA members only for insurance reasons). I'd love to participate, but I've already committed to another ride out to Purcellville. The rep said that this was the first of what will hopefully become a regular ride; I hope he's right because it sounds like fun. We also discussed the issues that we suburban cyclists have which differ from our urban counterparts such as faster-moving traffic, limited access roadways, and scarcity of cyclists which means that drivers aren't as aware that we're on the roads. I also stopped by the Friends of the W&OD tent and asked how one becomes a friend of the trail. Seeing as how I use it for business and pleasure, I feel like I should give back, you know?

By this point, Scott's and my teeth were chattering and we decided it was time to head home. We'd been given coupons for a free water bottle from The Bike Lane and we swooped by the shop for swag before hitting the trail to go back home where there was hot showers, fluffy PJs, and lots of napping with warm cats.

According to an email sent out by the event organizers, 460 riders participated on Saturday and by all accounts, everyone had a pretty good time. I know that we enjoyed ourselves and will be back again next year. I may even feel comfortable enough riding one-handed on Circe that I can take some pics on the road.

Paul's Ride for Life

This coming Saturday is the fourth annual Paul's Ride for Life in Reston, VA. According to the event's website, this ride is dedicated to the memory of a cyclist, Paul Rossmeissl, who died in June 2006 from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident on the W&OD. Paul's unfortunate death allowed three organ recipients to live. All proceeds from the ride go to the Washington Regional Transplant Community. 



If you're localish, this event might be of interest. It looks like Saturday is going to be pretty nice for cycling with overcast skies and a high of 55F. Well, it'll be nice for me as I prefer chillier days. Scott and I are being punks and riding the twenty mile route, but we are going to ride our bikes to and from the event which will put another ten miles onto the day for us.

In addition to the ride, the sixth annual Cyclefest Expo will be going on from 10a-3p in Reston Town Center. "Multiple vendors"? Oh, yeah; I'm there. Although, I'll be on the Dolce which doesn't have much in the way of cargo capacity... Hrm. I suppose putting Lily's metal or Kate's wicker basket on Circe would be the peak of silliness.

It's the Great Pumpkin Ride, Charlie Brown

Scott and I participated in the Great Pumpkin Ride in Warrenton, VA, today. We rode the quarter century route and I wore the Creepy Pumpkin jersey from Scudo Sports Wear.

Highlights of the ride
- The beautifully and deliciously stocked rest stop at mile 14. I did not try the pumpkin soup, but everything I did try was super yummy.
- The gorgeous fall foliage. We rode on a few back roads with little to no traffic and it felt like we were deep in the woods.
- Well-marked route with arrows painted on the roadways as we approached intersections with turns.
- All the comments about my jersey from other riders and photographers. It was a hit and many riders told me how happy it made them to see the jack-o-lanterns.
- Cheering on another woman rider as she and I struggled up some of the hills. Our husbands pedaled up those hills and patiently waited (and caught their breaths) as we crawled up together.


Lowlights of the ride
- Lack of information or a decent website. There's a reason there's no link to the ride above; it doesn't have a website. No route info beyond route lengths and no rest stop info.
- SUPER hilly course. We were told that this year's quarter century route differed from last year's and was MUCH hillier.
- Nothing happening at the end of the ride. The ride was a big loop and we started/ended at the Trail Head parking lot. When we finished, only the registration pop-ups (unmanned, I should add) were present.
- Not being able to find the Bike Me DC meet up group so we could ride with them.
- The temperature. It was in the low 40s when we started and in the low 50s when we finished just after noon. I finally warmed up this evening.

Apparently, we were VERY spoiled by the Backroads Century and the celebratory atmosphere that event provided before and after the ride AND its full-of-information website. I suppose any ride is a good ride, but both Scott and I were disappointed with this event. I think we'll give it a pass next year.

Ride stats
Miles ridden: 24.87
Breaks taken: 1 at the wonderfully stocked rest stop and a couple more after hills
Hills walked: 3
Dead squirrels and raccoons spotted: 3
Travel time: 2h 10m

Something else, not entirely related to this particular ride, is that I have got to train myself out of being psyched out by hills. I can conquer a hill if I can see the end of it. But if it's a long incline or extremely steep, I give up and walk before I push myself too hard. A tiny bit is physical, yes, but mostly it's psychological. More training required.

Backroads Century: Extended Quarter Century Version

On Sunday, Scott and I rose at 6am. We showered, dressed, loaded bikes and gear onto and into the truck, and headed west to Berryville, VA, for the Backroads Century. We met up with L, B, and J in the fairgrounds parking lot and pedaled over to Clarke County High School where the actual ride started.


About to take off on the Backroads Century 30-mile route with L, J, and Scott, 9/18/11.

We started out strong with L far ahead, Scott and me in the middle, and U bringing up the rear. We'd switch up positions every so often and those who got too far ahead would pull over and wait for those bringing up the rear. We rode over gently rolling hills through gorgeous farmland with amazing views of the mountains. I loved the stacked stone walls lining the roads. Scott said the part of the route through a tree-covered lane with stone walls on either side reminded him of Scotland. I asked if the chilly and slightly damp temperature would be the depth of summer and he said "yes". I told him we're not moving to Scotland.

We rode through the tiny and picturesque township of Boyce and arrived at the first rest stop (~mile 13) at the Burwell-Morgan Mill. A trio of musicians playing harp, hammered dulcimer, and banjo provided upbeat background music while we stretched, refilled our water bottles, and snacked on bagels, boiled potatoes, and fruit. I think we rested too long, though, because I was cold when we hopped back on our bikes and took off for the hilly portion of the ride. We overheard the leader of the Potomac Pedalers "C" group tell his riders that there was a big hill coming up and he'd be pushing his bike up. That did not instill confidence in our tiny cadre, but we were game to try.


It wasn't a hill. It was a freaking mountain. I got up to the next level by using the granniest of my granny gears, but it was a struggle. I also had a pickup truck right behind me and I was too proud to hop off my bike in front of a vehicular spectator. He finally passed and I caught up with Scott and pedaled along enjoying the view. We passed a farm with a large black steer, an emu, a llama (or alpaca; I'm not sure which), a blonde horse, and a donkey. We then came to the next mountain. I got halfway up and then threw my chain. That was scary. J was awesome and set my chain back onto the chainwheel without much difficulty. My gears made a weird clicking noise for the next half mile or so, but then finally cleared up in time for the next mountain.

Scott raced ahead and I hopped off to push my bike. A guy on a road bike shot past me and then threw his chain. I walked slowly towards him and asked if needed another set of hands. He said sure, and I held his bike while he wrestled with his chain. J arrived shortly thereafter and assisted him, too. L caught up with Scott and panted "Mel... Help!" as she rode past. Scott came running back down the hill and also lent a hand until a rider with the Spokes, Etc maintenance team rode up and was able to wiggle the chain back into place. We "lost" about ten minutes but I felt good about trying to help another cyclist even if all I was able to provide was a baby wipe and bandage so he could clean and bind the cut he got while messing with his chain.

We took off again and fairly quickly arrived at rest stop #2 (~mile 20) where we refilled water bottles and dined on energy balls, Goldfish crackers, and Nutter Butters. The guy we'd helped was getting his bike checked out by the mechanical support crew. There wasn't much atmosphere to this rest stop and we took to the road again.

Unfortunately, we came upon the worst mountain of the ride. Most people pushed their bikes up this particular stretch of road. Some insane people actually rode up the hill, then coasted down the hill so they could ride back up. What. The. Hell. Scott rode up out of sheer pigheadedness. I only made it a quarter of the way. Oof. A lot of cyclists thought the rest area should have been at the top of the hill, but honestly, there wasn't a good place to put it. Ah well. After catching our breaths, we climbed back onto the bikes and took off again.

This part of the ride wasn't quite as picturesque. We kept climbing hills and passing cows. I pushed my bike past a couple and exclaimed, "Hills are not my friend!" The lady of the couple said, "It's okay to walk up as long as you get back on your bike at the top!" I also told either L or J that I wouldn't complain about the Rte 28 bridge ever again. And then we got to the highway and we had only three more miles to ride. Hooray!

We pedaled through downtown Berryville in a mostly-single file pack. We had to contend with vehicle traffic and most cars gave us plenty of room. One truck even held up the right turn lane so the bikes could all get through the green stoplight. We thanked him as we passed. With only half a mile to go, we got to the optional bike path and rode that (up another hill) to the High School. Scott and I kicked in the after burners and rode across the finish line together.

This is how I felt when I got off Rose:


All smiles after the 30-miler, 9/18/11.

Scott was happy to see kindred spirits:


Where there are Vikings, there's Scott , 9/18/11.

We picked up our swag bags filled with goodies such as a ride t-shirt, a water bottle, coupons to Spokes, Etc. I was going to purchase a jersey, but they were out of my size. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I'm going to order one... Scott and I wandered over to the food area where I got a hotdog, bag of chips, and a ginger ale. We walked back to our bikes and I started sniffling and wiping away tears. Scott asked what was wrong and I told him that I was so proud of us and completely overwhelmed with emotion. He gave me a squeeze.

B, who'd been reading at the fair grounds, joined us and took our victory picture:


We finished, whoo hoo! With Scott, J, and L. The 'fink is not flipping off the camera; he's doing some weird victory sign.

Eventually, we pedaled back over to the fair grounds, loaded up the truck, and headed home. After showering, I took a three hour nap and spent the rest of Sunday evening drinking lots and lots of water to rehydrate and thinking about doing the Half Century ride next year. The 30 mile ride had 1,400 feet of climbing while the 50 mile ride has 2,500. I think we'll be ready for that next year.