Getting a jump on things

Gussied up for the event.

This past Saturday evening was the Champions Dinner for the 2012 Tour de Cure. I was pretty inspired by all the great folks in attendance, especially the Red Riders (the participants who have diabetes) and the Youth Ambassadors. I'd been on the fence about riding next year but now I'm motivated to not only ride but also captain a team. I've put a call out to my bicycle-loving SCA friends to join the Hula Bears* and ride in memory of Tom B./Tirloch.

*We're Hula Bears because Tom was "the Bear" and loved Hawaiian shirts.

2012 National Capital Area Tour de Cure

Long story, short: I rode just over 55 miles, raised $1,225 with the help of many generous donors, and had a pretty good time.

The people for whom I rode.

Long story, long: I picked up my ride packet Saturday afternoon and was told that this constituted "check in" and I could hit the trail any time during the half century start window (7a-8a). With that knowledge, I altered my ride plan just a bit. Originally, I was going to ride from home to Reston, ride the Tour route, and then ride back home from Reston. That would have put me somewhere around 65 miles for the day and was way outside of my comfort zone. I did ride the Tour's 54 mile route; I just started and ended elsewhere than the "official" points.

The tropical print jersey was a tribute to a friend who died in March.

After breakfasting and dousing myself in sunscreen, I was ready for the Tour. The air temperature was in the upper 50s Fahrenheit and the mix of sun and breeze felt just about perfect. The W&OD trail looked pretty open at 7:30. I saw only a few blue/50mi folks but lots of green/107mi and yellow/81mi folks flew past me as I settled in to a comfortable pace. I passed Rest Stop #1 at Ashburn Road/Carolina Brothers BBQ in almost no time at all. As I passed the Spokes, Etc tent, I recognized Nate -- he introduced me to the Dolce at the Vienna shop -- and called out hello. Surprisingly, he recognized me/my voice and told me that my bike looked sweet. I grinned, waved, and continued on to Leesburg.

Somewhere along the way I hit a squirrel. I rode up between pedestrians on either side of the trail and a squirrel darted out. He froze, I dodged, he ran into my dodge, and we both chose poorly. I think I got his tail because there was a solid thudthud under my tires after my "Crap! Crap! Crap!" and before my "AUGH!" I don't know what, if anything, the peds thought about the collision. I'm pretty sure the squirrel was mostly okay. It wasn't dead, anyway.

Ashburn Road rest stop.

Rest Stop #2 at Raflo Park was full of cyclists and cheering volunteers. I munched on half a PB&J, noshed half a banana, refilled my water bottle, and continued west to Purcellville. Shortly after leaving Leesburg, a non-Tour cyclist asked me about the routes. He thought it'd be fun to follow the horse country route when it left the trail and bid me good luck. And then I began that hateful climb up Clarks Gap.

After crossing Leesburg Pike for the second time, the blue, yellow, and green routes left the W&OD for the open road of Simpson Circle and Meadowlark Drive. The climb up Meadowlark was almost like that huge horrific climb during the Backroads Century. My momentum slowed and slowed until I feared that I'd lose my balance so I unclipped, hopped off, and walked Circe to the top of the hill. That walk was totally worth the 35mph descent on the other side. WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!

I arrived at Rest Stop #3 in Purcellville at 9:15am and found it stocked with PB&Js, energy bars of all types, water, Gatorade, oranges, bananas, band-aids, and sunscreen. I posted an update to Facebook, phoned Scott, and rested for twenty minutes or so in the shade of a large hydrangea bush. At this point, I was 24 miles in and felt surprisingly good. Food and hydration didn't seem to be a problem and the mild temperature was a godsend.
 

Carolina Brothers BBQ.

The ride back to Ashburn was blessedly downhill and I coasted and sang most of the way to Rest Stop #1. I pulled up to the Spokes, Etc, tent to show off Circe's flame job to Nate. He thought that was pretty crazy. FunReflector.com, folks. I also gave Scott a five mile warning so he had time to get to the W&OD and ride up to Reston with me. East of this rest stop, the trail got extremely crowded as the longer distance riders started mingling with the 33-milers and general trail traffic. Side by side roller bladers: I feel about them the way that most drivers who comment to online fora feel about cyclists. I saw a lot of 33mi folks pushing their bikes up the 20-hate bridge. Bless their hearts, it wasn't that long ago that I was right there with them.

Scott joined me, GoPro-enabled, outside our neighborhood and I whined to him about how hot, sweaty, tired, and numb I was. Yes, the last two paragraphs were about mild temperature and coasting downhill. However, the tree cover ends east of Leesburg and the sun had been baking me for a good ten miles. The trail's elevation starts rising at Ashburn and that adds to the fun. But there were only five more uphill miles to go until the finish line and with someone I could natter at, my spirits bubbled back up.

The detour through Herndon to avoid the Herndon Festival was harrowing, but we'd navigated through it Saturday morning and we weren't as surprised as other Tour riders. The W&OD continued getting more and more crowded the closer we got to Reston and then we were at the finish line where yellow-shirted volunteers waved pompons, shook clappers, rang cowbells, whooped and hollered. One girl stuck out a red foam hand and I gave her a high five as I rode past. Scott and I pulled to a stop just past the Town Center fountain and spotted Bob and Laura (who had just completed the 33 mile route). Tamara, who volunteered with the media squad as a finish line photographer, had spotted me crossing the line and found our little group clustered on the other side of the Pavilion. I snagged some pork barbecue, half an orange, and a can of ginger ale for my post ride meal and nommed my way back to life as we waited for Barb to arrive from the fun ride route.

Our little sub team: Laura, Barb, and me.

After a few texts and a phone call, Barb let us know that she was almost to the finish line. We all ran over to holler and cheer her on. I think she was a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing, but in a good way. After group photos, hugs, and congratulations all around everybody but Scott and me took off for their respective homes. My raising over $1,000 meant that I was a "Champion" and would be given a medal. I've never gotten a medal for any kind of sporting event and gosh darn it, I was sticking around for that medal ceremony. We didn't get a "ceremony" so much as a group photo and then we stood in line to receive our medals. But I'm cool with that.

We are the Champions.... weeeeeee are the chaaaampiooooons.

After donning my medal and remounting Circe -- ow, my hands; ow, my thighs; ow, my [redacted] -- we made a bee-line for Red Velvet Cupcakery for celebratory cupcakes which Scott gallantly transported in his trunk bag. We passed several century riders and a half-century girl -- I'd complimented her wicker basket earlier, she congratulated me on the medal this pass -- and I hollered at Herndon Festival patrons not to take up both lanes of the trail. (Not my best moment, but they were taking up both lanes and wouldn't move when I called "on your left" or "bicycle approaching" or "HELLO" and I was tired and cranky.) But we eventually made it home and I ended the day with 55.8 miles in 4h 09m, two cupcakes, lots of chocolate milk, a good hot shower, a nap, a medal, and quite a bit of pride, if I'm completely honest with you and with myself.

THANK YOU!!!

The big day

Sunday is the big day. It's the National Capital Area's Tour de Cure in support of the American Diabetes Association. At this point, I am riding the half century (+4 miles) plus an additional ten or so miles from my house to the start/finish and back home which will equal a metric century. It'll be the farthest distance I've ridden even if I'm able to do only the "official" route. I'm nervous about this -- dull surprise -- but I will ride with the knowledge that the donors to my fundraising efforts and the people for whom I riding in memory of and in honor of will be with me in spirit.

I made these tags to attach to my bike as a visual reminder of those who live and have lived with diabetes. If you donated and wish for me to include the name(s) of someone(s) special, please let me know in the comments or by email (melaniesuzanne AT gmail DOT com).

THANK YOU to everyone who has donated and/or cheered me on. You are all fantastic people and my life (and the lives of those who will be helped by the ADA) are better for knowing you.

Training ride #4, or trainus interruptus

This past Sunday was my last good training ride day. I will be in New Orleans for Memorial Day weekend and the Tour de Cure is on the following Sunday. My plan was to ride from home to Reston Parkway, turn around and ride west to Purcellville, then turn around and ride back home. That route is 56 miles, only five miles short of my Tour de Cure if I have Scott drive me back home and ten miles short if I ride the bike back home.

I got on the trail at 11:30am, much later than planned, but the trail wasn't too crowded. The trip to Reston and the return past home were easy. I worked on keeping my pace at a reasonable 13 MPH but it kept creeping up to 14.5 or so. I got into a spot of trouble in Ashburn when my sunscreen started running into my eyes. After clearing that up, I continued on while being pounded by the sun. The air temperature was only 80F and the humidity was tolerable, but that sun was baking me pretty hard. I couldn't wait to get into the tree cover outside of and through Leesburg. I got to Raflo park -- mile 22 of my trip -- and seriously considered calling Scott to come pick me up. But I rested in the shade and breeze, ate half a sandwich, ate a banana, and drained both water bottles. Thankfully, there was a working water fountain and I was able to refill.

I hit the trail again and was doing okay until I crossed Route 7 and began the climb up to Clark's Gap. The sun started baking me again and everything hurt. My gloves felt like they were squeezing my fingers, my shoes crushed my toes, my shorts pinched my thighs and lady parts, and my helmet felt like a vise on the back of my head. My hands were numb, my toes hurt, my right heel hurt, my head hurt. It's only 30 more miles, I bargained with myself. I can do that easily. But I slowed, and slowed, and slowed.

No, damnit! This is my last time to train! My body could NOT give up. Except that it did. I gave in and called Scott for rescue. I was at Clark's Gap but I asked him to meet me in Leesburg. I figured I could at least coast most of the way down hill to town. I was disappointed in myself and fretful about what this meant for the Tour. However, as I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening recovering from heat exhaustion, I realize that I made the right decision in calling for rescue.

You know, my not being a morning person makes me grumbly about tours and supported rides starting so blasted early in the morning. But now I understand why they do that. My Tour start time is between 7 and 8am so I feel a little better about not getting too sun baked while riding. Of course, now watch us get a monsoon on the day of.

Getting closer to the big day

It's only 31 days until the National Capital Tour de Cure and I'm at 85% of my fundraising goal of $1,000. THANK YOU to those dear folks who have donated to this worthy cause and who are supporting me on this journey. If you feel so included to help me reach my personal goal and help the American Diabetes Association with their goal of eliminating diabetes, please click the link below. And if you donate, please comment here or there with the name of someone you would like for me to ride in honor or in memory of. My bike will be adorned with ribbons emblazoned with the names of those loved ones. I'm also happily accepting "atta girl!"s. :)

I've decided to ride the 50 mile route -- it's actually 54.7 miles -- plus the twelve or so mile round trip from home to the start/finish line. That'll put me at just over a metric century which, at this point, will be a challenge but won't damage me. This Saturday will offer another chance at a decent training ride as Bike Me DC again conducts the crowd favorite "Fireworks Pizza Ride". The group will ride from Raflo Park in Leesburg to the trail head in Purcellville and back with a group lunch at Fireworks Pizza in Market Station. If I'm feeling especially spry and sassy, I will ride from home to the meet-up and back which should give me just about 47 miles when I include riding to and from the pizza joint. The temperature isn't supposed to be stinking hot like the past few days, but it'll be the warmest I've felt while riding for distance. Good training for the first weekend of June when it's usually REALLY stinking hot. Heh, spending Memorial Day weekend in New Orleans may actually benefit me by reminding me what REAL heat and humidity are like.

In semi-related news, a dear friend (hi Barb!) has signed up to ride in the Tour de Cure as well. I am incredibly proud of her for taking this step and getting out there. I've promised to be a gentle-yet-firm coach and help her get up to speed, so to speak, to prepare for the Fun Ride. Riding the trails together in her neck of the 'burbs will be a lot of fun.

Training ride #2

I hit the trail at the crack of 1pm on Saturday (so not a morning person) for another training ride. Just like last weekend, Scott met me at Idylwood Park in Falls Church, but this time we continued east along the Washington &Old Dominion Trail until its junction with the Custis Trail and rode that to Rosslyn. Since I'd ridden that route before, I called out to him the blind corners ahead of time -- for which he was grateful -- and gave him a heads-up on potentially troublesome intersections as well as the switchback ramp leading down to the Roosevelt Island parking lot. The ramp was much less scary my second time down but he found it terrifying. He kept one foot unclipped and extended the entire ride down just in case... but we made it to the base safely.

(Yes, there are commuters who face that ramp just about everyday, but we live in the sticks and don't have to deal with switchbacks... except for the one just west of Clarke's Gap which is especially fun in autumn when it's blanketed in leaves. But anyway...)

Sterling to Falls Church to Arlington and back to Falls Church.

On the W&OD, you can easily ride two abreast. Source.

I wouldn't try that on the MVT. Source.

I realized something as we pedaled along the Mount Vernon Trail: that multi-use path feels about half the width of the W&OD. It seems like the MVT could almost fit in one lane of W&OD. I find passing other cyclists and pedestrians fairly harrowing. I always feel like a jerk because I'm passing too closely, following too closely to wait for an oncoming cyclist to pass, or nearly running oncoming peds and cyclists off the trail. Suburban trails, like suburban streets, are wide expanses compared to their more urban counterparts, I guess. Yes, I'm generalizing a bit.


Okay, so the photos don't show that great a difference, but note how much space the W&OD guys take up compared with the MVT guy. Maybe I'll take my own comparison photos; that would require my taking my life into my hands by being even more of a jerk and stopping on the trail.

We stopped for a short picnic break between the Memorial Bridge and Lady Bird Johnson Park where I marveled at the Washington, DC skyline. I still feel a flutter in my chest when I see the monuments and Smithsonian castle across the river and realize that I live in the nation's capital. Okay, I live twenty-five miles northwest of the nation's capital, but you get the picture. The hubs, who spent most of his years in Annapolis, is less impressed seeing as how he had field trips there all the time. But for me, despite living in Virginia for sixteen years now, that skyline still gets to me.

We hopped back on our bikes and reached Gravelly Point Park -- which was CLOGGED with people -- easily. The ride to and past National Airport was harder because we were beginning to tire and the wind from the south kept getting stronger and stronger, but once we turned onto the Four Mile Run Trail, it was smooth sailing again. I have to say that I was very glad to have Scott with me at that end of 4MRT because the isolation creeped me out pretty badly, but I eventually relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. We returned to civilization fairly quickly and panted our way up to the W&OD trailhead in Shirlington.

Oh my goodness, I had NO idea how pretty the trail is up there. Well, once you get out of the urban part, that is. I want to explore the paths down along the stream. I guess that's still Four Mile Run? Somewhere along the way, I called out to Scott that we needed to stop. He was worried that I'd hurt myself, but I was scrabbling through the bush of the side of the trail trying to find the plant that smelled like the plant that used to grow in the bayou near the farmhouse where I grew up in Arkansas. I love the scent of whatever it is, but I have no idea what the plant is and I can't remember what it looks like. But gracious, does it smell sweet and it send me right back to my childhood.

Back on the bikes and we pushed to the meeting point of W&OD, 4MRT, and Custis. I began to tire and was nearly done by the time we got to Shreve Road. I bargained with myself, promised myself that I could walk Circe up the formidable hill that is Virginia Avenue (like last weekend), told myself that the truck was less than a commute distance away, and I didn't have to ride fourteen miles against the wind back to Sterling. The ride up Virginia Avenue was hard and I pushed myself to "get to the next driveway" and then I could walk and just as I thought I couldn't climb any more, the street leveled off and I could get ready for the downhill into Idylwood Park.

Route elevations

I wound up with just under forty miles with the ride. I'm trying not to be disappointed in my stamina and reminding myself that I'm still adjusting to the road bike and new posture. Scott stressed that I'm riding faster than I could on the hybrid and I'm able to go farther with each ride.

Training ride #1

I've been moping about how much solo cycling I do. While I cherish my alone time on the bike, I do occasionally get a little lonesome putting in all those miles by myself. With that in mind, I jumped at the chance to ride on Sunday with friends who are also training to ride in the ADA Tour de Cure in June.

Bel, Bob, Scott, & me with our trusty Specialized steeds.

My route was slightly shorter than my planned fifty mile ride, but I still managed almost 37 miles by riding from Sterling (mi 22.5) to Idylwood Park in Falls Church (mi 8.5) , backtracking to Hunter Mill in Reston (between mi 14.5 & 15) with Bel, Bob, & Scott then riding back to our meet-up spot in Falls Church (mi 8.5) and continuing with Scott up to the spot in Arlington where the W&OD meets the Custis (~ mi 4), and then back to the park in Falls Church where the truck was waiting to carry us back home. I am so thankful that Scott drove the truck to meet me at the park. While an easterly tailwind got me to Falls Church in an hour, that same wind was a killer going westbound. My legs were killing me on the final leg of our ride and I wouldn't have made the slog back to Sterling in that headwind.

Elevations from Shirlington (0) to Sterling (22.5). Source.

During the ride, I took my first clipped-in spill. I unclipped on the left and promptly fell to the right on to a, thankfully, super soft patch of grass. Also thankfully, I remembered to leave my right foot clipped in so I wouldn't possibly sprain it or worse. Bob and Scott were horrified, but I threw my arms in the air -- after crawling out from under the bike -- and hollered "Whoo hoo! I'm a real cyclist now!" Circe was fine and I was merely covered in chain grease from my knees down. My pride wasn't even bruised; I was too jazzed that the fall wasn't anywhere as painful or scary as I had imagined it would be.

Scott took his Crux off-road and disappeared in the bush.

The training ride shook my belief in my being able to ride a metric century, much less a full one. But I have to keep reminding myself that this was the first longish distance ride on my new bike and I have six more weekends of training -- I'm out of town Memorial Day weekend -- before the big event. There's plenty of time to continue training and the ride will be okay.

Training

It's T-minus 58 days to the Reston, VA, edition of the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure and I am at 61% of my $1,000 fundraising goal. Based on promised donations by family members, I'm going to get pretty darn close to my goal and may actually have to ride the full century plus the ten mile round trip to and from the Tour starting/ending point. This mileage calls from serious training because, at this point, I've put only twenty miles in one trip on my road bike.

Luckily, the weather is supposed to be gorgeous tomorrow and I will take advantage of that blessing by getting my booty in the saddle and taking a long ride. My goal is to ride to Rosslyn/Arlington and back which is about fifty miles round trip. Should be fun!

Eastern half of the W&OD. Source.

I've thought of doing something additional for my charity ride for the American Diabetes Association. If you have donated to my effort and have someone you would like for me to ride in honor of (including yourself) or in memory of, I will write your/their name on a ribbon and attach it to my bike for awareness of just how many people around us are touched by this disease.

More thanks

My apologies for the tardiness of this post. Many, many thanks to G.E. of Endless Velo Love for the donation to my fundraising effort for the American Diabetes Association. You've helped put me at 33% of my goal of $1,000 by June 3rd, 2012. THANK YOU!

I'm currently registered for the metric quarter-century route because that's the distance my teammates are riding. However, I want to put my booty where the money is -- or something like that -- and equalize the route mileage with the funds raised. If the Tour de Cure folks will let me change my registration thusly, I will ride 50+ miles for $500 raised, 75+ miles for $750, and 100+ miles for the full $1,000 enchilada. We all know I can do fifty without blinking an eye. Seventy-five and one hundred will require some training, chafing, and possibly tears.

Come on. You know you want to make a girl cry.

Thank you!

Many, many thanks to Rootchopper of A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel for the donation to my fundraising effort for the American Diabetes Association. You've helped put me at 18% of my goal. THANK YOU!

In other news, today's commute was another glorious one. There was a light, warm breeze for most of the trip and birdsong filled the air. I even stopped to listen to a robin perched on the branch of a bare tree. At first I though he was a cardinal because I could see only bright red, but then he turned and I saw the definitive robin profile and brown wings. A couple of commuters smiled at my floral basket (or maybe my bare knees when my skirt hiked up a bit).

Speaking of the skirt, I noticed absolutely no Mary Poppins effect on Smith Switch and Waxpool. In fact, I got more crowded and squished against the curb than usual with vehicles accelerating and passing aggressively. I get more space in jeans and a windbreaker! Hmph. And I am NOT going helmetless to see if that "helps".

I've decided to rename the Ariel as "Lily". I find it rolls off the tongue more easily, and I'm pretty fond of lilies. I'll refrain from renaming her "Tulip" or "Hydrangea" in the future. Maybe.

Putting my cycling to good use

Because some family members and close friends are living with diabetes, and I have flirted with being diagnosed myself, I am riding in this year's National Capital Tour de Cure and raising money for the American Diabetes Association.

Please visit my page if you are able to help me reach my goal of $1,000. I am grateful for anything you are able to give, even if it's just an "atta girl!" :)




Thank you!