This is the map showing this past Saturday's ride. I think it might be better if I don't look at the map before I start. I love knowing where I'm going, but this time I knew the whole area very well, so I also knew how incredibly hard it was going to be. At the same time, I have wanted to ride many of these places for a long time and I was excited to finally do so. I can't believe I rode this far. I feel like it's a miracle that I can do this. When I think I'm not keeping up with other bikers, I have to remind myself that just 5 months ago, I had not ridden a bike in 9 years. I also had not participated in any real exercise other than a little inconsistent walking. I started training for the century the end of May.
We rode from Vienna to the
Custis Trail and then we crossed over the
KEY bridge through Georgetown to the
Capital Crescent trail to Potomac, MD and then up River Road to Poolesville. The ride was fairly easy until we hit Potomac. River Road is a lot of huge hills, but it was Mt. Nebo that just about did me in. I almost bonked at this point. I had been sick the week before so maybe that had something to do with it. We then crossed the Potomac River on the ferry and biked to Leesburg until we got on the
WO &D trail back to Vienna.
It was a gorgeous day..perfect for biking. I met my "
Team in Training" group at 7:15am. We left around 8am and it was 50 degrees. I layered up well, but didn't have long pants or socks like most of the team ( I'm the only one with clip-in biking sandals so everyone thought I was going to freeze). However, I warmed up quickly once we hit some hills. This picture is at a stop sign in Georgetown after we had crossed the Key bridge.
When we finally got to White's Ferry my legs just burned. I really felt sick. The hills were very steep around the Mt. Nebo part of the ride. I wish I had some pictures of it, but I can't take pictures and ride up hills at the same time. If I stop, get off my bike and try start again, I can't make it up the hill at all. We ate lunch here and rested a little. It's amazing what some REAL food in you can do. I felt great again after eating and stretching my legs. Thank you to all the support staff for the food!
The two women (Sharon and Madeline) to the right of me rode with me the entire ride. When you ride that far together, you feel indebted to each other forever. Most of the time you can hardly talk because you're just trying to keep breathing, but you feel like best friends by the end. Sharon is a leukemia survivor of 25 years. She is also one of the team captains and has ridden in 4 other Century rides. When I think of complaining about my own health struggles, I think of all these great people I ride with and the
Morrow family and then think mine are nothing compared to some. It's a matter of perspective.
After a break, we got in line to cross the ferry. I love this ferry. It feels like you've gone back in time when you visit this place. I've crossed it several times in a car to go see my cousin and Aunt in Leesburg, but only dreamed of crossing it on a bike.
We had to wait until all the cars were on the ferry first before we could get on, which gave my legs another 30 minutes to rest. It was such a beautiful day that it seemed like most of Washington DC was there. I love the freedom you feel when you bike pass all the cars waiting in traffic. It costs $1 to take your bike over and $3 for a car.
This was probably the most dangerous part of the ride. (I'm sure it didn't help secure my safety by taking pictures while riding.) This is Hwy 15 which goes to Leesburg, VA. I've learned all the biker calls, "car up", "car back", "hole", etc. This helps when you're on lonely roads, but out on a busy highway, you can't even hear for the traffic noise.
It's now 3:40pm (yes I've been riding for 7 hours) and we hit the
WO&D trail and we ONLY have 23.8 miles to go! I can't believe 23.8 is now considered an "only". I love this trail because it's paved and you can ride it from Leesburg to Alexandria and it's safe. There are a lot of other bikers/walkers/roller bladers though in some areas. The last 20 miles seemed like forever. My legs started burning again. They hurt so bad that I seriously thought about quitting or taking a long break. Then I remembered that I had scheduled a massage for 6pm that night and I might not make it if I didn't hurry. I usually average about 10mph and the odds weren't good. I must make a massage appointment every time now because it was a huge motivator for me. I went as fast as I could and didn't stop because I knew if I didn't make that massage my back and legs were going to kill me the next day.
This is the end of the trail. So close, yet so far because this traffic light took 10 minutes. I finished the ride by 5:30pm which is a record for me and threw my bike in the car. My legs felt like jello. It was hard to even walk from the bike to the car. Luckily traffic was nothing and I made it to my massage. I went straight from the ride and probably scared a few spa people. I did it though.....86.2 miles in 9.5 hours ( including rest stops). When I left the house, my kids were asleep. When I got home, my kids were asleep. I was sad I missed seeing them all day. Thank you to everyone who is supporting me and especially to John for watching the kids all day. Your belief in me, helps me know I can do this!
This is the map showing this past Saturday's ride. I think it might be better if I don't look at the map before I start. I love knowing where I'm going, but this time I knew the whole area very well, so I also knew how incredibly hard it was going to be. At the same time, I have wanted to ride many of these places for a long time and I was excited to finally do so. I can't believe I rode this far. I feel like it's a miracle that I can do this. When I think I'm not keeping up with other bikers, I have to remind myself that just 5 months ago, I had not ridden a bike in 9 years. I also had not participated in any real exercise other than a little inconsistent walking. I started training for the century the end of May.
We rode from Vienna to the Custis Trail and then we crossed over the KEY bridge through Georgetown to the Capital Crescent trail to Potomac, MD and then up River Road to Poolesville. The ride was fairly easy until we hit Potomac. River Road is a lot of huge hills, but it was Mt. Nebo that just about did me in. I almost bonked at this point. I had been sick the week before so maybe that had something to do with it. We then crossed the Potomac River on the ferry and biked to Leesburg until we got on the WO &D trail back to Vienna.
It was a gorgeous day..perfect for biking. I met my "Team in Training" group at 7:15am. We left around 8am and it was 50 degrees. I layered up well, but didn't have long pants or socks like most of the team ( I'm the only one with clip-in biking sandals so everyone thought I was going to freeze). However, I warmed up quickly once we hit some hills. This picture is at a stop sign in Georgetown after we had crossed the Key bridge.
When we finally got to White's Ferry my legs just burned. I really felt sick. The hills were very steep around the Mt. Nebo part of the ride. I wish I had some pictures of it, but I can't take pictures and ride up hills at the same time. If I stop, get off my bike and try start again, I can't make it up the hill at all. We ate lunch here and rested a little. It's amazing what some REAL food in you can do. I felt great again after eating and stretching my legs. Thank you to all the support staff for the food!
The two women (Sharon and Madeline) to the right of me rode with me the entire ride. When you ride that far together, you feel indebted to each other forever. Most of the time you can hardly talk because you're just trying to keep breathing, but you feel like best friends by the end. Sharon is a leukemia survivor of 25 years. She is also one of the team captains and has ridden in 4 other Century rides. When I think of complaining about my own health struggles, I think of all these great people I ride with and the Morrow family and then think mine are nothing compared to some. It's a matter of perspective.
After a break, we got in line to cross the ferry. I love this ferry. It feels like you've gone back in time when you visit this place. I've crossed it several times in a car to go see my cousin and Aunt in Leesburg, but only dreamed of crossing it on a bike.
We had to wait until all the cars were on the ferry first before we could get on, which gave my legs another 30 minutes to rest. It was such a beautiful day that it seemed like most of Washington DC was there. I love the freedom you feel when you bike pass all the cars waiting in traffic. It costs $1 to take your bike over and $3 for a car.
This was probably the most dangerous part of the ride. (I'm sure it didn't help secure my safety by taking pictures while riding.) This is Hwy 15 which goes to Leesburg, VA. I've learned all the biker calls, "car up", "car back", "hole", etc. This helps when you're on lonely roads, but out on a busy highway, you can't even hear for the traffic noise.
It's now 3:40pm (yes I've been riding for 7 hours) and we hit the WO&D trail and we ONLY have 23.8 miles to go! I can't believe 23.8 is now considered an "only". I love this trail because it's paved and you can ride it from Leesburg to Alexandria and it's safe. There are a lot of other bikers/walkers/roller bladers though in some areas. The last 20 miles seemed like forever. My legs started burning again. They hurt so bad that I seriously thought about quitting or taking a long break. Then I remembered that I had scheduled a massage for 6pm that night and I might not make it if I didn't hurry. I usually average about 10mph and the odds weren't good. I must make a massage appointment every time now because it was a huge motivator for me. I went as fast as I could and didn't stop because I knew if I didn't make that massage my back and legs were going to kill me the next day.
This is the end of the trail. So close, yet so far because this traffic light took 10 minutes. I finished the ride by 5:30pm which is a record for me and threw my bike in the car. My legs felt like jello. It was hard to even walk from the bike to the car. Luckily traffic was nothing and I made it to my massage. I went straight from the ride and probably scared a few spa people. I did it though.....86.2 miles in 9.5 hours ( including rest stops). When I left the house, my kids were asleep. When I got home, my kids were asleep. I was sad I missed seeing them all day. Thank you to everyone who is supporting me and especially to John for watching the kids all day. Your belief in me, helps me know I can do this!
2 comments:
Go Katie!!!
Thanks Jobe!
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