Not much eventful happened during the week days - I commuted to and from work, averaging about 20 miles each day.
It was fun and I pushed really hard to make up for last week. I did receive this picture from the Easter ride:
Friday
Friday was National Bike to Work Day so I showed up at the designated pit stop near my home and met the bike marshall,
a nice woman named Mary who I tried to convince to sign up for the ride. She offered for me to co-marshall our "caravan"
(one other person) to the convergence spot on Freedom Plaza in DC. That was fun and I got to show someone who'd
never done it before how to bike to work!
They decided that this summer on the first day of the month, we could have a half-day. So Friday was the first day of
May and I took off around noon, stopped at the bike shop to pick up some random stuff, and met my friend Michelle
for a ride from Pierce Mill to Veers Mill. The weather cooperated and the sun came out, which was nice. I'm working
up to my unusual tan lines.
Saturday - Blue Ridge Challenge
Started off pretty cloudy and overcast - little did we know what we were in for.
The first 20 miles or so, no big deal. In fact, see how happy and relaxed we are at the first pit stop:
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And I managed to find my jersey doppleganger:
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After pit one, we faced the mountain. Folks, it ain't called the Blue Ridge Challenge for
nothing! We climbed for miles and miles in the lowest gear possible at about 4 mph. For a frame of reference,
the average person walks about 3 mph. Some more interesting facts about this ride:
Steapest climb:
12%
Highest Point on Mt Weather:
1820 feet
Highest Point on Naked Mt:
1185 feet
Total Climbing:
3960 feet
It was a killer day, but the best part was that the sun came out and the skies cleared up. And the song is true:
what goes up, must come down - there were some killer descents and I reached 40 mph on one of them. I was so glad
when it was over. I'm not sure if it's delirium, insanity, or relief, but check out the smiles after the ride.
Sunday - Hidden Amish
This is one of my favorite rides because it's nice, gentle rolling hills and the countryside is beautiful. After
the Saturday ride, it was not clear how much I was going to enjoy this ride. Again, it started off cloudy and overcast
and eventually the skies cleared and the sun came out. The ride was great - it felt good to stretch my legs and not
have to conquer hills like the day before. Tons of people showed up and we all kept pretty close together. Ron, the
car sweep from Saturday, joined us on his bike and led for most of the way (yeah Ron!). Here's a picture of some of
the folks at pit 2. Thanks so much to the guy who grabbed my bike at this pit so I could run to the bathroom!
That was my week - very intense, lots of biking and those hills! Particular thank you's to Paul for the rides and
for going the distance; Michelle for leading the ride on Saturday and not hating me for all the bad names I called
her behind her back :); Ron for sweeping on Saturday and providing comic relief on Sunday; and Nick for helping
me up the mountains and lying to me about what was coming next.
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