Miles this week: 260; Miles to date: 1260
Tuesday Hills
Although I normally commute to and from work on my bike, I did a bit of extra riding on Tuesday
called "Tuesday Hills". This ride is a 5 mile loop in the backroads of Arlington up
and down some major hills. The weather was relatively cooperative for once and we zoomed down
the hills and chugged up the hills. I did 3 laps and was very proud of myself for how I managed
to climb - it's tricky and felt I did a good job. I biked home tired, but happy.
Saturday - Random Ride + W&OD
Originally we had planned on riding the Brighton Dam ride, but with forecasts for rain,
the consensus was to rest on Saturday and ride on on Sunday and Monday, not that that's
what happened. The weather, although overcast, didn't actually rain so I hopped on my
bike early and did a 25 mile loop that was similar to my morning commute. Then Paul, Tria,
and I decided to meet for a 40 mile ride on the W&OD. The ride was good - the W&OD
is really flat, straight, and boring, but with the good company and an opportunity to talk
and catch up, it was a good way to spend the afternoon. Plus the dipped cone at Dairy Queen
didn't hurt!
On the way out to DQ, we passed some guy coming in the opposite direction freaking out and
yelling snake. Turns out there was a coiled snake in the middle of the trail - not sure what
kind it was. It wasn't there on the way back and I didn't have my camera to take a picture.
That was a little scary.
The other funny thing that happened was we ran into some people who were a little lost on the
trail and trying to get back to the Mt. Vernon trail so I played leader and showed them the
way back. All told, I rode about 73 miles.
Sunday - Davidsonville Swim and Pie
Oh boy - what a day. We got to Davidsonville after a bit of a hectic start. Paul's car
tire was looking weird so I was calling around desparately trying to find a ride. But he
filled it up with air and it was fine. So we met at 7:30a and made it out to the start
in record time. After the safety speech, Paul and I both
realized we had flat tires. I changed mine, but Paul's tube burst and he had to change it
again before he even left the start. That was just the beginning...
It was raining, the roads were slick, and there was lots of sand, gravel, and glass on the
roads. After about 15 miles, I got all wobbly and realized I had another flat! I found a pretty
significant gash in my tire that we fixed up with rim tape and a Power Bar wrapper, but I
was unconvinced that it would hold and I'd be able to complete the ride. So we rolled into
pit 1, had some snacks, and I decided to keep on going as
long as the tire would let me.
About 12 miles after my flat, Michelle gets a flat after
running over some glass. Her tire also slashed and repaired with rim tape and Power Bar
wrapper, we set off again. Both of us are sort of hesitant about how our bikes will hold
up, but we press on.
A bunch of people decide to stop at an impromptu pit 2 for some food, a bathroom break,
and to stretch. At this point, I'm pretty dirty from
all the gunk on the roads being kicked up and changing so many tires. On we go, though,
to the beach and one of the real reasons to do this ride:
the fry stand. But it was closed so we didn't stop very long.
After some more riding, we stopped at a very tricky intersection (in fact, I missed it last
year, and Michelle, Paul, and Tria missed it a couple of weeks ago when they did this ride).
We had noticed that Paul and Mark had fallen behind so we were waiting for them and decided
to take a picture of Michelle and my new manicures.
When Mark and Paul arrived, we learned that Paul had gotten
another flat!
I think we were all pretty tired of the rain, the flats, and being dirty at this point so
we skipped about 2 miles of the ride and another of the reasons to do this one: the pie shop.
We figured that all the good pie would be gone from the earlier riders and it was after 3 pm.
We come across a big hill at the end of the ride and our sweep Jason, plus Lloyd and another
rider cheered us up, giving us extra encouragement after a long ride.
Pulling into the parking lot was a huge relief. I was dirty,
tired, and sore. Our poor bikes needed some TLC so we
decided to drive through the car wash to clean them off. Given how I looked,
maybe it would have been better to go with the top down?
As Mark and Tria pulled into the parking lot, they told us that Tria got a flat at the
bottom of that steep hill. All told, the flat count for our group stood at about 7 for
the day.
Monday - Bike Repair Day
Some of the team decided to ride on Monday, but after a relatively hard riding weekend for
me, plus my bike needing medical attention, I took the day off and went to the bike shop.
They replaced my brakepads, so worn that they were practically non-existent, and made some
adjustments to my cables. Then I learned how to change my tire - this is different from changing
the tube when you get a flat. Literally, I switched to new tires to replace my torn up ones and I
did it myself! I was so proud of myself for that. And so far, no pinch flats!
Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day and your weather was better than mine! Less than a
month til the ride!
Rachael
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