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Beware the Hairy Legged Monsters

NOKESVILLE, VIRGINIA
Yesterday was the “shop” ride out of The Bike Lane in Reston. It was an enjoyable day and ride until…
…until we turned on Lawyers Road. We’re never on Lawyers Road long and tend to single file on the side of the road once we sort it out. Yesterday we were still in a double line. We were doing 20 mph. Kelley Noonan was beside me when the rider in front of her inexplicably veered sharply to the left. By braking, his rear wheel took out her front wheel and she crashed hard. I heard that another rider flew over top of her.
So stupid!
Riding is fun and riding in a group is more fun but one must be careful and ever vigilant, sometimes for hours. We’re not sure of the person’s name who caused this crash. We heard he was on his first group ride. Hopefully he learned that you don’t make sudden moves while in close quarters in a group. Rather than offer an apology he remarked to Kelley “that was really intense!”
I had State Cup soccer matches to referee in the afternoon and didn’t mind cutting the ride short. Three of us escorted Kelley back to the shop rather than complete the ride.
Today was the Potomac Pedalers Annual Picnic. It was the first one I attended. There were rides for all classifications of riders. The “A,” “BB,” and “B” riders were offered the longest ride of the day — 51 miles. They departed five minutes apart from one another.
I’m thinking I could ride with the “A” riders unless they really ramped up the pace. So I chose to go conservatively and join the BBs.
We started with 20 riders but soon sorted that out to 12. The other eight must have dropped back and joined the B group which was coming. We rode a pace line basically the entire route. Every remaining rider took their turn moving to the front, doing a pull, and then moving over and drifting back to the end of the line.
At mile 20 I found myself in front and did a pull for 3/4 mile then dropped back to the end. Oh my. Was it my fault that three riders dropped during my pull? We were down to nine and stayed that way until we reached the store/rest area. There we would regroup.
We left the rest stop and started slowly. Our 12 dropped down to 10.
Mindful of yesterday’s crash, I was only comfortable following one rider. We joke about the “hairy legged monsters” but shaved legs is often a sign of a competitive or simply a serious rider who knows how to keep tempo and keep his line. Or maybe not. But until you have time to figure this out on a group ride it’s a good starting place.
“Captain America” was the only other rider in our group who shaved. And he knew how to ride. Contrast that to one guy I fell in behind who would pedal furiously, then coast, the pedal hard, then coast, then stand, then coast. It was very difficult following him. My steady tempo would bring me too close when he decided to coast or stand. Plus he didn’t hold his line too well.
As much as a physical exercise, a ride like today’s is also a mental exercise. As some point one feels like they can no longer maintain the pace of the group. And today was a perfect day to “drop” and reintegrate with the riders we dropped or even the B group coming behind us.
Thankfully, I only had to fight that battle in my mind a couple of times. And the last time I was determined not to let it win.
Our 10 stayed together until five miles to go. After a missed turn, we turned into a wall of wind. We all fought to fight the wind and to stay tucked in behind the rider in front. Our pace line stayed together until I moved to the front. I only rode for about half a mile but when I dropped off I was surprised to see that we were down to six and no longer 10.
The last two mile stretch I was gapped by the group. I couldn’t stay with their pace — the one that I set. But I never was more than 50 yards behind and worked my tail off to close the gap and catch back on. As we approached Nokesville Park I had integrated and actually was first one back to the cars.
We went out at 18.7 mph for 27 miles and then returned at 20.2 for the remaining 24 miles. Overall, the 19.4 average was the highest I have averaged on any ride.
This was a big day for me. I didn’t set out to record my fastest pace and the conditions were not right for it with heavy head and cross winds. But after cancer, and with another year under my belt, I did not expect ever to ride faster than I have before. I will take a 19.4 clip over a 50 mile course at any time.

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Hey – It's My Ride – You Can't Drop Me

MARSHALL, VIRGINIA

I never envisioned myself leading a group ride for the Potomac Pedalers Touring Club. Time commitments with refereeing kept me from blocking out much time for cycling. In addition to not being able to commit the time, I suck as a group leader for rides.

On group rides I never take a cue sheet and rarely lead unless someone is willing to tell me where to turn. So I don’t make a great person to actually lead a ride. I’m good at wheel sucking. Until I get tired.

Last week I looked at the group rides planned for this weekend and they sucked. I didn’t see anything good. So I got on the Potomac Pedalers website and sent an email expressing my willingness to lead a ride on Sunday if they posted it. And they did. I decided that I would do the same ride I did last week — the Blue Ridger. Climb over Mount Weather and Naked Mountain.

Never mind that I forgot it was Palm Sunday. My ride went up on the web site and I found myself in Marshall waiting for people to show up. And hoping they didn’t. I wasn’t quite “feeling it” and it was cold with a forecast of rain later in the day. But either four or six riders joined me for our 55 mile adventure.

The four riders responded to the Potomac Pedalers website listing while the other two showed up on their own. They said they would go out on their own but they did sign in with me. We had a group of seven!

It was 43 degrees when the five of us left and we caught our two riders in Bluemont just as they were heading up the first climb. After our brief rest stop in Bluemont I was the last of the group up the climb and lost contact with everyone. For the next 14 miles I swore at Cancer for zapping me of my fitness for not being able to keep up with the ride that I was “leading.”

The temperature dropped to 37 degrees on top of Mount Weather. I rode in the clouds. Visibility was about 100 meters and the fog was so thick that water dripped from the trees onto the road.
Here were four of our six riders in Bluemont

I didn’t want to take chances but I descended at a decent clip. I forgot my glasses today so as at more than 40 mph tears were flying from both eyes and snot was running from both nostrils. Maybe that’s why they didn’t want to wait for me. As I came to the end of Blueridge Mountain Road I could see through the barren trees ahead two riders were waiting to cross Rte 50. I had caught someone.

I descended to Paris, jumped the guardrail (well, got off my bike and carried it over the guardrail) and caught the group at The Ashby Inn.

When we headed out on Rte 17 the winds picked up. I don’t know who was pulling but I felt sorry for him but not sorry enough to go to the front to take a pull. I was in front a lot in the first 23 miles before we hit the climb which I can blame myself for not being able to keep up once we hit the mountain.

Some rains hit us and may have had a bit of sleet. It was miserable. We were only in the rain about two minutes before we turned up Leeds Manor Road for the climb up Naked Mountain. Both the rain and wind quit as soon as we turned off 17. We soon split into three groups of two-three-two and climbed at our own pace. I was in the middle three.

The five of us regrouped but had dropped the two trailing riders. We started the eight mile finishing stretch back to Marshall together. The first couple miles were fine but when the road turned up I couldn’t quite keep pace. Eventually I got back in within 50 meters of the lead three and that’s where I would stay.

I was wiped at the end. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that I finished the parcours 30 minutes faster than last week. And while I whined last week that I was two miles per hour slower than when I rode last July, I discovered I got those two mph back. I rode today in the cold and wet the same pace as I rode last July. Even getting dropped.

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Blue Ridger Proper

MARSHALL, VIRGINIA

“You’re going to be hot in that,” the rider said to me as I was leaving the Park & Ride lot in Marshall. I thought it’s OK because I want to stay warm and as the temperature rose I could peel off the leg and arm warmers.

I’ve ridden the Blue Ridger route three or four times before but never solo. I thought I might see some riders in the parking lot who wanted to team up. Instead there were two parked cars then the one rider came as I was getting ready to roll. He wasn’t interested in riding 55 miles over two mountains this early in the season.

I headed north out of Marshall towards Rectortown and was immediately glad I had on the warmers. It was spring, the first full day, but winter chill was still in the air. The smell of wood burning was in the air but the birds were chirping their welcome to the new season.

I wanted to take my time to “smell the flowers” but flowers were hard to find. In some shaded areas there was still snow from the last storm four weeks ago.

It was a nice ride to Bluemont. I stopped briefly to remove my leg warmers. I began the climb up to Mount Weather (think X-Files) and slide the arm warmers down. Once on the summit I needed the arm warmers.

After a few miles of rollers on the mountains, I descended to Paris, Va., and then climbed up and over Naked Mountain. Five different times on the ride I went over 40 mph. The last 10 miles were rollers but the storm moving in later today presented some nice headwinds.

Top of Rte 7

Looking up Blueridge Mountain Road
Much steeper than it looks

My time was two mph slower than when I last rode it in July. Blame it on (1) Recovery from cancer surgery (2) no group to pull me along (3) early season out of shape (4) being another year older (5) I suck.

Ashby Inn, Paris, Va.

Garmin Map and Stats

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First Day of Spring

RESTON, VIRGINIA

After a winter of almost no group rides, we had our first one two weeks ago. But the temperature was 35 with a high near 50. Rain claimed the ride last weekend and with today’s forecast with a high of 70, it seemed like the first ride of the season. And it would be the first ride of the spring season since spring arrived at 1:32 p.m.

Today was simply on the best rides we had. It was a large group (I didn’t count but maybe 30) and we all stayed together. There was a bit of a split on South Lakes but I hung with the front group. Sweet.

It was also the first I saw Kelly Noonan and David Vito since my surgery. It was a great day!

Friends Kelley and David

Garmin Map and Stats

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Rain? What Rain?

WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA
We have had some of the worst cycling weather this winter. Record snow falls and a slow melt kept the roads covered. When the roads were good, the weather was bad. Last week was still the first group ride I was able to join in Reston since my pre-surgery ride on November 7.
This weekend was no better. Rain since Friday canceled our group ride Saturday and most of what I could find for the Potomac Pedalers rides today.
About 2:00 p.m. I had had enough. I’ve been caught in plenty of rain storms but never deliberately said “screw it — let’s go riding in the rain.” Today I did.
The temperature was 49 degrees. It rained the entire time. I only went 11 miles but it was great to be on the bike. A little bit of rain wasn’t going to keep me down.
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A Perfect Ride

RESTON, VIRGINIA
Among other undesirable traits, I am a soccer referee. Some experienced referees realize there is no such thing as a perfectly called game despite the expectations of soccer parents. Nonetheless, we may tell someone we had a perfect game. No mistakes. Of course we are referring only to a game that has been rained out or canceled.

Reston Town Center

Today I had a perfect ride. No stopping too quick or touching wheels with another rider. No bonking near the end of the ride. Not even running a stop sign (not that I would ever do that). Perfect.

The Bike Lane, Reston

For the 13th straight weekend since my cancer surgery — I did not ride. However, I got closer. I made it to The Bike Lane in Reston. We had breakfast then I got fitted for a Trek 5.2 Madonne for my trip to France.

Alistair Hastings rode

There is a thrill in a group ride but the camaraderie also brings out riders. I have been cleared to ride for sometime but the weather or my schedule never cooperated. Since early January I have wanted to jump back into one of our group rides at The Bike Lane in Reston but never could. Then last weekend we had two and a half feet of snow plus more on Tuesday.

Bikes for sale

Adam Lewandowski sent out his weekly broadcast message announcing that the group rides in Burke and Reston were canceled. Again. Then he invited our group to breakfast at Mon Ami in the Reston Town Center.

Just talking shop

Maybe as much as I wanted to get out and ride I wanted to get back in with our group. We didn’t have a large turnout today which calls into question my theory that most of us ride just to eat. Still, getting back to The Bike Lane made it a perfect ride.

Andrew Steele’s balancing act
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A New Ride

FACEBOOK, USA — A new ride began with my fight against cancer. While I continue to battle on a personal level, it is much more than personal. It is the global fight we must win. We beat Polio and Smallpox; most readers probably don’t remember those. And we can beat cancer.

My fund raising goal is $20,000. I must say that riding the bike 100 miles or 7.6 miles up Mount Washington is easier than this goal. But I will stay the course.

Tonight, with the guidance of Ben Jones, we deployed a fan page, Ride Against Cancer. We had to get 25 fans to get a vanity address and got that in less than half an hour. By bedtime, we had 100 fans.

But, much like my failed ad campaign in which my ad was displayed 190,000 times and we received $0 in donations, people jumped at the chance to become a fan but it led to $0 donations. Well, maybe $25. Not sure if the one person who donated did because she was harassed otherwise or because of the page. The test will be when a complete stranger becomes a fan and donates.

The Fan page on Facebook is important for connections. The 190,000 times the ad was displayed it went to people, over 30, who had keywords of bike, bicycle, cycling, Lance Armstrong, It’s Not About the Bike, Cancer Sucks, Tour de France, or Prostate Cancer Foundation. I deemed those people most like to be interested in my ad to give money to Livestrong.

It was displayed 190,000 and received 50 clicks, all of which I paid for, and not a single donation. Grrr.

The next ad campaign will reach friends and friends of friends and fans of my new page. When the ad is displayed it will also show that “Beth is a fan” or “3 friends are fans.” At least with this ad there is a personal connection.

This new approach may not gain any donations either but it is worth a try. We have to do something to beat cancer.

Cancer — you picked on the wrong person.

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Just Hanging On

BERRYVILLE, VA

Potomac Pedalers Backroads Century

It was just 48 degrees when I arrived at Clarke Co., H.S. I stayed overnight in Charles Town and didn’t have everything with me that I would have preferred. I knew that I would be cold and I was. My only cold-weather gear was a light riding jacket (windbreaker). The toes, fingers, and legs would have to warm up on their own on this day.

The start time was supposed to be 7:30 a.m. but there wasn’t a mass start. Whenever riders wanted to get on the course they were free to leave. Some, I’m sure, were headed out at 7:00 a.m.

I waited until 7:30 to roll out. There were a number of other riders starting and it was a matter of sorting out who I would ride with. Never in a previous century have I started with one group and stayed with them the entire way. These things have their own dynamics. I just hoped to find one or two riders who rode about the same pace as me and we could work together until the first rest stop. At that point, I might leave in my own and form up with other riders. Or none at all.

I soon found a group of six riders and most of them wore the kits of Evolution Cycling — a racing team I trained with in January and February. They slowed when they realized they dropped a couple of their riders and I slowed with them. It’s better to stay with a group.

We soon formed up and picked up a couple more riders along the way. Despite a missed turn when I was at the front, we organized and averaged 20 mph to our first rest stop at Mile 29. I have never averaged more than 17+ on anything longer than 25 miles. Today I averaged 20 mph for 29 miles.

I was excited. I thought about riding the remaining 71 miles at my pace content with the 20 mph pace which left me drained. But when we rolled out I jumped in with them again. At times I thought I might have to drop out but I matched every acceleration.

I carried a camera with me hoping to capture some nice photos. Shortly after we left the rest area in West Virginia we were treated with a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains enveloped in the low clouds. It was postcard quality and will remain that way in my mind.

On any other ride I would have pulled over and took some pictures but I knew the pace I was on was special. And I knew that if I pulled over I could never rejoin the group. So no pictures of the ride.

Here in Jefferson County is the only place in West Virginia where the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah River come together. Of course those are mentioned in Country Roads, John Denver’s famous 1971 hit, and the theme song of West Virginia University.

With one exception, there were no hairy-legged monsters in our group. All the guys had shaved legs which indicates that they are serious cyclists.* And they are to average 20 mph on a ride. But it also makes one secure in following closely. That is, until one rider lost his attention for one second.

He lost his attention span and saw that he was 1/2 inch from ramming the rider in front of him. He both braked and steered to avoid him which almost caused all of us to go down in a heap. But we didn’t dwell on it. One rider chastised him briefly and soon we were back hanging on each others’ wheels.

We got back to the parking lot at the school which marked our halfway rest stop. It had warmed up to 65 degrees so I could remove my jacket and put it back in the van. Heck, I was soaked with sweat at that point.

I checked my bike computer and we averaged 19.5 for the first 50 miles. I was at my van and thought 50 miles at 19+ was great and worth calling it a day.

The route was designed as a north 50 mile loop into West Virginia to the edge of Charles Town. The southern 50 mile loop went to Boyce, Millwood, and south of US 50, all in Virginia.

We rolled out and I was with them again. Before our next rest stop our group split. And I made the split. I kept wondering why the heck I was with the front five riders while seven others dropped off the pace. We reorganized at the rest stop and a dozen of us rolled out together.

We had some climbs and here I dropped back with three other riders. I can climb and finish the steep hills but when the young racers hit the 3-4% half-mile grades I can’t always keep their 20 mph pace especially after having ridden 70 miles.

But the key is to remain calm and ignore that little guy, Kazoo, who sits on your shoulder and tells you to let them go and finish by yourself. So three of us rode together although we dropped Mike, a rider who started cramping.

We ignored the temptation on the next flat just to hammer it and catch the lead group quickly. We could have caught them but we would have been toast. Instead, we lifted our pace slightly until we were able to integrate with our main group.

We stopped at a rest area at Mile 75. After five minutes Mike arrived. We waited for him to refuel then took off. Our group had grown to 16 as other riders were talking about our group that was smokin’ it. They wanted in for some fun.

The last 25 miles was really a lot of holding on and getting dropped twice but each time catching the back of our group. The last time I was aided by a train. That is to say that everybody got stopped at a railroad crossing. But Mike was dropped for good. In our run-in to the finish we picked up other riders along the way but ultimately shed them. In the home stretch, we were still standing at a dozen riders.

We pulled back into the parking lot five and a quarter hours after we departed. This was riding time only; it does not include the time sitting at picnic tables at rest areas or standing in line at the porta-johns.

George Muschamp
 
I ran into George Muschamp, a co-worker, at the finish line. One hundred and two miles. 5:15 of riding time. The average speed was an incredible (for this ancient rider) 19.3 mph. This was two mph faster than any previous ride at any distance. This was the first time I rode a century with the same group from start to finish.
 

Hey, I can ride with these guys (as long as I hang on and they do most of the pulling).

This was a bittersweet day and ride. I am incredibly excited about my speed for the day but also realize this is probably my last ride for quite some time. Whether I can regain this level of fitness I don’t know.**

___
*Well, I shave my legs so I don’t know if that alone qualifies me as a serious cyclist.
**Impending cancer treatment

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The Time is Close

PORTLAND, MAINE

I really wanted to ride this 65-mile loop around the base of Mount Washington but also knew that if I rode it there was a chance that my legs would be too sore going into Saturday. I reluctantly decided the prudent thing to do was to find another ride.

I drove to the beautiful village of Jackson, New Hampshire. Not finding a great place to park, I went into the post office, identified myself as a headquarters employee of U.S.P.S. and threatened to close their office asked if I could park in their employee lot — which basically meant the postmaster’s space. I could.

I got on Highway 16 and headed out through the White Mountains National Forest to the Mount Washington Auto Road. From the base I could see the summit of Mount Washington. Damn, it looks so far away. And high too. What was I thinking?


Mary Power, the events director at the MWAR greeted me. She asked about Ashley — still thinks she’s sweet.

Mary Power, Barry Sherry

Mary has been absolutely wonderful. I initially intended to ride Newton’s Revenge in July. But when I broke my wrist in May I contacted her to tell her I was still coming even though my cast would be off but a few days. She asked if I could come to the MWARBH instead. So I signed up for this race and then got sick. It looked like I would not ride at all this year and Mary graciously was supposed to roll my registration over to next year.

Except she forgot. And it all worked out because here I am.

I met Mary’s new assistant, Kelly, who comes from Beaver, Pennsylvania so we had a nice time talking. I graduated from New Brighton which is one town over in Beaver Co. We also talked about Hurricane Mountain Road. Both ladies said they hated to even drive that road. It is a nasty little road.

Today’s ride was a 28-mile ride out and back. Most of the ride out was climbing which made for a fun descent on the ride back.

We did talk about the race. I am excited because Phil Gaimon (Jelly Belly) will be here as well as Ned Overend. Ned, 53, is a legend. Maybe some day Phil will be a legend. I wish I could watch those two battle it out up the mountain. Phil’s young legs should win out but with Ned, you never know. Of course, a mechanical will end the race for either racer.


At the end of the ride I drove 60 miles to Portland, Maine. I am playing hotel roulette — I get credit for three stays instead of one — and get to see the coast too.

Garmin Stats for the Day

Weirdness of the Day

I had a couple of day’s worth of clothes to wash and found the laundry at the Hilton Garden Inn – Airport, in Portland. I figured being an airport hotel, it truly is, that everyone here was staying for one night and no one would have any laundry.

They had one washer and one dryer. They were empty. I put in my clothes and went for a 20-minute ride. The cycle was 30 minutes and I figured I would return and put my clothes in the dryer.

I returned with about five minutes remaining in the cycle and the dryer was in use. Who would be drying clothes without washing them? It certainly messed up my timing.

I returned to my room to grab my laptop to take with me to the laundry room. When I returned I found my wash tossed on top of the dryer and someone else’s clothes in the washer.

The culprit soon came back in. He was looking for soap. Rather than purchase some soap he took out a pocket knife and sliced off some slivers then added some shampoo. True.

Then a family came in to check on their clothes in the dryer. Bathing suits. I guess they just wanted hot suits.

I dried my clothes and then folded them. I was missing one arm warmer, one glove, and two socks. I had one cycling sock and one normal sock in the wash and knew I had a pair.

I opened the washer and saw my missing glove in the shampoo mix. I took it out.

Later I went back to the laundry room and saw my missing cycling sock was on the dryer.

After running an errand I returned and ran into the shampoo guy. He apologized for taking my clothes. He said he thought he had removed everything from the washer. I should have challenged him for removing them in the first place but I didn’t. It’s not like he has been waiting an hour while the clothes were in there.

I told him I was still missing an arm warmer and another sock. He said he didn’t have them but later I returned to the laundry room and there they were, folded. And smelling like shampoo.

Weird.

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Time to Hit the Road

WINDSOR, CONNECTICUT

The preparations are complete. Miles of riding through the winter are but a memory. Although not nearly as steep as Mount Washington, I rode the Blue Ridger three times this year with the Potomac Pedalers Cycling Club. I rode The Hills of Ellicott City. And a ride called Happy Happy Pain Pain. Using the same naming convention, the ascent up Mount Washington would simply be called Pain Pain Pain Pain. And Pain.

Happiness comes when you cross the finish line. And about five minutes after you cross and you finally get some of the mile high+ air back into your lungs.

In April I rode up and over Blue Knob Ski Resort near Altoona, Pa. And the past two weekends I rode “The Wall” which is a half-mile portion of 17-19% grade as part of a nine-mile climb out of Altoona past (under really since there is a 200-foot tunnel) Horseshoe Curve. While in Altoona, I met some nice riders from Spokes and Skis. Two weeks ago I met “Joel” and last week I met “Richard and Stacey.” I hope I spelled her name right.

Baby ring (24t)

Unlike last year, I went ahead and had some gear changes made to my bike. Two years ago I was set to go up with a 30 tooth front sprocket and a 25 tooth rear. I wouldn’t have made it. I thought I had a 27 tooth rear gear until I counted and discovered it was 25. I immediately replaced it with a 27.

Bike on roof; look at that gearing

Last year I went with 30:27 and suffered all the way up but I made it. I did a lot of soul searching as to whether I needed to change but in the end am glad to say that, at least once, I rode the mountain without making changes to the bike.

But this year I went with the best option I could find without making significant changes. We went with a 24 tooth on the front, shortened the chain, removed the big ring, and put a 28 tooth gear on the rear. Both the 24 and 28 tooth gears are the most extreme that I could find without changing the derailleur.

Bike packed. Let’s roll!

The real challenge of this day was to remember how to reassemble the Yakima bike rack. No problem at all. However, when I arrived in Windsor the key on my key ring didn’t unlock the bike. Thoughts and me driving to New Hampshire with a bike stuck on the roof of the car ran through my head. But I brought an extra key in the coin/ashtray and it worked. Crisis averted.

Otherwise, the trip was uneventful. I left home at 9:30 a.m., made a couple stops before I hit the road, and got to the George Washington Bridge in New York City just before 3:00 p.m. which is just ahead of rush hour. I guess I could have driven the entire route but by 6:00 p.m. I had gone far enough for the day.

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