United States - peaceonabike

April 25, 2009August 10, 2021

A Group of One

MARSHALL, VIRGINIA

It is April but unseasonably hot. In Frederick, Md., the temperature reached 97º (36º C). It wasn’t much cooler in the Blue Ridge.

This was advertised as a BB/B pace ride. While I often ride at a BB pace the problem with a BB ride is that some A riders jump in and ramp up the pace.

We left Marshall, Va. at 9:35 a.m. I was already hanging back adjusting my heart rate monitor. When we got to the open road I sat in behind five riders. The pace seemed slow — too slow, and when I got a chance I decided I was going to bridge up to the first group. Two groups had already formed and I wanted to ride with the faster group that was already about a half-mile ahead. I took off on my solo venture.

For the next five minutes, I could see the front group about 1/4 mile in front of me. So we had the BB Group followed by me a quarter mile back and then the B Group, another quarter mile behind. I truly was in cyclists’ terms, in no-man’s land.

During this time one thinks about the effort necessary to bridge up to the lead group and, once one reaches them, how tired they will be. But I was determined and I thought I was closing the gap. I also thought it might take 10-15 minutes before I could fully bridge to them.

I had gone a couple of miles when I crested a small ridge and began descending. When I reached the bottom of the descent I could see the road ahead for a half-mile and could not see the BBs. My first thought — the right one — was that they could not have added more time on me.

I sat up and pulled out my cue sheet for the ride. I had blown right by the first turn. Oops! A major oops!

After actually reviewing the cue sheet I decided to turn back and go back up the hill to the first turn. I had gone at least a half-mile and knew that going an extra mile would put me behind the B Group. And no one would know. If anything happened I was on my own.

I knew not to panic and not to try to put the hammer down to reach the B Group. I just wanted to ride at a steady pace. Of course, the quitter in me said turn around and go back while the finisher in me said to keep going and I would catch them. It might be in a mile, five miles, or ten, but eventually, I should catch them.

And thus began my long lonely journey of the 56-mile Blue Ridge Ramble.

I went out to Markham and turned on Leeds Manor Road. This would take me over Naked Mountain. The ride up the hill was a little more formidable than I expected. There were long stretches of 10%-12% grade, even kicking up past 14%. I just rode a steady rhythm and kept drinking. And eating Sports Beans (by Jelly Belly).

The descent off the east side was nice; my first 40+ mph speed of the day. I could have gone faster but the pavement was very rough. I rode the shoulder on US 17 to Paris, Va. In Paris, I asked a woman who was walking if a group of cyclists came by. She said they did. When I asked how far they were ahead she told me she saw them when she was down by the stop sign. “So however long it took me to walk from the stop sign to here.”

Yea. Helpful. At least I knew they were ahead which, of course, they had to be.

I then began the climb up US 50 (no shoulder!!!) to Clark’s Gap and then up Mount Weather. I had three water bottles with me and was trying to ration them to the store at Bluemont. Actually, I was trying to ration them to the top of the climb and figured I could do without water on the descent to Bluemont. I knew I would connect with the group at Bluemont.

Around mile 26 I was on top of Mount Weather. After a couple of miles or so of “rollers” up ahead I saw one of our riders, Klara Vraday. I had pretty much forgotten I was on a group ride and was just enjoying a solo venture. I quickly gained on her and surprised her when I said “I bet you thought you were the last rider.” I had ridden 28 miles solo.

We would have stayed together but just as soon as I caught her there was a screaming descent coming up and I wanted to bomb it. I hit 48 mph going down to Rte 7 but it does go down to Rte 7. Rather than go for 50 mph, which I wanted to do, I thought the prudent thing would be to apply brakes.

I stopped the Garmin timer waiting for Klara then forgot to restart it when I started the descent down to Bluemont. It cost me at least a mile in recorded distance and killed my average speed because I was flying down the mountain. And Garmin simply drew a straight line from where I turned it off to where I restarted it. How would it know?

We stopped in Bluemont, refueled and hydrated, and took off for Marshall. There were six of us together to cover the last 25 miles. We were still on Snickersville Turnpike when we dropped Klara. I announced this to the group then dropped back with her and brought her back to the group. This happened a second time and I did the same. The third time it happened I told the group to go on and I would shepherd Klara back to the start. She was having problems dealing with the heat and was really annoyed because those were her friends who dropped her and a stranger was the one who dropped back to escort her back.

This was a good training ride. The heat took its toll but it’s good to train in these conditions. It must make me stronger. At least I hope so.

It’s missing one mile at Snickers Gap but did record the high speed of 48 mph. And check out the elevation map.

April 13, 2009August 4, 2021

A Windy Blair Witch

RANSON, WEST VIRGINIA

Visiting Ashley in Ranson, West Virginia, I decided to head out for a ride along the basic route of the South Mountain Loop, a 37-mile route for hybrids or mountain bikes, which originates in Brunswick, Maryland. Only one problem presented itself: I rode the route just once six years ago and would attempt to ride it from memory. I did pretty well, only missing one turn which I would do differently.

The day was cold and windy. Winds were constant at 20-30 mph with higher gusts. Temperatures were in the mid-30s to start and only climbed to near 50º (10º C) by the end of the ride. Everywhere there was a headwind. I don’t know how this could be but it was.

Instead of starting in Brunswick, I started in Ranson and followed US 340. When I crossed the Shenandoah River just upriver from Harpers Ferry, I turned on Chestnut Hill Road. From 340, Chestnut Hill Road looks almost impossible to drive up and does look impossible to bike up. But on a bike is where magic happens.

I turned the corner and kept climbing higher and higher. The GPS showed 12% then 14% then 18%. When it “leveled” off to 4% I decided to turn around and go back to the route I had planned. I descended at 45 mph. I could have gone faster but there was a stop sign, heavy traffic, a guard rail, and the Potomac River at the bottom.

I followed US 340 into and out of Virginia and across the Potomac River into Maryland. I passed beautiful farmland to Burkittsville, the location of the horror movie, The Blair Witch Project. It’s a lovely little village and I can’t say I saw any witches. But who really knows for sure? They don’t all look like Elphaba.

Out of Burkittsville, I climbed a ridge road along South Mountain before being dropped back into the valley then climbing up Reno Monument Road. At the base of Reno Monument Road is a large, slightly unkempt house on the left. You know, the kind where a huge dog is lurking ready to attack. Outriding dogs can present their own adrenaline rush but I’m not going to out pedal a dog while going up a 20% hill.

My dogdar (that’s like radar to detect dogs) was on full alert mainly because when I rode this six years ago I was chased by a big dog at this house. Yes – you remember those things.

I was quietly pedaling, not shifting gears, and generally trying to avoid disturbing any creatures who may live there. And then I saw him. A huge dog but I’m not sure of his breed.

And he saw me. Or she saw me. I didn’t want to get close enough to check.

The dog came flying across the yard and I dismounted and started being really nice. There was no way I was going to flee and kick in the dog’s chase mentality. I was on the right side of the road and the dog was to the left. I hoped that he wouldn’t come across the road at me. I walked a little saying stupid things he couldn’t understand like “nice puppy.” This completely killed my average speed for the day too. I should have paused the Garmin.

My break came when just as the dog was coming out of his yard a car came down the hill and almost hit it. Brakes squealed, the driver stopped and I used the car as a shield to sneak away.

Reno Hill kicked up to 20% but it was a relatively short climb. At the summit, there are some Civil War markers and a “Private Road” sign which invited me to ride.

I turned left and was riding the very summit of South Mountain. A one-lane paved road with no traffic was great. I wondered where the road would end. I thought it was a U.S. Park Service one-lane road which perhaps made a loop. The grade was great for climbing. A lot of 12% with even higher numbers as well. After two miles I came to a dead end. Some government installation. Some secret government installation. I smiled for the cameras and turned around.

Back to the main road, I descended into the valley on the east side of the mountain. I missed the road that would have taken me to Chestnut Ridge and down to Harpers Ferry. But Rte 67 has a very wide shoulder and was a nice run into Brunswick.

As I approached Brunswick I saw the last road on the right and thought it would be fun to take it to Harpers Ferry if that’s where it went. It didn’t. It was a heck of a climb and ultimately I realized I was climbing for no reason that the road would not cross the mountain. I was right. I made a loop right back to Rte 67. Bonus miles.

I was not prepared for the distance with the climbing on this day. Or the wind. I climbed almost 6,000 vertical feet. Other than a small packet of Sport Beans (by Jelly Belly), I had no food and I ran out of water. I bonked and the thought of climbing back out of the river valley was too much. I pulled out my cell phone but no one answered my distress call.

My emergency funds consisted of two dollars in my saddlebag and were used to purchase a Snickers bar at the Exxon Station at the base of Harpers Ferry Road. Hunger solved. I made the 2-mile climb up the US 340 past Harpers Ferry to the plateau with ease.

The stats don’t show the entire trip because I reset the Garmin nine miles into the ride so I rode close to 66 miles. It was a good day but very tiring.

February 18, 2009September 7, 2020

Sierra Road

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA

Rain came down, hard at times in San Jose. The boys have two mountain passes today on their way to Modesto. Have a safe trip!

My last day at the Amgen Tour. of California. I decided to spectate. I had a good time volunteering throughout the tour. In Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and especially Santa Cruz, I was the face of the Tour for many people and the face of cycling for these folks. The good people who came out in Sacramento and Santa Rosa were somewhat informed but still were inquisitive.

The folks who came out in Santa Cruz were mostly curious. My position in Santa Cruz was along a residential street and the only spectators, and there were a few, were locals who lived in the neighborhood. Most of them were retirees. I had to begin with Cycling 101. It was fun. My position on the course was necessary to keep people off a dangerous part of the course but it was a bad place to view the race.

After three days of being stuck in locations that were helpful to spectators but boring for me, I decided to head to the hill where I could simply spectate.

Sierra Road was the place. It immediately leaves the Silicon Valley and starts a climb. Sierra Road climbs from an elevation of 264 feet to 2041 feet over 3.6 miles. It has an average grade of 10%. Walking it I passed a number of walkers and a couple of cyclists.

My thought while headed up the grade was “wow, this is really steep and this is really long.” Only after I returned did I look up the stats and discovered it’s half as long as Mount Washington, doesn’t reach 6,000 feet, isn’t nearly as steep (12% is, after all, 20% steeper than 10%), and actually has some flat and even downhill sections where the body can recover.*

Some cyclists walked. Others kept plodding along. A few cyclists came by with a pretty good pace and then a Liquigas rider came flying by. He left them in the dust (well, road mist). I know some people buy kits of their favorite teams but who owns the complete Liquigas kit other than a true rider? I figured Team Liquigas brought an extra rider or two and they are riding ahead of the peloton for their fitness. I don’t know who that was.

Once I reached the top the temperature dropped, the winds picked up, and the rain started. And it was cold. My estimate was it was in the mid 30s with a wind chill in the mid 20s. I had an umbrella and shared it with another guy.

Unlike Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz, there weren’t any curious onlookers at the summit. Everyone there was a cyclist or cycling fan. I figured the people who were erecting signs for Steven Cozza (Garmin-Slipstream) were his parents. At the top were the parents of Scott Nydam (BMC) and his fiance. She was marking the pavement with his name in chalk although it was a losing battle against the rain. It’s neat being at the top and chatting with the families of the riders. Try that in France!

There were probably 100 of us at the top and, who knows, a few hundred more at various points on the way up. I had one time to get it right and decided to make my last view of the Tour from the King of the Mountains summit. If I had a second time I would pick a location about halfway up where I could see the entire course without my view blocked by the masses. But I don’t regret being at the summit.

We were cold. People were jumping up and down to keep warm and we cheered everyone who came across the summit. Mountain bike. Yeah! Walker. Yeah! Policeman. Yeah! Cheering kept us warm.

One cyclist recognized me from Sunday’s stage. “You were in Santa Rosa.” He thanked me for talking with him there then asked if he rode down 100 yards and came back up if he thought we would cheer for him. I assured him we would. The cyclist goes down 100 yards, turns around, and comes back. Yeahhh!

The police came through followed by a group of four riders followed closely by the peloton. Francisco Mancebo (Rock Racing) was first. Although we were only 8.1 miles from the start, and many riders were grouped, it was surprising to see some real stragglers. I had already started down when another rider came up. I first assumed it was a recreational rider — he was behind the team cars — but it may have been Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Colavita-Sutter Home). He abandoned today.

The rain picked up and was really coming down. They were very big rain drops, almost hail. I was wet and cold and wasn’t looking forward to my trip down. My pants were weighted down with a camera, cell phone, wallet, and car keys. I could not run but run I did. I started slowly. I didn’t have running shoes — turf shoes that I probably ruined all the little nubbies. My gait was a half stride, because it was downhill and because I couldn’t really run or else my pants would fall down.

I carried the umbrella and fought the wind. It only turned inside out once. I made it down passing lots of people along the way and made it back to the car. Even with an umbrella, I was soaked. Again. But no longer cold. At the lower level, it was near 50° and with wearing two riding jackets I was sweating.

I opened the car, peeled off some of the wet clothes, but really had to go to the bathroom. I found an empty Diet Pepsi bottle and created my first “urine bottle.” The urgency was such that I could not wait.

I then reflected on four days of fun. The Amgen Tour of California is a great event. It will become a major American sport just like the Tour de France is (when soccer becomes as popular as American football) so you better plan to see it while you can still mingle with the parents and girlfriends of the riders, and even meet them at their trailer.

I would like to come back– maybe volunteer at one stage, but not four. Spectating is much more fun. Now if they offered me a position as traveling course marshal — we’ll talk. Especially if Lance comes back next year.

*Actually, with flat and downhill sections in the calculation, perhaps the actual climbing sections may have been 12% or so.

EDIT/EPILOGUE – This was my first urine bottle – ever. I had a headache and lots of body aches on this trip. With 20/20 hindsight, I likely had e.Coli at this time. A few weeks later, I had the same symptoms while officiating at the Jefferson Cup in Richmond, Va. Headaches and fevers continued until May when Dr. Semerjean at George Washington University Hospital finally diagnosed the e.Coli and was able to treat it. He also diagnosed cancer.

But it is likely that on this day, my cancer journey began.

February 15, 2009February 15, 2022

Cold, Wet, and Windy

SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA

AMGEN TOUR OF CALIFORNIA – STAGE 1

All day long the rain came down. It was quite hard at times.

As was typical with the ATOC, volunteer check-in was hours before the assignment. I checked in at 9:00 a.m. but didn’t need to report to my location until noon. It gave me a chance to walk around this town — in the rain, of course.

The downtown area is quite neat. Except for the driving rain, it’s a great choice for a tour city. But February is the rainy season in California, especially in northern California. It’s probably not the best time to hold a major bike race.

The tour cities make a day of the event. In Sacramento, we worked a community ride on the course two hours before the event. In Santa Rosa, it was a professional women’s criterium.

And it rained. And rained more. The women did a nice job of staying upright. The winner was the Swedish national champion Emilia Fahlin although for my money Lauren Tamayo was the rider of the day as she led out the breaks and did most of the work.

After the race, which ended at 2:00 p.m., we had to kill time waiting for the arrival of the men. The bad weather grounded the race airplane and getting information was hard. Even Versus, the television broadcast network, was affected. One marshal at our location was connected to ham operators and he kept us informed as to their locations. That was useful in answering the many questions “what time will they arrive?”

Last year there was a crash on the run-in to town. In cycling, the officials can give everyone who is together the same finishing time if there is a crash within the last 3 km. This rewards the risk-takers who make those dare-devil sprint finishes so exciting.

But where are the last three kilometers? The finish in Santa Rosa was circuits of the downtown on a 3.1 mile (5 km) loop. Is a crash on the first circuit within 3 km of the “finish?” It is usually literal, that is, within 3 km of the finish line.

Last year, favorite and Santa Rosa native, Levi Leipheimer, got caught in a crash on the first loop. At the time he was near the front but lost massive time due to the crash. The race officials then decided to give all the riders the same time, making Levi very happy. It was controversial, to say the least.

Today we were not informed of the local rules. But the race director made the decision that once they got to Santa Rosa, the first time across the “finish line” would be the actual time for the stage. In essence, the second and third passes didn’t count — at least for time.

The roads were soaked. High-speed corners in this weather were a recipe for disaster. So arrive Santa Rosa safely and get your race time when you arrive.

Fransicso Mancebo (ESP) came through town first about two minutes ahead of some chasers. Although the chasers eventually caught him, they were racing on the final two laps to be the stage winner. He would have the best time regardless. (He won by 1:07)

I was a marshal at a very difficult location. Although it was not a curve that I hoped for (they go slower there), it was a potential bottleneck on the course. The traffic lanes went from four to two in the space of the intersection. And we had no barriers to keep the people back. They were standing on the sidewalk.

I worked with a Santa Rosa policeman and we moved some road barriers through the intersection and the people did well to stay behind them. This was also at the end of a 500-meter downgrade, not steep, but definitely 2-3% downhill and they were flying. Maybe worse, the support cars were flying through the intersection.

I would estimate a couple of the race cars went by at 60 mph just seconds before they had to hit this narrow, somewhat curvy two-lane stretch. My big concern was making sure no one tried to cross in front of the cyclists (ugly) or a race vehicle (death). No one died.

As in Sacramento, people came to me seeking knowledge about the race and cycling in general. And I was glad to oblige. I stood on the inside of the barriers but as the riders approached I knelt down so the spectators could take pictures without my big head in them.

My most vivid memory was not of the pro race but a local ride that also occurred. About 3:30 p.m., a cyclist came down the street and stopped to ask for directions to the finish line. He was about my age but he could barely speak the words. As he tried to talk his mouth just shivering uncontrollably. I don’t know where he was but clearly was affected by the day’s cold (about 48° or 9° C), but more importantly, the bone-soaking wetness. We directed him the quickest way through the course to his destination even though we weren’t supposed to allow riders on the route at that time.

After the race finished and the crowds left, I passed through the team bus parking lot. There, at least 100 people gathered in front of the Team Astana bus but one could find the others much easier. I made my way to Jelly Belly to speak with Phil Gaimon. Phil is in his first pro race. He is also the only rider in the Tour of California who can say that he has beaten me in a race — last year’s Newton’s Revenge up Mt. Washington, NH.

Phil Gaimon – “Who are you and why are you stalking me?”

We spoke briefly — he wondered why the heck I was there but I delivered a personal message to him from Mary Power, the events director at the Mt. Washington Auto Road. She wanted him to know he was invited to go back to MWARBH.

Soaked, really soaked, and cold, I got in my car for the two 1/2 hour drive to Santa Cruz through flooded roads.

February 14, 2009February 15, 2022

Tour of California – Prologue

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

Although reporting time was 8:30 a.m. I was checked in by 8:00 a.m. In the Q-S line with me was a volunteer from Redding, Tamy Quiqley. We would be paired as volunteers. After getting our bright orange course marshal T-shirts we headed to our posts. But it was way too early. So we walked the entire 2.4 mile (4k) course. Even then we were back to our posts by 10:30 a.m. and the race would not begin until 1:30 p.m.

The temperature was in the low 40’s but eventually warmed up to 50. The rain that was feared held off until the last rider, Levi Lepiheimer, finished.

Early on we were treated to watching individuals riders and teams warming up on the course. And we helped get a community ride started at 11:30 a.m.

Team Astana warming up
Lance Armstrong in black

The volunteer manual asked us not to take pictures because our role was to watch spectators — not riders. Indeed, the toughest part of our task was keeping people from crossing the street once the race was underway.

But we were able to see Team Astana warming up and I felt no guilt snapping a picture of Lance Armstrong. He had retired after winning his seventh consecutive Tour de France in 2005. The rumors persisted earlier this year that he was going to come out of retirement and race again and almost all of Sacramento had come out to see the comeback.

But what happened to Anthony? Anthony Colby, Colavita-Sutter Home, was listed in our handbook as a climbing specialist but did not report to the start line. I was carrying a personal message for him from Mary Power, the event coordinator at the Mt. Washington Auto Road. I was proud to tell anyone that Anthony beat me (and 160 others) last July in the race up the mountain, Newton’s Revenge.

But I was glad to see Phil Gaimon race. He just joined Jelly Belly over the winter and was named to their starting team. Phil also beat me at Mt. Washington. He finished second in July at Newton’s Revenge but won the Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb in August.

I was on the first part of the course which went out and back. That was my penalty for signing in early — assignments were handed out in order. Maybe if I had shown up later I would have received the finish line. The out and back section created a large four-block median in which people were trapped once the race began.

It was dangerous to cross the street during the race. These time-trial machines with their aero bars and disc rear wheels fly and are very hard to control. Our instructions were to keep people from crossing the street once the race began. If we weren’t serious about this, the Sacramento Police showed up and walked the lines with us to enforce it.

Some volunteers took this more seriously than others. I tried to identify those who looked like they wanted to cross and just talked with them. With thousands of people needing to cross the street for no other reason than to use the porta-johns, the crowd eventually won. I’m for safety of both the riders and the crowd but to have nowhere out for three hours or more was unworkable. It was a bad design. When enough people ignored the volunteers and even the police, they eventually instituted one intersection where we could send people to when they needed to leave.

The first rider went at 1:30 p.m. Thereafter, one rider per minute until all 136 riders came through. Excitement rose towards the end as all the big names came by. I even violated my own rule by trying to take a picture of Floyd Landis. It was great to see him ride again.

As the first riders departed they got cheers from the folks behind us (I was on the inside of the median island) and I often turned to see who was riding. The early riders took about 1:10 to go from behind us out to the turn to pass us on the way back. But the big boys, Lance, Fabian Cancellara, Levi Leiphiemer, and others, could do it in 60 seconds. And when they went the cheers were louder. We were enveloped in a sea of cheers. While our group was yelling loudly for Floyd, just one minute behind was Levi going out to loud cheers. It was a great sound effect.

According to VeloNews, “George Hincapie described the scene at the Amgen Tour of California prologue in Sacramento Saturday, saying only Tour de France crowds could compare. And those crowds were treated to a Tour de France-caliber show, with Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) blazing the downtown 3.9km course with a winning time of 4:32.“

But it was a long day. I was on my feet from 8:00 a.m. until 4:10 p.m. when I got in the car to drive to Santa Rosa. But it was a great day, made greater by the fact we missed the rain.

RESULTS

February 9, 2009August 4, 2021

These Guys Are Fast

RESTON, VIRGINIA

Sitting in the auditorium at South County H.S. in Lorton, Va., yesterday at our annual high school soccer referee clinic, I kept looking outside wanting to ride instead. It was unseasonably warm (low 60s — 16ºC) and I hadn’t ridden in more than three weeks. Following the Steelers on their run to the Super Bowl was worth it all though.

Although there were rides listed on the Potomac Pedalers site, I trekked up to Reston to ride with Evolution Cycling Team. One thing that was different about today — I was on time. So rather than jump on the rear, I actually asked if I could ride with them. One warned me they ride at an A pace — or something like that. I nodded.

There were six of them and one of me. We headed out towards Great Falls. On the way, we were on a lightly traveled road and they wanted to ride a paceline. That was my first time in a true paceline. My summer rides with DC Velo is more me hanging on the back but this was a single paceline, all moving up in unison then falling off. The riders were gracious to this old rookie.

Once we got to Great Falls we broke apart a little. There were some steep descents and steep climbs. The one woman in the group, Tanya, had a hard time matching pace, especially on the descents. But she was a strong rider. Maybe not quite as strong as the others.

Then Tanya was already behind the 8-ball for the next climb. As long as they were waiting for her I could hang in there.

Eventually, I sensed they wanted to go faster without Tanya and without me. But they would never suggest that. She told me she didn’t have legs going out or back today and I felt I didn’t either. Although I’d been riding indoors, it’s not the same as being out on the bike.

We were near the end when Tanya and I headed over to the W&OD trail and let the others go flying on without us. It was a good ride but I wonder why I think I can ride with the guys 20 years (or more) younger than me.

Garmin Stats (note that I forgot to start the computer at the start)

February 6, 2009September 7, 2020

Looking Forward to the Tour

WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA

An unexpected trip had me at the Super Bowl on Sunday. Thoughts of working the Amgen Tour of California disappeared beneath the excitement of the Steelers 27-23 victory in what some experts proclaimed the greatest Super Bowl ever.

Getting back to earth, I am looking forward to working the Tour. I will be a course marshal on two stages. The rosters were just announced. How about these names?

Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Christopher Horner, Yaroslav Popovych, José Luis Rubiera, Andy Schleck, Fränk Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, Jens Voigt, Stuart O’Grady, George Hincapie, Mark Cavendish, Kim Kirchen, Michael Rogers, Christian Vande Velde, Thomas Danielson, Danny Pate, David Zabriskie, Tom Boonen, Oscar Freire, Ivan Basso, Cyril Dessel, Carlos Sastre, Thor Hushovd, Alexandre Moos, Floyd Landis, Rory Sutherland, Ben Jacques-Maynes, Kirk O’Bee, Anthony Colby, Phillip Gaimon, Oscar Sevilla, Tyler Hamilton, Victor Hugo Pena, and Freddy Rodriguez.

You’ve probably heard of Lance. Probably Levi and most of these guys. But how about Anthony Colby? Or Phil Gaimon? These guys are on our domestic teams — Colovita-Sutter Home and Jelly Belly, respectfully. I’ve had the privilege of having them kick my butt up Mount Washington, New Hampshire.

Anthony won the Newton’s Revenge race July 12, 2008 while Phil finished second. In August, in the Bicycle Hill Climb Race up the Mount Washington Auto Road, Phil won (and he would want me to tell you that Anthony wasn’t there).

I know I won’t be able to get close to Lance. I hope I can talk to Floyd even briefly. I sure want to say hi to Anthony and Phil. Mary Power, the events director at Mt. Washington, even sent instructions with me to give them both a hug from her. I think I’ll pass but will pass on her greetings.

This is going to be good.

January 10, 2009August 4, 2021

It Smells Warm

RESTON, VIRGINIA

Fool that I am, I returned to Reston to ride with either The Bike Lane or Evolution Cycling. Perhaps because it was overcast, it seemed colder than last week and the numbers showed. They were way down.

Like last week, stopping for gas and food left me dangerously close to missing the start of the ride. I rolled up just as four riders were rolling out. One woman was left in front of the dark Bike Lane store telling me she was waiting for their group ride. Instantly I determined, correctly, that there would be no ride from The Bike Lane today and made my decision to catch the Evo boys leaving on the trail.

Although temperatures were in the low to mid-30s for most of the ride, the low overnight temperatures and some rain during the week left some ice patches on the W&OD. But they presented no problems.

What was neat was that we started out with five riders and actually picked up riders along the route eventually getting up to 10. We rode on the W&OD until we could get safely off onto other roads and streets.

Almost immediately I wondered why I had come back. We were in a paceline of 10 riders rolling along at 23 mph on a 3% uphill grade. There is no way, even by being paced, that I could keep this pace. I was afraid I might have to excuse myself. But we took turns pacing at the front and once the strong leader dropped off another rider took over and I didn’t have problems staying with the group again.

Out of Leesburg towards Hamilton, we climbed Dry Mill Road, in the process dropped a rider aptly named “Turtle.” At the top of the climb, where Virginia Routes 7 and 9 intersect, we waited. Eventually, Turtle came and then graciously announced that he would ride the trail back and not hold us up.

It was actually amazing that I jumped in with this racing team and hung with them. At the same time, one of their riders could not keep pace.

We headed out through Hamilton, out Harmony Church Road, and back towards Leesburg. I was able to hang on with these racers most of the way. Leaving Hamilton we could smell the fire from a fireplace burning nearby. One of the riders said, “it smells warm.”

I never thought something could smell warm — we’re mixing the sense of touch with the sense of smell — but I could agree with him. I’d love to be inside feeling the warmth of the fire.

The route today would encompass more than 60 miles. I noticed after 50 miles that when we had moderate climbs of 2-3% grade that I had difficulty keeping up with the group. Usually, I would drop 10, 20, or 50 meters behind only to catch them on the other side.

The Evolution is a Cycling Racing team, most are younger riders and these old legs just don’t have the recovery in them to be able to spin up these moderate climbs. The steep climbs are different because everyone is working hard but these lesser grades are ones where the younger riders can sit and spin and after 50 miles I have difficulty.

Maybe it’s the old legs or maybe it’s that I still suck at nutrition on the bike. I had one energy bar with me but didn’t open it. Stupid.

Without about five miles to go, I sat up for a moment while a couple of riders dropped off to go home. I lost contact with our remaining riders. Mostly they were never more than 100-200 meters ahead but that is still dropped.

I felt my energy level drop. I hadn’t eaten on the ride and should have and fumbled around to find the energy bar. I felt a little better after ingesting it and rolled on back alone to the start/finish.

Not sure where the rest of the winter takes me. I’d like to ride with Evolution more but every Saturday between now and mid-March is booked and then begins soccer season. I was asked to join the team and race with them but feel that I would probably bring them down.

I was feeling bad about not being able to stay with what was left with the group but Adam, back at The Bike Lane, reminded me that these are racers who log base miles every Saturday and Sunday plus are younger too. As I read in Bicycling magazine once, when you feel a little discouraged about not keeping up with the Cat 2 and Cat 3 riders, take a stroll in the Mall and compare yourself to those guys.

January 3, 2009August 4, 2021

You say you want an Evolution

RESTON, VIRGINIA

You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it’s evolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don’t you know you can count me out
–The Beetles

I didn’t ride on New Year’s Day, missing out on Potomac Pedaler’s “I’ve Ridden Every Day This Year” ride. It was cold and windy on New Year’s Day in the morning although not as bad as New Year’s Eve. We had winds sustained at 35 mph and gusting to 50 mph. My mailbox post was a victim. When I arrived home from work both the mailbox and post were on the ground so that became my New Year’s Day project.

I left the house this morning after 8:00 and WTOP Radio reported it was 23º (-5ºC) in Manassas. Cold. I drove up to Reston to ride with the group ride that leaves from The Bike Lane at Reston Town Center. I was running late and arrived at exactly 9:00 a.m.

I quickly parked in the parking garage and put the wheels on my bike. I rolled out of the garage at about three, maybe four, minutes after 9:00, turned the corner, and saw the group heading out. I rolled past The Bike Lane to catch the group. Funny, as I did I saw 3-4 bikes parked outside The Bike Lane.

I caught the group as we rolled through some bike paths out to the Washington and Old Dominion Trail. Adam (The Bike Lane group leader) normally doesn’t take the group on the WOD, I thought, but was willing to concede that either he decided on a cold winter Saturday it wouldn’t be crowded or this somehow was the wrong group.

Could there be two 9:00 rides leaving from The Bike Lane? Even if there were, it was too late to go back and find Adam. I hung on the back of the group — they were flying — and finally asked someone if this was Adam’s ride. No one seemed to know although there were no Bike Lane jerseys in this group. But lots of white ones.

I was told that I had joined the Evolution Cycling Club’s training ride but that I was welcome to hang on. And I did. I asked how far they were going and I was told — 80 miles. Yikes. It was a nice day, if 23º was “nice,” but I hadn’t brought any water (intending to fill up inside The Bike Lane) and no food. And no money for a stop at a store. It’s not good to ride that far with no nutrition. Oh well.

The ride was relatively easy as long as I was hanging on the rear. We went through Ashburn then to Leesburg. After Leesburg, we climbed our first long hill. It wasn’t that difficult but one learns the perils of hanging in the rear.

I wasn’t having any problems keeping on the wheel of the rider in front of me. But he was. A gap opened halfway up the hill and the first half of the group crested the hill a good 150 meters ahead of our group. In a race that’s when they attack but this wasn’t a race. Still, once we reached the top we had two separate groups out on the country roads. The gap widened more.

I finally broke free to pass a number of riders and tried to bridge to the front group. For a while, I was in “no man’s land” about 250 meters behind the lead group and 250 meters ahead of the trail group. I had no one working with me. After being stuck here a rider finally bridged to me and the two of us then worked out way up to the leaders.

We stopped at a store in Hamilton where some bladder-challenged riders, including me, made our way behind the store for a visit to some trees. Here we also broke the ride into groups and when we left there were nine of us. It was nine that we should have ended with.

We rode for a while longer until we came to a moderate climb. One of the riders, in the middle of what was supposed to be a paceline, was having difficulty climbing and we all passed him. When we crested he was way back and we waited for him at the light on Va. 9 at Paeonian Springs.

Our ride leader, a guy named “Chicken” then decided we would have some fun descending on Dry Mill Road to Leesburg. We would break into teams and try to box other riders out at high descending speeds — generally about 35 mph. Say what?

What the heck. We took off and formed our teams. We had only gone a couple of miles when we lost our trail rider again. Chicken went back for him and was going to show him the direct way back — the WOD. Chicken came back to us but reported that he couldn’t find him. I felt bad and was going to offer to ride with him but he had disappeared. We were down to eight.

We continued on and while descending, one of the guys in front of me went off the road. His tire hit the shoulder and three of us had to quickly maneuver so as not to join him. That also killed our descent. We regrouped, didn’t get any sprint points, and made it back to Leesburg.

Passing through Leesburg I was told Chicken peeled off although I didn’t see him. At a cross street, I saw another rider leave. And I missed another one bailing because we were down to five.

Another rider and I moved to the front and did a monster pull for about 3-4 miles. What was I doing pulling these 30-year-olds home? Eventually, we let the trail riders lead and we would follow their wheels.

The five of us returned to Reston and I got to go into The Bike Lane and told Adam why I wasn’t able to join him today. He just laughed. Unlike three weeks ago, I was able to hang and at least one other rider wasn’t.

I was told that the Evolution ride was a closed ride but no one on the ride took exception to me being there. In fact, many introduced themselves and went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. I don’t plan on racing because I don’t have time but I am thinking about joining this racing club. It was a great day for cycling!

December 13, 2008August 2, 2021

And the First Shall be Last

RESTON, VA

Some days you have it, some days you don’t. Today I didn’t.

It was cold but I wanted to ride. It’s easier if you commit to meeting people so I called Adam Lewandowski at The Bike Lane last night to see if they would be riding in the morning. He said they would. It seems silly to drive 45 minutes to join a group ride but that’s what I did. I pulled in just as they were departing and asked if they would wait for me. They did. There were eight of them.

It was 28º (-3º C) and I quickly put on my shoes, grabbed my bike, and rolled up with them. I caught them outside the mini-skating rink at the Reston Town Center where two teams of 8-9-year-olds were playing ice hockey. Cute.

We rolled out and kept a good pace. Think about the guys that want to go riding when it’s below freezing. There aren’t too many recreational types here. Well, I was. I overheard one guy talking about his personal cycling coach. I didn’t quite understand that.

Still, we kept together for most of the ride but on one fairly long climb the pack pulled ahead of me by 50-100 meters and I couldn’t close the gap. I could catch them at the traffic lights but there were two places on the course of 30 miles (48 km) where my legs just weren’t keeping up. Disheartening.

It dawned on me that the night before around 9:00 p.m. that I did 40 minutes on the stepper machine. I mentioned that to Adam and he opined that would kill my legs for sure. I simply had no recovery at 9:00 a.m. in the cold. Whatever it was, I was the slowpoke today.

It doesn’t usually happen but we’ve all had those days — at least all of us who aren’t doping have had those days. It was cold. It was still fun, but a little disheartening.