Another Year of living. Another year of life!
It was a year of chasing miles. Except for January 1 when I rode 40 miles, I was behind the eight ball until November 1 when I had my “Zero Day” (zero miles behind plan). Zero Day usually occurs in August or September.
A trip to Europe cost me both in miles and fatigue. Distance, that is a 10,000-mile year, was never a goal but has become one in the last six years. I will always be behind plan in the spring and usually don’t get ahead of plan until late summer. This year it came two months late, in part due to an illness in October.
Whether in France for the Cykelnerven event or at home training, I sacrificed going on longer rides for ones with climbs. I thought I was getting in shape, I wasn’t, and I wasn’t getting in the long-distance rides except for at least one metric century (62 miles / 100 km) every month. An unexpected medical issue has also derailed me.
I knew that when I got hit Zero Day on November 1 that to reach 10,000 miles it would take the biggest November I ever rode followed by the biggest December. I rode more than 1,000 miles in November and still needed 658 miles in December. But I battled through lots of cold gray days in December and rode 673 miles. I made my goal.
MY TOP TEN CYCLING MOMENTS/MEMORIES
(In no particular order)
10. DOUBLE VIRGINIA RIVER FERRIES. Every ride should have a ferry. Since we apparently lost the last one on the Potomac River three years ago, I found a couple of ferries in Virginia’s Northern Neck. And one was a ferry I had ridden back in 2007. I made a neat 55-mile ride out of Merry Point and Sunnybank Ferries. And I would go back.
9. TILGHMAN ISLAND. This is still one of my favorite rides. I only got to Easton, Md. twice but both were great rides and both included a douple ferry crossing on the Tred Avon River.
8. CURRITUCK SOUND. In a week of ferry rides, I went to Chesapeake, Va., and did a 50-mile loop that included the Currituck Ferry. This is another one of my favorite rides that includes Virginia Beach, Va. and parts of North Carolina.
7. CYKELNERVEN. So good that this one gets two entries – one for the entire event and one for the Col du Galibier. Four days of riding the biggest climbs of this year’s Tour de France. Extremely difficult. But four days of fundraising for the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation. Every mile was difficult, at least the uphill miles, but I rode for something much bigger than me.
6. ZÜRICH. It wasn’t the riding that I wanted to do in Switzerland. But grandiose plans for a Swiss mountain adventure ended with a whimper and I ended up in Zürich for a day. An early morning rain shower prevented me from going to Luzerne but I was able to do a ferry loop in Zürich. I was surprised at the locals I met who didn’t know there was a ferry that crossed the lake. (5 CHF)
5. WILLIAMSBURG TO RICHMOND. This is a fun ride. Take the Amtrak from Richmond to Williamsburg and ride the Virginia Capitol Trail back to Richmond. I rode this twice this year. Fare: $12. Bike fare: $20.
4. A PODIUM AT ALPINE LOOP. For years a podium position at the Alpine Loop Gran Fondo escaped me. And this year I was so sick and weak that I almost skipped it. But I saved everything for a sprint segment and won my age group. Pretty cool.
3. DELAWARE BAY. In August I did a two-day ride from Lewes, Delaware. Day One was to Pennsville, N.J. crossing the Delaware at Pea Patch Island to Fort Mott, N.J. And Day Two was from Pennsville to Cape May, N.J., then I took the Cape May – Lewes Ferry back to my car. Two days, solo, at distance, with just enough intrigue and angst. Perfect.
2. ALLIGATORS EVERYWHERE. I love riding among these prehistoric beasts in the Everglades. I was able to ride the Shark Valley Loop on January 20 and again on November 14.
1. COL DU GALIBIER. In looking for iconic climbs in France I attempted to ride up the Col du Galibier from La Grave, France on July 19, 2011. A freak summer snowstorm turned me back. I was okay with never riding this monster because I had climbed the Col du Tourmalet, Alpe d’Huez, and Mont Ventoux – three climbs that I consider the most epic of the French climbs. Galibier would have been my fourth choice and I never thought I would get back to France. But on June 5 I found myself climbing to the top (the tunnel because the last 500 meters were still snowed in).
FREDERICK COUNTY
Frederick County, Maryland is one of my favorite places to ride, outside of Frederick City. Country roads and courteous traffic. Three covered bridges. Catoctin Mountains. I did some training there this year but only four trips total and none after May. It is such a great place to ride.
SKYLINE DRIVE
In preparation for riding in the Alps, I tried to use Virginia’s Skyline Drive as my training ground. I did not do well. One ride to Skyland from Panorma, the epic SkyMass Loop, and a final ride from Front Royal to Thorton Gap and back.
COOLEST SOLO RIDER
On my solo ride on Skyline Drive to Thorton Gap I caught a young man on a fully loaded bike. I first thought I would blow by him but then I decided to ride at his speed. Finn (finneganezer on Instagram) is a young man from New Jersey riding his bike from NJ to Argentina. As of Dec. 31 he was in Louisiana.
AVOID BRITISH AIRWAYS
That one time they lost my bike and deprived me of one week of riding in Switzerland. Yea, that. I booked my Europe flight on Iceland Air and flew through Reykjavík. My bike stayed at the airport as checked luggage and made it to Milan, Italy okay. I saw just enough of Iceland to know that I want to go back someday.
SCARIEST MOMENT
The dog. Always the dog.
FLAT RIDING
It’s hard to find a location that is completely flat. The Sea Gull Century (Salisbury, Md.) is pretty flat but I did not ride it this year. Shark Valley Loop in the Everglades National Park is very flat but it was also partially underwater in November. So the best flat riding I had was in July at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pa.
NOT JUST TIRED BUT WHOOP TIRED
FORE!
Or more like 21. That is the number of golf balls I picked up on my rides this year. All were near the Montclair Country Club.
HIGH ROCK
Located near PenMar in northern Washington County, Maryland, is High Rock. In 2009 I did a club ride to here called Happy Happy Pain Pain. Now with Strava I could ride it again and compare my time. It was awful. Ugh. I was determined to try again as training for France and came back with Tim. This time I took off on the segment and never felt tired. My Whoop quit showing me the segment before the end and I had to wait until after the ride to see that I smashed the climb. Twice more I was at the base of the climb but chose not to try again because my legs didn’t feel like they had a PR in them.
FIRST MONDAYS
Taking advantage of the senior discount on Mondays at Foster’s Grille in Manassas and the fact that I ride every day, I put out a group ride for Prince William Cycling Club for First Mondays. Usually, 3-4 people show up for a ride that might not otherwise do.
BIGGEST JAGOFF
Face it, cyclists are nice people. Usually. But there are jagoffs among us. In April I posted a club ride called SkyMass for the end of May. One week before my ride another club member took my post including my route and posted it as his own, albeit 30 minutes earlier. And he renamed it Skyline Ride. Eight riders who would have joined my ride showed up for his. The funny thing is they were 25 minutes late so they were busted in the parking lot. Jagoff!!
BIGGEST BADASS HIKERS
I was on the C&O Canal Tow Path near Harpers Ferry when I passed two women and then pass two more. These were four Mennonite women from Kutztown, Pa. walking (“hiking”) on the C&O Canal Towpath near Harpers Ferry, W.V. None of the gear the real hikers must have. Just tennis shoes, some with holes. They hired a driver to take them from Kutztown to PenMar which is where they began their two day walk. Took the Appalachian Trail from PenMar to Brunswick and then were going to Harpers Ferry on the C&O. They would take a train in the morning to D.C. and then to Philadelphia where their driver would pick them up and drive them back to Kutztown.
WORST GROUP RIDE
On June 23 our club held a ride near Great Falls on the C&O Canal Tow Path. When I arrived, 10 minutes before the start, all available parking was taken. It was a long way to drive and not have parking available. I left, watched my grandson’s baseball game, and the rode on the C&O from Brunswick to Harpers Ferry.
NOT CHASING KOMS
It was in 2021 that I went wild chasing KOMs (King of the Mountain segments although in reality most of mine are of the spring variety and not the hillcimb variety).
ROAD RAGE AVOIDED
In Naples, Fla., I was in the bike lane and passed by a car without incident. I didn’t notice until the car stopped in the right-thru lane about 100 meters ahead of me. Dead stop. Knowing I would have to ride past the car in the bike lane I stopped too – 100 meters back. I could see the driver motioning for me to keep riding. I did not. When he left I left. Then he stopped in the second lane. I stopped. I knew the traffic light 1/2 mile behind us would soon send three lanes of traffic which it did. He was forced to drive ahead. What was that? Probably nothing. Maybe he saw my Roosters Racing jersey and wanted to buy one. Who knows. My instinct told me not to ride past him. Very strange.
GONE FOREVER
Usually, when something is misplaced it will resurface. Not so my Tifosi sunglasses. I remember packing them in the bike case I sent to Europe but when I arrived they were not there. Not in my luggage either. Or backpack. Nowhere to be found. Maybe when I got home they would resurface. They never did. My Phil’s Fondo Gooder glasses got me through France and I ordered new Tifosi sunglasses when I got home.
BEST SMASHING OF MY KOM
An uphill segment on Rte 234/Dumfries Road, I had this segment for three years. I went 100% the entire way and may have been aided by a 30-mph (50 kph) or more, tailwind. I averaged 30.5 mph uphill and thought that it might stand for a long time, And then, on Nov. 5, it was smashed by someone who pedaled 77 mph (125 kph). Right? Hmm.
FUNNIEST MOMENT
Sticky bottle in France
CANCERVERSARY
I was able to celebrate my Cancerverary on November 9. I had ridden more than 113,000 miles since my new lease on life began back in 2009. But the celebration would be short-lived as I began a new chapter in my life and reset that counter back to zero.
NOT CHASING KOMs
It was three years ago that I targeted KOM (King of the Mountain) segments on Strava. I lost interest in targeting them although Strava said I picked up three this year. One was easy (sprint KOM), one was a revenge KOM (I didn’t like the person who took it from me), and the third one I am clueless.
IS THAT ALL THERE IS?
It’s always best to have a partner on those days you don’t feel like riding. For me it was Tim. We did 31 rides together. Some were just the two of us while others were club group rides.
THE STATISTICS
MORE NUMBERS
My rides automatically upload from my Wahoo bike computer to RideWithGPS and Strava. The distance traveled is generally the same but the elevation gain varies. One may use a altometric baramoter while the other uses altitudes of the maps. I don’t know which is which or care that much.
BIGGEST CLIMB
First day in France I climbed from Briachon to the summit of the Col du Galibier, descended to the climb of the Col de Vars. Both were HC (Hors Catégorie) climbs
LONGEST RIDE
The Horrible Hundred in Clermont, Fla. Almost 6,000′ of gain over 100 miles and many Floridians find it horrible.
