WWO - Between the Rivers

I got out for a ride today with a little help from Washington Women Outdoors. I'm finding it hard to motivate to ride alone in the cold, so signing up to ride with a group was the perfect remedy. 

We met at Margaret Pierce Elementary School in Remington, VA, a little town east of Culpepper and south of Warrenton. 

The day was sunny and cloudy, between 38 and 42 degrees, so we were cold when the sun disappeared behind clouds.

First stop, a battlefield in Brandy Station.

Peaceful expansive field. Always so hard to imagine armed conflict happening in these places.

One fun thing about these country rides is discovering all the little country stores. We were sad to see this one, Bailey's Store, had closed up shop. Also, we hoped to go to the bathroom here.

Cute house across the street with interesting window.

I need to keep this ride in mind for March/April when I'm looking to get away from the trails around home to build up endurance without the challenge of hills.

Flat, flat, flat.

Further down the road there was a beautiful horse farm called Kelly's Ford.

There were only five of us on the ride. Susan was the ride leader. I thought she was familiar and we figured out I had met her at the first Goose Chase in 2015. She and I had ridden together for a little bit and she told me all about WWO. She gave me a card which I somehow never lost. That's how I ended up riding with them.

Others on the ride today: Paula who is an economics professor from Chicago, Barbara who runs an association for schools for the deaf, and Lynn who was just getting back out on her bike.

This was the littlest country grocery I've ever been in. It was part store, part living space (it seemed). The old guy in here was watching TV and manning the shelves of peanuts and chips. It was also really really warm and cozy. We browsed for longer than necessary just to soak it up. Sadly, no bathroom!

We only had about 8 miles after this stop (I think). I got chilled after we left and stopped to put my gloves back on. Thankfully, our one hill on this flat ride came after this stop, so that helped us all warm up.

Cute house in remington just around the corner from the school where we stopped.

In the end, it was a 32 mile ride at a very leisurely 12.6 mph. So it wasn't an intense work out by any means but it was fun hanging out and socializing while stretching my legs.

Old Town Triangle

It's not exactly a triangle on the map, but I imagined it as a triangle when I was plotting it out in my mind. This, my friends, is a 60 mile ride that I realized I could do from my house. The triangle is made up of three legs: 16 miles from my house to Lorton, 22 miles from Lorton to Old Town, 22 miles from Old Town to home. It makes a 60 mile loop that is almost entirely on bike paths. Woot! 

And there are even some good places to stop: Mount Vernon has public bathrooms and snacks for sale, Old Town has restaurants, and the W&OD passes by the new Vienna rec center on my last leg before home.

This route became a possibility when the missing link was completed this past year between Lorton and Mount Vernon. Laurie brought the completed Lorton bike paths to my attention this fall because this is where she mostly rides.  I rode the Lorton leg with her after we got back from France--deets here. In fact, that is the ride that did in her knee. Sorry about that Laurie!

I started out from home and rode to Mason then down 123 all the way to Lorton Road. This was 16 miles.

Passing the Fairfax County Parkway sign

The empty bike trail along 123. Nobody was out on this day.

Did I mention that it was 38 degrees? I don't know how I motivated. I just went through the motions until I found myself on my bike, committed to the day.

When I hit Lorton Road on 123, I turned left and took Lorton Road all the way to Rte 1.

Crossing Hoos Road, heading down Lorton Road

About to pass under 95 south on Lorton Road

I forced myself to stop and take pictures. I was wearing my sleestack gloves that are hugely fat and only have three sections for fingers to keep them warm.

See the  Sleestack's three-fingered hand? That's me on the bike in my gloves.

They work great, but taking pictures in them is impossible. I couldn't even get my phone out of my bag while wearing them!

Waiting at the light to turn onto Rt. 1. I was trying to get a picture of the hill rising off to the left, but the picture doesn't do it justice at all.

Lorton Road is all down hill. I was flying and freezing. At Route 1 I turned left and started over a series of rolling hills that warmed me back up. At this point, the weather didn't feel like a factor. I felt good. After I don't know how many miles, I reached the Mount Vernon Parkway and turned right.

Approaching Mt. Vernon on the Mt. Vernon Pkway

 When I got to Mount Vernon, I found a place to put my bike right next to the entrance to the gift shop and bathrooms. I was able to pee and then take shelter in the entryway to eat my PB&J. It was a good thing because I couldn't have stood still in the cold long enough to eat. As soon as I stopped riding, I could feel the freezing air creeping into my damp clothes.

At this point I'd gone 26 miles and the whole day felt very possible and fun.

Walkway at Mt. Vernon down to my "shelter" next to the bathrooms

Sheep in the field at Mt. Vernon. It was a beautiful day. But can you see the cold?

Tables where Katie, Lisa, and Deb and I stopped so many years ago on our trip to D.C.  - see below!

We were so hot. I remember those red gatorades being cold and awesome! More on that trip here. 

It was not hot on this day. Not a soul was outside when I passed through this time. I was freezing just taking the time to snap this pic.

The GW parkway trail.

So I took off for the 10 miles it would take to get to Old Town. This part of the ride is generally flat, but the trail inclines slightly as you approach Old Town (if biking has taught me anything it's that all towns are built on a hill!) But now I had the wind against me. By the time I got to Old Town I was pretty darn cold and so was my phone. I had stupidly put it in the front of my bag where it took the brunt of the wind, so on the way to Old Town, it died.

This was a problem because I was supposed to connect with Steve in Old Town and potentially ride home with him in the car if I didn't feel like riding the last 22 miles. I wanted to ride through, but I had no way of letting Steve know. Stopping by his office would have added at least 30 minutes to my ride, which would put me home after dark. Now I had to get home quickly (by 5pm) so Steve wouldn't be worrying and wondering why he hadn't heard from me. 

When I arrived at the end of the W&OD, I decided I had to stop for something to eat. For a 60 mile ride I would usually stop and eat several times--look at how much I ate at the Great Pumpkin Ride! But now I was at mile 41 and all I'd eaten was a PB&J. So I parked my bike and paced around while trying to quickly chew almonds and dried fruit. My mouth was suddenly so dry--I realized I'd hardly drank anything either. It was just too hard (and unappealing) in the cold.

So I forced myself to drink a bunch of water to wash down the last mouthful of trail mix then I hopped back on my bike for the final push home.

Elevation chart of the ride. You can see the big drop at Lorton Road and then the steady invisible incline that is the W&OD. The ride along the Potomac is in the middle, of course.

This last leg of the ride was the hardest. I have no pictures because my phone had died, but I doubt I would have stopped to take pictures anyway. I truly began to be cold now. I was riding up on the W&OD and into the wind. By the time I arrived in Vienna, my legs and feet felt like frozen blocks. If Steve had showed up with the car, I think I would have jumped in.

Seven miles later, I was home.  13.1 mph - super slow, but it's all the steam I had coming home. My avg was over 15 mph at Mount Vernon but that was before I got cold and after a lot of downhill. Coming home into the wind took everything out of me.

It took some time to warm up. I first paced around in all my bike clothes in the house. Then I drew a bath and eased myself in. I stayed in there until I was sweaty and pruny. Nice end to the ride.

Distance: 60 miles
Speed: 13.1 mph

Great Pumpkin Ride 2017

Thirteen hundred riders came out for this late season event. I wish I'd thought to take a pic of the start. It was mobbed! I waited in line for the bathroom for about 15 minutes before the ride started (considered skipping that line but figured I'd regret it--and I would have).

It was festive: they had a DJ, lots of people were in wacky costumes (not me, of course), and it was an absolutely beautiful fall day. Chilly, sunny, puffy clouds, turning leaves.

Our first rest stop was 15 miles in and it was "spartan" as one man put it to me as I filled my water bottle from a spigot on the outside wall of a small school house. I wasn't actually hungry but I still felt a little put out - where was the food?

Then I got to the second rest stop which was just 8 miles down the road. It was full of people, and had more food than I've ever seen at one of these events.

Second rest stop. 

No shortage of bakery, esp. of the pumpkin variety. I ate two blueberry scones and they were amazing!

One of many costumes of the day. 

The church that housed the rest stop.

Along the way, I saw quite a few crazy costumes. One guy was dressed as Jason from the movie Halloween, but in addition to the mask, he had the whole hockey get-up, including cardboard hockey sticks hanging off the back of him like arrows in a quill. I don't know how he rode with all that stuff!

Costumed riders leading me up the hill.

Some wicked witch of the west socks. There were quite a few of these. I kinda want a pair myself.

I was behind these three women for a long time. They all had balloons. One was a dinasaur, the other a ballerina maybe? the other I don't know. But they rode 70 miles with balloons on their backs!

The one on the left is a lady bug. Couldn't tell if the other had on a costume or just Halloween green.

I could smell the paint on this house as I rode past!

Pretty windswept blue sky along the way.

My signposts.

More great sky.

The middle rest stop had just as much food. I waited in a huge line--maybe 10-15 minutes long? As I  approached the line I thought it was the bathroom line and said to myself, "Wow, I'm glad I don't have to pee." Then I realized it was the food line. Couldn't skip it with pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie on the menu!

Costumed riders pulling up to the rest stop. Did these people all notice I was taking secret pictures of them?

Um...pumpkin soup, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, pb&j, banana, and chips. I spread my treats out so it looked like I had friends who were sitting and sharing with me. 

I was so enamored of my lunch, I got discombobulated and left my sunglasses lying in the grass. I rode back, sure someone would have stepped on them but they were there unharmed. Wew!

Dinosaur lady was in front of me for the final 25 miles back. She could crank--especially up the hills-- even in that thick cumbersome costume. I was really impressed.

The final rest stop was at Old Bust Head Brewery. They had a food truck too. Lots of folks stopped to drink beer and eat...again! I was tired by now - just 12 miles to go - so I stopped to take a phone call then got back on the road. No way could I have drank a beer and finished the ride. Besides, beer isn't on my hydration schedule!

I finished up at 70 miles/15.3 mph. I was initially disappointed with my speed and with how tired I felt (I dropped from 15.7 earlier in the ride). But then I found out the last 25 miles were uphill, so not too shabby!  

I met Deidre and Christian for a beer at the brewery afterward (had to drive 20 minutes to get there!). It was good to see them after a day alone on the road (they rode one of the shorter routes so our paths hadn't crossed). I had a Wildcat IPA, which was delicious and cold. Nice end to a beautiful day!

70 miles

15.3mph

Lorton to Old Town Alexandria--and Back

It's October 1st and we could feel fall coming on. Laurie and I met at Starbucks in Lorton with a plan to ride to Old Town Alexandria and back. We expected the ride to be 45-50 miles. I just love finding a new ride! And I should have been excited, but I spent the day before nursing a rare hangover and hadn't decided yet if I was quite recovered or hydrated, it was 45 degrees, the sun was barely up, and it seemed much more appealing to just sit in the Starbucks and drink a big fat hot mocha...with whip cream.

We set off on the new bike path along Furnace road. It's not picturesque, but the bike lane (and road) are beautifully new: smooth, no debris, and at 7 a.m. on a Sunday, no traffic.

The only problem was that I could barely keep track of Laurie in the glare of the sun rising in the distance. Since we were riding East toward the Potomac, we would ride into the rising sun for about 12 miles!

We took Furnace Road (which becomes Lorton Road at some point) past 95 South all the way to Route 1, which also has a brand spanking new bike lane. I did a similar ride with Deb L., Lisa, and Katie years ago--Deb's China send-off--and this part of the ride was sort of awful. Back then, we took Silverbrook to Lorton Road to Route 1 and rode in traffic with no shoulder the whole way. Route 1 was so bad Lisa negotiated our way into Fort Belvoir so we could cut through the base to the Mt. Vernon Parkway to George Washington's house. 

With the new bike lanes, Laurie and I just sailed up Route 1 to the Mt. Vernon Parkway.

No traffic on Route 1--and a bike lane as far as you can see!

Mount Vernon Parkway 

The Mount Vernon Parkway was also brand new (a lot of paving going on in this area lately!). So we rode the few miles it took to get to Mount Vernon where we picked up the George Washington Parkway trail. It was about 12 miles to Mount Vernon from Lorton.

It was a relief to turn north and not have the sun directly in our faces. Plus it had made some progress in the sky and was no longer glaring at us from over the horizon.

Laurie riding through the dappled trail

The sun gaining some height over the Potomac

Morning serenity

National Harbor in the background. That's the edge of the Wilson Bridge to the left of the ferris wheel.

I suggested that we ride up onto the Wilson Bridge to look back down on Old Town. Laurie was not certain about that plan at all.

Laurie plunges forward to conquer her fear of heights 

Looking down on Old Town

It's not so bad up here after all!

Laurie gets her bearings enough to snap a photo of me with Old Town in the background.

The ride back to shore.

Our reward: the coffee I wanted 22 miles earlier! 

It was 22 miles from Lorton to Old Town, but we'd also added a mile by riding up onto the bridge. So we were at 23 miles and had a 22-mile ride home. It's mostly flat (and even a little downhill to get there) so we were feeling good--right Laurie?!

Ready to head back

I didn't take many pics on the way home. Just a few wooden bridges over the marshes by the Potomac. 

It was slightly uphill back to Mt. Vernon, slightly more uphill going up the Mount Vernon Parkway, then very uphill on Lorton Road. 

A mill at the Mount Vernon Parkway just before Route 1.

A good morning. 45 miles at a leisurely 13.3 mph. Back to the car by 12:00 pm and off to the rest of the day. Next time: we start at my house, ride down 123 to Lorton, to Mt. Vernon, to old town, then back up the W&OD to my house. That should be about 60 miles--and a loop!