JCC CycleFest 2017

A fairly big crew turned out for the CycleFest this year. Steve Lane, Brenda, Jim, Lisa S., me, Deidre, Katie, Lisa W., and Jay. We all had varied ambitions on how far we'd go, with Steve and I the only two hoping to tackle the 64 miler.

Me, Brenda, Lisa S., and Steve at the start

Had to get a shot of Jim because we'd just make him take the previous pic!

 It was a beautiful day. Blue skies with temps starting in the 70s and ending up in the high 80s or maybe even the 90s.

Steve and I had hopes of keeping up with the main 60-miler crew. Their average speed last year was 15.7. I actually rode my sunday morning ride at that pace last weekend, so I was hoping maybe I could keep the field in sight this year (after getting smoked by them on the two previous CycleFests).
But Steve lost his chain in the first minute of the ride and the 60-milers disappeared quickly into the distance.

Then the field was leveled again when everyone had to stop for a tree that fell on someone's car. We all felt sorry for the driver (windshield and hood completely smashed) until we learned he'd been cutting the tree down and it fell on his car!

Waiting for the road to be cleared.

Steve and I kept the 60-milers in sight for a few miles after this, but inevitably, they disappeared.

You can see Steve's blue shirt way in the distance if you look carefully.

At the first rest-stop, we caught up with a bunch of riders then left before many of them, but little by little, they all eventually caught us and passed us. We never saw them again! 

When we passed the turn off for the 44 mile ride, I felt committed. I haven't mentioned yet that I felt worse on this ride than on any ride I have ever done. I learned an important lesson this weekend. I went out and rode my Fairfax County Parkway ride on Friday. I told myself it would be a casual ride, but I was short on time, so I ended up really pushing myself to get the whole thing in.  When I hit Vienna, my average speed was 15.3 mph, and by the time I got home (after coming up the hill on Pickett) it was 15 flat. That is my fastest time on that ride. But coming up the hill to the house, I downshifted to start my warm down. When I let the tension off my legs, they cramped up while I was still on my bike. Ouch.

Needless to say, my legs were spent on Saturday and still sore from the cramps. One day was not enough time to recover, so when I started out Sunday morning on the CycleFest, I could tell I was in trouble. My muscles felt sore and dead. I hoped I would warm up and adrenaline would carry me through, but I never really felt better. My legs felt as if they were made of concrete all day. 

So that said, when we passed the 44 mile turn off, I still felt committed to the 64 miles ride even though I felt terrible. Steve sounded like he was wavering, but we kept going. Then just a few miles later, at the top of a hill on the out-and-back portion of the ride, Steve said he'd had enough--he had to turn around. I tried to keep going, but by the time I got to the top of the next hill, I decided to turn around too. It wasn't just that my legs were tired. I also knew I was far behind the lead group, so continuing would have meant riding the next 30+ miles by myself - without even any other riders visible in the field. I just didn't have the stamina to carry myself alone.

After I turned, I caught up with Steve at the next rest stop where Katie and Deidre had also arrived.

This is the general store where I got locked in the bathroom the year before. I was happy to have friends here with me this time!

Inside is really old-timey and quaint.

We all met up again at the next rest stop. I drank an entire bottle of water while here. 

In the final 20 miles, my legs felt really terrible, and I could feel them threatening to cramp at any minute. The only thing I could do was take it easy on the hills and keep drinking water, water, water (and Gatorade).

Somehow, I got to the end without anything seizing up. We had lunch behind the winery overlooking a small lake. Katie and Deidre showed up a bit later.

Steve at the winery where we enjoyed sandwiches & pickles for lunch.

Steve, Deidre, Katie, and I did the wine tasting then bought a bottle of white to share before heading home.

Our wine tasting

In the end, Steve and I rode 57 miles at 14.5 mph. That's actually .1 mph faster than I did last year, but way under what I had hoped to do this year. I thought I'd ride this at over 15 mph for sure. Again, lesson learned about giving my body rest. I also need to figure out the nutrition aspect of preventing cramps. So I'll try again next year!