Covid Catastrophe in Middleburg

Laurie and I hadn't ridden together all year, so we were excited to have finally planned a 40 mile ride starting in Middleburg. 

Before leaving, I told Laurie I had sinus congestion, but we both agreed it was probably seasonal allergies, which we both always have in the fall. We drove 50 minutes to the start from the public high school in Middleburg.

It was 45 degrees when we left home and probably closer to 50 when we arrived. I was surprised that I felt like I needed to keep on all of my layers.

I didn't take many pictures because I've done the ride in and out of Middleburg so many times. Read about that here and here and then as part of this group post here. But we did manage to stop at a pretty place for lunch. The leaves were just barely starting to change.

We were warm by now - past the 20 mile mark. But I got chilled while we were stopped. 

Then, in the second half of the ride, my quads started burning/aching. I've never quite had that sensation before. I took another Nuun and split a banana with Laurie, thinking I was dehydrated or lacking electrolytes. I also stretched because my muscles felt twingy, like I might cramp. 

We headed back toward town on Rectortown Road, which is like the Snickersville Parkway, rolling, new, scenic and fairly heavenly. All along the road we saw wooly bear caterpillars - hundreds of them! I thought they were supposed to be out in spring, but apparently you see them in the fall too. Here is one little guy making his way across the road.

The final few miles into town happened on Zulla, which was super busy. I noticed heavy traffic on this road last time I road out here. At that time I thought it was because it was a weekday, but I guess this is the norm now. 😕

The good news, however, is that this ride solves a problem for two other rides. At 40 miles, it makes my original Middleburg ride (25 miles - too short) longer. It also makes the original Marshall ride (too boring) much prettier by combining Marshall and Middleburg into one. Yay!  

At the car, I thought this spray of purple flowers was pretty. 

Then we began the drive home. I got cold again but thought it was the AC because we were stripped down to our short sleeves. But at home, I couldn't wait to get into the shower to warm up. When I got out of the shower still feeling chilly, it FINALLY occurred to me to check my temperature. 

Mild fever of 100.5. So then I was like, wait, do I have COVID? Not too quick on the draw here. 

So I had to make a bunch of calls to tell all the people I exposed, including Laurie who rode in the car with my for 2 hrs that day. Then I canceled my plans to go to Fall for the Book, got under a blanket, and finally got warm.

Distance: 41 miles

Speed: 13.2 mph

Here's Laurie's Ride with GPS map, which she never turned off as we drove home! Also, here is the link to the Ride with GPS map.