2013 Back Roads Century - the second 50

Where did I leave off?  Oh yea, after changing out some clothes, we headed back out the road for the 2nd half of the Century.  This part took us over the same roads for about 4 miles then we headed in a southward direction.  The goal for getting through the 2nd 50 miles was to get from one aid station to the next.  The organizers of this ride had suggested this as a survival tactic in one of their many informative emails sent prior to the ride.

The first aid station on this section (3rd overall) was at mile 64.  It was my absolute favorite!  It was held at Burwell-Morgan Mill.  I love historic old buildings and as part of our entry fee, we got to go inside of the Mill.  It was so neat.  I took a lot of pictures here.  The other awesome part of this rest stop was they had boiled potatoes!  Sounds strange, but carbs and salt are marvelous!  I eat way too many potatoes so this was a perfect snack for me.  The people serving them were delightfully funny as well.  One odd thing I noticed at this rest stop was that they had signs up stating that due to health department regulations, they had to serve our food.  This didn't apply to the potatoes as they were wrapped in aluminum foil, and it didn't apply to bananas or oranges; but any sandwiches or cookies had to be given to you by the volunteers.  OK, I just went along with it and thanked them repeatedly for spending their time for us and now serving me food with a smile.  Can't say enough good things about how friendly everyone was!

Back on the bike and things started getting more difficult.  We were getting more hills (all things are relative - around here they wouldn't be a big deal) and I was getting fatigued.  I pressed on aiming for the next rest stop which would lead me to surpass my previous longest ride ever.  At mile 79.4, I finally rolled in where the treat was tomato, cucumber and mayo sandwiches.  Well I don't like tomatoes or mayonnaise, so I asked if I could have just cucumber, which I was given a handful.  YUMMMMMM.  I refilled my bottles here - borrowing a Nuun from my friend Lauren.  Sorry to say, I didn't care for it in the end.  YUK.  Anyway, I was getting slower and slower.  Andrew and Lauren seemed to have plenty of energy, so I encouraged them to go on and not to wait on me.  As we left this aid station in White Post, VA - we saw the literal white post in the middle of an intersection.  We laughed and wondered how many times the post had been hit.  A short while later a car passed us about the time we saw 5 young deer running towards the road.  One of them crossed rather close to the front of the car.  The other 4 slowed down and began meandering in the yard on the right side of the road.  The car stopped, the runner deer did as well and it began to look around as if to say, hey where did my friends go.  Eventually they all ran into the woods.

There was more challenging terrain between the White Post rest stop and the next.  I think had I had fresh legs the hills wouldn't have seemed brutal; but they were.  In this section, we rode right next to the Shenandoah River which was running fast and is a wide river.  I remember having to climb up this awful hill around mile 85 which for the first time I employed my granny gear because I was just tired.  I knew if I could keep going I could finish this thing in about an hour.

I finally rolled into the last aid station at mile 92.4 where Andrew and Lauren had been for a few minutes.  They had already dug into their Italian Ice which was the special treat here.  I spied a huge hunk of watermelon and had that instead.  It was yummy and sweet.  Just enough to get me to the end.  Again Lauren and Andrew went on and I followed as best I could.  Eventually I made my way to Main St. Berryville where the first headwind of the day greeted me.  Isn't that typical?  Dead tired, legs barely wanting to pedal and now I have to ride into the wind.  HAHAHA,  I sat behind these three people who didn't stop talking for several miles and saved my energy.  Eventually I passed them and rode to the finish line.  I had a blast and would do it again!

My total time including rest stops = 8 hours 35 minutes
My riding time = 6 hours 41 minutes

I'll add the Mill pictures soon.  :)

2013 Back Roads Century - the first 50

Having met Andrew and Lauren the night before, we exchanged texts early Sunday morning to arrange a meeting spot.  Soon we would be off on our journey.  Clothing was tricky.  It was cool, damp and the sun was barely peeking over the trees.  I started in shorts, jersey (duh), arm warmers, knee warmers and my jacket.  Wool socks and long finger gloves were my choice for the ride.  My digits don't like cool air especially the rebuilt one.  I chose my black sheep socks, after all I'm a mountain biker at heart!  As we rode down the first roads the morning dew glistened on the trees and grass, a few lights were on in the occasional house we passed.  There was little traffic to contend with on the narrow, two lane roads, I guess people were sleeping in.  The roads were smooth and had few pot holes.  We kept up a pretty good pace at first but were passed by many. I guess everyone had a different agenda.  We were all just trying to finish our first centuries.

We found ourselves in a group of about 10-12 people with two people in the front that were squirrelly and all over the road.  I was able to make a break and get around them when we came upon some road kill.   We rode away from that pack for a while.  Soon we would encounter the Ride for Helen squad.  Not sure who Helen is or why they were riding for her.  Unfortunately, one of their riders displayed very poor etiquette swinging out to pass a pack of riders and crossing the double yellow line.  A car nearly hit her.  Why people have to behave so poorly i will never understand. The organizers are the ones who end up fielding compalaints about people like this and their actions jeopardize the future of organized rides like this.

Anyway we meandered north and ended up in West Virginia at a park where the 25mile aide station was.  It was well stocked with food, fluids and the requisite potties.  While at the table getting a snack, I thanked a volunteer for being there.  He seemed completely stunned that someone said that.  Having been a volunteer in all sorts of roles at all sorts of event, I feel inclined to thank those giving their time up for me to enjoy a great event.  

We headed back out soon with the destination of the start line as the midpoint of the ride ass where we started.  We had crossed a few major roads during our trip. It was nice to see how other riders looked out for each other at these.  It was also very surprising when all 4 lanes of traffic stopped to let a large group of use across.  When we arrived back at thte start, I headed to my car to change out some clothing.  Off with the jacket, on with a vest.  Refilled by bottles, grabbed a sip of sweet tea.  The second half of this ride was going to be difficult. I had had too many good rides of late and I hadn't ridden a long ride in a while.  Also, the farthest I've ever ridden was 76.6 miles.  My goal was to get to 80 

The second half blog coming soon.   Sorry I've been busy.  

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2013 Back Roads Century - prelude

So back in May when I rode the Storming of Thunder Ridge, I decided to attempt a Century by the end of the year.  I did some research on line and found the Back Roads Century in Berryville, VA.  I had been through Berryville several times on my way to PA, but have never stopped.  After posting a note on Facebook about it, I got a message from my WDBJ pal Hank telling me that he grew up in the area and that I could anticipate fairly flat, rolling roads.  

My original plan was to drive up on Saturday, set up my tent (it was free to camp vs expensive motel rooms) then go explore on bike.  Well it decided to rain and rain and rain.  As the forecast began to look worse and worse I elected to scrap the tent plan and sleep in the car.  I've done this in the past and it worked out well then.  I left Roanoke at noon Saturday for the 3 hour drive to Berryville.  It started raining about a mile from my house and would continue to be intermittent for the entire trip.  By the time I got to Berryville it was pretty wet.  I found the Clark Co fairgrounds where I'd be sleeping then decided since it was raining I'd go back to Winchester and go to the mall.  I found some nice work clothes on sale so this turned out to be a good stroke of luck. The monsoon hit about the time I planned to go back to the fairground and cook my dinner.  Sigh!  I wound up getting in touch with the other folks from Roanoke and we met at Ruby Tuesday.  Enjoyed meeting them and staying dry.  

I headed back to Berryville around 8pm and figured I'd just go to bed.  I snuggled down on my Thermarest in the back of my Jeep and drifted off to sleep as the rain continued to fall.  I woke up around 930p and realized the rain had stopped.   I dashed off to the potty and returned to fall sound asleep until about 2am.  After this I dozed on and off until finally getting up at 5:15am. 

The sky was clear, the moon was bright and the stars were beautiful. I stood and gazed up at them for a few minutes.  The air was crisp and fresh, it was going to be a great day....

To be continued...

Saturday May 25th - Ride to Peaks of Otter

Parked here...

Onto the Parkway

Going here....

Thru here...

UP we go...

Quarry below...

Great Valley to see...

See?

This view never gets old.

Made it!!!

Timing...

Couldn't see this at all the week before...

Treated to a view...

Bobblett's Gap cemetary at the overlook..

Storming of Thunder Ridge - the photo summary

Approaching the first aid station... (Photo credit: Tim Dahl)

On the climb up the parkway to Thunder Ridge (Photo credit: Tim Carter)

Somewhere between Rt 43 and the end... (Photo credit: Tim Dahl)

Yes that says 76.2 miles and yes it rained all day... (Photo credt: me)

Dragon's Tale Scenic Route with a detour, oops.

I thought I'd give Dragon's Tale a try.  I decided that I was no match for the full 37-mile race, so I opted for the 20-mile Scenic trip.  For $20 donation to the local club (I suppose RIMBA), I was to get

"20 Miles - offers 5 miles of fun and challenging trail at a relaxing pace
20 Mile Scenic Tour $20 donation to benefit the local club
Ride guide with a cue sheet and on course support"

Well, if I was paying a $1/mile, I owe SMT $9.30.  You see I was to left to think they would have the course marked, well they did (I'll get to another thought on that later), but in my enjoyment of fording streams (ahem rivers), I found myself able to keep up with other females who were racing and even some guys, so when they turned right for the two, different colored arrows pointing right and up a road, I went right along with them.  I'd never been there, and little did I know that this would result in a 10.8 mile detour for me.  Ah well, at least I got to see my newly made friends at Aid Station 1 and discovered that I can ride up hill for a sustained effort.  According to Strava, my 5.4 mile side trip up hill only gained me 300ft elevation at 1% grade, and I rode it at an average speed of 9.6 mph.

So much to my dismay when I arrived at the Aid Station and was informed that I should have went straight at the bottom of the hill.  Well thanks a bunch  (actually I think I muttered unlady like things).  I swear both of those arrows pointed up hill and who the hell is going to pull out a cue sheet?  Well ok, now what.  I elected to go back down to where my mistake was made and ride out the rest of the "scenic" route.  So 5.4 miles of downhill there I was back at the T intersection where I had been informed to turn right.  I looked and yes both of those damned arrows were pointing to the right.  Was one supposed to be directing the "scenic" route to stay straight???  Who knows and really, I don't care I was only there to explore trails/roads I had never been on before.

I continued on quite the beautiful and peaceful fire road for I think about 5 more miles.  I had a lot of time to think about stuff - I concluded that the fireroads were going to be worth exploring again and this was likely going to help me be prepared for my upcoming 75-mile road ride.  Or at least that's what I kept telling myself.  I finally arrived at Aid Station 3 where two young gentlemen from East Coasters (Blacksburg?) added some air to my back tire, offered up food, HEED, water and other assorted goodies.  They were very nice, I finished off a quick snack then headed up what would turn out to be trail that was way out of my league. I eventually survived to see civilization, but not without more adventure...

Let me backtrack and hit a few highlights:

Stream Crossings - sure, if we hadn't had snow and a lot of rain, I'm sure they would be slow, meandering mountain streams; however we've had a ton of rain and even snow this winter and spring resulting in flowing, one-foot deep crossings.  In the first bit, I walked several with my bike over my shoulder, there was one or two shallow ones that I rode rather easily (made me proud).  Then there was the monster stream crossing, fuck that let's call a spade a spade - RIVER.  This damn thing was up to the bottom of my bike shorts and if you know me, I have long legs so that made that water about 3 feet deep and did I mention that water was cold - like really cold, water out of your refrigerator cold!!!  I'm glad I had the sense to wear wool socks - they worked perfectly for this.  Anyway yes so the water was flowing enough to make getting across a good resistance exercise.  Especially the 3 foot one.  I actually slipped in this one and had to put my hand down to keep from soaking my entire butt.  I kept the bike out except for a little front wheel dip on that one.  OH MY GOD it was cold and of course my left hand got soaked.  My glove eventually dried, but I think my socks are still wet now nearly 24 hours later.  They were fun though and I think I've conquered water crossings now.

Ferrier Trail - what the hell?  Am I a mountain goat?  At first I thought, oh ok I can try to ride some of this.  Even though I was about 23 miles into this ride I could try.  Well I think I made it a 1/4 mile before my legs said eff you, so I walked and walked, tried to ride intermittently, gave up walked some more.  Then I got to the rocks.  HUH?  Holy hell who rides that shit?  I'd like to stand by and watch the ridgetop be ridden.  There were places where your next step was 12 inches over the previous one.  Quite beautiful ridge though.  I tried riding some, but was honestly overwhelmed and intimidated by most of it.  I did ride as much of the downhill and what flat there was.  Still there were steps and switchbacks that I just didn't feel safe trying.  I knew no one was near me, and if I got hurt I was going to lay there a while.  So I went up and up and up and down then up and up and up some more.  Occassionally I wondered if I was on the right path, but I find it hard to judge distances on trails.  I eventually found a sign that said "Lick Branch Trail, 1.? miles" - there was a very messed up stream crossing here with cut-up logs in it.  I managed to climb over that and hiked up some more, still wondering where the hell I was.  I stopped and texted my Mom (emergency contact) that I was fine and that this was a very hard trail.  I didn't want her to worry since I had planned to be done by now (remember my 10-mile, unplanned side trip had cost me an hour).

I continued on, wondering what the trail ahead would be like.  I rode for what seemed like forever before I stopped and pondered if I had missed something at that "Lick Branch" sign.  I really didn't want to climb back up or backtrack; so I whipped out my iPhone again and pulled up the map.  It looked like I was headed straight for Craigs Creek Road. I knew that was an inhabited area, so if I was truly lost someone would give me directions back to town or use that routing tool on the map app (am I the only one who thinks like a geek in the woods?).  I was scared that I was lost as I hadn't seen any trail markings for the race in a long time.  I even wondered what it would be like to be on the news, "Stupid, solo mountainbiker lost in Craig Co forest."  I texted again to wonder if I was lost and decided to go with my instinct of the stream is flowing downhill and road being in front of me somewhere.  I know enough about search and rescue to save myself and get out of a tight spots!  I bet I didn't ride another 1/4 mile before finally seeing arrows marking the course, the terrain leveled out and became more rideable - soon I found the road and was headed towards the finish line.  YAY.

My route should have been the loop only - my detour is bottom, left.

The shaded green to the left is my detour.

29.3 miles; 3 hours 43 miles, avg speed 8.4 mph

Would I go back?  To the fireroads, yes.  To Ferrier Trail, no.  To the area solo, no.

 Would I go help with this event, sure would - Chris with SMT took the time to apologize for my extra adventure and that wasn't necessary - my own fault for getting caught up in a good ride.  Anyway as I told him, I was there to explore anyway.  Good times. 

Let me get you caught up...

Since my last post, I made another trip to Tennessee, painted my office, still have a dog that's got issues; but I have gotten back on the bike more.  Now if it would stop raining or snowing every frickin Sunday, that would be awesome!!!  I can't believe I'm sitting here on March 24th watching it snow.  Figures.

Well since I decided that I won't be racing a huge number of races this year due to $$$ and stupid entry fee/licensing rules, I'm looking for all sorts of new and different places to ride.  Road or trail, it doesn't matter really as long as I'm out on the bike.  A couple of weekends ago, I went out to the forest service road behind Camp Bethel and discovered a new paradise.  I rode up the middle road which as I later learned is named "Blackhorse Gap" - this is a steady, 2.2 mile-ish climb that comes out on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Once on the parkway I had a short, cold & windy ride down the road where I found Spec Mines Trail (after over shooting it - no one ever mentions it's slightly above the road.)  This trail was nothing short of spectacular.  Mostly downhill with a short bit of climbing.  Smooth dirt, leafy with few tree roots.  There was one section that wasn't so much fun because it was littered with loose rocks and is steep.  I just took my time.  Once down the trail, I was back on FS roads which are pretty awesome in themselves because they are packed gravel and flowy.  I so can't wait to go back!  I was going to yesterday, but a friend wanted me to ride on the road with her. 

There are so many places to go and ride.  I pretty much can go anytime on the weekends as long as the weather cooperates which right now isn't happening.  Anyway, just letting you know I'm still alive and kicking! 

The Middle Road

A little rocky in places

Going up!

Tree with no branches on one side???

If you look carefully, you can see the road I had just ridden.

UP

The Parkway is just on the other side of the gate.

Looking back to where you come out.

It was a beautiful day - could see for miles - I could even see the radar ball on Thunder Ridge.

See Spec Mines trail head, up and left from the road.

Wimpy!!!

I could kick myself for being a fair-weather person lately. I haven't ridden much at all outdoors lately. I hate riding wet trails - it's not good for them or for my bike. The thing is Mill Mtn would be a great place to ride right now because it drains so well. I'm just fickle! I guess I've also been busy with work then having a sick dog on/off since Christmas hasn't helped matters. Plus there have been two trips to Tennessee. There that's enough excuses right? Well tomorrow is the first mountaincross race in Bedford, so I'll go suffer for my 50 some minutes then ride a bit after. I really need to be more diligent about getting out and riding. I keep saying February is a good time to start. In the meanwhile, I also painted my diningroom which after 11.5 years of living here desperately needed a redo. It looks great! Now I also have to paint my "office" and livingroom before the warmer, ride friendly weather gets here. Let me see if I can find some pictures to share in this blog post since it's been so long since I wrote anything.... I'll write more tomorrow evening while the rest of the world watches the Super Bowl. HA!

My Bike Guru and one of my best friends ever - Bob Dunn - stopped to see him and his wife Pam on the way to TN in December!  Love them so much!!!

Pat Summitt sits near me at the Lady Vols games!!!

New wall paint.  Pardon the claw marks on the door - blame the dog.

Sleepy boy has been sick! Much better now and on a grain-free diet.