Recovery Ride

Chia and Nancy have become my official "Recovery Team", riding with me on recovery rides (well, the two I've done since Chia got his bike).

We were supposed to ride 41 miles around Catlett, VA, but A) I honestly think Chia and Nancy will need a lot more saddle time before they can do 41 miles and not die and B) even though we scheduled this ride for this weekend, we forgot to let the weather know of our plans, and it was yucky outside when the ride was called off at 7AM. Hilarity ensued when I called around, desperate for Nancy's number, since I didn't know Chia's home phone and he wasn't picking up on his cell. Luckily, Hunley had her number, and she was able to call Chia at home in time.

Interestingly enough, this ride was planned by a bunch of people I met back in February...

So, Chia and Nancy decided to ride on our own on the W&OD--first, we met up at W&OD/Rte.28, but The Yuck was there (kinda like "The Nothing" from The Never Ending Story), so we regrouped at W&OD/Vienna Community Center, where it was dry and not-drizzling. We hopped on and made it to the Arlington-end of the W&OD in a little under an hour (I may sound like I'm bragging, but I'll bet I could've made it in half that time if I were riding alone...of course, it would've been more mentally challenging if I was riding alone). After stopping, taking pictures, and refueling, we began the arduous trek back up to the VCC--it was easy going down to Arlington, not so much going back.
Statistics:
Bike: Trek 1500
Distance: 22.67mi
Saddle Time: 1h43m07s
Actual Time: 2h
Start Time: 10:00AM
End Time: 12:00PM
Start Outside Temp: around 60°F
End Outside Temp: not much warmer
Max Speed: 29.7 (bombing it down from I-66 to I-495)
Avg Speed (saddle): 13.2mph
Avg Speed (actual): 11.3mph

Afterwards, we went to Amphora, where I learned first-hand how bad their burgers are. Breakfast and desserts from now on. In-between foods, not so much.