TNT Training Ride: White's Ferry

I did it: I woke up at 6:30, showered, dressed, and ate, and was out the door at 7:10, and rode the 11 miles up to the starting spot. Met up with Chuck and Roger and everyone else, and started promptly at 8:00. East on the W&OD to meet up with the Custis trail. Took the Custis trail to N. Lynn Street, where Jeff had set up an informal SAG stop--man, those snickerdoodles were good! Hopped back onto the route, which took us over the Key Bridge into Georgetown--sweet! My first time riding between states! Rode around and joined the Capital Crescent Trail, up to the first official SAG stop--more snickerdoodles!

Then, rode out and got on River Road. There, I linked up with Dave, who wasn't stopping for anything. He asked, "Have you ever ridden on River Road before?" "Umm, no..." I said in my best J. Geierman impression (Chia and anyone else who's worked with me/him will know what I'm talking about). "Well, it has its challenges..." he replied. I kinda knew what he meant, but I didn't know how challenging those "challenges" were: there were two brutal uphill climbs to the second SAG stop (no snickerdoodles, but the Girl Scouts had brought sandwiches--delicious!). Fed and watered we headed out, back onto River Rd. (the SAG stop was a departure from the main route on River Rd.)...and up yet another brutal climb! Josh (who had joined us by now) and Roger and I were somewhat annoyed--"Why do they always do this?" we shouted, meaning why do the ride-planners put a SAG stop right before a big climb? Wouldn't it make more sense to put it at the top of the climb? Or further out from the climb?

Anyways, we climbed River Rd., and then got to my least favorite part of Maryland: the area surrounding Poolesville. Again. Man, I'm coming to really hate that area for its rolling hills and its rough roads. Thankfully, I'm now pretty familiar with it...and I knew that I could finally rest once we hit White's Ferry road. Except for that one climb. Josh saw it and swore. "That's it! I quit!" he shouted. To which I shouted back, "You can't quit! Leukemia patients can't 'just quit'!" and gunned it up the climb. Those words would come back to motivate me later.

We bombed down to the ferry, where there was another SAG stop, but we couldn't stay for long because the Ferry was leaving.

Welcome to Virginia, where your radar detectors are illegal!

We rode out, climbing the "big scary hill" (wasn't bad at all, but it sounded bad from what Dave said) and got on Rte.15 South--y'know, I would drive this road to get home from a Ski trip--it's much more interesting by bike =) AND we went through historic Leesburg, where we picked up the trail. Dave and I hauled-ass all the way back to the start point, where I signed in, and my 84-mile ride was officially over.

BUT: I had another 11 miles to go, back to my house. 11 windy, brutal miles. Slowly, painfully, I climbed back up the trail and turned off on Ferndale--and watched my mileage tick over from 99.99mi to 100.00mi! My first true Century! And 8 miles left to go...7 miles and I was about to give up and call for a lift when my own words echoed in my head: "You can't quit! Leukemia patients can't 'just quit'!" and I pushed on, stopping at a Bloom for a Snickers bar and some powerade.

6 miles. 4 miles. 2 miles. 1 mile. And then...my personal "the wall"--the climb up Walney road to my house. After all this training, it wasn't so bad! 10mph up it felt like I was flying (compared to before, where I was doing 10mph, too, but having only ridden 7.5 miles--this time I had ridden 107.5 miles and I was still strong). My right quad started cramping up, so I grabbed my thigh with my right hand and squeezed hard, forcing the lactic acid out of the muscle, and held the pressure there while I continued climbing, holding the handlebar with my left hand.

Topped out, and I was home! I did it! I did it I did it I did it! 108 miles! More than a Century!

I was home, I was tired, I was still panting even as I stripped off my clothes and weighed myself (165.5lbs--down from this morning's 170lbs). But I felt great!

Statistics:
Bike: Trek 1500
Distance: 108.03mi
Saddle Time: 6h16m19s
Actual Time: 8h
Start Time: 7:10AM
End Time: 3:10PM
Start Outside Temp: 60°F
End Outside Temp: 80°F
Max Speed: 38.6mph (bombing down White's Ferry Rd.)
Avg Speed (saddle): 17.2mph
Avg Speed (actual): 13.5mph

Tahoe, here I come!