Ride of Silence - May 17, 2006

Not much to say about this ride. I went there for two reasons, one because I was myself severely injured by a careless driver last year and off the bike for more than six month. Two, because I was told that the local media would cover the event.
There were less than 100 riders out of what some would like to see as the future "downtown" of Virginia Beach, under police escort of three patrol cars.
The ride, done at 12 mph, took us on Virginia Beach Blvd eastward for about 5 miles and then turned back to the starting point.
I was wondering what I was doing there. Obviously, those who need to be alerted to the necessity to share the road are the car drivers, but I am sure that none of those who saw us had any idea why we were riding at 7 p.m. on one of the busiest roads in the city.
It would take the media to let people know, but the media in this part of the world are certainly not interested in promoting the safety of bicycling on the road.
I am not sure this was a useful use of time.

Celebration of life ride - May 13, 2006

This time I was not riding but sagging and I am happy I chose to do that. Not only, I like the feeling of giving back a little bit of what cycling has given me, I also found it quite interesting and a good learning experience.
I was also proud to be part of such an enormous event for this area. There were more than 1,200 riders in what is now the largest fully supported free ride in the US. All that thanks to the efforts of one man, Tom Coghill ! I hope his accomplishment will be one day recognize for its full value to us cyclists, and to Virginia Beach.
I was able to follow some of the fast riders and look at their pace lines, riding along at 22, 23 mph. On one occasion, one pace line made up of 6 riders caught and passed another line of also 6 riders. First, they can of merged, then the slowest line disintegrated and the fast one emerged 8 riders strong.
I also enjoyed being able to help a few of the riders, mostly with flat, deflated tires or short of water. If I do it again, I will certainly take more water in the car.
I was planning on staying on with the riders as long as possible, but I had to take 2 riders who were cramping back to the start from the Munden Point Park. By the time I arrived at the Sportxplex, it was past 1 p.m. and I quit sagging at that point.
In all, a good learning experience.

The 300 K brevet out of Frederick, MD

What a difference 3 months of hard training both on the bike and at the Y can make !
I was extremely apprehensive before that 300 knowing that it was going to take place on a hilly course. Yet, I finished in much better shape than in any of my previous brevets.
I left Norfolk on Friday after an early one hour ride and an interval to "tune up" my legs, as my CTS coach tells me. There was some traffic going through the beltway, but not as much as I got last time.
I arrived at the Holiday Inn in Frederick around 2:00 pm, with plenty of time to unpack, start preparing the bike and my stuff and relax for a little while, before going for a very early dinner at the Olive Garden. And then, back to the hotel for a very early night after having made the final preparation of the bike and the bags. I finally decided, wrongly, not to take my arm and leg warmers to shave weight. . .
At 5 in the morning, I was very nervous, afraid that I would loose the wheels of those who ride at a pace very close to mine. Fortunately, within half an hour, I found myself with some of the riders that were with me during the first part of the 200, like Doug, Tom, Bill.
After that the ride went fairly well for me, were it not for the damn front derailleur that gave me problems and would not shift into the 30 on the first climb. That first climb up the Catoctin Mountain was not too hard and I managed to do it in my 42 and I was able to find Dick who helped me with it.
The second climb was hard, but the type, a long continuous climb which allows you to get into a rythm.
At that point, there were five of us, Doug, Tom, Bill, Dick and myself. We more or less stayed together until there were no more than 30 miles less. At this point, Doug, Bill and myself went ahead, with Dick and Tom following.
That's when the familiar problem of an air pocket in my oesophagus came back, although I had been very careful about hydration and nutrition. It made the end of the ride very uncomfortable, but Doug and Bill were kind enough to slow down and adjust to my pace.
We got to the hotel at 10:58 p.m. according to my watch, with more than 2 hours to go before closing time.
Back in my room, I did some stretching, got into a hot bath, drank a recovery drink and went to bed. I had no cramps and no ache, but for some reasons, could no sleep well, waking up every 2 hours or so. At 7:00 a.m., I got up, went to Starbucks for a hot chocolate and a scone, packed and left at 9:25 a.m. to arrive in Norfolk around 1 p.m.
In all, I was very pleased with this ride and I look forward to the 400 K in 2 weeks time. I hope it will go as well as this one.