VICTORY!
well, on saturday i rode 100 Miles of Nowhere. it was humbling, but it was also a shit ton of fun.
i met up with chris who i met on fatty’s blog so we could form the official team of the nation’s capital.
we rode together at times and solo at times. it was really great to have someone to ride with every now and then. thanks, chris!
we rode roughly 34 laps around hains point. if you don’t know what hains point is, let me tell you. its a point (har) of land sticking out in the potomac river. on one side is VA and the other is DC. its wind there. like REALLY REALLY windy. i mean, i knew it was windy there on a normal day, but this weekend was ridiculous. last night i hear on the news that winds at reagan reached 45 mph.
that, my friends, is the VA side of hains point. literally, you can see reagan, where that measurement was taken.
also, WHITE CAPS!! it was insanely windy and felt like my soul was being stabbed each time i rounded the point to start that stretch of the loop. that’s right, it was SOUL STABBING.
however, on the other side of the point, is was glorious. calm, sunny, smilie, rainbows and puppies type stuff.
for the first 50 miles i was enjoying a beautiful ride. slightly discouraged by the windy side, but for the most part, doing pretty dandy.
i had something to look forward to…
my AWESOME friends stopped by for lunch.
this was what i got to see when as i rounded out each lap that they were there for. pretty freakin sweet.
it wasn’t all fun and games though. cheering can be TIRING!
so so so great to have them there! Thanks, guys!
the squeeze even rode a lap with me on the cruiser on his way out! I was super thankful for this too bc it was getting kind of monotonous out there…
at this point it was 100% soul stabbing horribly windy out there. i’d also like to take a minute to remind you all that i have never ridden more than 40 miles. ever. not once. so, each mile over 40 was a new pr. when i hit 75 i really almost cried.
no really, i was SO tired. stopping every few laps for fuel and water and stretching. at one point my cleat came loose so i had to screw it back in. but i really was not totally with it at that time, so i just screwed it in all lazy like. the problem was that it wasn’t at the correct angle and in the end, my knee pain was stabbing my soul too.
each time i encountered that windy VA side, i had to dig real deep. i mean REAL deep. a piece of me died every time i slowed into that wind. on average, i was going 16-19 mpg on the DC side and 8-12 on the VA side. BIG difference. and i was working hard for the pace i was setting in that wind. i was using the calm side as recovery and refueling time. here’s the beauty of that recovery time: i actually forgot just how terrible the other half was. so i was able to trick myself into riding on!
i took lots of breaks and i ate. oh boy did i EAT. so. much. food. sandwiches, fruits, chocolate, sports drinks, sports snacks, you name it, i ate it. i needed it too.
here’s the thing. i know me. i know i never would have quit (i really wanted to wear the t-shirt…and i just can’t wear a t-shirt for an event i didn’t participate in), but i contemplated it on several different occasions. it felt great to finish and i learned a ton, but it was HARD.
all that (the good, bad and ugly) being said, i’m so super excited for Philly, where there will be more folks to ride with, and hills, and changing scenery.
thanks, fatty!
and thanks, mom!
previous endurance challenge update.
