All the miles...

So, in anticipation of Dirty Kanza, my training has started and I am riding as much as I can. Which, thanks to this lovely mild winter we are having here in the DC area, is more than ever.  I ended January with over 750 miles and rides greater than 100 km.  That is pretty impressive considering that my previous highest mileage month was in June 2016 with 633 miles.  I am feeling good and having fun on the bike.  That is what really matters most though.

I went out on a solo ride to Leesburg a couple of weeks ago to just get more base miles and grab a beer or two at two of my favourite breweries.  I ended up with 70+ miles and a renewed appreciation for solo long rides on the W&OD on a cold, sunny January day.

The Warbird at Crooked Run Brewing in Leesburg

Feet propped up, drinking a delicious brew in style at
Loudoun Brewing company in Leesburg

Last weekend, I started my official DK200 training with a 60 mile ride on the gorgeous gravel roads of Loudoun County, designed by the one and only Pete Beers.  Since it was my first official training ride, I thought it would be nice to have some company out there.  This was especially important since it was going to be pretty chilly and a bit windy.  I get quite discouraged with headwinds, which is something that I need to get over before Kanza.

So, I made a small event on Facebook and invited teammates and a few friends.  Turns out, there are a ton of amazing cyclists that want to encourage and support me in this crazy adventure.  Over 20 people RSVP'ed that they were in for the ride!  A friend made a shorter route that stuck with those doing the full 60 for the first 25 or so miles, so most people were going to do that instead of the whole shebang, but still.  I felt SO loved.

Waking up on the day of the training ride, I made the mistake of looking at the temperature at the starting point.  It was 19 degrees.  EEK!  Luckily, it warmed up a bit.  By the time we arrived at the starting point, it had warmed up to about 27 degrees.  A few folks bailed because of the cold, which, I would have to if it were not MY training ride!

Most of the posse that came out to support my crazy adventure!
Photo by Laurie Johnson

We had 22 people at the start of the ride.  I was blown away and almost cried in my "you guys are so awesome" speech right before we rolled out.  Seriously, I have the most amazing friends.

Happy faces before starting the climb up Old Waterford.
Photo by Joe Reiman

They made me roll out first, which always makes me nervous, because I am NOT fast and the start of the ride was a three mile climb with some pretty steep sections (thanks Pete!). Turns out, I climb pretty decent out of the gate.  I felt horrible about dropping most of the group, but I heard they had a great ride without me.  Which, I am glad that I could get them out on their bikes on a cold and windy February morning, but I wish I had seen more of their awesome faces.

See that mountain, yep, we are going to climb it!
Photo by Joe Reiman

The first few miles went without incident.  I had a good chat with my friend Mark about his gravel race adventures and got some excellent advice from both him and Eric Williams, who is a very accomplished randonneur(er?).

We crossed the ford on Jeb Stuart without anyone getting fully dunked in the creek.  Frank may have gotten his feet wet, though.  But it was all in good fun.  By this time (about 29 miles in) we were down to six riders with most everyone else doing the shorter route.  One of my teammates who is also doing Kanza took off out the gate, passing me halfway up Old Waterford never to be seen again (well, until the next day, that is).  And three others were taking a more casual approach and stopped a few times to check out the scenery.  The six left with me were all pretty similarly paced and we stuck together for the rest of the ride.

We had a slight extended stop around mile 38 to refill water and grab some extra calories (Fig Newtons for the win!).  After that, it was smooth sailing until I got a little overconfident on one of the descents.  I was riding next to my buddy Crandle on the left side of a narrowish gravel road.  I hit a pot hole and it threw my bike up and on the very soft and loose shoulder.  I hit the brakes, threw my weight back, and had a mini-mental freak out that I was going down on gravel (YIKES!).  Well, down I went...  into the softest bank imaginable. It was the most incredible bike crash I have ever had.  The after effects were a wet (and cold) knee and a teeny tiny bruise on the inside of my knee where my frame it it.  Not bad for crashing going 20 mph on a gravel road.

We only had one more incident, where a teammate took a corner a little too wide and slid out on gravel.  He was fine, but according to his heart rate data (the strap came unhooked), he actually died in that crash.  Whoops.

After making it back, someone asked about beer.  I said yes, but only if I can chase it with an entire pizza.  We ended the day at Fireworks Pizza, enjoying some tasty beverages and we each ate an entire pizza.  It was a marvelous day on the bike.

OmmNommNomm!  Cheers!

So, first major training ride in the books:
Total Mileage: 60.8 miles
Total Elevation: 4,639 feet
Total Time: 5:29
Average Temperature: 34F
Average Speed: 12.7 mph
PR's: 16
Top 10's: 7
QOM's: 1 (!!!!)
https://www.strava.com/activities/855263937