My First 100 Mile Bike Ride

On Sunday, July 15th, I rode 103 miles from my home in Reston through the rolling Virginia horse-country and back. It was one of those days I'll remember for a long time.

I overslept my original plans and kept 3 people waiting - 2 left without me. Neil waited patiently with a bad brake. By the time I finally started, it was well into morning - 8:00 am instead of the planned 6:30 am - and bikers/runners/walkers were already out on the W&OD trail in droves.

On the Reston to Leesburg leg of the trip, I stopped to chat with a man named Frank Bowls who I saw taking pictures of a now vacant property where in the 80's when I biked this same trail I used to see an old woman who lived in a dilapidated shack with a large colony of cats. That woman turned out to be his grandmother and he recounted how as a child he used to take the train that was once the W&OD rail instead of a bike path to Leesburg. I barely understood his heavy North Carolina accent, but enjoyed his input.

After Leesburg, we followed the Reston Century (a 100 mile bike event held in August) arrows away from the W&OD trail and into the country side. In Purcellville we stopped at bike shop for water and asked for directions to follow the Reston Century route since arrows were not always present. Though we somewhat followed the directions, we ended up making our own route based on chatting with locals along the way.

I love the names of the roads we biked on: Hamilton Station Road, Snickersville Turnpike. Berlin Turnpike. We stopped at a small country store - not sure where exactly - and drank a coke on the porch while reading aging posters and window signage. We rode past old country farms, horse farms, and newly built mansions. The Blue Ridge Mountains were ever-present in the horizon and the numerous hills attested to our proximity to the mountains.

We stopped in Lovettesville for lunch. Lovettesville is a town in transition. Newer housing developments are cropping up but it appears that the real estate "bust" may have stalled sale of homes and so the lots are cleared, the streets realigned, the traffic patterns changed and awaiting new traffic but no houses have been built.

Our route from Lovettesville to Purcellville was on a major road - 55 miles an hour speed limit - and I feared for my life most of the way. As a result, I cranked up my speed to an amazing average of 17 miles per hour that included going up steep hills. I was tense all the way and couldn't wait to get to a more bicyle-friendly area.

Once back to Purcellville, we picked up the W&OD and headed home. I arrived home around 6:30 pm. It was a long day - the bath and Salmon dinner that followed delightful.

July 4th

On July 4th, it's usually hot and muggy in DC. This year it was very pleasant, low-humidity, cloudy enough to block the hot sun but not dreary.

To celebrate, I rode my bike to an unknown destination with my friend Neil. It was hands-down the best ride of the season. We rode first to Leesburg, an historic town established in 1758 but now a thriving and growing metropolis, probably soon to be considered a DC Suburb. Our trail crossed their main street Independence Day parade. Leesburg is about 23 miles from my house. After Leesburg, we forged ahead to Waterford, another historic town - much, much smaller than Leesburg - and I think established in 1733. They too were having their town parade, where I made a huge social blunder that will not be revealed at this time.

In Waterford - note to other cyclists: no refreshments available - we chatted with a friendly 4th-of-July-traffic guy who told us about a 17 mile loop that would bring us back to Waterford after traversing a road named Taylorstown that "would kill us." I thought he was referring to the hills - which were numerous - but later realized he was probably referring to the apparent pickup-truck-cyclist-road-rage. Really, I felt I was pre-road-kill for most of the ride.

Another thing that was scarey was the hills. I'm not happy about going up them, but seriously, I'd much rather go up a hill than down a hill. I clocked 30 miles an hour on my computer at one point. It just feels out of control to go any faster.

After out loop we headed back to Leesburg for lunch - new place "Fire Works", serving Fire baked pizzas or something like that. Strange that one of only 2 places open in Leesburg actually sounded like the events for the day. I snapped the picture of the umbrella over our table with my cell phone. After lunch, I was ready for a nap but still had to get home.

Total mileage: 74 miles Total Calories Burned: 5938