White's Ferry Loop

Well I did it, and I didn't fall behind -- not too far, anyway. They helped. Everyone helped. It was very sweet. I thought it would be a matter of their dropping me or waiting for me -- but actually they pulled me! I didn't realize what my sore back was about until the next day. It was from drafting -- because when I draft I'm so close to the biker in front of me that I lean forward to hold the handlebars right by the brakes in case I need to stop instantly. (I wouldn't want to repay someone for pulling me by crashing into them!)

The beginning was a bit elaborate. The ride started at 8:30 from Dawson, and got almost immediately into MacArthur Blvd, a heavily trafficked street in DC -- especially at that hour, which is rush hour. I had checked in with some of the other bikers about how they handle traffic, and it turns out that they feel safer riding fast in traffic -- while I feel safer going through it slowly. That meant that I would be at a disadvantage by the time I got to the hills; I'd be behind already and no chance to catch up. (When I did this ride 2 yrs ago I wasn't worried about that. I rode slowly through traffic and the others rode the way they rode, and who cares? I was a strong rider and could catch up later.)

JOan came to the rescue (now there's a surprise!) She offered to lead the whole group on an alternate beginning which took the trail instead of MacArthur Blvd. It was the same beginning we'd ridden 2 yrs ago, when we'd ridden a century together (basically the WHites' Ferry Loop with a detour to Purcelville. This will mean something to DC area bikers.... or I guess anyone who likes playing with google maps.....) Nancy (ride leader) declined, because it had too many twists and turns after the bit on the trails -- SO Joan and I planned to meet at 8 and do the alternate beginning and meet up with the larger group after. (Joan was fine with the trafficky part, you understand. This was entirely for my benefit.)

Now you have to have a little background information to see the humor in this setup. Most people who know me even a little know that I tend to run late -- that, in fact, it takes a heroic effort on my part to get myself out of the house only 5-10 minutes later than I'd intended, and that I have clocks set fast in different parts of the house to try to help with this..... You should also know that this is one area where Joan and I are compatible, and that when we ride alone together we often start at a, um, different time than we'd originally agreed on. (That century we rode 2 years ago, for example. I seem to recall leaving a good 30-45 mins late -- but I knew I would, and had planned to meet her at her house because of it. It wasn't a big deal -- it was just us, and it was summer, so no worries about running out of daylight, as there were last Wednesday.)

So, Joan and I are tardies. Nancy, on the other hand, the leader of last Wednesday's 80 mile ride, is an early bird. The punctuality queen, I called her once. Get there early, she had said in the ride announcement for last Wednesday, and I knew she meant it.

So, when I didn't manage to get out of my house until 7:50, I knew I'd have to ride fast. Joan even sounded somber when I called to say I was leaving 10 mins later than I had planned. (It takes 20 to get to our meeting place near Joan's house.) So I hustled, but it still took me 20 minutes. And when I got there, Joan wasn't there! So I called her and she said to go ahead, she'd catch me. (She does that a lot on rides.) Well I kept seeing images of Nancy and the other riders gathering early and deciding to leave early, since they weren't waiting for us. I got to the Key bridge and under it, looked at my clock, and thought, they might have started arriving by now. I rode to the Maryland border, on the Capital Crescent trail, and thought, they're leaving now. I got to the place where I get off the trail when I'm going to see my oncologist and eye doctor and thought, they're on MacArthur Blvd by now. (I was so preoccupied with staying ahead of them that i almost missed noticing that I had gotten there in 50 mins -- it takes me an hour and 15 to 1.5 hrs to get to the doctor's office usually. Admittedly there is a little further to go on streets that I didn't go, and I am usually on my slow bike. Still, I think I was doing well!) Actually I was doing so well that Joan didn't catch me until I was done with both trails -- so I rode the first 12-15 miles by myself. She caught up just in time, actually -- just at the start of the twists and turns, which I would have had to slow down a lot to do, by cue sheet.

Anyway -- we rode a ways on our own and then checked in with the group, and decided to take a break at the top of a hill so we'd have time to catch them after we saw them coming. We found a sunny hill and took a break -- but I would not have had time to catch them withour Lynn. Lynn was riding with the group, but she's so much faster that she showed up way ahead of the rest of them -- luckily for me! (And once we started riding I found out that Lynn was using her superior speed and strength to our advantage -- she would ride ahead, pull over and park by the side of the road with her camara, and take shots of the bikers arriving! I will see if I can pilfer a shot or two for here.)

It was soon after we caught them that the hills started. I tried to pass people on the flats so I wouldn't fall too far behind on the hills...... I tried to focus on the biking and stay quiet so I could save my air for the uphill journeys. (Maybe that's why people started offering to pull me. It's a really different thing for me to be quiet. Maybe it scared them! At any rate they knew I was worried about it.)

When we got a few miles from the ferry I told Nancy not to worry about dropping me at that point; the cue sheet was straightforward, and they could wait for me at the ferry. But just when I was getting ready to ride on my own, Marla slowed down and invited me to hop onto her wheel.

This happened several more times on the ride, and I did get to talk a little..... especially at the lunch stop! And I surprised my kids by getting home a lot earlier than I had said I might.... I had said maybe 4:30-5, but in fact I got in at 3:40, only about 10 mins after Matthew.