The Cop Rides the Tour de Pig

Yes, I admit it, this might just be a little bit heavy handed.  I'm a cop, and I'm riding in a ride called Tour de Pig (no relation).  This is actually part of the Lexington BBQ Festival, and is sponsored by Novant Health.  The money raised for this ride goes to support the Davidson County Mental Health program.  I have been looking for a charity ride that benefits the mental health field or suicide prevention for a few months now.  There are just not that many out there.  I just happened to stumble upon the Tour de Pig shortly after riding in the Tour of Farmington.  Since I had enjoyed myself so much on that ride, I went ahead and signed up for this one with the intention of doing the 100K route.  It was a happy coincidence to find out that this was the type of ride I had been looking for.

I didn't know much about this ride other than it covered the Northern part of Davidson County.  I had ridden several of the roads on the route both in my own personal training rides and during the Tour to Tanglewood.  I wasn't all that concerned at all since this was just a 100K, or 62 mile route.  There were no major obstacles either, so this was just going to be a ride for fun without the need for any specific training at all.  Much like Farmington had been, the Tour de Pig was going to be about how fast could I ride the course.

In the week leading up to the ride, the weather forecast was looking like rain for Saturday.  I wasn't too upset about that since I didn't really have much invested in the ride itself.  Either I would go, or I would pass, and go to work (I had to take a vacation day for this ride).  On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which I had to jump on since it was likely my only chance at this destination for the remainder of the year.  I ended up riding 70 miles with some intense climbs thrown in to the mix.  I felt really good the next day so I went out for another 50 miles close to home and pushed hard the whole way.  The following day, I went out once again to ride another 50 mile route close to home. This one was supposed to be a little bit less intense, but my legs were feeling good once again and I hammered it.  that left me with Friday to use as a rest day.

Typically, I like about two to three rest days before an event ride to make sure I'm in top form for the route.  This time, the route didn't really cause any concern for me, and there was still the question if I would take a rain check.  I spent the vast majority of Friday looking at the weather and pondering the chances of rain.  It looked like the ride would be starting in a light rain, with heavier rain coming in around lunch time.  I could deal with that, I suppose.

Before going to bed, I had loaded up my bike and all the assorted goodies I have to take on these rides, but I still wasn't sure if I would be going.  I did know that I was going to keep the vacation day from work though, and that also played into my potential guilt for not going in the morning.  I had pretty much made up my mind that if the weather didn't look any worse, I would put on my big boy Lycra and go get rained on.

When the alarm rang in the morning, I checked the weather first, before even getting out of the bed.  The hourly was still looking the same, and the minute cast had the rain starting in about a hour and a half in Thomasville.  I could live with that, but there was a huge blob of orange and red coming up the Appalachian chain from Georgia that looked to be aimed right for Davidson County.  The radar image concerned me, and I thought about rolling over and going back to sleep.  But...I had made peace with having to wash the bike when I was done, so a little rain, or a lot of rain really didn't matter.  I had taken the time off of work for this ride, and it was for a cause that I really believed in.  OK, I'll get up and go do it.

I left the house at 7am and pulled into Davidson Community College at 7:30, right when the registration tents opened up.  I went ahead and got signed in, and got my bag of goodies before the lines got long.  I wasn't sure how many would show up today, but for right now there was no rain.  I was quietly hoping for that to continue.

I went back to the truck and pulled my bike out of the bed and finally got to use my bike stand thanks to parking on the asphalt.  The lights, Garmin, and bottles were all put on.  I then got myself dressed out and ready for the ride.  I still had about 30 minutes before the ride started, but I like to have that time to get my mind calmed down, and get into my personal zone.

Some of the things that I was thinking about were pretty typical of these rides.  As always, I found myself wondering if I would ride with a group or not?  Actually, that was a pretty short internal discussion.  With the rain in the forecast, and the wet roads, I would not feel comfortable in a group at all.  The decision was made very quick that I would ride this one solo.  The next question was what kind of pace would I try for?  Again with the wet roads, and potential for rain, I decided that I would keep speeds reasonable and not worry about setting any speed records for myself.  The final question was where did I want to start?  That was a no brainer...I would start at the front as I have grown accustomed to.  I'm much happier out there, and don't feel overly crowded.

As I waited up front by the exit, I watched the riders come into the parking lot in a steady stream.  There were quite a few riders in fact.  I guess it still amazes me how many riders are willing to ride in poor weather.  Speaking of which, there was still no rain falling, and I was seeing dry patches on the pavement.  This might not be all that bad at all.  I know that there were quite a few who were planning on having a grand time with this ride.  I could see pig costumes on some riders, and tutus on others.  This was not a surprise as I had seen pictures from past years with just this type of "fun riding".  In addition to these folks, I also saw what I could only assume were serious racers lining up at the front.  They were a bit more serious, and had expressions on their faces that I recognized in my own face. There are different types of fun to be had at these rides, that is for sure!

Well, it was about 8:30, and that was the time when the 100K folks would be heading out.  I had my place at the front of the line, my Garmin was on, Live Track started, and lights turned on.  I was all ready.  Oddly enough though, they had us lined up at the head of the parking lot which dictated that we follow the lot to the left, around the tents, and then onto the road that would lead us out of the college.  That seemed like a lot of twisting and turning considering the hundred or so riders that were bunched up behind me ready to head out. Oh well, I had my place at the front and I was prepared.  The MC was on the loudspeaker getting everyone corralled  that was riding the long route.  I'm really pretty sure that he was still communicating with people in the lot and getting barricades set up for our exit, but I saw riders to my right starting out.  Well, with that, everyone was off, and I was now an island in a swarm of twisting and turning bikes as everyone pushed off and started out.  Well nuts, there went my first plan for the day.  I wasn't going to be out first today.  In fact, I had to sit and wait until things cleared out a little bit before I could safely get started.  One of these days I'll get more confident in mass starts...maybe.

I was finally off, and on my way.  the weather was still holding which I was very thankful for.  The roads were mostly dry at this point with just some dampness in areas.  I was in my easy gears warming up as I always do.  Since I had made the decision to take this one easy, I wasn't at all concerned with pushing the speed.  I just sat back and pedaled as other riders passed me and pulled away.  This worked out because nobody wanted to get on my wheel which meant that I would be staying solo today.  It was going to be a good day!

Then it happened, I came up on a cyclist and passed them.  Then there was a group...passed as well.  My speeds were climbing, but my legs were not feeling all that great.  I was still very fatigued from the earlier rides in the week.  Nevertheless, I was accelerating and overtaking more and more riders.  The pavement was still mostly dry, and there was nothing kicking up affecting my braking performance.  I decided to see what my legs had in them.  I started to keep my power output at that point where I could feel the tension in my legs, which I have come to really enjoy.  I wasn't as fast as I've been, but I was a lot faster than I expected.  After the first 10 miles, I was switching into the big ring, and really started to find my groove.  It was also at this point that I realized that the fatigue I was feeling in my legs was more due to the headwind that I was fighting than anything else.  Once I turned out of the wind, the bike was sailing effortlessly across the pavement.  I played my little cat and mouse game with cyclists I could find in front of me which really kept me motivated.  I had no idea where in the pack I was, but I knew that I was now holding my own, and I was still solo.

The 100K route was set up as two different loops that ultimately made a

figure 8.  The first loop was the one to the right and was ridden counterclockwise.  The second loop was to the left and ridden clockwise.  The wind was coming from the Northeast, so it took quite a while to get out of the wind.  By the time we turned to the South in Walburg, I was really starting to enjoy myself.  There was a little bit of drizzle, and there were wet patches of roadway, but nothing so severe as to impact my brakes.

Before I knew it, I was half way through with the ride and had really only dealt with the wind.  The rain had been insignificant at best.  Coming down Ridge Rd (for the first time) we were given the option of turning onto Yokely Rd and ending at the college for a 50K, or 31 mile ride.  Some riders had been debating about doing that if the weather had gotten bad.  I hadn't really given it any thought, especially at this point.  My bike was already dirty from the road grit and would need to be washed.  Might as well carry on with the full route.  The weather seemed to be holding as well which made the decision very easy.  However, within a mile of passing the turn off, the rain drops got bigger and more frequent.  Was this going to be my clue that I was in for some less than favorable weather?  It didn't matter, I was going to do the full route, wet or dry.

As I approached the town of Arnold, I was back into the wind again.  It had not relaxed any at all I'm afraid.  I kicked down a gear or two and trudged on.  I also realized that this second loop was full of deep rollers which were starting to try my climbing legs.  They had not fully recovered from the previous rides, and I was starting to have to will them to turn the pedals.  They did continue to turn the pedals without too much fuss, and for that I was happy.

When I got to Arcadia, I was fully in the wind once more, and I started to consider easing off of my pace.  Currently, I was averaging in the upper 19 mph range.  While not a spectacular pace for me, it was very respectable, and one that I could ease off of considering the weather.  Well, that was a nice thought, but no sooner than I had thought it, I saw another rider up ahead.  OK legs, go and play.  It wasn't long before I was saying "on your left" and passing by, only to see another cyclist in the distance.  This was my game, and I enjoyed it.

After a handful of place changes, I passed another cyclist coming into Midway.  I didn't think much about it since like the others, he had fallen behind.  However, I had to stop at a stop sign not far down the road which delayed me long enough for the other cyclist to catch up with me.  We turned on the road together and he stayed on my rear wheel.  I wasn't watching behind me, but I could hear the freewheel spinning every so often and the gears changing behind me.  It looked like he was there to stay.  We came up to a left turn with railroad tracks which we both had to slow for.  He came out in front, and as if second nature, I sprinted back out in front.  I could have just let him go on ahead, but what fun was there in that?

I decided that I was going to use his presence to keep me motivated to finish strong.  My speeds were creeping up, and I was putting some serious work in at this point.  I could still hear the freewheel and gears changing behind me, but now I was also hearing some sounds of stress and fatigue.  He was holding my wheel, but it was hurting it seemed.  Whether he wanted to or not, he got to take part in my little game which was back in full swing again.  "On your left!" was said more than a couple of times as my two man paceline moved down Ridge Rd.  I was still making excellent time, but I was really starting to get tired at this point.  I remember looking at my mileage several times and doing the math for what was left.  I was going to have a hard time keeping this pace all the way to the finish, but I was pretty sure that I could.  I made a mad dash down the hill to Lake Thom-a-Lex and pushed very hard climbing back to Old Greensboro Rd.  At the top of the climb, I had very little left in my legs, but we were also just a couple of miles from the finish.  I had made it.

At 61.6 miles, I saw the sign for the college, and could see the parking lot where we started.  Hmmmm, that is not 62 miles.  Well, I could finish with about 61.8 miles and a 20.0 mph average (I told you, I was hammering the last bit), or I could risk dropping my average speed and wheel around the parking lot to get 62 miles.  Well, for me, if it isn't 62+ miles, it isn't a 100K route, so I had to explore the parking lot for a few minutes.  I saw my Garmin register 19.9 mph for an average which took a little out of my sails, but I also saw an even 62 miles register which made me happy.

I was done, and for the most part I had stayed dry.  There were brief showers that I rode though, but nothing that I would consider significant to the ride.  There was enough water on the road that I was going to need to do a little bike washing when I got home, but I had already made my peace with that.  I had set out to ride a moderate paced ride that I figured would be in the neighborhood of 19-19.5 mph depending on the rain.  The rain had held off, and I had a bit more gas in my legs than I had thought to boot.  My official moving average according to the Garmin was, in fact, 20.0 mph.  I had ridden the 100K route in 3:06:35 which is on par with what I did the Tour of Farmington in.  The difference was the wind and rain for this ride.  I gave up about 10 seconds between the two rides, but this one was much harder to ride fast I thought.

It wasn't but a few seconds after I stopped the computer and officially ended my ride that I felt the big rain drops once again.  There wasn't any need in

delaying putting the bike back in the truck and heading home.  I got everything secured, and got out of my wet jersey in favor of a dry t shirt.  All of my associated equipment was tossed in my cycling bag and put back in the truck.  It was a wrap.  There was a BBQ lunch available for the riders, and I had considered partaking, but with the threat of rain, I decided it was best that I just head home.  Plus, Toni would be getting up soon before going to work and I wanted to say hi to her, and visit for a bit before she had to leave.

Before I got my truck out of the parking lot, the rain was coming harder and faster than it had on any portion of the route.  I was very thankful that I had made it when I did.  As I was exiting the college, I went past several cyclists still coming in from their routes.  They were fighting the rain that I had missed.  At least they were about done.  I'm not sure how many were still out on the course, and I don't know how many of the 100K riders had opted to cut the day in half.  I do know that there were still a good many riders coming in.

Once I got home, the rain was pretty steady.  I opted to wait on cleaning the bike until Toni left for work in hopes that the rain would stop long enough for me to give it a much needed wash.  According to the hourly forecast, that was a pretty good possibility.  However, when she left at 4, the rain felt like it was getting heavier.  This was just not going to work out at all.

I decided to back the truck out of the garage, and wash the bike in the rain.  I could then bring it in to dry off and get lubed up.  I'm sure the neighbors got a laugh at me out in the driveway in a steady rain with hose and bucket washing a bicycle.  I will say this though, Flo cleans up nice after a bath.  I made sure that everything worked and was lubricated before putting her back in the wheel stand.  After about 2.5 hours of work, she is all ready for the next ride which hopefully will be on my next off day.

With that, my sixth event ride of 2015 has come to a close.  This has been a year full of event rides when compared to previous years.  I don't know if it is because I'm just so happy to be riding again, or if I have just decided to explore this end of cycling more.  Either way, I've been having a great time doing charity event rides this year.  Ironically, the shorter rides (the 100K ones) have been some of the more fun for me.  I might be looking into doing more of these rides instead of just waiting on the century rides to come around.  Who knows, there might be another one of these shorter rides in the future for 2015.  Time will tell.

Garmin Data

My Return to the Blue Ridge Parkway

It has been about two full years since I've visited the Blue Ridge Parkway by bicycle.  What had started out as an annual excursion in the Fall, fell by the wayside last year due to a series of events.  The plan had been for a return to America's Favorite Drive (Ride) again this year to hopefully make up for the omission last year.  Scheduling was becoming an issue for me starting in September since I had promised Toni that I would not ride on the Parkway alone.  It is difficult to plan a trip to the mountains taking into account several people's schedules, weather, and dodging other riding commitments.  As October arrived, NC found itself in a long term weather system that had daily rain and storms.  The first week of the month brought flooding in many areas across the state, and days upon days of high winds.  All of this wonderful weather prevented one trip to the Parkway that I had been invited on, and it had been rescheduled for Oct 6th, in hopes of better weather.

The forecast kept adding days of rain as we moved through the first week of October.  What had been a clear window, was now right on the edge of a rainy week.  It wasn't until the afternoon leading up to the 6th that we started to

"Reliable", Mabry Mill as shot in 2010

feel comfortable that the weather would hold for us, and be dry for the first time in several weeks.  The plan was to meet in the small town of Mt Airy at Riverside Park and start riding Northeast, turning onto Squirrel Spur Rd, leading up to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, and ultimately ending at Mabry Mill.  This was a little bit different from my previous rides on the Parkway since a large chunk of the route would not be on the actual Parkway.  Another difference was the route was only about 50 miles.  My previous three trips up to the mountains had all be metric centuries of 62 miles or more.  The shorter distance was fine by me though because there was a really nice climb on Squirrel Spur Rd that was promising to be an attention getter.

One thing that I noticed about the route was that the particular section of the Parkway that we would be on, I had done in the past.  Actually, this was part of the route that I had done on my first ride on the Parkway in 2012.  While exciting, that ride was a little disappointing overall because it marked the first time that I had to throw in the towel and accept defeat on a climb.  It was the category 4 climb up to Rocky Knob.  To be honest, it was my first ever, real climb and I wasn't prepared for it at all.  I had no idea how to properly climb a long duration grade.  That day the Parkway beat me, and I never forgot it.  As luck would have it though, this route that my friend Phil was telling me about (created by Adrian) was going to stop at Mabry Mill, as the halfway point of a 50 mile ride.  That was the same setup that the original ride had, and the bonus miles to make it a full metric century included the climb up to Rocky Knob which was about 6 more miles down the road from the Mill.  Unless the math had changed, that simple addition would make this route a metric century as well.

I made the suggestion that we go ahead and stretch it out to include Rocky Knob.  Phil said that he would see how he was feeling and make a decision then.  I figured that it might work out.  As we got closer, Phil said that he and Adrian were planning on stopping at the Mill for pancakes.  Well, that would give me enough time to roll out the extra 12 miles, including the climb that beat me before.  So, either we all would go, or I would go it alone.  Either way, the plan became to get another metric century in the mountains, and conquer the climb that bested me several years before.

Rocky Knob in 2012

Yeah, I know that there is no real "need" for me to climb this stretch of the Parkway to prove anything.  I've done much longer and steeper grades since then with no problem.  In fact, to get to this climb, I would have to climb Squirrel Spur Rd which was twice the length, and twice the vertical ascent.  No, I wasn't doing it as an accomplishment, or goal.  This was a grudge climb for me.  I wanted to get back at the Parkway and make it "my bitch!"

The morning of the 6th finally rolled around and I looked at the weather, juuussst to make sure that the rain was really over.  Looking at key points along the route, there was not a chance of rain anywhere in the forecast, and the sun would be out in all of its glory.  As an added bonus, the winds would be negligible, especially compared to the 20-30 mph winds we had been seeing for the past 3 days.  The temperature did catch my attention though with lows starting out the day at about 47* or so.  The high would be in the upper 60's it appeared.  This meant that I needed to dress accordingly, which meant arm warmers and leg warmers.  It would be the first time since early Spring I had worn those extra items, but I wanted to be comfortable.

Phil grabbed this shot later in the day

Phil, Adrian, and I arrived just before 8am at the Riverside Park in Mt Airy.  We all did what cyclists do before a ride.  Almost like clockwork, at 8 we were lined up in the parking lot turning on our bike computers with the symphony of beeps and buzzes that accompany this act.  It was cold, and I was thinking I had underprepared for the weather, but knew that it wouldn't take too long to warm up pedaling through town.  We exited the park, and made a right onto Riverside Dr and worked our way through Mt Airy with the morning traffic.  The sun was low, but I have to admit it was sure nice to see it shining again after so long under cloud cover.

It wasn't but a few miles and we hit the Virginia border.  We stopped for a moment while Adrian grabbed a couple shots at the sign.  We were back on our way again and doing some nice and gentle rollers heading Northeast.  My legs were feeling really good this morning despite the cold weather which would normally keep me from warming up.  The bike was working flawlessly, but I happened to notice that due to the lack of humidity, and my lack of sweating, my heart rate monitor and power sensor combo was not registering at all through my Garmin.  I tried to move it around a little bit, but nothing would make it work.  Oh well, it was not the end of the world not to have it.  It would come on occasionally, but usually with numbers that I knew were not accurate.

I had looked at the elevation profile and route for the ride the night before and I knew that shortly after turning onto Squirrel Spur Rd the biggest climb of the day would start.  It just happened to be just after the 12 mile mark.  Normally, by this point, I would have switched into the big ring as my warm up would have been done.  With the climb looming in the near future, I just left the chain on the little ring and prepared for a nice 4 mile climb of about 1000 feet gain in elevation.

As happens so often on my rides, I would hear Phil's voice telling me to ride my ride.  He had already said not to wait for him on some of the smaller climbs of the day, so I decided that I would find my groove and work this climb out.  The next turn would be onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, and that was were we would regroup.

This climb reminded me a little bit of Caesar's Head in SC.  It was about the same grade, and it called for my lowest gear at about 8-9 mph.  The steepest sections of it were at the beginning though which was nice, and it was nowhere near as long a climb as Caesar's Head.  It was that length that made the difference between a category 1 and a category 2 climb.  Today was the lesser of the two.  The climb went off without a hitch and I realized the biggest difference between the two climbs.  Squirrel Spur Rd is long enough to be interesting, but not so long to be boring.  Caesar's Head gets rather boring in the last third of the climb.  I found myself actually wanting more of the Spur.  Yes, I am seeking psychological help for this.

Phil's Specialized at the entrance to the Parkway

There are times that karma bites you in the butt.  Today happened to be one of those days.  As usual, I made a comment about Phil and his uncanny ability to get lost on a ride.  Well, the route sheet, as well as the map made it look like Squirrel Spur Rd followed beside the Parkway for a bit before turning to the left to intersect with a "T".  This was what I was looking for as I came to the Parkway.  I could see several places to enter the Parkway, but none of them were as I was expecting.  Eventually, I could tell that I was moving away from the Parkway and heading more West than I thought I should be.  It was time to pull the phone out and check the cue sheet.  I was past the mileage where I should have made the turn, but I had not come to that "T" intersection yet.  I looked at the GPS map and found that I was, in fact, moving away from the Parkway at this point.  I decided to turn around and access the first entrance to the Parkway that I could find.  Fortunately, I was only a couple miles beyond the turn, so it didn't take me long to get back.

Once I got back to the entrance, I saw no signs of Adrian or Phil.  Since I didn't know what their pace was, I had no idea how far behind they were from me.  Had they been through here already, thinking that I had kept on going?  Should I still wait for them?  I decided to go ahead and wait....and

wait.....and....wait.  Just as I was about to give up and call Phil to see where they were, I see a couple of cyclists coming up the hill.  One of them was brighter than the sun...that had to be Phil.  They were here!  I had not been left behind due to my missed turn.  We were all back together again and after a brief break, we made out turn onto the Parkway and outran a friendly dog that had come to say hi.  I had finally made it, I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway once again riding my bike.  It was a wonderful feeling, and one that I had missed for far too long.

While we were done with the big climb of the day, there were still going to be a lot of rollers to deal with on the Parkway.  It is in the mountains after all.  The climbs that we came to caused us to separate as we each went at our own pace.  I would surge ahead and work my way to the top and wait.  Adrian would be the next in line shortly after I stopped.  Seizing the photo opportunity on one of the climbs, he let go of his handle bar (something I still can't do!) and framed his Selma Cyclepaths jersey.  I could almost hear him say "Hey Ma, look, no hands."  OK, so I might be a little jealous of his bike handling skills.

Phil was not far behind Adrian and came up the mountain in typical Phil fashion...strong and steady.  That is one thing I have come to expect from Phil, he might not be the fastest out there, but he is as consistent as a German clock.  When he is climbing, he finds his pace and will stick to it for the entire climb.  I honestly think that if given the opportunity, he could climb a telephone pole that went to the moon without changing his cadence.

We continued on along the Parkway in this same fashion for about seven miles or so from where we had entered.  This brought us to the Mabry Mill.  We had discussed the plans in the last few miles and it was determined that Phil and Adrian were still not interested in going on to Rocky Knob.  I made sure it would not hold them up too long if I went ahead and stretched out the route.  Phil assured me that I had all the time I needed, he and Adrian were going to get breakfast.

The time was finally here, the moment I had been waiting for over three years.  It was my chance at redemption.  I know, it is rather silly, and I freely admit that.  However, it was something that was important to me on an emotional level, and I wasn't going to be able to let it go until I had my "do over".

So, while Phil and Adrian rested and ate a special mountain breakfast, I continued toward Rocky Knob.  My riding style changed slightly at this point since I no longer had to worry about the overall pace of a group, I could settle into my own cruising speed.  I remember feeling exhilarated as I was starting to feel the tension in my legs, and my heart start beating at a more "normal" pace.  Yeah, this was what I was looking forward to.  But...I needed to watch myself because my first attempt at this climb failed because I had gone in too hot, too early, and ran out of steam before I ran out of climb.  I had no doubt that I would make it to the top this time, but I still didn't want to fall victim to overconfidence.  I kept my pace reasonable, but still let my legs enjoy the ride.  My destination was only about 6 miles from the Mill, so I was at the base of the climb in no time at all.

Immediately, I recognized the climb.  I had replayed it so many times in my head.  I started shift down, and then moved the chain into the little ring.  I found a nice pace that I could keep up with for the two miles I would be climbing.  It happened to be about the same pace that I had used climbing Squirrel Spur Rd.  I remembered how I had started the climb before, choosing to stay in the big ring and muscle through.  This had lasted just under a mile, and then I started dropping gears and eventually running out of lower gears.  That would not be the case today.  I was comfortable, and the climb seemed quite easy on my legs today.  In no time at all, I found myself at the very spot I had cracked.  I remember barely being able to stand after bringing my barely moving bike to a stop.  Here I was passing that by, still at about 9 mph, sitting, and barely breaking a sweat.  I crested the climb in the same shape as I had started, and actually felt bad that it was over.  After all the mental energy I had exerted on this single climb, the success of the climb was very anti-climactic.  But in my mind, that failure has now been corrected!

I was planning on recreating the original shot that I took with my other bike three years ago, but there was a little bit of a breeze that made me a little hesitant to stand this bike up on the curb.  As light as it is, it is not all that stable standing up on its own.  In lieu of that picture, I opted for a selfie in the overlook parking lot.  Yep, it was a small accomplishment, but an important one.  In the excitement, I forgot to eat my lunch which had been my plan.  I had packed one of my now famous waffle and nutella sandwiches and with this being the halfway point, I figured that would be the perfect time.  However, I wasn't hungry and forgot all about eating.

After a few minutes at the overlook, I saddled back up and headed back down the mountain to the Mill.  I remember this descent all too well from the last time.  It was reasonably straight and pretty fast.  Since traffic wasn't bad, I decided to press it just a bit.  I ended up with a top speed of just under 43 mph on the descent.  For me, that is pretty quick, because I am just not a fan of the descents at all.  Just like last time, the return six miles goes by in just a few minutes.  It seemed that by the time my heart rate had stabilized, I was back at the mill again.

Adrian's and Phil's bikes doing the lean

My timing was perfect, they were just coming out of the Mill happy and fed.  It was time to get a few pictures at this point.  While they were doing that, remembered that I had a sandwich in my jersey pocket that wanted to be eaten.  It wasn't pancakes and ham, but it was a proven cycling fuel, and one that I was suspecting I needed about now.  There was still about 25 miles left to go, and even if they were mostly downhill, I didn't want to be running on empty.

Adrian standing by while I ate real quick

With everyone's bellies filled again, we got the bikes back out on the road and headed back to Mt Airy.  For the most part we stayed together for this leg.  It didn't take long before we were at Squirrel Spur Rd again, and exiting the Parkway.  Phil and Adrian had spent about 16 miles on the Parkway, and even with my added leg, I only at about 28 miles.  That was just enough to give me a taste for the rolling hills and fresh smells of the Appalachian Mountains. I really hated to be turning off of the Parkway so soon after getting here.  I'm going to have to figure out how to get back here again soon, and more often!

From this point on, most of the route would be downhill with just a few small climbs thrown in for fun.  The biggest descent was just a few miles ahead.  That category 2 climb that we had to dispatch on the way up, was now going to be a twisty, fast descent.  Unlike most cyclists, I don't much care for descents.  Ironically though, I found that both Phil and Adrian shared my disdain for them citing similar reasons.  However, whether we liked descents or not, we were at a certain elevation, and we needed to lose altitude somehow.  that somehow was going to be going back down Squirrel Spur Rd.

This one wasn't that bad considering the grade and curves.  The road was in decent shape, and the traffic was light.  This was a good thing, because we were all using every bit of the lane as we swooped around the corners.  Since I don't really consider myself a seasoned descender, I chose to stay behind either Phil or Adrian to force me to keep my speed in check.  This was a very good thing, because even doing that, I overcooked a couple of corners and had to really get on the brakes.  There is just nothing quite like the sound of carbon fiber screaming against brake pads...just think grinding teeth, or fingernails on a chalk board.  Not pleasant, not pleasant at all.

Just like with Rocky Knob, the descent was over in just a few minutes.  What had taken 30 minutes to climb, passed by with a blink of an eye.  We were now on the road that would carry us back to Riverside Park.  There were not many significant climbs, but there were plenty of rollers as we made out way back to NC.  The earlier pattern repeated itself and I would either soft pedal or wait at the top of the climbs in order to regroup.  Seeing this as a potential photo opportunity, I decided to surge ahead and get to the NC/VA border where Adrian had got a picture earlier.  I figured that it would be really cool to get the guys passing the state line sign.  I had enough lead that I wouldn't have a problem getting in position to grab the shot.

I went ahead and hopped off of the bike and stumbled over onto the shoulder of the road.  Riding shoes are not meant for any amount of hiking, and I had a hard time getting where I wanted to be.  However, I had a great position that allowed me to see the road for quite a distance which would allow me to plan my shot.  I had everything set up, and looking back on other times I had surged ahead, I knew that I had about 2 more minutes before they would show up.  After about 5 minutes, I started to wonder just how quickly I had gotten here.  I was seeing no signs of either of my companions.  I knew I hadn't missed a turn at this point.  What I didn't know was whether or not something had happened to either of them.  After what seemed like about 10 minutes, I decided to get back out in the road and retrace my steps.  I wanted to make sure that they were ok wherever they were.  I guess it was about a mile to a mile and a half that I found them both rolling down the road.

I shouted out a quick hello as they passed me and I stopped to get turned around.  It was then a quick sprint to catch up with them again.  I found out that they had made a quick side trip to see a historical site.  I was glad that there had not been a problem, and we were back together once again.  We weren't far at all from the park where we had started, and we made the rest of the trip pretty much together.

We pulled into Riverside Park shortly after 1pm.  We were done for the day.  I had just shy of 70 miles, and Phil and Adrian had about 52 miles.  It had been an outstanding day to be on a bike.  The weather couldn't have been better (maybe warmer), the route was awesome, and the company was great as always.  I really enjoyed having this reunion on the Parkway with Phil and Adrian since this was the same crew I had ridden with the last time I had been on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  My year was now complete, and the icing on the cake...I had shown Rocky Knob who was boss after three years!

Out of all of my rides this year, my time on the Parkway really stands out.  Even in past years, no matter what rides I do, it has always been the Fall ride in the mountains that turns into the reward for a year well ridden.  I had a lot of time to think on this ride, and what I thought about was next year.  I have been tossing around the idea of riding in the Six Gap Century, which is a 100 mile ride with about 11,400 feet of climbing.  If I were to commit to this ride, I would have to work a lot on my climbing next year.  I can do the distance all day long, but my climbing legs are not quite as long lived.  For the kind of training that I would need, I could really get into riding the Parkway at least once a month.  Heck, even if I don't take part in Six Gap, I think I would like to spend more time riding the Parkway in 2016.  I just have to find a way around the need for the buddy system on these rides.  It is quite cumbersome to find other's to ride with, especially the way I like to plan training rides.  I'm kind of a spur of the moment kind of kid when it comes to picking and choosing my routes.  That might have to change to make this happen though.  Time will tell, but I know that I am really enjoying climbing for the first time in my cycling career.  I want to foster that as much as possible since it is one of my weaknesses.

Garmin Data From the Ride

2015 Tour of Farmington: Second Chances

It took three years, but I finally made it!  Why did it take so long to do this ride you ask?  The short answer is, I'm a weather weenie for all but the most important rides, and even then, I tend to whine a lot.  You see, today's ride actually started in late 2012, when I signed up for the ride after feeling stoked at the completion of the Tour to Tanglewood a few days before.  Having ridden a solid century, followed by a metric century, I felt that this ride (63 miles) wouldn't be too much to ask from my legs.  The registration fee wasn't outlandish, so I went ahead and signed up.  There was about a week to go before the actual event and I was getting excited about the ride.  What I hadn't considered was the weather.

That morning, I got up and had my gear ready to roll out, but looked outside and saw that it was rather wet.  I looked at the forecast and it showed rain pretty much all day long.  Hmmmmm, A couple of weeks before, I had ridden 65 miles in a steady rain at the Tour to Tanglewood, and quite frankly had my fill of that experience.  I briefly considered going to the Tour of Farmington because, lets face it, I had paid for it.  But thinking about all the cleanup that would be needed on the bike after riding in the rain, I opted against it.  Like I said, "Weather Weenie."  And yes, I did whine through the 65 miles at Tanglewood.  Well, I wasn't riding the Farmington ride as I was expecting to, but I didn't want to let myself off that easy, so I went with plan B.

Plan B was a "B"oring ride on the "B"rand new trainer, that made me "B"itch more than riding in the rain would have.  This was my first attempt at riding on a trainer, and I wasn't a fan of it.  I always felt bad that I backed out of riding the Farmington ride, especially when I saw pictures of the "real cyclists" who had gone out and ridden in the rain.  Yeah, I was a weather weenie.

When 2013 came around, I didn't really give Farmington much thought because my emphasis had been on doing century rides, or major climbing events.  A metric century just felt like a letdown with all the other rides that I had planned.  I really didn't give it much thought after that.  Since I wasn't riding for most of 2014, I hadn't really considered it until right at the last minute when I thought I would try it.  That thought was short lived since I crashed out and found myself without a road worthy bike at the beginning of September.

When 2015 rolled around, I had big plans once again, and I was focusing on the ultra endurance events yet again.  After I rode in the Ride to Remember in July, I was pretty much done for the year.  Well, I thought that I was.  I ended up realizing that there was a lot of riding weather left in the year and decided to do the Tour to Tanglewood again for my 4th year.  As I was ramping up training for two century rides, I happened to see a advertisement for the Tour of Farmington.  There were four different route options, with the longest being 63 miles once again.  It wasn't a full century, it wasn't in the mountains, but there was that twinge of guilt for the fact that I had missed it in '12 because I wussed out.  2015 was about second chances on the bike, so I figured that with it being a week before Tanglewood, it would make for a great training ride.  I went ahead and signed up for it, for the second time.

As we got closer to the day, I was looking at the weather.  The temperature was going to be perfect for riding, in the lower to mid 70's.  The wind was looking rather docile as well.  The only catch...rain.  Yep, thunderstorm chances throughout the day, but it didn't look too bad.  I cautiously told myself that I would be riding this year.  The night before, it was looking like we would be good until about 11am when the chances were around 51%.  Other than that, they were hovering in the low 40% range.  It was going to be iffy, but I was going to try it.  When I woke up this morning, I checked the weather first, before even getting out of bed.  Now we were looking at 45-58% chance for storms starting at 6am, well before the actual start of the ride.  It was looking like I was going to get wet today.

I rolled back over in the bed and thought about how comfortable it was, and how nice the fan felt.  I think I'll just sit this one out...

Again....

What?  AGAIN?!?!?!

What was I thinking?

Was I going to let the weather make me feel less like a cyclist once again. Negative!  I got out of the bed, and decided that it was going to be what it was going to be, but I was going to be on the bike.  I got everything ready and loaded in the truck before Toni got home from work.  I got to see her briefly before she went to bed, and I headed out to Mocksville.  It was cloudy, but nothing was falling from the sky at least.

I got there plenty early because I didn't know what parking would be like, or how long registration would take.  As luck would have it, I got the perfect parking space between a fence and a mound of dirt so I didn't have to worry about anyone parking next to me.  Registration took 2 minutes, 25 seconds...I counted.  I really didn't count, but I was in and out in no time.  That left me with about an hour to sit and chill out.  There was no reason to get the bike off of the truck that early, so I just watched as cars steadily came in and spandex clad cyclists moved around getting coffee, and breakfast.

Drip

Drip

What was that?

Drip drip

Oh no, I haven't even unloaded yet and its starting to rain.  Not much, but just a slight drizzle.  Edmond, the cyclist getting ready nearby, looked up and said something to effect of, "uh oh, I think I felt something."  Yep, it was raining.  I had an immediate flashback to the Carolina Century ride from 2013 which I should have ridden in a canoe for.  By the way, this is a funny read, and I was already reliving the experience in my head.  But I was here, the bike was going to get wet if the rain came at this point, so I went ahead and started getting things ready.

To show you how early I had gotten there, they were handing out numbers on a first come, first served basis.  By my early morning estimations, there had been (counts on fingers) just five riders in before me.  It was kind of cool having a single digit bib number.  At least it made it easy to remember.  It didn't take long to get dressed, and I was happy to find that I had remembered everything that I needed.  I always stress that part for some reason, and see myself pedaling without shoes.  I moved up to the start line, and utilized the little trick that I had learned at Ride to Remember...get up front, its easier to start.  There was going to be a staggered start with each mile group being separated to keep the start from getting too bunched up.  It wasn't until recently that I learned just how nice that procedure makes the first few miles.  Many thanks to the organizers for doing it this way.

I wasn't sure what kind of riders would be doing this route, and didn't know if I was going to have my doors blown off, or if everyone would treat it like a casual ride.  I had done a little research on Strava, looking at the course layout and getting an idea of the climbing involved.  In that research, I had seen speeds in the 18's and 19's, so I knew I would be in good company with similar riders to myself.  The question came as to whether or not I would ride this one solo, or if I would attach to a group and share the workload.  This seems to be the major question that I deal with on these event rides.  This one was pretty easy to determine though since it was just a metric century.  I felt confident enough in my abilities to handle this one solo which would ensure I would have a more enjoyable ride, and a safer one as well.

Is it just me, or is my head the biggest thing in this picture?

There were the typical morning announcements.  Safety was emphasized, which is always a good thing.  There was also the mention that there was some "broken pavement" on one of the roads.  I wasn't quite sure what this meant, but figured that it just meant that the pavement had buckled a little bit and was a significant bump.  I filed it in my head for reference when we got to that portion of the ride.  And just like that, it was time to clip in and ride.

I pulled out with the lead group that quickly got into position in front of me, and more passed me.  Remember, I like warming up in the little ring for the first 10 miles or so, and that kept me a bit slower than the rest.  At first, I wanted to give chase and secure my position in the front, but decided that I would be much better off just letting them drop me and let me ride my ride wherever I ended up in the line.  I was instantly calm, not caring where anyone was around me.  This was going to be a great ride, and the rain had stopped before even making the roads wet.

I'm in the yellow jersey centered between the two lead riders

Within the first five miles or so, I was passed by a group on a slight downhill (I had topped out gearing and was coasting).  As we came to the inevitable uphill portion, I saw that I was gaining on them.  The closer I got, the more I realized that I wasn't going to be able to pass them and stay in front for long, so I just hung back well behind the line (don't want to be labeled as a wheel sucker).  My heart rate was getting into sleeping territory, and to make matters worse, the lead rider was coming off line and going back to the rear.  My presence was confusing to him as he appeared to want to fall in behind me, but was concerned with the gap.  I told him to slide in, I was riding "my own ride" today.  With that, he moved in to the last spot of the line, and I made my decision that it was time to make my move.  I checked to the rear, and moved to the left of the lane.  I went ahead and spun up the pedals and moved around them, and continued with the "sprint" in order to not disrupt their flow by them trying to grab onto my wheel.

When I had created a large enough gap, I backed down a little bit and went back to my warm up.  There were a couple of riders which had been dropped that I came up to and passed which caused me to get a bit of adrenaline pumping in my veins.  At 10 miles, I moved into the big ring, and settled into my cruising cadence.  At about 15 miles in, I had moved past all but a handful of riders and was still increasing my average speed.  

At some point in this section, I found out what Garry was talking about when he said to watch out for the "broken pavement."  I saw the warning sign on the side of the road and began to slow down, which was not all that easy since it was on a slight descent.  I was expecting a rough patch in the road, but what I saw was not that.  There was a full section width of road missing, and about three feet wide.  There was no way to go around, no point where there would be less of a "bump", it was just missing pavement.  I grabbed the brakes, and slowed to about 15 mph, stood in the saddle and hoped for the best.  It was a rough crossing, but wasn't as bad as it looked like it was going to be.  Note to self...broken pavement is a bad thing, and should be avoided.

By 20 miles, I had found another group up ahead and found myself struggling to catch them.  In fact, I lost sight of them within minutes of spotting them in the distance.  We were on one of the few flat roads on the route, and it was into the wind.  That was where pacelines shine, and I was feeling the effects of pulling 100% of the workload for my solo ride.  I knew that there was no way I was going to catch them, but that wasn't my biggest concern at this point...

Nice road markings, my route was the white arrow

There was still no rain, but I was facing a slight dilemma.  I was starting to think that I was lost.  I had just crossed Hwy 601 on Lone Hickory Rd which was familiar territory for me since that was part of two different century routes I train on, but I was going in the opposite direction.  Anyway, I had not seen any of the road markings in a quite a while.  I had programmed my eyes to spot the white arrows for the metric century.  I also had a cue sheet in my jersey pocket with the turn by turn directions.  Having not seen the road markings in miles, and having lost sight of the group up ahead, I was getting concerned that I had missed a turn.  I could keep going and trust that I hadn't missed anything and this was just a long stretch, or I could stop, and look at the mile count on the cue sheet to see if I had messed something up.  If I were on the right course, stopping would affect any my placement in the route.  That wasn't significant since this wasn't a race, but I had really wanted to hammer this route, and that was a personal goal of mine (aiming for 3 hours flat).  It would be a blow to my self confidence to get passed at this point, knowing that there was a group pulling away from me as it was.  I decided to trust myself and keep going, knowing that at some point we would be on Hwy 21, which I knew from experience was at the end of this road.  Worst case, I add a few miles.

After what seemed like an eternity, I found Hwy 21 and a most welcomed sight of a white arrow telling me to turn left.  I was still on course, I was right to trust me!  I was now out of the wind, and going downhill.  My speeds were creeping back up again and I was feeling much better about the ride.  Here is where my obligatory funny story comes in...

After passing a couple of stragglers from the group up ahead (nice to see I'm still on course, and not that far behind now), I saw a slightly odd sight ahead.  There was a lady riding a hybrid bike wearing what looked like a regular white summer top and not a cycling jersey.  There was no bib number attached, and she didn't seem all that "serious" for lack of a better term.  I assumed that she was just out for a Saturday ride which was awesome.  I came up behind and wished her a good morning and have a nice ride as I passed by.  She smiled and we parted ways.

Not even a mile later there was a nice descent which I was going to utilize to make up some time.  As I finished clicking through the gears, I saw the other group ahead of me.  I had found them, and was in position to catch them!  I poured on the coals, and saw my pace creeping up, but I also saw a blue pickup truck backing out of a driveway.  The other group was able to get past it without missing a beat, but I was going to have to slow down to let him out.  I feathered the brakes anticipating him to back out, and get into the oncoming lane as any other driver would do.  Well, not this guy, he just slowly backed out and blocked both lanes with his truck before stopping right there.  He wasn't even looking at me, so I knew it had nothing to do with a motorist vs cyclist grudge, but I was going to have to come to a stop.  I grabbed the brakes, and managed to downshift a couple of gears as I came to a stop.  Before I stopped, I could hear a female voice yelling from the porch of the house he was leaving from.  Oh joy!  I had found myself in the middle of a 10-16 (domestic dispute for you non cop folks).  I knew better than to try and persuade the driver to move along, because experience tells me, he's probably just looking for someone to lash out at, and I wasn't going to volunteer for that role.  He did hear my brakes and realized that he was in the road.  To his credit, he flipped off the lady at the house and put his truck in drive to clear the road.  Well, that was nice!

As I was starting to push off and get rolling again, what happened?  The young lady I had passed a few minutes ago came rolling by, apparently not even breaking stride due to the truck.  I had to smile at that.  Here we had a a casual cyclist blowing past the guy on the race bike, in full kit.  I really enjoyed that experience, and I hope that she did as well, because it was just that kind of funny.  It wasn't long before I was back in full song though, and climbing the hill after the descent.  It was a long hill, which marked the halfway point to the ride.  It was on the hills I was excelling it seemed, and I found the group which had been eluding me for so long as we came to the end of the hill.  There was a rest stop on the next road which reduced that group by a couple, and just a handful continued on without stopping.

Elevation profile showing lots of rolling hills

They were back in my sights though, and I wasn't going to let them get away again.  They had slowed and were situating some "on the road snacks" it appeared.  They were riding two abreast, so I decided to hang back a little bit and let them get organized.  There was no sense in sprinting ahead by going into opposing traffic, plus it was kind of nice to soft pedal after the long climb.  They got back in single file and had seen that I was waiting in the rear. They did not get back up to speed immediately, so I took that as my invitation to make my move.  I got around them, and continued hammering the pedals until I figured that I had enough room between us so as not to disrupt their paceline.  By all estimations at the time, I was now in the lead for the metric century group, and that was a first. I have to say, that just turned into a bucket list item for me, and I had checked it off.

I continued out in front for pretty much the rest of the ride, but the strangest thing happened.  I swear the group of four behind me must have possessed either a cloaking device, or access to warp speed because I would keep a periodic check behind me since I could feel my pace dropping a little bit.  I could never see them, so I figured I was well ahead by this point.  The route came to a stop sign, and decided to use this opportunity to switch water bottles in the cages.  In just a matter of seconds, the four of them just appeared. Huh?  How did that do that?  Where did they come from?  Hey, they are making the turn before me!  I would then sprint out and get back in front again and wait until I couldn't see them again before backing off.

We played that game at least three more times at stop signs where they would come out of nowhere, just seconds behind me.  In the last 10 miles, I was feeling pretty beat down, and was actually getting hungry.  I had brought food, but hadn't felt the need to eat anything as of yet.  Based on my training rides, I rarely need food on metric centuries now, and I figured that this would be no different.  The difference was, I was putting out significantly more watts over this ride than I was used to in an attempt to stay out front.  If I stopped to eat, I would get passed, and didn't know how many were in range to do that.  With just a few miles left, I drank some water and kept it moving.

At 59 miles, I was on a flat portion of the road, and was feeling pretty well beat down.  It was at that time, that the four riders came out of thin air again and blew past me.  My feelings weren't hurt though, I know that a paceline is a very efficient machine, and I was probably the most inefficient rider on the whole course riding solo.  The fact that I had made a paceline catch me, was just as impressive as leading the route.  I held on to them from about 30 feet back as the last 3.5 miles ticked by.  We had made it to the finish line, and I was about 30 feet behind the other four riders.  I could live with that!

I did my stretching in the bed of the truck, and got my gear all loaded up before going to have a bite of lunch in an attempt to consume some protein.  I had a brief chat with a couple of other riders who had done the 40 mile route.  We compared notes on the road conditions.  We all agreed that the roads were very rough out there.  It actually reminded me of South Carolina for the second half.  The vibrations that continually went through my body came close to shaking the molars out of my mouth.  I'm sure that this factored into my fatigue levels by the end of the ride.  it is just harder to ride on rough roads than smooth ones.

After I ate, I made my way back to the truck and headed home.  I really missed Toni on this ride.  She wasn't there to send me off, she wasn't there to celebrate when I finished, and I was still hungry because she had not been there to force me to get more lunch.  The ride back was lonely without her, and it really killed the high I should have been experiencing for what I would consider an awesome ride.

Starting another row of bib numbers on the wall

After three years, I had finally done the Tour of Farmington.  Yeah, it was only a metric century, but I had underestimated it.  There was enough climbing on this route to make it interesting, and the road conditions added to the difficulty.  I've come back from centuries feeling better than I felt after this ride.  Of course, that is primarily because I pushed myself for the whole ride.  At a more conservative pace, I would have had plenty of energy left at the end.  However, for the event rides that I do, I like to push the envelope when I can.  There are three things that I look for in rides, climbing, total distance, and if there isn't significance to either of those, I look for a high average speed.  This ride was done at a speed of 20.1 mph which for the climbing (3,474 feet of vertical) was outstanding for me.  I missed my goal time of 3 hours flat, but only by six minutes and 22 seconds.  I'm ok with that though, and feel very good about my effort on this ride.  I was even complimented by one of the magical four as I was going to the truck when he told me that I had ridden very strong today.  It had been a great ride, and a dry ride.

View the Garmin data here

After I had gotten home, I was still very much under the assumption that the magical four that I had played cat and mouse with for so long was the lead group to the ride, and I had come in right behind them.  It wasn't until I started to look deeper into the information provided by Strava about the other riders on the course.  It would appear that there was a rider that finished about 20 minutes before we had with an average speed of 23 mph!  There were a couple others behind him, so I'm not sure where exactly I placed, but that really doesn't matter at all to me.  I had a very strong ride, and like I said, I outpaced many a group of riders, and forced a paceline to catch me.  I had made a great showing for myself, and am very proud of that effort.  As a side note, to do this course at 23 mph is almost superhuman, and my hat is off to him!