On the Road Again

I have a goal for 2015 of getting back into road biking. While I hate to wade into a sport with more sectarian schisms than Iraq and see no reason to spend as much on a bike as I did on my first three cars combined (which can easily be done once you venture into the land of carbon fiber construction and shift-by-wire derailleurs), the fact of the matter - as Cyndi points out - is that there are a lot of places to explore in the world that aren't on the water.

I got an start on my 2015 riding by doing the Arlington Loop today. After spending the morning of what was forecast to be the last day of a late December warm spell doing chores and paperwork I decided I just needed to get out and take advantage of the weather. It took me a while to get everything together: bike tires inflated, proper clothing, proper layering for the weather, helmet, phone, various braces in case my knee or foot gave out. Finally I headed out the door, and as I did it started raining. Fortunately the modern world is a wonderful place and so I was able to see on my phone that the rain was a band of light showers which would soon pass, leaving me to do at least most of my ride dry. I decided to go ahead with the ride.

As expected, it rained a little as I zoomed down the W&OD towards Shirlington. The first third of the loop in this direction is great - largely downhill with a 300+ foot elevation drop from my house to the river. Anyone can feel like a powerful rider on a long downhill trail! Phase two of the ride, always my favorite part, was rain-free. I love this part because it's along the river. Which means I was using my bike which can explore away from water to explore a part of the world that was on the water ... never mind. I didn't make any long stops on this ride, but I did pause to watch one airplane depart out of DCA.

Part three of the ride stank as always. The ride up from Rosslyn back to East Falls Church is hilly. Lots of steep ups and downs, and of course you have to gain back that 300+ feet of elevation. Plus it hard started to rain again - but again, just lightly.

Total mileage: about 18 mi.
Average speed: a slow 12 MPH.

Conclusion: I feel like I had some power in my legs from my exercise bike workouts at the gym, but I'm clearly just at the beginning.