So far

Training has been off and on since I got my bike at Christmas. I had one heck of a semester, my last in grad school. On top of that, I'm also very out of shape and Boone is very cold in the winter. So, my riding for many months was limited to a trainer inside. I did learn to play Super Nintendo while riding on the bike though...

My first outdoor ride came at spring break in early March. Once the trip to New Mexico fell through, I made my way back down to UNCW. I was able to ride 17 miles in less than two hours along River Road. Lots of fast traffic and lots of wind, but I made it.

I attempted to ride outside in Boone sometime after that (not exactly sure what day). Needless to say it was very unsuccessful. My community was at roughly 3500 feet in elevation and it was again quite windy. I didn't make it far.

I moved up here to DC about two weeks ago but had been traveling and unpacking until earlier this week. I researched and decided I would follow a ride I found in a book that seemed like it was way out in the country and about 35 miles in length. I was so wrong on so many accounts that day. It was hell trying to find my way out of town on the proper road, then once I got almost to Purcellville, VA, I realized I had forgotten my helmet. With some help from my dad on the phone, I found a bike shop only to find out they were waiting on a new shipment of helmets that would come later that week. Also, I found out that Loudon County had grown ridiculously since the book was written about ten years ago and nothing is 'country' anymore. So I rode back to Leesburg and bought a helmet there and proceeded to ride on the W&OD Trail.

The W&OD Trail is a paved 'park' from Arlington to Purcellville, or about 45 miles. It's popular for walkers, bikers, runners, rollerbladers and even horseriders. So I hopped on it and rode about ten miles from Leesburg to Purcellville and back for a total of about 21 miles. Then I treated myself to Moe's, completely negating any healthy aspect of the ride.

Saturday I went out to the trail again, only this time I started in Arlington at Bluemont Park. I rode just over 15 miles up to Reston before turning around, for a total of about 31 miles. There was a little more terrain and I did a little better than on Thursday.

So, up to this point in DC, I've ridden a total of 52 miles. Not bad, but not enough. I have to work on my hills. Also, I need to keep reminding myself that RAGBRAI is not a race but rather simply a ride... no need for speed and no need to worry about where I am in the pack. If I finish 10,000th, so what, at least I finished.