“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” John Muir



The Blue Ridge ride on Saturday was fantastic!! 70 miles with 6288 of climbing in absolute beauty. I heard a lot of people describing the experience as "awful" or "horrible" but that is certainly not what their faces were saying. I saw smiling, strong, fierce riders showing a tremendous amount of confidence and pride in what they accomplished. This was a difficult and challenging ride but it was simply AMAZING!!
Triathlon can be a lonely sport where you are out there fighting through the pain by yourself. On this ride there was A LOT of alone time! I found that as I was fighting my way up a hill, I would just commit to the journey and take the time to take in my surroundings. I wondered how long it would take the caterpillar on the road to cross it (I also wondered if he was travelling at a faster speed than me!) I listened to the sound of small waterfalls and took in the striking green canopy of the leaves. This was MY time and I spent it thinking about the beauty around me. I didn't think about my to-do list or the week ahead of me. I didn't think about any of the worries that I have at home or my busy schedule. I didn't even worry about Eagleman or Ironman Florida (which is how I've spent most of my free time lately!) When I got to the end of the ride I felt refreshed and re-energized. It was incredibly cleansing and I loved it!

Now, as far as the nitty gritty details, here is how the day progressed:

I woke up at 5 a.m. on Saturday to the sound of thunder. A terrible thunderstorm was overhead and the sky lit up with lightning. I reluctantly put on my bike clothes while Derek packed up the car. The entire time I kept thinking, "this is stupid. There's no way I'm riding in this." I mean, if it was race day, of course, I'd take on any weather challenges. But this was not race day. So Derek and I got in the car and headed out with every intention of having to turn around as soon as we met up with everyone. But, as we were driving, suddenly the sun started to peek through and I realized that we were, indeed, going to do this. I started drinking my coffee.

We got to the Blue Ridge and it was beautiful. Slightly chilly but muggy at the same time. I, of course, was a bundle of nerves. I have no idea why I am nervous for the first 10 minutes that I get on a bike. Anyway, the trip down to Otter Creek was gorgeous. The descents were fast and I managed to stay in my aero bars throughout 90% of them. There were a couple that I had to sit up and grab the brakes, though!!! We also got to ride through the exact tunnel I have put up as one of the pictures. It was very strange because your eyes didn't really get used to the dark and it was impossible to see whether there were potholes ahead or something in the road. It was a little disorienting but was really rather exciting.

The ride back from Otter Creek took a lot longer. But I like to climb so I enjoyed the slow and steady pace. I enjoyed it even more when I crested the final hill and saw Coach M cheering me into the finish. He kept saying how proud he was and I felt more proud of myself than I have in years!! You know, if I haven't mentioned it before, I really like our coaches!!!

After some more riders made their way back in, we all grabbed something to eat under the shade of a tree while we waited for the last riders to make their way back up the treacherous hill. Then it was the long, slow ride back to Richmond. During the ride home, we discovered that we rode almost as far as we were driving to get back home! Now that's very cool -- as are we, I must say!