Gravity Works

3,600 miles to cross the country by bicycle, and we avoided injury and illness. We didn't realize how great a feat this was until our third mile on the back roads of Loretto, Kentucky. The perfect combination of a downhill grade, sharp turn, gravel and dogs on the chase led to a scary spill and emergency room visit. We were reminded of a few tips for coping with dogs while riding, but, more importantly, we were reminded of the necessity of safety gear.

Always...

Wear a helmet.
Wear gloves.
Wear glasses (plastic, NOT glass).
Carry identification AND insurance information.
Bring a cell phone.
Ride with a buddy and/or tell someone your travel plans.

These few things made a dangerous situation much more manageable. For those who need a little more convincing... How's a shiner and some killer road rash?

Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Floods, Oh My!

Looks like we won't be riding the Southern Maryland Century after all...

"As most are aware, several roads incorporated into the various routes have sustained significant damage, flooding, or experienced mudslides. The forecast for the weekend still includes the potential for additional rain and thunderstorms and the possibility of further damage to saturated road foundations. Thank you for understanding. Safety for all participants is and will remain paramount." (Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club)

More information about the Southern Maryland Century/Indian Head 100 can be found on the ride's website.

A friendly reminder to please stay safe and alert on the road!

(Photo taken at Allens Fresh Run, Route 234/Budds Creek Road)

Coasting Cross Calvert

For our most recent ride, we wanted to explore roads on the other side of the Patuxent River in Calvert County, Maryland.

The main drag, Route 4, is a designated bike route with a nice, wide shoulder. Since the straight shot can get a little boring, we jogged onto a few back roads, following part of the Star-Spangled Banner Byway. The byway roads were fairly narrow, winding and even had a few steep climbs. It's a scenic ride, but without the presence of a shoulder, not recommended for novice riders, especially when traffic becomes heavier. We stopped at the Benedict Bridge, which looked a little too narrow to be bicycle-friendly.

So, we enjoyed the view of the river, snapped a few photos and made our way back south.

We opted for a slightly different route back, taking advantage of the dedicated bicycle lanes in Prince Frederick. As we neared the river again, our attention was drawn to the skies as the Blue Angels rehearsed some of their acrobatic maneuvers for the weekend's Air Expo at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

This 50-mile route was our longest ride since stopping at the Atlantic. After a few days off the bikes, one of us already felt the strain. With our century ride only 2 weeks away, it's time to get back into training mode!

Country Roads, Take Us Home

After a week of rest (for both our bikes and our legs!), we were itching to get back in the saddle and do some local riding. It was great to be back on familiar roads, and we soon realized how much we had taken for granted when we trained on St. Mary's County's bike-friendly roads. The wide shoulders, relatively low traffic and low elevation changes made for a fun, easy ride. We surprised ourselves with our speed and endurance, even after a week off the bikes.

Our first destination after the Atlantic coast was to pay a visit to Slack Winery. Our good friend was keeping busy with the newly harvested grapes, but took a break to share the new award-winning wine with us - Not a bad way to celebrate our homecoming!

We hurried home (once we realized how early the sun is setting these days) convinced that we should sign up for The Southern Maryland Century/The Indian Head 100. A fellow local cyclist shared positive reviews of the ride, and we're excited to have a fitness goal in the not-so-distant future. The century will also give us a chance to experience some local roads that we have never cycled, and maybe even meet other local riders.

With the hurricane and earthquake behind us, we're hoping we'll have plenty more opportunities to get out on our familiar country roads, including the new Three Notch Trail!

Well-Worn PA Pathways

Surveying Valley Forge National Historic Park

On our way home from a wedding last weekend, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to check out Valley Forge and the Schuylkill River Trail. Time constraints limited our distance, but we were able to take in the sights for small sections of both trails. We found that the SRT was much more cyclist-friendly with no pedestrians, a wider trail, primarily flat ride and a straight shot into Philly (great for long-distance training!). Valley Forge is a great place to visit, but its rolling hills, narrow windy path and relatively short distance loops meant that we spent more time ringing bells and calling "on your left" to the pedestrians and junior cyclists out to enjoy a sunny afternoon.

In front of The Memorial Arch at Valley Forge

Upgrade Complete!

We've slacked off a bit on our posting, but we've still been venturing out on new and exciting rides. Our most recent rides have picked up the pace as we've converted to a clipless pedal system. We were hesitant to make the change (and the big purchase!), but great finds at our local REI's Attic Sale and loaner pedals from a friend made the upgrade possible. Since swapping our cage pedals for SPDs, we've seen big improvements: We've increased our average pace, and found both uphill and downhill grades to be much easier and more productive. An added bonus: by keeping the leg in a relatively fixed position, the knee issues we experienced on our Annapolis (mis)adventure have largely disappeared. We now understand why so many avid cyclists swear by clipless systems!

 Switching out our pedals proved to be pretty straightforward.

Just remember to pay attention to the direction of the screw threads: each pedal is designed to prevent the forward motion of the crankshaft from spinning it loose.

We opted for "mountain" style cycling shoes to make it easier and safer to walk around with minimal damage to our cleats or the ground/floor. After all, we plan on hopping off our bikes to check out the countryside this summer!















To test out our new pedals and shoes for the first time, we opted for a scenic ride to St. George Island in St. Mary's County.

It was a perfect test run, as it's a pretty flat route. We enjoyed the beautiful waterfront ride with family, and stopped for a few photos.

A highlight of the route was visiting Piney Point Lighthouse. Our SPD shoes made it possible to hop off our bikes and take a look around...

We'd love to hear from any fellow cyclists who use clipless pedals. Did you encounter any challenges when making the switch? We appreciate any tips/pointers as we get used to the new system!

Annapolis, Interrupted

Our most recent ride taught us a few things about knowing your limits, improvisation and the consequences of making a wrong turn (especially when on a bicycle). We had high hopes for our longest ride yet, and planned a roughly 60-mile out-and-back from the D.C. suburbs to Annapolis on a beautiful spring day, hoping to visit Annapolis' annual Spring Fling.

Our route was a compilation and slight modification of Bike Washington's "Greenbelt to Bay" route and a similar route from our book, "25 Bicycle Tours in Maryland." We began by revisiting the WB&A Trail (see previous post), and then wove our way through greater Bowie. The most scenic views were found on the rolling hills of Governor Bridge Road as we passed quiet farmland on a low-traffic country road.

Our serene ride came to an abrupt halt, however, as we zipped past "High Water" caution signs to find that the Patuxent River had overflowed. Severe weather from the previous night resulted in Governor Bridge road being covered in about two feet of rapid, muddy water. A soggy car being hauled out by a tow truck ahead of us dashed any hopes of "just going for it."

After taking advantage of the snack break, we were offered a ride across the river in a Good Samaritan's truck. We didn't even hesitate to throw our bikes in the bed and hop on.

As fun as our little trip was, we didn't really take the time to think about how we would get back across the river for our return home. "We'll just take another road back." Right. It's not always so easy when you're traveling by bicycle...

Looking Back at Governor Bridge

When we reached Annapolis, we dropped by Capital Bicycle in hopes of getting some advice for a bike-savvy route home. While there were no maps to be found, and the staff had no tips for a different route back across the Patuxent, they were kind enough to let us investigate Google Maps for a better option.

Our new route home took us over steeper hills with smaller (and often no) shoulders. It was longer, with more twists and turns, and the sun was getting closer to setting. We knew we were in a pinch. To top if off, one of our riders had developed an injury and needed to adopt a slower pace. We divvied up cell phones, copied down the new route and decided that two riders would hurry home and return with a car.

Later, now down to two cyclists, we found ourselves at a high-traffic intersection with a very small shoulder. As we stopped to reconsider, two cyclists came behind us and we were able to conference about the road ahead. Both were familiar with the local roads and the dangers of the route we were now hoping to take. We explained our situation and the cyclists offered to modify their route in order to escort us back to a safer road home. "Safety in numbers" was their motto, and we agreed.

Back on safer roads, closing in on home, we were feeling the burn of nearing the end of our longest ride ever. Then we heard the phone ring. When we parted ways with our third rider, we'd forgotten one important piece... the keys!!!

We coached our third cyclist home along the safer route via text messages, and we hit a local convenience store for whatever snacks we could find. We waited. We contemplated calling a cab for our third rider and racked our brains for numbers of local friends with vehicles. Just as dusk drew near, our last rider pulled up, equally exhausted. We were so thankful to have all returned home safely. There were a few lessons for each of us in this day's ride.

We're gonna rock down to...

We've discovered someone's great decision to utilize the path cleared for the "electric avenue" of powerlines... The WB&A Trail!

This paved trail takes you from backyards to alongside low traffic roads, paralleling a railway that connects D.C. to Baltimore. We're looking forward to revisiting this trail in the near future for a longer multi-city ride.

En route to the WB&A, we visited the Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge. We were pleasantly surprised to discover an oasis of quiet wooded areas with several trails (for foot traffic only) and a great interactive visitor center. We'll definitely be going back.

While this trip was relatively short with little elevation change, we're gearing up for some long rides, including a route around Sugarloaf Mountain. We'll let you know how we fare on the rolling hills!

Halfway Checkpoint

We did it! We successfully completed the Cherry Blossom 10-miler! We found that we weren't entirely successful at multi-tasking our training. Splitting our training between cycling and running meant that we weren't training as well as we'd hoped for either. Nonetheless, we finished the race and had a pretty good time. The blossoms were in full bloom, and the sun came out to warm things up; It was gorgeous!

An amazing family member even made us T-shirts so we could spread the word about the ride as we ran:

With the race out of the way, we are looking at approximately 10 more weeks of training before we dip our back tires in the Pacific Ocean and head east for 3,400 miles. It's time to get serious. We're trying to spend some time on the bikes every day now, even if it's only a short ride. With warmer weather and more hours of daylight, biking to work has become a solid option.

It's also time for us to get more serious about the real goal of our cross country adventure: fundraising. We're pitching a new idea to friends and family:


Each rider’s goal is to raise $3,400 ($1 for every mile). Larger donors will cover our operating costs and in-kind gifts, so that every penny that the riders raise will go directly to supporting volunteers. We will be cycling from Oregon to New Jersey for 50 days this summer (which are broken up with rest days and opportunities for community service with Lasallian communities). If we can raise $68 for each of those days that we are cycling across the country, we will meet our goal. That also means that if we can find 50 people to sponsor us for $68, we will have met our goal.


So here's our humble plea...
We believe that education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty in the U.S. The Lasallian Volunteer Program trains, supports and places teachers in communities of great need. Please help us help them, and consider donating to LVsRide. Can you spare $68 to sponsor one day, or $34 for half of a day? Do you know someone who can?


If you know of others - family, friends, businesses, potential sponsors - please spread the word. In the meantime, stay tuned for more posts about longer rides and pertinent information as our training kicks it up a notch!

"I Have Burned My Last Calorie"

As we made the final push up Mt. Vernon (see recent post here), we had the sensation of our own "low fuel" lights coming on, and the quote above was heard. We were reminded of Coach David Ertl's advice for base-training: Don't forget to eat!

"Yeah, right, like you would ever forget to do that.  But if you haven’t been doing much riding and all of a sudden start doing two hour rides, you may find yourself short of energy, especially if you aren’t eating enough carbohydrates to last you through your long rides.   Short rides of 90 minutes or less don’t need much special nutritional preparation but once you start riding 2 hours or more, you will need to make sure you increase your carbs and make sure you eat 2-3 hours before your long rides.  Although most of us have enough body fat to fuel a 2,000 mile ride, fat doesn’t burn fast enough by itself to keep you riding so you do need to make sure you have some carbs in your system.  Failure to do so will result in low blood sugar, or, as we like to call it, the ‘bonk’" (http://ragbrai.com/2011/03/11/ragbrai-training-time-for-base-training/).

We've come a little too close to the "bonk" a few times, which has motivated us to do some research on healthy, hearty pre- and post-cycling eats. Our first step was to determine how many calories we've been burning on a roughly 4-hour ride. We set up accounts with My Fitness Pal, which has helped us estimate the number of calories burned, incorporating our individual weight, height, speed, etc. We were shocked that we were often burning upwards of 2,000 calories... no wonder we were so hungry!

This brings us to the importance of a solid pre-cycling meal. We've been guilty of rushing out the door after just an apple or banana, and we've paid the price! A quick Google search proved pretty informative: lots of tips about what and when to eat - check it out and let us know what you think. What are your favorite pre-exercise meals?

Now, what about eating on-the-go? While we are not advocating eating while cycling, it's important to have pit-stops for hydration and refueling. We're big DIY fans (and enjoy a little creative time in the kitchen), so we're going to try out the recipes in this post from Adventure Cycling.

Scenic St. Mary's

Before this last ride, we had both cycled down to Maryland's southern-most tip on the western shore, but never together. This time, we charted a loop course that took us by St. Mary's County farmland, Maryland's first capitol, St. Mary's College and the Potomac and St. Mary's Rivers. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we made great time on our way south. Once we made an about-face, however, we realized why we had made such great time. We quickly saw the importance of calculating the direction and speed of the wind when setting a route. While our ride south followed the straight and speedy Route 235 (which also included a strong tail wind), our route north followed Route 5 - rolling hills aside the river, facing the wind head-on. Needless to say, we didn't make the best time on our return north!

We thought we'd share some photos with you of our scenic ride. Wide shoulders, low traffic, smooth roads and great views all make this a fun trip worth considering (and doing again)!

Pausing for a timer shot across from St. Mary's College

Wide shoulders and low traffic made it possible to keep your head "on a swivel!"

Checking out the sailing team on the St. Mary's River (plenty of breeze for them!)

Entrance to St. Mary's College

Views from the road - St. Mary's County, Maryland

Rolling hills and farmland - St. Mary's County, Maryland

Climbing Mount Vernon

For our most recent weekend ride, we decided to follow the Mt. Vernon Bike Trail. This is a great ride for anyone who is a little nervous about riding alongside motor vehicles, as the majority of the route is on paved trails. The few times that you do need to access roads, you're in low-traffic areas for very short time periods. Be aware, however, that the trail can be somewhat narrow (for a two-way trail), and the rolling hills around Mt. Vernon can help you really pick up speed. Cyclists should be well informed of trail etiquette, including:

• Pedestrians always have the right-of-way.
• Be sure to use an audible signal when passing another cyclist or pedestrian (i.e. "On your left!" or the use of a bell).
• Double-check for on-coming traffic before passing.
• Utilize clear, predictable and timely hand signals.

When riding to a popular tourist spot, we learned that it's important to do your research about bicycle access before your leave. Mt. Vernon, for example, does not permit bicycles past the parking lot. We were able to sneak a photo outside of the ticket lines:

If you're thinking of making the trip to Mt. Vernon by bike, here are a few things to consider:

• The entire route is along the water - Consider bringing or wearing another layer to account for the breeze.
• While most of the route is relatively flat, the homestretch toward Mt. Vernon is pretty hilly - Get those quads (and gear shifters) ready!
• The route cuts through Old Town Alexandria, which could be a great place to stop for a stretch, bite to eat, or some window-shopping (you're on a bike, after all!).
• Bring a camera! You'll get some great views of everything from crossing the Potomac to descending on D.C.'s monuments.

Burrito Quest

What's better than a 40-mile ride on a gorgeous pre-spring day? ... A 40-mile ride on a gorgeous pre-spring day, then BOGO (buy-one-get-one) at Chipotle! That's not all: we discovered the pockets of cycling jerseys seem to be made with Chipotle's burritos in mind...

We're seriously considering sharing this evidence with Chipotle in hopes for corporate sponsorship of our ride. What other companies do you think would make great sponsors?

Our trek began and ended on the Metropolitan Branch Trail, or mbt. This great new paved trail provides a straight shot Downtown from Northeast D.C. Since it follows the red Metro rail line, you get some nice views passing over different neighborhoods, and it conveniently led us to our burritos at Union Station (great motivation for those last few miles!). A word of caution - Since the trail is still fairly new, low-traffic and off the beaten path, we recommend taking a buddy or two, and finding another route at dusk (or later). The solar-powered lights are a great idea, but provide minimal visibility to an already set-apart area.

The bulk of our ride was split between the Capital Crescent Trail / Georgetown Branch Trail and Sligo Creek Trail. These trails provided scenic, easy-to-follow routes, peppered with wooden bridges and running creeks. The unpaved sections (crushed stone) of the Capital Crescent meant we'd be cleaning our bikes later, but it was worth the view of the Georgetown Waterfront, C&O Canal and wooded areas of Bethesda, Maryland.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), a lot of folks shared our opinion and decided to hop on the trails for a walk, run or ride that day. Our fellow rider was T-boned by a pint-sized beginning cyclist (No worries, all parties survived unscathed)! We decided that these high pedestrian traffic trails will probably not be ideal for our continued training as the days continue to get warmer and longer.

Speaking of traffic... We were also witnesses to a scary runner vs. vehicle accident (Again, all parties were physically unharmed). A runner's decision to cross a major intersection (not labeled as a crosswalk!) resulted in a fender bender between two cars that otherwise might have struck the runner. It was a strong reminder about how important it is to adhere to the rules of the road - whether you're a pedestrian, cyclist or motorist - for everyone's safety and well-being.

In lighter news (zing!)...
We're two days away from Daylight Savings Time... and what cyclist isn't excited about that?!

Pedaling PG County

It's finally starting to feel like Spring is near, and just in time for us to start racheting our weekly mileage. For our longest ride thus far, we covered much of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System, specifically the Northeast and Northwest Branch Trails. Our 38-mile ride included impressively diverse scenery, especially considering that we never left Prince George's County! Memorable sights included:

• Lake Artemesia
• College Park Airport - The world's oldest continually operated airport
• The rolling farmland and back roads of the BARC
• ... and even a lively family of raccoons

Recent storms with high winds turned parts of our trek into a bit more of an off-road adventure, as we tossed our bikes onto our shoulders in order to step over downed trees and cross small creeks. We even found ourselves walking our bikes uphill when we were met with an abrupt end to the Northeast Branch Trail: a steep crushed-rock path that connected the trail to a neighborhood road. We highly recommend the trail, but be prepared (and think twice about which direction you want to ride!). Do you have any great trail recommendations? If so, please share!

As our rides are getting longer, we're quickly realizing the need for healthier and heartier eating. Stay tuned for later posts about calorie-counting and good pre- and post-cycling meals.

Cross-Training

In addition to training for 50 days of 60-100+ miles on a bike, we are preparing for D.C.'s annual Cherry Blossom 10-mile Run. This is the first year that we've made it through the lottery system, which has taken the place of regular registration since interest in the run has grown so large. With the run situated almost exactly at the half-way mark between now and the start of our cross country trek, we've had to really consider how we want to juggle two training schedules safely and effectively.

We posted a link to the schedule we're using for cycling training in an earlier blog post. To prepare for the 10-miler, we're using the tried-and-true Hal Higdon 15K Training Guide. While we are not really novice runners (we've both run in Philly's Broad Street 10-miler and Baltimore's Marathon Relay in recent years), we want to be careful not to stretch ourselves too thin on either training schedule. Our biggest concern is avoiding injury. A pulled muscle or twisted ankle (or worse) could really set us back in our preparation for both events.

So, we took a look at both schedules and created what we think is a pretty solid combo:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1		3m run	20-25 min ride	2m run + strength	20-25 min ride	3m run	1.5hr ride
2		3m run	25-30 min ride	2m run + strength	25-30 min ride	4m run	1.5-2hr ride
3	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	2m run	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	2m run + strength	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	2m run	2hr ride (25-30m)
4	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	4m run	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	3m run + strength	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	5m run	2hr ride (25-30m)
5	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	4m run	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	3m run + strength	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	6m run	2hr ride (25-30m)
6	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	3m run	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	3m run + strength	30-40 min ride (8-10m)	4m run	2hr ride (25-30m)
7	10-15m ride	5m run	10-15m ride	3m run + strength	5m ride	7m run	30-40m ride (2-2.5hrs)
8	10+m ride	5m run	10+m ride	3m run + strength		8m run	20-25m ride
9	10+m ride	3m run	10+m ride	2m run + strength	2m run	REST	RACE DAY!
10	REST	8-10m ride	10-15m ride		10-15m ride		40-50m ride
11		10m easy	15-20m		15-20m		45-55m
12		10m easy	15-20m		15-20m		45-55m
13		10m easy	15-20m		15-20m		45-55m
14		10m easy	10m		15-20m		50-60m
15		20-25m		20-25m			50-60m
16		20-25m		20-25m			50-60m
17		10m easy		15m		20-25m	55-65m
18		15m		25m		25m	60-70m
19	25m	15m	25m	25-30m		TRAVEL
20		OREGON		LVs RIDE!

Since we're pretty new at this, we welcome any suggestions you can provide - musings, wisdom from experience, etc. You're welcome to borrow our make-shift schedule and make it fit your needs.

Happy training!