An Ominous Start to Day One!
Today we rode from RockFish Gap to Front Royal, a 104 mile trip. We had seven riders start the day, and even with a switch for some ride-sharing everyone finished strong. You can view the photos online here.
Getting Started
With our 8am start, the weather was a little ominous, with some pea soup fog. The sun burned that off within 30 minutes, however, and it was game on.
You could sense the excitement of the group, many of whom are returning for their second tour of duty. I personally couldn’t get over how quiet the roads are; I could actually hear the riders approaching on their bikes — it’s that peaceful!!!
Fake Crash
We had a false alarm at mile 12 on the day when we came across a fallen cyclist, but turned out she was with another group out for the day. Kate came to their rescue by helping leapfrog some of the members of that group back to their cars so they could meet their fallen teammate at the hospital.
Cycling on One Road
Riding on the Skyline Highway is epically different than the Tour of California. No turns, plenty of places to stop, lots of climbing…and you aren’t being chased by the pro peloton! As CSO (Chief Sag Officer) being on one road makes it super easy to track all the riders and make sure they are safe. We don’t go more than 10 miles without seeing an EN vehicle.
East Coast is Still Work
After flying to Charlottesville in under 5 hours, and seeing the open roads, I am pretty much sold on the early season bike camp here on the East Coast. The temp is in the low 80-s, with highs predicted for the 90s this weekend.
The terrain is as challenging as you could ask for; campers will easily break 35,000 feet of climbing in four days. Sure, the pro peloton isn’t here, but neither is the cross-country travel or the daily transfers to new towns.
Day One totals peaked at 8,800 feet of gain for the 104 miles, with most campers sitting in the .72 to .78 range in terms of power output.
We get to chill out, ride hard and then recover to repeat the work — in reverse! — tomorrow.
That’s it for day one. Stay tuned for more, and remember you can view the Camp Pictures online here.
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