Week 20 Recap / Charlottesville, VA

With the recovery week at hand I tried to keep my level of effort low and volume of training about half. I noticed a possible trend in my training log that indicated I get sick and/or injured every five weeks so I wasn't taking a chance. Everything was going well until Saturday arrived and I headed up to Charlottesville, VA to have my first experience cycling in the mountains.

Thanks to the Charlottesville Bicycle Club I printed out a ride map ahead of time. Not being one to wuss out on a ride I selected Crabtree Falls - Devils Knob. This route offers an option of 44/53 miles with 115/120 feet of elevation per mile respectively. Here's a look from Google Earth and a profile I made using my Garmin:

I started from Beech Grove as recommended but rode the route in reverse because I wanted to challenge myself early while I was most fit. In hindsight this was not a great idea. I later found out my first test was Reeds Gap (elev. 2637). About five miles and one hour later, and 1700+ feet higher than I began, I was standing at the top contemplating what would be a very quick decent to the car. But I thought, who goes to the mountains just to ride 10 miles? I also thought about how my heart almost exploded during the climb. Against my better judgement at the time I proceeded but skipped the extra 9 mile leg that had promised killer climbing.

I easily cruised the picturesque Blue Ridge Highway for 10 miles until I reached Big Spy Mountain Overlook (elev. 3200). I snapped off a few pictures to give readers an idea of the beauty I enjoyed along the way.

About Mile 20 I learned riding in the mountains can be spectacular as well as extremely dangerous. Decending from 3200 feet is a frightful ordeal when the slope is steep and the roads are curvy. What makes it worse is when you're trying to keep it under 40mph and then realize your brakes are too hot to be effective. To say the least I was happy to make it down without incident. I even managed to stop near Crabtree Falls for a picture of the river.

After it was all said and done I took a dip in the frigid water.

When I added the trip to the workout log I ended up with a total of 6 hours. That put me at 2200 yards swimming, 62 miles biking, and 10 miles running for the week. It was a good recovery most of the week and concluded with a solid test of my legs on the bike. I proved I'm ready for serious hill training in preparation for MoM.