Today's ride should be renamed "How Blue Was MD108".
There were 10 riders participating--Jeff1, Jeff2, Chuck & Crista (tandem 1), Ed and Mary (tandem 2), Bennett, Gary, Michael, and me.
Ed and Mary rode ahead since they left from a park on Zion Rd--the remaining riders left with Crista & Chuck.
The ride went well from Rockville to Olney. It wasn't until we made a right hand turn on to MD108, Olney Layton Rd, from Riggs Rd that ice consistently appeared along the shoulder of the road and it seemed to be getting more prevalent the further north we rode.
After a couple tenths of a mile roll by I hear the unmistakable sound of riders going down behind me. Apparently, Michael had hit a patch of ice. Then, Jeff1 rides over top of Michael, flips over and goes down, followed by Jeff2.
I yelled up the road, "Riders Down!", to Crista and Chuck and Gary who were ahead.
Everyone converges on the fallen riders as they picked themselves up off of the road, except for Jeff2 who wound up getting the wind knocked out of him. He came to a stop along the side of the road in the grass. He sat there a while until he felt better.
Jeff1 seemed to have sustained the most damage. He had some road rash on his face (left cheek and chin). Michael's kit showed wear marks near the left knee and left shoulder and elbow. Jeff2 stated he felt ill after getting the wind knocked out of him, but that he was starting to feel better.
Crista called Ed & Mary on the cell phone to let them know what had happened, requesting status of the roads ahead, so that they could make a decision as to whether we should turn back or not. A few minutes later Ed & Mary pull up and join the group.
In the meantime, I pull out my First Aid kit and ask the fallen riders whether they would like to use it. Jeff1 accepts some Neosporin oitment for the road rash on his face and takes a couple ibuprofen as well. Jeff2 says he's feeling ok, now. He buckles the chin strap of his helmet this time. Michael says he's just getting a little stiff around the shoulder, but he doesn't think he needs anything at the moment.
Crista & Chuck decide to ride to a 7-Eleven just up the road. We take the paved trail that runs parallel to the road. Fortunately, there was no ice on the trail surface.
At the 7-Eleven Jeff1 notices that an index finger knuckle is very swollen. The skin looks white like fluid is building up under the skin, stretching it a little. He gets a bag of ice to place on it, but for the time that we were at the store, it doesn't seem to be going down much.
In the meantime, everyone else is getting coffee or hot chocolate and snacks.
Chuck suggests to Jeff1 that he stay at the 7-Eleven while we ride back to Chuck's house. Chuck will get his car and drive back to the 7-Eleven to pick Jeff1 and his bike up. Ed chimed in that his car is closer--that he and Mary could get their car and pick Jeff up.
So, the group rides back to the park on Zion Rd where Ed & Mary parked their car. They go to pick Jeff1 up, the rest of us ride back to Chuck's house.
At Chuck's house, most everyone calls it a day, but Chuck & Crista want to do some more riding--this time heading south toward D.C. I decide that I will go with them. Bennett comes along as well.
We ride south into the Tacoma Park area where we stop for lunch. Chuck, Bennett, and I have the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. Crista has lentil soup and a bagel with peanut butter.
We noticed that the further south we went, the warmer it felt. In fact, we had some sunshine along the way in spots. But, the clouds would not completely relinquish their hold on the day. Neither would the winds from the north. They seemed to have picked up a little since lunch. Fortunately, much of the ride back to Rockville was on wind protected trails and roads.
We arrived back at Chuck's house at about 1pm and after a total of 69 miles--short day! Thankfully, we had no more incidents to report. In general, the day turned out nice.
By the way, we spotted wildlife during the ride--deer, a fox and her kit, and even an albino squirrel! Pretty cool!
Code:
Activity
Route: -- Elev. Avg: 335 ft
Location: Aspen Hill, MD, Elev. Gain: -3 ft
Date: 01/11/09 Up/Downhill: [+4025/-4028]
Time: 01:04 PM Difficulty: 5.0 / 5.0
Weather:
Cloudy
36 F temp; 58% humidity
36 F heat index; winds NNW 14 mph
Performance
Distance: 67.35 miles
Time: 4:34:53
Speed: 14.7 mph
Pace: 4' 05 /mi Heart Rate: 136 bpm (Avg)
Calories: 3144 167 bpm (Peak)
Notes
POWERMETER DATA
==============
Entire workout (120 watts):
Duration: 4:30:24
Work: 1955 kJ
TSS: 179.8 (intensity factor 0.632) <---Must've been a rest day :rolleyes:
Norm Power: 164
VI: 1.36
Pw:HR: -2.01%
Pa:HR: 11.73%
Distance: 68.817 mi
Elevation Gain: 3670 ft
Elevation Loss: 3768 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-99 ft)
..........Min Max Avg
Power: 0 663 120 watts
Heart Rate: 78 167 136 bpm
Cadence: 1 112 69 rpm
Speed: 0 32.1 15.3 mph
Pace 1:52 0:00 3:56 min/mi
Altitude: 51 658 348 ft
Crank Torque: 0 1405 145 lb-in
Wind Speed: 0 36.5 12.8 mph
Hill Slope: -19.7 11.9 0.4 %
MAP
ELEVATION (FT)
SPEED (MPH)
