Originally Posted by GadgetGirlIL

I'm the one on the right.


Saturday, March 30th - Northern Neck 200K, King George, VA

This 200K was pretty nice. The ride organizer delivered a level of service that I've never experienced before. We met at a Starbucks and he had a card for us to use to buy whatever we wanted. Then he met us at the first control (~39 miles) to offer up snacks and fluids. Then he was at the control at mile 62 to feed us lunch that he had made! It was all so good (Chicken salad, Persian rice, and beans). Bonus was he had ginger ale in his cooler as by that time the rising temperatures were making me feel queasy. This snow bunny doesn't adapt well to rapid temperature changes. The highest temp I saw was 76 degrees and it felt hotter in the full sun. I was riding in short sleeves and shorts after mile 39. At the end, we finished at a pizza place so could order off the menu at his expense. The ride organizer was great to talk with and we discussed also sorts of issues in the randonneuring world. I certainly will look to do another of his events on my next big trip out east.

There were 8 of us on the ride, 7 hares and 1 tortoise. I lost sight of everyone after 3 miles, but that is typical. One guy had overslept and started an hour late. He shot past me like a rocket at mile 35! He has qualified for Race Across America. I can see why he qualified. The course wasn't flat, but it also wasn't as hilly as the event I did in Kentucky. We rode into a fairly light headwind that got stronger in the afternoon so helped give us a boost on the way back. The countryside was pretty.

I didn't know what to expect given that I had ridden over 200 miles in the preceding 3 days (3 different perms to get me 5 more states). While I ride 5 days in a row when my husband & I go up to Wisconsin, the distances are much shorter. I ended up riding my fastest 200K on Saturday! The tailwind certainly helped. And I was also feeling strong in spite of not liking the heat.