2013 Year in Review

BEST: Easy for me, riding the whole climate ride, didn’t walk up any of the hilss. I still cannot believe i did it. Loved it and totally enjoyed all the scenery I saw.

Worst: This is hard for me too but I think it would be slacking to much at the end of this year. But i am gearing up for Freezing Saddles that will get me going again. Plus this year I am going to track my total running, biking and swimming distances for the year. Should be interesting.

Best: definitely the fact that I started riding to work–and everywhere else that I can–this year, and that I’m loving every minute of it. I’ve lost weight, I have more energy, and all those other benefits.

Worst: I was certainly miserable the second week of December with all that ice, but I think that could be easily remedied by getting some studded tires. For me, worst would still have to be the incomprehension I get from people when they find out that I ride in all kinds of conditions, or even at all. Sometimes it leads to a good conversation about cycling, but most of the time people think I’m crazy–and tell me so–or make snide comments, or even laugh at me. People I see a lot generally leave me alone now, but I’m still not used to adverse reactions, because I think cycling is so good for me, in so many ways. The number of “you rode your bike in this weather? That’s awesome!” comments I get don’t come close to offsetting the others. That’s why I love this forum so much. Come to think of it, add finding and joining the forum to my Best of 2013!

@PotomacCyclist 72768 wrote:

I did get to ride near the historic Jamestown and Williamsburg areas, which was kinda neat. (I had the opportunity because I DNF’d the race, which had a more mundane bike course. Since I was out of the race, I decided to go for a scenic casual bike ride on my own.)

I admire that.

I needed something to distract me and get my head together. The swim was the toughest and worst of my life. Very strong current for most of the swim. First time I ever had to hold onto a canoe in a race, and first time I failed to finish an open water swim. I wanted to continue, but the people in the rescue boats seemed to be weary of making so many trips back and forth to pull so many people from the water. (At one point, all the boats left at the same time, leaving me out there in the middle of the river by myself. I actually got a bit worried for a few minutes.) I had a chat with them while I was still in the water. I kept asking what the race time was, to see if I had a chance at beating the cutoff. They didn’t seem to know. They just threw out a number, which I could tell was just a guess.

They pointed out that I had barely made progress on that section of the course, which was true. (It was also true for many others, even for some of the good swimmers.) So I’m treading water, trying to think about all of the numbers and my chances at making the cutoff, and getting sort of aggravated, while tired. Finally, I had to give in to the request. The guy said that I could tell all my friends that they were pulling me out, that I didn’t quit. I’m not sure that really matters. But at least, I wished they would have given me an accurate time, to see if I really did have no shot at making the cutoff. I probably did need to drop out, but still, it would have gone over better if I had a specific time given to me.

I climbed onto the boat. Then I transferred to a watercraft back to shore. Since this was a new experience, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. There were two transitions, a few miles apart. I ran into a lot of other people who were walking around because they had also dropped out of the race or were pulled. Not many smiles. The Jamestown settlement was located just across the road. I had been looking at maps that week, wishing that the race course went closer to Jamestown, instead of on ordinary country roads. As I looked at the Jamestown sign, I realized that I should make the most of the situation. So I rode around the Colonial Parkway (which is very bumpy), back and forth. I saw the old glass house, although I never made it to the exact Jamestown spot. I saw the replicas of the Colonial ships. Then I rode back to Williamsburg. That road was unremarkable, not any different from what you might find in the outer suburbs of D.C., although I did see some deer in a small patch of trees. I walked around the William and Mary campus too.

@KayakCyndi 72772 wrote:

Few better places to ride that Williamsburg and Jamestown in my opinion!

Oh and no shame in that DNF. I’m still hearing rumblings about how poorly planned the swim was. The James can have a deceptively strong current to it and it sounds like that, along with barge traffic, just were not factored into the timing.

I had read a few race reports the week after the race, but then I moved on.

However, I went back to the race reports recently, one or two weeks ago. I also looked at some of the forum threads on other sites. Apparently, there had been heavy rains in Richmond, upstream from Williamsburg, that week. That, plus the Super Moon (closest distance to the Earth this year), combined for the bad conditions. Most still finished, but the current made it almost impossible for slower swimmers like me to finish.

It’s disappointing, but it does give me hope that if I sign up for it again, that the conditions won’t be nearly as bad. Others pointed out that a different race at the same location later in the year had relatively smooth conditions and a much weaker current. So the James River isn’t always that bad.

I’m still undecided about next year. I’ll wait until the spring to see how much my swim has improved, if any. I can also try the shorter Olympic distance, if the conditions look bad again. The race won’t sell out, so I can wait until the spring to decide.

@dkel 72770 wrote:

I admire that.

Thinking back on the day, I didn’t see a single other DNF’d athlete riding around on the Colonial Parkway that day. None of them decided to go on the casual, scenic tour that I took. I think they all rode straight back to Williamsburg on the modern road, or drove back in cars.

The Georgetown BID seems to favor paving over at least a small section of the towpath in Georgetown. At least that’s what it looks like in this picture:

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http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2013/12/theres-more-to-the-georgetown-2028.html?s=image_gallery

From the Georgetown 2028 plan

Best – With minor surgery that would make biking off-limits for many months looming, decided to bike as much as possible early in the season. I rode 80 miles in June, mostly commuting, a personal best! (Don’t laugh, people that do that in one or two days!)

Worst – All that cycling apparently caused a persistent injury in my foot, which showed up in early July. I’ve been working with a podiatrist for the remainder of the year. Just bought a pair of cycling shoes, which we think will help protect the injured joint (thanks for the 10% discount for WABA members, City Bikes!)