Most memorable moment of your 2012 VASA ride?

[brendan]

For me, it was turning onto Brandywine and my brain momentarily not comprehending that I was looking at a near half-mile steep uphill. It really just looked like a wall for a moment.

brendan

[consularrider]

@brendan 15758 wrote:

For me, it was turning onto Brandywine and my brain momentarily not comprehending that I was looking at a near half-mile steep uphill. It really just looked like a wall for a moment.

brendan

Loved the marshal at the bottom of Brandywine with the cowbell warning of the steep ascent. I enjoyed helping a fairly new rider change his tube after he flatted just before the turnaround point. I give both he and his riding partner points for having a spare tube, but they had no tire levers and no real experience with changing a tube. Something to practice before you start riding any extended distances.

[Rootchopper]

Easily the most memorable moment was watching a flock of vultures devouring a deer carcass on the side of Falls Road.

[Mark Blacknell]

Aww, man, I missed so many people on this ride. Next time I’m going to have to wear my Bibendum jersey and buy a beer for everyone who comes up to me and introduces themselves.

[acc]

I have two:

1. Riding the wrong way around the K Street circle (don’t ask) on my way from Metro to the Sweden House.
2. The hospitality of the Sweden House.

Now, hi-ho Silver, on to the Crystal Derby.

ann

PS– Next year if you come up to me and introduce yourself, Blacknell will buy you a beer.

[brendan]

Wow, how could I have forgotten the vultures??? I asked a couple people if they’d seen it who biked by around the same time, but they hadn’t noticed. Before I got up close, I thought I saw a pile of garbage off to the left, and was was startled when I realized there was a vulture with its wings completely outstretched presiding over the carnage/feast with his friends. Was going a bit too fast right then to stare, though, and clicked my eyes back to the road with a slight shiver.

We got to brandywine a bit late, so there was no cowbell warning, just a turn and an “oh crud.”. Or perhaps something slightly more colorful. But we did get back in time for the last bit of soup before they put it away.

brendan

PS – did any one else have trouble finding the wegmans stop?

[DSalovesh]

Saw two deer actually – one alive along the river route up the hill, one dead surrounded by happy vultures. And the brightest red cardinal I’ve spotted in a long time just hanging out on a fallen branch.

Loved the impromptu rest stop at the turnaround – with no promoters or ready food handouts people started just sharing conversation and snacks. (I was craving citrus so I bought a bag of clementines and passed them around – SUPER delicious, and I had just enough of them left over to share at home.) If I had checked the second page of the cue sheet I guess I would have kept on rolling to the Wegman’s, but when I resumed riding I looked for it and couldn’t find it so I’m glad I didn’t hang all my hopes on it.

I was doing the ride solo, but when I rolled out of the turnaround I found myself among 10-15 folks who were all keeping pretty much the same pace so we hung together all the way to Bethesda. I couldn’t figure out if we were supposed to turn onto the CCT right away or take the tunnel, but the rest of the group made the turn and said they were just going to take CCT back.

Wish I had gone with them:

I intended to finish the whole route but I couldn’t pick up the cues from there, and after a loop around Bethesda Row etcetera I decided to bail and just take CCT all the way back myself. It had turned into a beautiful sunny day, so the trail was fairly busy and I resigned myself to riding along at typical pokey MUP speeds. Even that was too fast, as it turned out. Just south of the tunnel a hiker veered a little to the left at exactly the wrong moment, and between my fatigue and other oncoming trail users I couldn’t avoid him. He got a bit of a gear gash on his leg, and I tumbled hard enough to dent my helmet on the second roll, but aside from a couple of bent bits on my bike and a lot of sore ligaments in my neck and legs I’m fine and I hope the guy I “met” can say the same. I was stopped by the crash long enough to get a little crampy, so the rest of the ride to Georgetown was a bit painful, but the blueberry soup helped me start recovery and gave me the strength to bike back home to Capitol Hill.

But the biggest personal highlight came when I got home. Just for fun I wore my lightweight “Dr. Seuss” tights for the ride, the ones that my nine year old daughter is too embarrassed to be seen with – and I admit they are kinda silly. I had her guess how many people had something to say about them. “More than 1? More than 5? More than 10, 20, 30?” I had to admit it was at least that but I lost count, and that there were even people driving by and racers on training rides who had to holler at me about them. She was pretty excited to hear it – until I mentioned that they all LIKED them and many people were asking where they could get ones like them!

Next year I’m hoping I can avoid any repeats of the lowlights and top all the highlights, and I’m already looking forward to more blueberry soup.

[KLizotte]

@DSalovesh 15787 wrote:

But the biggest personal highlight came when I got home. Just for fun I wore my lightweight “Dr. Seuss” tights for the ride, the ones that my nine year old daughter is too embarrassed to be seen with – and I admit they are kinda silly. I had her guess how many people had something to say about them. “More than 1? More than 5? More than 10, 20, 30?” I had to admit it was at least that but I lost count, and that there were even people driving by and racers on training rides who had to holler at me about them. She was pretty excited to hear it – until I mentioned that they all LIKED them and many people were asking where they could get ones like them!

We need photos!

[DSalovesh]

WABA tweeted one I think everyone can see:

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https://p.twimg.com/AnJ_X3bCEAAyYJn.jpg:large

[Arlingtonrider]

Wow – great tights, DSalovesh! It was a very fun ride, although I have to admit that one memorable moment was getting to the first stop around 15 miles, after the long hill and deer and vultures, and at last making time to drink some liquids. Another favorite was very close to the end of the 30 mile course when I discovered I had somehow managed to keep up with some much better riders, one of whom had on a very sparkling helmet. (Of course, they might have been lollygagging along.) Another nice moment was when I figured out that a very good-hearted soul with an Outlaw Jacket and riding a fixie (Ricky L., as I found out later) had, without saying anything, taken it upon himself to stay in sight for a couple of us on the way back, helping us to stay on route without needing to consult the cue sheet. Thanks so much Ricky! And of course there was the warm hospitality and friendliness of the people at the House of Sweden. Many thanks to WABA and Sweden for all their efforts in organizing this.
If I do this again, I want to see how many people Mark ends up buying beers for and meet them all too. It sounds like there were a lot of us there!

p.s. Could someone post the route for the longer ride? I’m just curious as to where it went and where the infamous Brandywine hill is.

And in reply to Consularrider – thanks for posting the route and elevation chart. That hill looks very cowbell worthy – esp around the 50 mile mark!

[consularrider]

@Arlingtonrider 15790 wrote:

…p.s. Could someone post the route for the longer ride? I’m just curious as to where it went and where the infamous Brandywine hill is.

My Garmin readout.

Brandywine St NW climbs up out of Rock Creek Park off Broad Branch Rd NW to 30th St NW. If you click the link, look for the bump on the elevation profile starting at mile 50.

[DCAKen]

It turned out to be a gorgeous morning for the ride. I did the 31 mile loop and really enjoyed the portion of the route after the midpoint rest stop that went down Oaklyn Drive and Persimmon Tree. That was a well paved, fast segment of the ride and it felt like I was the only one who took that route instead of going back past Great Falls park. That soup was delicious afterward!

[Arlingtonrider]

I took that route too, and was puzzled to see only a couple of other riders there. I thought that was the most beautiful part of the ride, although in a very upper class suburbia sort of way.

[Tim Kelley]

Photos from the event here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/waba/sets/72157629155679654/

Blacknell and DaveK show up towards the end. Who else can you spot from the forum?

[acc]

0927 is me.

[Author]

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