Skyline Drive Cycling

This morning I went for a bike ride on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. I’ve lived in Northern Virginia for a long time and I’ve been to this park a handful of times, but this was my first time riding my bike there.

I’m considering some cycling events next year in which hill climbing is part of the courses. Here in Northern Virginia, there aren’t many big hills. Skyline drive has lots of hills and it has a biker-friendly reputation. The weather is good this weekend, a bit chilly but calm wind. And the Fall colors are approaching peak. So I made the drive to Front Royal and parked just outside the fee station at the north entrance.

Fog Obscures the Shenandoah River

The first 6 miles were about 1600 feet of climbing to the top of the first hill. Or is it a mountain? Anyway I took it easy, knowing I had a lot of climbing ahead. Then the roller coaster started. It was a sequence of climbs and descents, with hardly any flat ground. I alternated between sweating climbs and chilly descents. I reached the Elkwallow wayside at mile 24, rested, ate, and started the return trip.

The first climb after the wayside on the return ride was kind of grueling, but after that the miles flew by. My speed on the descents were often in the 30s. Finally I reached the entrance station, only to see cars lined up trying to enter the park. This line extended into Front Royal for quite a long way. These were people who wanted to see the Fall colors.

I got back to my car a sweaty mess. Final numbers: 47.74 miles, 5,778 feet of climbing. That’s a new single day climbing record for me.

Artemis Launch Attempt #3: Third Try Was The Charm

Finally, it launched! This trip was unlike the previous two, in lots of ways.

After the previous two scrubs, two hurricanes delayed the launch attempt from September all the way into the middle of November. My wife couldn’t go this time because she had a work conflict. So I made the trip alone, this time flying. Because the launch window opened at 1:04 AM, I didn’t even bother with a hotel. I took an airline flight to Orlando, got a rental car, drove to Titusville, and with several hours to kill, visited several parks looking for birds. I explored the Titusville and Cocoa areas. Finally, it was time to go.

For the previous two attempts, parking was at Space Coast Regional Airport. This time it was at a warehouse. I drove up, parked, waited because I was early, and finally boarded the bus for the ride to the Banana Creek viewing location. I didn’t bother taking any shots on the pad: it looked the same as it did for the previous attempts.

Artemis 1 on the pad during tanking

It was a long wait, several hours in fact. Then there was a series of problems that the launch team addressed, leading to a long countdown hold. I wondered if there would be yet another scrub.

Finally the countdown restarted. The NASA team dimmed the lights on the bleachers. The countdown got to a few seconds left, and I held my camera up.

Artemis 1 Liftoff

The bottom of the rocket lit up, the clouds of smoke and steam billowed, and the rocket lifted off. It got brighter and brighter as the flame got longer. The whole area was bathed in orange light. As it climbed, eventually the sound reached us in the crowd. It wasn’t deafening, but it was really loud and the bleachers started shaking. I watched the rocket for about seven minutes, until I lost sight of it, already more than a hundred miles down range. Even though I adjusted my exposure settings, my photos of the rocket after it cleared the tower were mostly just long flames with trailing smoke. The rocket itself is hardly visible in the photos. Eventually the solid rocket boosters separated, barely visible in the distance.

Solid Rocket Booster Separation

A long trail of smoke was left behind, hanging in the sky for a few minutes. Finally we boarded the buses, made the drive back to the warehouse, and I got back to Orlando at about 4AM. I tanked the car, turned it in, switched to an earlier flight, and came home.

Boy am I tired! Actually I’m exhausted. But I could only sleep for an hour when I got home. But I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight! And it was an awesome experience.

 

Sea Gull Century Ride 2022

On October 8, I rode in the Sea Gull Century cycling event that started and ended on the Salisbury University campus in Maryland. This was my second century ride of the year, and also my second ever.

Overall, this was a well-run event. The course was well-marked. The roads were in very good condition. The course is a circle, east of the city of Salisbury, on very flat terrain. The rest stops were well stocked with food and drinks. This is a popular event with clubs coming from far away to participate. The event was sold out.

The weather at the 7AM start was chilly and overcast and breezy. I wore a helmet liner, arm warmers, base layer, jersey, and gilet. I was especially glad for the gilet when it started raining after about mile 42. The rain lasted only a few minutes and the roads dried out over the next hour. The sun came out at about 11AM. I was finally able to take the arm warmers and gilet and helmet liner off at the last rest stop at mile 82.

Shortly after I made the last turn onto the road to Assateague Island, I was passed by two ambulances with sirens on. I soon arrived at the scene of the accident to which they were responding. I’m not one to linger and stare at an accident so I didn’t see much, but I did notice several bikes in the ditch and EMTs working on people who were out of sight. They were all gone by the time I came back past the same spot. This was the only accident of which I’m aware.

Speaking of Assateague, this was my first visit to the Maryland part of this island. The bridge climb was short and steep and easily the most prominent “terrain” feature of the ride. There were no horses around, probably because there were so many people, but there was a lot of horse shit. This was my favorite of the rest stops, with lots of room and food, right there next to the Atlantic Ocean.

I finished the ride under sunny skies and in gusting wind, riding through the tunnel, emerging to ride through a sparse crowd and cheerleaders cheering. I was really tired and ready to be done.

I was careful to take a few days off the bike before the event so I could start rested. Unfortunately, I hardly slept the night before, just turning over and over in bed. I had a COVID booster vaccination on Wednesday and, while I’ve had no serious reaction, my shoulder has been sore, my armpit is swollen, and my resting heart rate has been elevated ever since. I have no idea whether this contributed to my poor sleep, but I was not 100% when I started the ride.

I loaded up on calories the day before, and I ate before the ride. I wasn’t hungry but ate at each rest stop: I’ve never before had so many bananas in one day. I was especially fond of the Fig Newtons at the last rest stop. Because it was so cool, I didn’t sweat much and wasn’t thirsty, but I drank at the rest stops.

This was my second century ride, but my first was not a typical century. My first century, during RAGBRAI 2022, was a west to east ride with a near direct tail wind nearly the whole day. Also, there weren’t many pace lines in my first century, and the ones that were there were small. The Seagull Century is a circuit. And there are lots of club pace lines. I think the first one that passed me had 200 riders. The ones that followed were more like 20-50 riders. The rest stops were also different. During RAGBRAI, there were no designated rest stops, only pass-through towns where I could buy food and refill my bottles. The Seagull rest stops had bananas, bagels, cookies, and other snack food. So I stopped at each rest stop, as compared with RAGBRAI, during which I stopped when I wanted to. Now obviously I could have stopped anywhere I wanted during the Sea Gull, but I didn’t.

I was hoping to finish faster, but, given the wind, my lack of sleep, and the lingering effects of my COVID shot, I think I did OK. My final results: 101.0 miles, 1,004 feet of climb, 6:08 hours of moving time, 2,874 active calories.

Seagull Century Route

After the ride, I drove home and relaxed for the rest of the day. I laid down for a nap, but wound up sleeping for 12 hours.

Artemis Launch Attempt #2

NASA made another attempt to launch Artemis. My wife and I returned to Florida, hoping to see it go. This time we got to sleep in: report time at Space Coast Regional Airport was 6AM. Just like last time, we parked on the grass, got on a bus, and went to the Banana Creek viewing area. The sun was already up when we arrived. It was hot and got hotter. We sat there for hours. Once again, there was a problem with the rocket, and once again, the launch was scrubbed.

Waiting for the launch that never happened

Artemis 1 Launch Attempt #1

 

Artemis 1 on the Launch Pad

My wife’s former colleague, who works for NASA, invited my wife (and me as a guest) to watch the Artemis 1 launch from the Kennedy Space Center. My wife and I made the long drive from Virginia to Florida. We followed the instructions to check in and claim our credentials. We were surprised to find that the check in location was a shopping mall.

Titusville Mall

This mall, like so many, has lots of vacancies. Many of its stores were closed and the parking lot was almost empty. Its best days may be behind it. But that made it a good place for visitors to check in. There was plenty of parking, the mall was almost empty of shoppers, and we didn’t have to go through any security to get our credentials.

At check in, we were told to meet the busses at the Space Coast Regional Airport at 1AM the next day. That’s right: 1AM for a launch window that started at 8:33 AM. So that’s what we did. We arrived shortly before 1 AM and lined up with hundreds of other cars. We were directed to park on the grass near the runway. After we parked, we boarded a bus and rode to the Banana Creek viewing area. It’s adjacent to the Saturn V Center, which is a spot on the Kennedy Space Center public tour. I’ve actually been to this location twice before, so I knew what to expect. We arrived at about 2:30 AM. There we picked a spot in the bleachers and waited. I took a few photos of the rocket on the pad. 

Artemis 1

During and after tanking, there’s a hydrogen bleed process. The hydrogen gets sent to a vent where it is ignited and burned off. The flames were often visible from our spot in the bleachers. The floodlights on the rocket also lit the clouds up. 

Clouds Lit Up Above Artemis 1

The Crowd Waits for the Launch in the Morning Gloom

There is a public address system at this site along with a large TV screen. We received several announcements while we waited in which we were kept informed as to the progress of the tanking process. 

Artemis 1 at Sunrise

As the sun came up, the clouds over the ocean formed a nice backdrop. The hydrogen flame continued to burn in the background as the liquid oxygen tank vented a white cloud from the upper stage.

The sun rose at about 7 AM and it began to get hot. I wandered the grounds and counted about 50 busses, and if each was full when it arrived, then there were probably close to 2,500 people waiting for the launch.

About 8 AM, the announcer described a problem with the #3 engine on the core stage, and at about 8:45, the mission was scrubbed. We went back to the busses, rode back to the airport, and left for the day.

The Banana Creek viewing area is a great spot. It overlooks a large body of water. Launch Complex 39 is clearly visible, especially from high in the bleachers where it’s possible to see over the bushes at the water’s edge. I used a 500mm lens. At that location, the towers and rocket filled the frame. This lens is big, heavy, and unwieldy, but worth it.

Our instruction sheet said that there would be a limited supply of food and water. This turned out to be false. There are restrooms at the Banana Creek site (with running water) and the visitor center opened at 4:30 AM (with a food vendor inside), and other vendors offered snacks and drinks for sale outside the visitor center.

So, there was no launch. Hopefully we’ll get another chance to see it go.

RAGBRAI 2022

During the period July 23-30, I participated in the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). This event started with an exposition on Saturday (Day 0) in the town of Sergeant Bluff, then consisted of a seven day bike ride, with overnight stays in several towns, concluding in Lansing. The entire course is shown below, color-coded by day.

RAGBRAI 2022 Course

You may think that Iowa is flat. I assure you it is not. The first day took us through the Loess Hills. The last day wound through hills near the Mississippi River. In between, the terrain was a lot of rolling hills.

This year the event included an Imperial century day as part of the official course. In recent years there has been no century day, but on one day each year, there was the option to complete an additional loop to bring the total miles for that day to at least 100.

The weather was nearly perfect. It rained a few times, but never on me while I was out on my bike. Last year, it was so hot and humid that I left the campground in the dark every morning just to get as many miles in as possible before the heat of the day could build. This year, the temperatures topped out in the mid 80s and it was actually chilly several mornings, as low as 55 degrees. I was staying in campgrounds and was glad I brought a sleeping bag.

I stopped for ice cream at Beekman’s only once, on the century day. The rest and calories were wonderful even though it was only 9AM. I had already been on the road for 4 hours at this point.

Beekman’s Ice Cream

In Pocahontas, I wandered by the main campground and its baggage claim area. Most riders put their gear (tent, clothing, etc) on a truck each morning and meet the truck at the next overnight town. Claiming your luggage can be an exercise in searching...

Baggage Claim

The skies got gloomy but did not open up in Emmetsburg.

Emmetsburg Campground

On the last day, it is a tradition for riders to dip their front wheels in the Mississippi River. Because I started early, I was finished early, before the crowd, and there was no line at the wheel dip site in Lansing.

Lansing Wheel Dip

I haven't seen official counts of actual registered participants. The only thing I can say is that I personally saw thousands of riders. How can I say this? I finished early on Day 7 (Saturday) and was in my car heading home to Virginia when my route crossed the official RAGBRAI route. For about 2 miles, in the town of Waukon, I saw the oncoming lane completely filled with riders who were still on the course.

Notes

• Total Mileage: 469.2
• Total Climb: 13,041 feet
• Longest Single Day: 104.8 miles (new personal record and first century ride)
• Greatest Single Day Climb Total: 2,963 feet (new personal record)

Daily Summary

I stayed in charter service campgrounds. These numbers are directly off my Garmin bike computer and they do not exactly match the official course because my ride each day was from/to the charter service's campgrounds, not the main RAGBRAI campgrounds.

Day 1: Sergeant Bluff to Ida Grove, 53.9 miles, 2467 feet of climb

Day 1: Sergeant Bluff to Ida Grove

Day 1 Elevation Profile

Day 2: Ida Grove to Pocahontas, 72.6 miles, 1873 feet of climb

Day 2: Ida Grove to Pocahontas

Day 2 Elevation Profile

Day 3: Pocahontas to Emmetsburg, 57.3 miles, 669 feet of climb

Day 3: Pocahontas to Emmetsburg

Day 3 Elevation Profile

Day 4: Emmetsburg to Mason City, 104.8 miles, 1847 feet of climb, thankfully there was a consistent wind from the West. The first part of this day's course backtracked the end of the previous day's course.

Day 4: Emmetsburg to Mason City

Day 4 Elevation Profile

Day 5: Mason City to Charles City, 48.7 miles, 1240 feet of climb

Day 5: Mason City to Charles City

Day 5 Elevation Profile

Day 6: Charles City to West Union: 63.6 miles, 1982 feet of climb

Day 6: Charles City to West Union

Day 6 Elevation Profile

Day 7: West Union to Lansing, 68.3 miles, 2963 feet of climb, the hill climb at mile 15 was very steep: at one point my GPS unit reported a 9% grade. The descent to the Mississippi River around mile 60 was very fast, with sustained speeds in the high 20s, peaking at 38mph.

Day 7: West Union to Lansing

Day 7 Elevation Profile

I had a great time biking, seeing Iowa from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River, meeting lots of fellow riders, and enjoying Iowa hospitality.

RAGBRAI Training #2 (2022)

RAGBRAI starts in a few days. It feels like I’ve been a training slacker because I spent two weeks in Alaska, then was really tired when I returned home, and then there was rain. I haven’t spent much time on my bike lately. I’ve used the indoor trainer some.

So far in 2022, I’ve ridden 1273 miles outdoors, with an additional 1952 virtual miles on Zwift. I’ve had two weekends of three days off during which I rode on the W&OD all three days, for roughly 180 miles each of those weekends. Hopefully I’m at least as well-prepared this year as I was last year at this time.

What’s different this year is the century day. I’ve never ridden 100 miles in a day. Next week, I’ll do it in the middle of a week of riding every day. I have a nutrition and hydration plan. I hope it’s a good plan.