Mountain Mama: The Epic Adventure

There are two separate highlights to this story - 1) On our 4 hour drive to the start of Mountain Mama Century in Monterey, VA, Chad and I got our first flat IN THE CAR. Unfortunately I didn't have the forethought to take pictures while Chad and Phil changed the tire. But here is a glimpse of the damage.

We ended up getting the tires changed at Wal-Mart in Staunton, VA. The guys helping us couldn't get the new tires installed properly so it ended up taking 2 1/2 hours! We finally left a Staunton a little after 9 pm - we didn't home until after midnight.
So, now that I've told you how the story begins and ends...

2) Phil, Laurel, Chad and I decided to give Mountain Mama Century a run for the money. It starts and ends in Monterey, about 200 miles south west of DC. And it climbs 9 mountains in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. It's a crazy ride. The four of us caravanned out, enjoying Cracker Barrel for dinner, a snooze at the Holiday Inn in Staunton and then an hour drive to the start of the ride. It was pouring and lighting and thunder were crashing on the mountain tops as we drove towards the start. The ride was beautiful and eventful, considering we got the flat about 20 min into the drive.

After an hour delay we got rolling at 9. The rain had stopped though the roads were still pretty wet. After a tenth of a mile to get out of the school drive, we took a right up our first mountain climb. It was awesome. We ended up getting caught in a short line of traffic, the last driver of which was a real a$$. She was hugging the white line so none of us could pass her on the right and nearly took out a bunch of us with her rearview mirror when she took a broad corner. At the 15 mile mark we took a left and headed into Sugar Grove for our second mountain climb.

This second climb was steep, but shorter than some of the other climbs. Probably a mile up. And then it was followed by some rollers. One of the highlights of my day was passing a group of guys on this climb, one of which commented "I thought those time trial bikes weren't any good for climbing". I responded that 650 wheels are great for climbing, but was really pleased when he finished with "Guess it all depends on the engine". Darn right it does!!

There were 7 rest stops on the ride, which generally came at the bottom of the big climbs. We had some nice riding through valleys where I was actually able to ride in the aero position. Though the hills were 8-9% grade and sometimes more. I ended up taking in too many calories early on. I was drinking a water bottle with Infinit or about 200 calories about every hour 15 minutes. And I ate a peanut butter sandwhich at every rest stop. I was scared to run out of fuel on the climbs, but by the 5th rest stop I couldn't take in any more food. I was drinking a bottle of water and a bottle of Infinit mix about every 2 hours or so, trying to keep the fluids in at least.

The scenery was beautiful. All the pictures are from our drive in and out. We didn't bring any electronics with us because of the wet roads and the fact that we forgot plastic bags. We passed through some really small towns, but only passed a couple stores or gas stations. This is definitely not a place you could plan a route and count on stopping every 20 miles at a store to reload your drink. The volunteers were great and the food was plentiful.

The climbs were all tough, but the one that hurt the most was the last one, which starts going up at mile 95. There are probably 20 switchbacks; just when you think you have reached the peak, you see the next corner ahead. Chad and I were climbing together for most of this. There was a group of motorcyclists hanging out at one of the scenic overlooks and I asked if they had a tow rope. I was mostly kidding; in large part because I'm not sure I could stay upright by getting pulled by a rope. And then, finally, we began the descent back into Monterey. Chad quickly sped by me and I didn't see him again until I pulled up to the car.

After cold showers and pulled pork sanwhiches we were on our way to recovery. Except for that 3 hr stop at Wal-Mart. We both had red eyes, sunburn and that exhausted look you get when you've had a fantasic, but really long ride.