Wilderness, wind and WTF?

OK - not WTF. Apparently, there is an actual ride in this area that is called WTF. Today's ride was not it. But after today, I really don't want to go out on WTF. (BTW - for those of you reading at home, "WTF" stands for "What the Fuck?" in an incredulous voice.) Today's ride was WT... enough.

Yesterday's training was actually fun. It started out with a 5K run called the Daisy Dash. The Daisy Dash is the annual culmination of a program in schools called "Girls on the Run" which gets girls running, as well as addresses all sorts of image and self-esteem issues. It's an amazing program and about three years ago, a friend of mine who is one of the coaches asked me to run as a buddy (all the girls get an adult buddy to run with in the races) for a little Australian girl, Isabel. She's a great kid, and I've been asked back for all her races since. Her friend Claire and Claire's Mom Patricia run with us and I love the two girls. They take instruction well and early on we developed a strategy of picking individuals to pick up the pace a tad and pass. Now they're suggesting it themselves and remember technique like short steps uphill and leaning on the downhills. They have the greatest attitude.

Then I hit the W&OD (a converted rail-to-trail) to run another 14 miles. Took me a while to get going, but eventually settled into a good pace, helped by everything I saw on the run - a cardinal (the Virginia state bird), a robin, a marmot, a bunny rabbit, a fox and my friend Lynn.

Today's ride didn't disappoint on the wildlife front either. I saw turkeys, alpaca, clydesdales, emus and peacocks. Including a white peacock who was displaying his feathers in an attempt to either attract a mate or scare all these crazy cyclists away. He was very very pretty and I'm glad I stopped to admire him.

Unfortunately the ride was extremely windy. Those of us who were aiming to do a century started out with a 30 mile look that took in two covered bridges. It was lovely being out there and a little strange. This was the ride (though only 24 miles) that Mark and I did as our first road ride after I started cycling six years ago. It was windy then too.

Only today, after coming back to the cars to refuel, we went out into conditions that had turned very windy very quickly for an additional 70 miles o make up the century. I won't bore you with the details, except to say that the Team Z SAG team are awesome - always ready with food, water, cowbells and a positive word. I survived, suffice it to say. I am looking forward to a ride that is not either hot as hell, pouring like something out of the old testament or blowing like forty bastards.

Mental highlight of the ride was when I thought to myself "I can do an Ironman, but I don't want to."

Arrived back at the parking lot to another great Team Z barbecue and amazing service from Nelson who ketchuped my sausage for me without even being asked.

The week ahead is going to be tough. I'm heading up to Lake Placid for a training camp next weekend which will take about 9 hours to get there, and Mark is tackling an organized ride called Mountains of Misery that has 13,000 feet of climbing over 126 miles. It is aptly named, but he's going to do well, I know. I also have the funeral of a six week old baby who didn't manage to overcome everything he had going against him. It's been a hard row at work over the past few months, health wise. We had three babies born on the same day. At times, we thought none would survive the pregnancy, so in a way, I'm incredibly happy that two are healthy and being normal little babies. But Henry didn't make it and we're all grieving.