Make ’em go “Oh, oh, oh!” As you shoot across the sky-y-y

It’s hard for me to believe that 6 weeks ago I was just starting to think about getting a bike with the goal of riding to a good spot to see the July 4th Fireworks, and in that short time I picked out a bike, ordered it, picked it up, re-taught myself to ride, and worked up the endurance to bike 5 miles each way.

I wish I could say the ride was easy. On the way there it was still above 90 degrees with a heat index above 100, so I needed to take a little break a bit past the halfway point. Once I got back on the bike there were a few times I thought I would need another break, but each time I pushed past the next hill and regained my energy coasting down the far side.

As I went past Gravelly Point (which had been my original plan before a friend told me about a better spot) I saw tons of people getting settled, but I kept going. At the spot my friend had told me about, not only was there a much better view, but it was also much less crowded. As 9PM approached, it filled in a bit, but still everyone had plenty of space to spread out, and finding an unobstructed view was pretty easy.

The fireworks were spectacular, and made better by having set out and accomplished my goal, but then it was time to go home. The trail was crowded as I left my spot, but bikes were able to get by slowly, at least until we reached Gravelly Point. At that point the pedestrian traffic was just too thick, and all of the bikers ended up needing to walk their bikes until we got past National Airport. But once we were clear, back on the bike. I spent a long time behind relatively slower riders (which is surprising, because I’m usually one of the slower riders on the trail), but that allowed me to conserve energy. Finally, the bulk of the riders went right at a fork that I took left, and Cliff and I were able to get back to speed, about 1.5 miles from home. That last part of the trip was so awesome. I thought I would be tired at that point, but I think the thrill of accomplishing my goal gave me extra energy, and that was as easy as it had ever been.

I still have a long way to go: I still struggle with hills, even fairly minor ones. Getting my initial momentum to get started is still a little touch-and-go, so I feel like I need some open space. I tend to pedal too hard when it’s wide open and wear myself out too fast – when I was stuck behind other riders I felt like I could go for hours, but when I am by myself I tire after about 20 minutes. But Cliff says, and I believe, that I’m getting a lot more confident with every ride.

I wasn’t totally sure if my goal of riding to see the fireworks was attainable when I set it, but I proved it was. My next goal is a little different – there is a major Ingress event coming up in August in Philadelphia, and my goal is to play that event by bike. This means 4 hours riding around a city. Not constantly moving, but trying to get from point to point to help support other teams on foot by being able to move faster than they can. I am a little nervous about this, but it should be fun.