Tour of the Towns ~ Tour of Prince William

Yesterday I completed my first paid cycling event, Tour of the Towns. It was my first time participating in this type of event so I was a bit nervous especially since I was going at it alone. Luckily it was held relatively close to my neighborhood so that helped ease my mind. I think if it were miles away I would have been more nervous about doing it alone especially in unfamiliar surroundings. The ride began in the parking lot of the National Marine Corps Museum .

very cloudy but we were spared from any rain drops

 It was a rolling start so you could go anytime between the hours of 7:30-9:30am. I arrived just after 7:30am & there were still quite a few people in the parking lot prepping their bikes. I got my bike out & pumped my tires, filled my water bottle & put on my helmet and gloves. I checked in at the registration tent and was handed a bag that included my event t-shirt & a sticker with my rider # to be attached to my helmet. 

I had an internal debate with myself on weather to start my ride at the same time as another group of riders or just start on my own. I gave up on waiting for a group and just hopped on my bike and took off. 

The first few miles were easy. Once you leave the parking lot to the Marine Corps Museum you head toward Quantico Marine Base. The directions had us bike down a side road that ran parallel to the base & then we had to make a U-turn at St. Francis Catholic Church. I'm sure this was done to add some extra milage to the route. After turning around at the church we were directed to go through the main gate of the base and ride toward the small town of Quantico.  

a couple of the guys I was pacing into the Town of Quantico

After going around the little town, we turned and headed back toward the main gate to exit the base. This is where I parted ways with the group of guys I was pacing. They were doing the metric century (63 miles). They wished me well on the remainder of my ride & I wished them good luck on theirs.

The next leg of my ride left me a bit fidgety. I had to wait for the traffic light to change before crossing the busy Rt 1 highway. I was doing ok until I had to literally share the lane because there was no shoulder, plus I was also about to cross under both the North & Southbound  I95 exit ramps. 

just crossed the Northbound exit ramp. Next up crossing the Southbound exit ramp

It wasn't as bad as I thought.I think if it were later in the day I would have encountered more cars. I noticed another lady who had pulled over to the side of the road taking a drink. I also stopped and took my first drink as well because by this time I had ridden about 10 miles & was dying of thirst. We chatted for a bit and rode together to the park entrance.

There was a table set up with bottled water, peanut butter sandwiches, bananas, honey stingers & various other fuels. I stopped and ate a banana & had another drink of water before heading into the park.

I figued I better get ready because this part of the ride is the hardest part. Let me say HARDEST PART of the ride again! Starting at the parks entrance & doing 1 loop on Scenic Drive & back to the entrance is about 12 miles. It was definitely a workout with climbing some steep hills and cruising at 30+ mph on some of the downs. I had an epic camera fail & never even thought of taking a picture. My mind was all on getting theses hills over with. 

 

Once I left the park, I had to cross the I95 exits again to get to the museum parking lot. I was happy to be in the home stretch. I remembered to take a picture too.

Finally finished! 

Garmin watch data 

Overall I am happy with my time. I averaged almost 14 mph even with some nasty hills thrown in the mix. Not bad for this heavy Mama. It was a lot of fun and I will sign up for another future ride. I've already searched online & found a few rides in September and October that I might try to do. Who knows I may just take the plunge and do a century ride this year !