DC and Urbana Century Ride

4th September 2023

Bike / 109.8 miles / 1,550 ft ascent / 9 hrs 25 min moving / 11 hrs 45 min elapsed

What a great ride! My first century in almost a decade.

Like the Seneca ride, it was another super hot day (100F by the end), which made it hard work for the last couple of hours. My legs felt great but my head was fried by the time I reached Urbana. 🥵

I left at 4am to try to beat the heat, but as it was a full day outing it eventually got me!

Anyway, some photos from the day:

Riding along the canal under lights for the first 2 hours

Dawn breaking as I reached Monocacy Acqueduct

Liquid gold sunrise from White’s Ferry area

Zooming along the trail. Note the extra bottles carried on the front fork.

At a power line break I had a good view of the gorgeous sunrise.

The Surly Grappler eats this trail up for breakfast. Such a fun and comfortable bike to ride.

The still morning made for stunning reflection from Sycamore Landing.

The replica packet boat, the Charles F. Mercer, at Great Falls.

Potomac river channels just below Great Falls. Wild!

The towpath detour at Marsden Tract campground that took me up to Macarthur Boulevard (an integral part of the DC road riding scene). I remember lots of miles back and forth on this road in 2012/13.

I rode on for another 8 miles or so, to cross the DC boundary line. I remembered about a little overlook near Chain Bridge, which made for a convenient place to aim for. It also ensured that I rode all the way to DC.

Little Falls Overlook, just over the DC boundary line, looking towards Chain Bridge

The faithful bike in all terrain mode, with 5 bottles and a combination of Revelate and Rapha bags.

Turning around to head back upriver. Starting to heat up now!

The pretty little canal house at Lock 8.

About to pass back under the Capital Beltway.

The first water stop. I had finished all 5 bottles at this point, so I refilled all 5 here. It was 10:41 AM and getting really hot now.

Definitely still Type 1 fun at this stage!

FORÇATS DE LA ROUTE – CONVICTS OF THE ROAD

The well pump at Marble Quarry campsite where I refilled 3 more bottles and dunked another 4 over my head. This was mile 93 for me.

It was very hot by this point and my head was starting to ache. Thankfully, I was still mostly in the shade along the canal.

Just like they do in the Tour de France. It really works!

I turned off the canal at Monocacy Aqueduct and rode the back roads past Sugarloaf mountain to Urbana, to meet up with the family.

It’s a great route but I was definitely suffering under temps that approached 100F. Urgh!

Riding past Sugarloaf mountain, on the fantastic back roads.

The massively fun gravel road that winds around the base of Sugarloaf mountain. It has a lovely swoopy, fast descent for the second half.

Another tremendous ride exploring the countryside around me. My knees felt great all ride, so this gives me confidence to try some longer and hillier rides in the future.