Day 20 - Doswell to Dumfries, VA - 65 miles, 3200 feet ascent

We've got a thing that's called Radar Love
We've got a wave in the air

              ~ Golden Earing “Radar Love”

Greetings from Dumfries, Virginia.  We expected the climbs.  We expected country roads, at least for a little while.  We expected some suburban riding.  No matter how many times you experience the craziness, no one expects Northern Virginia traffic.

Our route stitched its way across I-95 three times, and we likewise rode on three separate sections of Highway 1 (Richmond Highway).  We retraced the paths of Union and Confederate armies through the Civil War’s eastern theater from Richmond to Spotsylvania, past the site of Stonewall Jackson’s death, and into Fredericksburg.  

Most rivers, streams, and creeks in this part of the country flow west to east.  These lie in valleys cut by flowing water over several millennia.  A geologist might call this erosion.  We call it wild riding, especially when pedaling from south to north.    Looking at this route earlier in the week, the contour profile looked like a saw blade with 65-mile long procession of ups and downs.  It included eight major climbs, the final two living up to the hype in terms of grade and duration.  Note:  it is not possible to ride behind another cyclist at four miles per hour and find any aerodynamic advantage, in other words no drafting in the climbs.

Half of us ride using the Garmin Varia radar taillights.  These provide alerts when they detect overtaking traffic and provide an aural cue as well as a visual representation on our GPS displays showing number of cars and relative rate of closure.  They have an advertised range of 140 meters.  We had such a high volume of traffic nearing Quantico that our warnings beeped constantly during a four-mile stretch along Richmond Highway.

Tomorrow, we stab into Lorton, Alexandria, and Arlington.  GTG rides will travel on the Mount Vernon Trail through Fort Hunt into Old Town and north towards Reagan National Airport, then finally into Crystal City.  We are hardened after weeks of riding and a 50-mile ride for this journey’s penultimate day will not require the same effort needed on our 1 October departure from Apalachicola.  Today brings us 1,110 miles and 28,481 feet of climbing.  Two more days.  We can do this.  See you in Annapolis.  Go Navy!