A Ride Around the Gettysburg Battlefield
Back in the good ole days, I’d run in the Firecracker 5K on Independence Day morning with my running friends. But since 2020 I’ve traded in my red, white, and blue running outfit for a patriotic jersey and joined my husband and Dawn Patrol friends for a covered bridges and Gettysburg bike tour.
With high heat and humidity in the forecast, we scheduled our ride for 7 AM and left our house around 5:50 for the hour drive to Thurmont, MD. Only one other friend was able to join us this year, but we still had a great time with our small peloton of three.
It was cool and comfortable as we rolled out of the parking lot, but a couple of hours into the ride the sun broke out and the temperature rose quickly. We all felt pretty good until the last five miles or so when were all ready to be done. Waiting in our car was ice cold chocolate milk which was exactly what we needed to tie us over until we stopped for lunch on the way home.
Later in the afternoon, we attended our neighborhood’s block party which was fajita themed this year – yes, please! I’d told my friends in advance that my water bottle would be filled with a margarita, but I was so dehydrated from the ride that I stuck with water. I made a flag cake for the festivities, something I’d wanted to make for years.
We had a fabulous time catching up with our neighbors, but were so exhausted that we walked home before the fireworks display.
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Cycling: 23.05 miles
• Average speed: 11.2 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 1,873 feet
• Start time: 9:11 AM
• Location: Middleburg loop
• Weather: 81° (feels like 87°) with high humidity and mostly cloudy, climbing to 89° (feels like 98°) and partly cloudy
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
With the temperature and humidity on the rise, the Gravel Rats scheduled the ride earlier than usual at 9 AM rather than 10:30. My husband and I would have preferred to ride earlier, but we really like this group of friends so we tolerated the heat and joined them. Post ride we enjoyed a group lunch at Lost Barrel Brewery.
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of full body
Walking: 3.13 miles
• Average pace: 16:18 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 185 feet
• Start time: 4:56 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 78° and sunny with low humidity
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
Tuesday
Cycling: 32.61 miles
• Average speed: 12.5 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,608 feet
• Start time: 8:09 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Leesburg loop with Thomas Mill and Woodburn climbs
• Weather: 69° and sunny with low humidity, climbing to 80° and mostly sunny
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
I did my last ride with significant climbing before GRUSK, my second ever bike race, which will be this coming Saturday. The weather was delightful!
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of full body
Walking: 2.21 miles
• Average pace: 16:47 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 83 feet
• Start time: 3:58 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 87° (feels like 93°) and partly sunny, turning mostly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, tank, and visor
Thursday
Cycling: 53.13 miles
• Average speed: 13.4 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 2,684 feet
• Start time: 7:09 AM
• Location: Thurmont, MD to Gettysburg, PA loop
• Weather: 71° and partly cloudy, climbing to 87° (feels like 95°)
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
As I mentioned in the opening paragraphs, we drove to Maryland for our annual Independence Day bike tour. Our tour took us into Pennsylvania and around the Gettysburg battlefield as well as through three red covered bridges and across two beautiful truss bridges.
Friday
Strength training: 1 hour full body
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
Saturday
Cycling: 12 miles
• Average speed: 16.8 MPH
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 9:21 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66° in basement, 90° (feels like 100°) and sunny outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Walking: 2.51 miles
• Average pace: 14:51 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 10:29 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 67° in basement, 93° (feels like 103°) and sunny outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Because I needed to leave the house by 12:30 PM to get to the gym to teach a fitness orientation class, I didn’t have time to join my husband and friends for a gravel ride in western Loudoun and get home in time to shower and leave for class. After doing some early morning chores I jumped on my trusty spin bike and treadmill for my cardio workout, thankful I had an indoor option on such a hot morning.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
Questions:
- • If you live in the USA, did you do anything special to celebrate Independence Day? ~ After our ride, we attended our neighborhood’s block party.
- • Has it been hot where you live? ~ After a delightful start to the week with cooler temps and low humidity, Friday’s temperature reached 101° (feels like 115°).
- • Did you run in race this weekend? ~ no
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
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I used to run the local 4th of July race every year, but I didn’t run it this year. I was tempted–it’s this morning–but I’m just not feeling it this year. Your Independence Day bike tour sounds really interesting! I don’t know what GRUSK is but it sounds like it will be a challenge! good luck!
GRUSK stands for Gravel Ride Up Spruce Knob, West Virginia’s highest point.
Well I’m a little disappointed you didn’t fill your water bottle with margaritas, but I love the flag cake! Maybe I’ll do that next year- it looks like something that would be easy enough, and looks very festive.
Sounds like you had a great week with some fun rides. Good luck with your ride this Sturday!
Thanks, Jenny! And yes, the flag cake was super easy to make.
I agree that 9am is quite a late start for a bike ride, especially if you want to escape the heat. Can you motivate them to start an hour earlier when the weather forecast is really hot and humid?
Your cake looks amazing! Is it sponge cake underneath?
Thanks! It’s a chocolate cake.
They did start at 8:30 yesterday because it was so hot. I just don’t think the group organizers are early birds.
I wish we had a fourth of july race near me! There are two big ones in our area but both are about 45 minutes away and are always so crowded that I’ve never done them before. I love that cake – looks so yummy! What kind of cake is under the frosting? Nice job with all the sleep – it’s so hard to get in 7 hours a night (especialy with workouts, little kids who dont sleep in, activities, etc.0 and I’d love to be more intentional about that.
The cake was chocolate and from a box, not from scratch, and the icing was from a can. I threw it together very quickly after I got home from the bike ride. I baked it and let it cool while I showered, then iced and put the fruit on it just before walking over to the block party. The strawberries started sliding so I had to push them deeper into the frosting. LOL
About my sleep… My goal is to get an average of at least 7 hours sleep per night, but I rarely hit it. My problem is I love getting up early (somewhere between 4:30 and 5:30 AM), but also enjoy reading when I go to bed and sometimes it tough to put the book or magazine down. While my intentions are good, my results aren’t so hot.
This was my first year not doing a 4th of July race. In recent years, there’s (usually) also been a ride with friends. Well, neither of those this year, but I kept entertained with my own run and then the parade, followed by the parents and sis. First world probs! Looks like you kept busy!
The parade sounds fun! My friend and his running group used to time their 4th of July run to finish just before the DC parade started so they’d be running down Constitution Avenue as people were lining the street to watch. He said people would cheer for them thinking they were the first official group of the parade. LOL
Sounds like a good active week for you, despite the heat. I could use some hot weather, after the coldest June in Ireland since 2015, and the first week of July gave us weather that almost made us put the fire on in the evenings.
Lost barrel is such a cool name for a brewery!
Thanks, Susanne! Hope it warms up for you.
The Lost Barrel Brewery logo is a barrel floating on water.
It’s been hot but not as hot as you…
At least cycling has a breeze where running does not.
Yes, I ran a race on the 4th and it was fun. Otherwise it was low key… Love the cake!!
Yes, I can tolerate the heat more on my bike than walking or running.
I’m always thankful to be on my bike when the temps are soaring! I made it to two city firework displays this year, so that made me very happy. My family knows I love seeing them!
Lisa @ TechChick Adventures recently posted…Weekly Workouts – making progress
I agree, I love the breeze the bike creates… except in the winter. 😉
Yay for getting to see two different fireworks displays!
Great week! The flag cake is so cute and I love how your kits match the festivities!
We did very little for the 4th. I wasn’t super into it, plus we were visiting my parents in the rehab facility, had to pick up the kids from a party, and there were bad storms. It happens.
It’s been so hot I could cry. Humid, too. Gross.
Yes, I raced this weekend! A 5K in my 11th state! Go me!
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A race in your 11th state, how fun!