Halv Vasa - WABA

My very first "Queue Sheet!"

One way to keep warm on a chilly March Sunday... ride 45 miles with WABA during their annual 'VASA' ride in conjunction with the House of Sweden!  This was my first experience with WABA and definitely a good one. The ride was well organized, reasonably priced and I was happy to see all the helpers out on bikes to lend a hand if need be.  The other thing I really liked about it was how 'business like' the start was, no long speeches, just sign in, line up and wait for the signal.  Really well run!

All loaded up.  

The serving of the Blueberry 'soup' at the House of Sweden

The reward at the end of the day was a nearly unlimited supply of blueberry soup at the House of Sweden.  Everyone was very friendly and the soup, was closer to what I'd call a cider but hot and delicious.

Joe is ready to Ride!  I was thrilled to have such a cheerful riding partner on this one!

This just seemed like something Erika would have liked.

Joe and I chose to the the 31 mile, 'Halv Vasa' distance and it proved to be the right choice for me.  The outbound leg was mostly hugging the Potomac River and steadily ascending up into the neighborhoods around Potomac MD.  There were two semi-sharp ascents but I managed to stay on the bike, downshift and  move along at a reasonable, if slow speed.  I was really proud of myself, I don't think I could have done this ride as well 3 weeks ago before all the commuting miles.  I'm definitely feeling stronger.

That being said, the 31 miles added to the to and from mileage added up to just about 45 total. Definitely the longest for me this year and right about my max single day mileage ever.  And I am definitely feeling it!  Based more on weather than anything else I've already thrown in the towel for tomorrow's commute but I'm excited to get back on the bike Tuesday.

More tomorrow about the new breaks I just installed at Spokes, Belle View today!

44.7 Miles (372.2 Miles Annually)