MS Bike the Vineyard
Amy and I got up at 4:25am (also known as 0'dark 30) Saturday morning to begin our trek down to Maratha's Vineyard to do our 1st charity bike ride of the year (Quick note, that at 0'dark 30, not much was open so we had to make breakfast / coffee at home as to not go in the wrong direction on the way to the ferry). We needed to catch a 7am ferry, for a 45 min ride followed by a 3 1/2 mile bike ride to the high school to make sure we were there for a 9am start.
We were pretty excited to be heading back to Martha's Vineyard as it was the site of our 1st charity ride back in 2007. Then, we did the 50K option (31 miles), made a multi-day trip out of it, and spent the following 2 weeks blabbing about how we had biked 31 miles in a single day (which looking back now seems quite silly as we have both knocked out multiple century rides over the last few years and I recently just ran a 50K).
Anyways, we hit less then no traffic on our way to Wood's Hole, and arrived in the parking lot around 6:10. Caught a quick shuttle bus from the parking lot to the ferry, got a second cup of coffee, met up with a few of our friends from our team, Velox Rota, and jumped a board the ferry.
After a quick ride over to the high school with all our gear, we registered, and then shot the shit with some of our charity riding friends (most of whom we haven't seen since the MS Cape Cod Getaway last summer).
The ride started promptly at 9am and we spent the 1st 2-3 miles trying to get around the large amount of people doing the ride (Thankfully the shorter options, 30 and 15 mile routes didn't start till 10). The real saving grace was that there weren't that many people on the island in late April so there was almost no traffic.
Around mile 3 my friend Michael and I dropped the hammer and threw down a few miles in low 20s and it was pretty smooth sailing after that. We re-grouped with some of our friends at the mile 15 rest stop and then around mile 20 we hit the scenic Lighthouse Rd in the south western portion of the island that looks off into Narragansett Bay and of course stopped for some pictures.
It was little windy from here on out and after burning off some pent up energy we settled into tight group and took turns blocking the wind for each other as we biked through center of the island near the airport and then off to Edgartown. Following this we merged routes with the shorter distances and jumped on the bike path which caused us to slow down some and let us just enjoy the day. The path also had quite a bit of sand on it so we trying to be careful enough to not cause a giant pileup.
Anyways, as we reached Oaks Bluff around mile 55 and the sun finally came out (it was about 52 degrees and overcast most of the ride) as we made our final leg back to the high school.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat, then headed back to Vineyard Haven to catch a 2:30pm ferry and head up to Plymouth for a BBQ / Hot Tub at Melissa's parents house, which really hit the spot after a long day of riding (Thanks again Melissa).
Special congratulations to Amy for knocking out the 63.56 miles at 16.7 mph, a speed much faster then she is used to holding for long distance.
We (Amy and I) had a blast cycling with the Steves, Michael, Rob, and Melissa, and hopefully next time Peter will be in shape enough to catch back up to us.
In conclusion, Amy and managed to raise another $570 to support the Greater NE chapter of MS. Thanks again to all who donated.
GPS Data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/82687692
We were pretty excited to be heading back to Martha's Vineyard as it was the site of our 1st charity ride back in 2007. Then, we did the 50K option (31 miles), made a multi-day trip out of it, and spent the following 2 weeks blabbing about how we had biked 31 miles in a single day (which looking back now seems quite silly as we have both knocked out multiple century rides over the last few years and I recently just ran a 50K).Anyways, we hit less then no traffic on our way to Wood's Hole, and arrived in the parking lot around 6:10. Caught a quick shuttle bus from the parking lot to the ferry, got a second cup of coffee, met up with a few of our friends from our team, Velox Rota, and jumped a board the ferry.
After a quick ride over to the high school with all our gear, we registered, and then shot the shit with some of our charity riding friends (most of whom we haven't seen since the MS Cape Cod Getaway last summer).
The ride started promptly at 9am and we spent the 1st 2-3 miles trying to get around the large amount of people doing the ride (Thankfully the shorter options, 30 and 15 mile routes didn't start till 10). The real saving grace was that there weren't that many people on the island in late April so there was almost no traffic.
Around mile 3 my friend Michael and I dropped the hammer and threw down a few miles in low 20s and it was pretty smooth sailing after that. We re-grouped with some of our friends at the mile 15 rest stop and then around mile 20 we hit the scenic Lighthouse Rd in the south western portion of the island that looks off into Narragansett Bay and of course stopped for some pictures.
It was little windy from here on out and after burning off some pent up energy we settled into tight group and took turns blocking the wind for each other as we biked through center of the island near the airport and then off to Edgartown. Following this we merged routes with the shorter distances and jumped on the bike path which caused us to slow down some and let us just enjoy the day. The path also had quite a bit of sand on it so we trying to be careful enough to not cause a giant pileup.Anyways, as we reached Oaks Bluff around mile 55 and the sun finally came out (it was about 52 degrees and overcast most of the ride) as we made our final leg back to the high school.
We grabbed a quick bite to eat, then headed back to Vineyard Haven to catch a 2:30pm ferry and head up to Plymouth for a BBQ / Hot Tub at Melissa's parents house, which really hit the spot after a long day of riding (Thanks again Melissa).Special congratulations to Amy for knocking out the 63.56 miles at 16.7 mph, a speed much faster then she is used to holding for long distance.
We (Amy and I) had a blast cycling with the Steves, Michael, Rob, and Melissa, and hopefully next time Peter will be in shape enough to catch back up to us.
In conclusion, Amy and managed to raise another $570 to support the Greater NE chapter of MS. Thanks again to all who donated.
GPS Data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/82687692
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