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Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED (Page 23)
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 2020-01-30 10:53 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
Extreme Veteran  1148    Nisbet, PA |  Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSEDRest days vs Recovery days. Everything I have read that mentions senior triathletes emphasizes the need for more frequent and increased recovery time. My take on that for Jan/Feb has consisted of back-to-back short/medium workouts on Mon/Fri and long solo workouts on Tu/We/Th. In retrospect, I guess I haven't really had any recovery days, only rest days. For all of January I have been taking the entire weekends off, but I may want to re-think that. I have noticed that my weight is invariably up on Mondays, probably because I haven't done diddly over the weekend. I am thinking about adding a third walk on Sat, medium length. That would result in 3xSwim, 2xBike, and 3xWalk. My plan is based on two Build weeks followed by one lighter Recovery week. I'm in the middle of my Recovery week right now. My upcoming long walks are 55-60 minutes. My thought is to drop 5m to make my medium (50-55) walks and 5 more to make my short (45-50) walks. Walk/run intervals don't start until some time in March or April. Hmmmm, this could require re-writing my plan for February. Bummer. Do y'all think that taking Sunday completely off will be sufficient? It's not like I have a really heavy training load, not like you folks who are doing HIM and IM training. |
| 2020-01-30 11:03 AM in reply to: cdban66 |
| 74 | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED I appreciate all of the insight on rest/recovery days. In reflection, where I am landing is to really trust how I feel. The real challenge of this is knowing when to back off because I am over-working myself, and when to press on and overcome how easy it would be to skip a workout or make a challenging workout easier. Strengthening mental resolve will be key. |
| 2020-01-30 3:31 PM in reply to: leatherneckpa |
Champion 14677    Bronze member | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by leatherneckpa my take would be to try taking just Sunday off and see how you feel.Rest days vs Recovery days. Everything I have read that mentions senior triathletes emphasizes the need for more frequent and increased recovery time. My take on that for Jan/Feb has consisted of back-to-back short/medium workouts on Mon/Fri and long solo workouts on Tu/We/Th. In retrospect, I guess I haven't really had any recovery days, only rest days. For all of January I have been taking the entire weekends off, but I may want to re-think that. I have noticed that my weight is invariably up on Mondays, probably because I haven't done diddly over the weekend. I am thinking about adding a third walk on Sat, medium length. That would result in 3xSwim, 2xBike, and 3xWalk. My plan is based on two Build weeks followed by one lighter Recovery week. I'm in the middle of my Recovery week right now. My upcoming long walks are 55-60 minutes. My thought is to drop 5m to make my medium (50-55) walks and 5 more to make my short (45-50) walks. Walk/run intervals don't start until some time in March or April. Hmmmm, this could require re-writing my plan for February. Bummer. Do y'all think that taking Sunday completely off will be sufficient? It's not like I have a really heavy training load, not like you folks who are doing HIM and IM training. |
| 2020-01-31 4:57 AM in reply to: leatherneckpa |
Expert 1694 Illinois | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by leatherneckpa Rest days vs Recovery days. Everything I have read that mentions senior triathletes emphasizes the need for more frequent and increased recovery time. My take on that for Jan/Feb has consisted of back-to-back short/medium workouts on Mon/Fri and long solo workouts on Tu/We/Th. In retrospect, I guess I haven't really had any recovery days, only rest days. For all of January I have been taking the entire weekends off, but I may want to re-think that. I have noticed that my weight is invariably up on Mondays, probably because I haven't done diddly over the weekend. I am thinking about adding a third walk on Sat, medium length. That would result in 3xSwim, 2xBike, and 3xWalk. My plan is based on two Build weeks followed by one lighter Recovery week. I'm in the middle of my Recovery week right now. My upcoming long walks are 55-60 minutes. My thought is to drop 5m to make my medium (50-55) walks and 5 more to make my short (45-50) walks. Walk/run intervals don't start until some time in March or April. Hmmmm, this could require re-writing my plan for February. Bummer. Do y'all think that taking Sunday completely off will be sufficient? It's not like I have a really heavy training load, not like you folks who are doing HIM and IM training. Maybe you could shuffle the rest days to have one during the week and then take the second on Sunday? |
| 2020-01-31 7:23 AM in reply to: abake |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by abake Originally posted by leatherneckpa Maybe you could shuffle the rest days to have one during the week and then take the second on Sunday? Rest days vs Recovery days. Everything I have read that mentions senior triathletes emphasizes the need for more frequent and increased recovery time. My take on that for Jan/Feb has consisted of back-to-back short/medium workouts on Mon/Fri and long solo workouts on Tu/We/Th. In retrospect, I guess I haven't really had any recovery days, only rest days. For all of January I have been taking the entire weekends off, but I may want to re-think that. I have noticed that my weight is invariably up on Mondays, probably because I haven't done diddly over the weekend. I am thinking about adding a third walk on Sat, medium length. That would result in 3xSwim, 2xBike, and 3xWalk. My plan is based on two Build weeks followed by one lighter Recovery week. I'm in the middle of my Recovery week right now. My upcoming long walks are 55-60 minutes. My thought is to drop 5m to make my medium (50-55) walks and 5 more to make my short (45-50) walks. Walk/run intervals don't start until some time in March or April. Hmmmm, this could require re-writing my plan for February. Bummer. Do y'all think that taking Sunday completely off will be sufficient? It's not like I have a really heavy training load, not like you folks who are doing HIM and IM training. I like this approach rather than having back-to-back rest days. Didn't you say that Cindy works out on Saturday? Maybe you could join her? |
| 2020-01-31 7:46 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED OK, I have a dumb question for my gravel friends. Dumb because I'm pretty sure the answer is in the "it depends" category. If you are trying to estimate how long it will take you to complete a gravel event, how do you go about that. For example. Loudoun 1725 ha s a 40 mile option with 2100 feet of climbing and a 60 mile option with 3400 feet of climbing. On paved roads on my road bike I'd have a good estimate of how long it would take me to complete each of these distances. It looks like Loudoun is mostly gravel roads (does not look gnarly from the photos) with at least one stream crossing. Is there a rule of thumb like gravel takes x% longer than tarmac? I went ahead and made hotel reservations for the 2020 event and I plan to ride it. I'm just trying to figure out what I should sign up for! Kevin is not participating in the event. He may bring a bike and do his own thing. In order to further sell him on this excursion, I did a little bit of research about Loudoun county vineyards and came up with this list of area wineries from Food and Wine’s Best Virginia Wineries to Visit, there are others around: From the course maps looks like the ride takes place in between the vineyards -- Greenhill, Bluemont, and Stone Tower (on the Food and Wine list). Jen Stewey and Laura, are you familiar with any of these? |
| 2020-01-31 9:29 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
Expert 1694 Illinois | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer OK, I have a dumb question for my gravel friends. Dumb because I'm pretty sure the answer is in the "it depends" category. If you are trying to estimate how long it will take you to complete a gravel event, how do you go about that. For example. Loudoun 1725 ha s a 40 mile option with 2100 feet of climbing and a 60 mile option with 3400 feet of climbing. On paved roads on my road bike I'd have a good estimate of how long it would take me to complete each of these distances. It looks like Loudoun is mostly gravel roads (does not look gnarly from the photos) with at least one stream crossing. Is there a rule of thumb like gravel takes x% longer than tarmac? I went ahead and made hotel reservations for the 2020 event and I plan to ride it. I'm just trying to figure out what I should sign up for! Kevin is not participating in the event. He may bring a bike and do his own thing. In order to further sell him on this excursion, I did a little bit of research about Loudoun county vineyards and came up with this list of area wineries from Food and Wine’s Best Virginia Wineries to Visit, there are others around: From the course maps looks like the ride takes place in between the vineyards -- Greenhill, Bluemont, and Stone Tower (on the Food and Wine list). Jen Stewey and Laura, are you familiar with any of these? That's not a dumb question at all, it's actually a very good question. You are right, the answer is "it depends". I made the mistake of looking at race photos from the 2019 Loudon and now I'm REALLY wanting to do this event next year. The venue looks amazing. I wish I could make it work this year but alas... If it helps, on a road bike I average 16-18 mph and on gravel, I usually estimate 10-12 mph. Sometimes I surprise myself, but that's been a pretty good rule of thumb. |
| 2020-01-31 9:42 AM in reply to: jmkizer |
Extreme Veteran 1148 Nisbet, PA | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED January/YTD Totals:
It's been a pretty good month and a great start to the year. I had 21 days planned and only missed one. Best of all, I have lost 10 lbs since New Year's Eve. Thanks for giving me some place to brag. |
| 2020-01-31 9:49 AM in reply to: leatherneckpa |
Extreme Veteran 1148 Nisbet, PA | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Back to Rest vs Recovery: I have decided that I am going to add a third Walk day on Saturdays. As Janyne noted, I drive Cindy to the Y anyway, so I am going to add a medium length walk. Won't be with her, for two reasons. First, she prefers treadmills to laps. Second, she can't walk fast enough for me to get a training effect. So I'll see how this goes and hope that it does not affect my recovery. I have my plan set up so that I have at least 48 hrs between workouts of the same discipline. And I will still have Sunday as a complete R&R day, no planned activities at all. Which is not to say that a nature walk or some such may not enter the picture. |
| 2020-01-31 9:59 AM in reply to: abake |
Master 6834 Englewood, Florida | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer That's not a dumb question at all, it's actually a very good question. You are right, the answer is "it depends". I made the mistake of looking at race photos from the 2019 Loudon and now I'm REALLY wanting to do this event next year. The venue looks amazing. I wish I could make it work this year but alas... If it helps, on a road bike I average 16-18 mph and on gravel, I usually estimate 10-12 mph. Sometimes I surprise myself, but that's been a pretty good rule of thumb. OK, I have a dumb question for my gravel friends. Dumb because I'm pretty sure the answer is in the "it depends" category. If you are trying to estimate how long it will take you to complete a gravel event, how do you go about that. For example. Loudoun 1725 ha s a 40 mile option with 2100 feet of climbing and a 60 mile option with 3400 feet of climbing. On paved roads on my road bike I'd have a good estimate of how long it would take me to complete each of these distances. It looks like Loudoun is mostly gravel roads (does not look gnarly from the photos) with at least one stream crossing. Is there a rule of thumb like gravel takes x% longer than tarmac? I went ahead and made hotel reservations for the 2020 event and I plan to ride it. I'm just trying to figure out what I should sign up for! Kevin is not participating in the event. He may bring a bike and do his own thing. In order to further sell him on this excursion, I did a little bit of research about Loudoun county vineyards and came up with this list of area wineries from Food and Wine’s Best Virginia Wineries to Visit, there are others around: From the course maps looks like the ride takes place in between the vineyards -- Greenhill, Bluemont, and Stone Tower (on the Food and Wine list). Jen Stewey and Laura, are you familiar with any of these? The "it depends" part is pretty important, since terrain matters so much. So, in my world, Forest service road is different than say, Jeep trail, which are two of my standard surfaces. I notice a 2-4 mph difference on average. However, that is for the pretty well groomed (Not sure that's the term) surface. When you start factoring in gnarlier roads, singletrack and such, it becomes a bigger difference. So, if you are on a true multi surface ride, I think the difference would be larger. |
| 2020-01-31 10:41 AM in reply to: leatherneckpa |
Expert 1694 Illinois | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by leatherneckpa January/YTD Totals:
It's been a pretty good month and a great start to the year. I had 21 days planned and only missed one. Best of all, I have lost 10 lbs since New Year's Eve. Thanks for giving me some place to brag. That's a really good record of hitting all the workouts, and congrats on the weight loss! |
| 2020-01-31 10:51 AM in reply to: leatherneckpa |
Master 6834 Englewood, Florida | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by leatherneckpa January/YTD Totals:
It's been a pretty good month and a great start to the year. I had 21 days planned and only missed one. Best of all, I have lost 10 lbs since New Year's Eve. Thanks for giving me some place to brag. No small feat, you have earned the right to brag!!!! |
| 2020-01-31 11:58 AM in reply to: cdban66 |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by cdban66 Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer That's not a dumb question at all, it's actually a very good question. You are right, the answer is "it depends". I made the mistake of looking at race photos from the 2019 Loudon and now I'm REALLY wanting to do this event next year. The venue looks amazing. I wish I could make it work this year but alas... If it helps, on a road bike I average 16-18 mph and on gravel, I usually estimate 10-12 mph. Sometimes I surprise myself, but that's been a pretty good rule of thumb. OK, I have a dumb question for my gravel friends. Dumb because I'm pretty sure the answer is in the "it depends" category. If you are trying to estimate how long it will take you to complete a gravel event, how do you go about that. For example. Loudoun 1725 ha s a 40 mile option with 2100 feet of climbing and a 60 mile option with 3400 feet of climbing. On paved roads on my road bike I'd have a good estimate of how long it would take me to complete each of these distances. It looks like Loudoun is mostly gravel roads (does not look gnarly from the photos) with at least one stream crossing. Is there a rule of thumb like gravel takes x% longer than tarmac? I went ahead and made hotel reservations for the 2020 event and I plan to ride it. I'm just trying to figure out what I should sign up for! Kevin is not participating in the event. He may bring a bike and do his own thing. In order to further sell him on this excursion, I did a little bit of research about Loudoun county vineyards and came up with this list of area wineries from Food and Wine’s Best Virginia Wineries to Visit, there are others around: From the course maps looks like the ride takes place in between the vineyards -- Greenhill, Bluemont, and Stone Tower (on the Food and Wine list). Jen Stewey and Laura, are you familiar with any of these? The "it depends" part is pretty important, since terrain matters so much. So, in my world, Forest service road is different than say, Jeep trail, which are two of my standard surfaces. I notice a 2-4 mph difference on average. However, that is for the pretty well groomed (Not sure that's the term) surface. When you start factoring in gnarlier roads, singletrack and such, it becomes a bigger difference. So, if you are on a true multi surface ride, I think the difference would be larger. Thanks Anne and Chris! |
| 2020-01-31 12:13 PM in reply to: jmkizer |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Racing Manatees!!! |
| 2020-01-31 12:26 PM in reply to: cdban66 |
Master 4119 Toronto Bronze member | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by cdban66 Originally posted by leatherneckpa January/YTD Totals:
It's been a pretty good month and a great start to the year. I had 21 days planned and only missed one. Best of all, I have lost 10 lbs since New Year's Eve. Thanks for giving me some place to brag. No small feat, you have earned the right to brag!!!! For sure! congratulations! Way to get 'er done! |
| 2020-01-31 12:45 PM in reply to: juniperjen |
Master 4119 Toronto Bronze member | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED So, wondering about how you all manage sleep. I feel like this is the missing part of my training equation. I know i am in that part of life where sleep is pretty precious - my kids wake up early and are still young enough that they need us up with them. I track my sleep with my garmin and know that most nights i don't get 8 hours. I usually get at least 7, sometimes less but rarely less than 7, sometimes broken up by night waking. I definitely feel better when i do get 8 hours but now with getting training under way and know i need to use my evenings effectively for training. But already i am feeling like my body will demand at least one night a week to get more sleep when i am in the build for HIM training. I guess in the vein of the rest/recovery days, should i just plan and realize that at least one night a week i need to make sleep a priority over my training?? What say you?
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| 2020-01-31 1:33 PM in reply to: juniperjen |
Member 2098 Simsbury, Connecticut | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by juniperjen I guess in the vein of the rest/recovery days, should i just plan and realize that at least one night a week i need to make sleep a priority over my training?? What say you?
I'm an accountant and work 55-70 hours a week from February to Mid April. My training schedule is cut back because there are only so many hours in the day and I can't function on "only" 7 hours of sleep for more than 4 days. By Friday night I'm spent and usually asleep before 8:30. So I would say if you are noticing that a lack of sleep is hurting your overall training then YES make it a priority and shift or cut some training in favor of sleep. |
| 2020-01-31 2:43 PM in reply to: juniperjen |
| 74 | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by juniperjen So, wondering about how you all manage sleep. I feel like this is the missing part of my training equation. I know i am in that part of life where sleep is pretty precious - my kids wake up early and are still young enough that they need us up with them. I track my sleep with my garmin and know that most nights i don't get 8 hours. I usually get at least 7, sometimes less but rarely less than 7, sometimes broken up by night waking. I definitely feel better when i do get 8 hours but now with getting training under way and know i need to use my evenings effectively for training. But already i am feeling like my body will demand at least one night a week to get more sleep when i am in the build for HIM training. I guess in the vein of the rest/recovery days, should i just plan and realize that at least one night a week i need to make sleep a priority over my training?? What say you?
A few things on sleep. First of all, I unapologetically go to sleep when my kids do. It's kind of a joke in my family. They get 10 hours, I get 8 and it's win-win. The 2 hour buffer is when I get 80% of my training in. Secondly, a well-timed power nap can do wonders. Try it out for 1-2 weeks and see if it makes a difference. If it does - keep going. If not, try something different. |
| 2020-01-31 2:56 PM in reply to: juniperjen |
Master 7712 Orlando | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by juniperjen So, wondering about how you all manage sleep. I feel like this is the missing part of my training equation. I know i am in that part of life where sleep is pretty precious - my kids wake up early and are still young enough that they need us up with them. I track my sleep with my garmin and know that most nights i don't get 8 hours. I usually get at least 7, sometimes less but rarely less than 7, sometimes broken up by night waking. I definitely feel better when i do get 8 hours but now with getting training under way and know i need to use my evenings effectively for training. But already i am feeling like my body will demand at least one night a week to get more sleep when i am in the build for HIM training. I guess in the vein of the rest/recovery days, should i just plan and realize that at least one night a week i need to make sleep a priority over my training?? What say you?
I say take that night and make sleep a priority! I'd look at my plan and identify the key workouts for the week and try to complete them and then take the night off from one of the other workouts. Sleep is super important! |
| 2020-01-31 4:38 PM in reply to: amd723 |
Expert 1694 Illinois | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED While we are on the subject of recovery, does anyone here use or know about Whoop? It appears to be a HRM worn on the wrist that uploads metrics to a subscription-based online service. From what I can tell, you can get reports on HRV, sleep quality, recovery, etc. In the past I've tried some free phone-based HRV apps with some success. It's probably not something I'm seriously considering, as I don't need yet another monthly charge, but I'm curious. What say the collective wisdom of the manatees? |
| 2020-01-31 5:06 PM in reply to: abake |
Master 7712 Orlando | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by abake While we are on the subject of recovery, does anyone here use or know about Whoop? It appears to be a HRM worn on the wrist that uploads metrics to a subscription-based online service. From what I can tell, you can get reports on HRV, sleep quality, recovery, etc. In the past I've tried some free phone-based HRV apps with some success. It's probably not something I'm seriously considering, as I don't need yet another monthly charge, but I'm curious. What say the collective wisdom of the manatees? I've heard of it, but not much more than that! But here is a thread on slowtwitch about it. |
| 2020-01-31 5:16 PM in reply to: abake |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by abake While we are on the subject of recovery, does anyone here use or know about Whoop? It appears to be a HRM worn on the wrist that uploads metrics to a subscription-based online service. From what I can tell, you can get reports on HRV, sleep quality, recovery, etc. In the past I've tried some free phone-based HRV apps with some success. It's probably not something I'm seriously considering, as I don't need yet another monthly charge, but I'm curious. What say the collective wisdom of the manatees? I've read about it on Slowtwitch and I think that it's come up on Ask a Cycling Coach but that's all I know. |
| 2020-01-31 5:17 PM in reply to: jmkizer |
Master 9705 Raleigh, NC area | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer Originally posted by cdban66 Originally posted by abake Originally posted by jmkizer That's not a dumb question at all, it's actually a very good question. You are right, the answer is "it depends". I made the mistake of looking at race photos from the 2019 Loudon and now I'm REALLY wanting to do this event next year. The venue looks amazing. I wish I could make it work this year but alas... If it helps, on a road bike I average 16-18 mph and on gravel, I usually estimate 10-12 mph. Sometimes I surprise myself, but that's been a pretty good rule of thumb. OK, I have a dumb question for my gravel friends. Dumb because I'm pretty sure the answer is in the "it depends" category. If you are trying to estimate how long it will take you to complete a gravel event, how do you go about that. For example. Loudoun 1725 ha s a 40 mile option with 2100 feet of climbing and a 60 mile option with 3400 feet of climbing. On paved roads on my road bike I'd have a good estimate of how long it would take me to complete each of these distances. It looks like Loudoun is mostly gravel roads (does not look gnarly from the photos) with at least one stream crossing. Is there a rule of thumb like gravel takes x% longer than tarmac? I went ahead and made hotel reservations for the 2020 event and I plan to ride it. I'm just trying to figure out what I should sign up for! Kevin is not participating in the event. He may bring a bike and do his own thing. In order to further sell him on this excursion, I did a little bit of research about Loudoun county vineyards and came up with this list of area wineries from Food and Wine’s Best Virginia Wineries to Visit, there are others around: From the course maps looks like the ride takes place in between the vineyards -- Greenhill, Bluemont, and Stone Tower (on the Food and Wine list). Jen Stewey and Laura, are you familiar with any of these? The "it depends" part is pretty important, since terrain matters so much. So, in my world, Forest service road is different than say, Jeep trail, which are two of my standard surfaces. I notice a 2-4 mph difference on average. However, that is for the pretty well groomed (Not sure that's the term) surface. When you start factoring in gnarlier roads, singletrack and such, it becomes a bigger difference. So, if you are on a true multi surface ride, I think the difference would be larger. Thanks Anne and Chris! Kevin said that since it's my first gravel event, I should sign up for the 40. I'm still wavering a bit. |
| 2020-01-31 6:31 PM in reply to: jmkizer |
Member 159 Fairfax, VA Bronze member | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer OK, I have a dumb question for my gravel friends. Dumb because I'm pretty sure the answer is in the "it depends" category. If you are trying to estimate how long it will take you to complete a gravel event, how do you go about that. For example. Loudoun 1725 ha s a 40 mile option with 2100 feet of climbing and a 60 mile option with 3400 feet of climbing. On paved roads on my road bike I'd have a good estimate of how long it would take me to complete each of these distances. It looks like Loudoun is mostly gravel roads (does not look gnarly from the photos) with at least one stream crossing. Is there a rule of thumb like gravel takes x% longer than tarmac? I went ahead and made hotel reservations for the 2020 event and I plan to ride it. I'm just trying to figure out what I should sign up for! Kevin is not participating in the event. He may bring a bike and do his own thing. In order to further sell him on this excursion, I did a little bit of research about Loudoun county vineyards and came up with this list of area wineries from Food and Wine’s Best Virginia Wineries to Visit, there are others around: From the course maps looks like the ride takes place in between the vineyards -- Greenhill, Bluemont, and Stone Tower (on the Food and Wine list). Jen Stewey and Laura, are you familiar with any of these? Oh yes, I have been to all of these wineries! Fabbioli is fantastic, and out that way is also Lost Creek (esp if you like good red blends) and Hidden Brook. You won't beat the view at Bluemont (but their wines are so-so). Stone Tower is nice, but gets very crowded and is a little commercialized. Sunset Hills is a good one also. Greenhill isn't in Loudoun, but has good wines. I'd also check out 50 West, Boxwood and maybe Chrysalis (but avoid Cana - very pricey and not very good wine). These are all in Middleburg which looks like it's where your ride ends. Three Fox Vineyards is in an entirely different location also (and not close to your bike route) - they are OK. I like to take my dogs there b/c they have so much outside space. Other wineries in Delaplane are some of my favorites: Blue Valley and Linden. Chateau O'Brien has excellent wine also. Avoid Barrel Oak, it's a circus! Let me know if you have any questions - wineries are one of my favorite pastimes. |
| 2020-01-31 6:33 PM in reply to: jmkizer |
Member 159 Fairfax, VA Bronze member | Subject: RE: Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED Originally posted by jmkizer OK, I have a dumb question for my gravel friends. Dumb because I'm pretty sure the answer is in the "it depends" category. If you are trying to estimate how long it will take you to complete a gravel event, how do you go about that. For example. Loudoun 1725 ha s a 40 mile option with 2100 feet of climbing and a 60 mile option with 3400 feet of climbing. On paved roads on my road bike I'd have a good estimate of how long it would take me to complete each of these distances. It looks like Loudoun is mostly gravel roads (does not look gnarly from the photos) with at least one stream crossing. Is there a rule of thumb like gravel takes x% longer than tarmac? I went ahead and made hotel reservations for the 2020 event and I plan to ride it. I'm just trying to figure out what I should sign up for! Kevin is not participating in the event. He may bring a bike and do his own thing. In order to further sell him on this excursion, I did a little bit of research about Loudoun county vineyards and came up with this list of area wineries from Food and Wine’s Best Virginia Wineries to Visit, there are others around: From the course maps looks like the ride takes place in between the vineyards -- Greenhill, Bluemont, and Stone Tower (on the Food and Wine list). Jen Stewey and Laura, are you familiar with any of these? Also, I hope it goes without saying but if you are doing an event this close me, I will 100% be there to cheer and tour guide as needed!!!!! |
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