Virginia’s Blue Ridge Fondo was a milestone for 2019.

I’m writing this in late October, 2019. It hasn’t been a very good year for cycling.

At least not cycling performance.

In my mind, cycling performance is an indication of fitness, and since I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis — overall health.

So it’s not great news when I expect to ride at an average speed of 15 mph and all I can muster is 11.

That was the case on July 29 when I rode on the Roanoke River Greenway.

I logged the following passage on my Garmin page for that day.

“Well, this was a tough one. Didn’t expect it. Just another Greenway ride but it was much harder than even last week. I guess the cytoxan is accumulating in my system? At any rate, Mary was pulling and I had to ask her to slow down. Shortness of breath and no strength in my legs. Bummer.”

Just two days before that I was unable to complete my regular loop from home, which entails a lot of climbing over a relatively short 14 ish mile ride.

At least I now know where the bottom was.

Cytoxan and prednisone don’t help cycling.

I attributed the difficulty to the chemo treatments I was receiving every three weeks via IV and high doses of prednisone.

Even off the bike, I felt like crap most of the time. Energy levels were low. Even thinking felt like it took too much energy.

What I don’t know, and doctors can’t tell me is what percentage of my issues come from the drugs and how much from sarcoidosis itself.

I’ve been assuming it was mostly the drugs — but I’m not so sure anymore. The more I read and talk to my doctors, it seems the less I know.

Be that as it may — I felt better and better on greenway rides as the summer progressed.

I am still raising money for the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research. Please click here to make a donation through October 31, 2019.

My plan was to ride the Fondo — even if I had to walk my bike up the hills. In return I asked people to support my efforts to raise money for sarcoidosis research.

I didn’t have the energy to train as I might have back in the day — but at least I could ride.

As long as the road was flat.

So I rode the greenway. Over and over and over.

And I got stronger. Strong enough that I returned to my local Wexford loop, (Known to many locally as the Dawnwood Loop) a week before the Fondo.

I did it.

Riding Virginia’s Blue Ridge Fondo

The Fondo offered rides of approximately 80, 50 and 30 miles. I knew that only the 30 (actually 33) was within my reach, but not even that was certain. (Last year I did the 50 with no trouble.)

As we lined up at the Greenfield Center in Botetourt County I wasn’t nervous. It was a beautiful fall day. Temperatures were cool and conditions were way better than in 2018 when it was raining hard.

Hundreds of riders took off in a mass start and I paced myself, not knowing how my body would react.

This would be the longest ride of the year for me and with 2,365 feet of elevation gain, also the one with the most climbing.

Perhaps I was being overly cautious — but I didn’t want to wind up like I did back in July, when Mary had to come pick me up.

The scenery was beautiful and the going was good!

As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. The compact gearing recently installed on my 1995 Waterford steel bike more than made up for whatever I may have been lacking.

As long as I just pedaled steadily, my heart rate stayed calm and up the hills, I went. Mary rode with me as did friends Al and Amy Henry. (The Henry’s re-routed after the stop in Fincastle so they could do the 50. Many thanks for the company.)

Along the way I took the time to notice the mountains, the farms with white board fences, and the historic buildings. The fall leaves were not quite at peak, but were beautiful nonetheless.