MOVING TO RICHMOND
I moved from the Paris area in France to Richmond just a year ago. I have been inline skating for 20 years and it is very important to me. Inline skating is relatively popular in France. Every major city has groups of people who skate together on the roads, usually in the evening when the traffic is low. There are also many outdoor events from March to October, races and also recreational skating on bike trails. I did a bit of research before moving across the Atlantic and realized there was not the same level of interest here in the U.S. I could not find a group or club in Richmond, but I did come across the Virginia Capital Trail!
DISCOVERING THE CAPITAL TRAIL
A couple of months after arriving, I was going for my first skate on the trail. I was excited to discover it but wasn't sure if it would be suitable for inline skating. I was very pleased to find that the asphalt was very good quality, very smooth, and that it was very safe. I started going every weekend, for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, but what I love is long-distance skating, marathon-length and over. I have completed several marathons, a 62-mile race, and an 84-mile recreational skate. I also like challenging myself, so I started thinking that I should try and skate the whole 51.7 miles to Jamestown and back one day. I registered for the 100-mile Cap2Cap Bike Ride, thinking that would give me a chance to discover more of the trail and to test my physical condition as I have never completed this distance on a bike either. I was also hoping to meet other inline skaters in the meantime and maybe motivate them to join me as it is much easier to skate in a group. That was before the pandemic hit. The Cap2Cap was rescheduled and eventually changed to a virtual event. Despite going on the trail every weekend, I did not come across any other inline skater, and it was not the right time to meet new people anyway. I decided I would attempt the challenge by myself once the weather cooled down a bit.
103 MILES - ROLLING ALONG THE CAPITAL TRAIL
I planned my skate for October 4th. The weather forecast was just perfect that day, sunny but only around 70 degrees. I set out at 7 AM from Great Shiplock park with a backpack full of water and granola bars. I anticipated it would take me 8-9 hours of skating, plus breaks, to complete the challenge so I was planning to have one break half-way down, one at the other end, and one on the way back. I only knew the first few miles of Trail that I had skated every weekend. I had pushed past the Four Mile Creek Trailhead only once on a 2-hour skate, so after an hour, it was all new terrain. I reached the half-way mark in just 2 hours, I was doing better than I had expected and was feeling good. The trail was still smooth and pretty flat, very enjoyable. People I came across appeared quite surprised to see someone on inline skates. I kept going at a steady pace and reached Jamestown in just under 4 hours. I had a longer break there for “lunch”. I was starting to feel my muscles and knew the real challenge was starting now. Towards the end of the next 25 miles, my feet started hurting. My skates were not made for such a long distance. I was getting slower but still on track to complete my goal of 100-miles in 8 hours when I stopped again. The last 25 miles were tough, but I was getting close to my objective, so I focused on that. Eventually, I made it back to Great Shiplock Park and had the strength to go to the official start of the trail to take a picture with the sign. I completed the 103 miles in 8 hours and 6 minutes, the best time I could have hoped for. This was my greatest challenge so far and I don’t think I can top it. I am happy I did it, but I don’t think I would do it again by myself. If there are inline skaters reading this out there that are up for it, I would be happy to go along. Even if you don’t feel like doing 100 miles, I would be happy to meet you and skate together.
Written by Julien Reungoat
Thank you Julien for sharing your amazing story with us! If you are an inline skater who is interested in tackling the Capital Trail or up for shorter skating adventures please email us and we would be happy to connect you with Julien.
