SUMMER DOLDRUMS

Here we are in the midst of summer and I have not upheld my end of our "blogging deal" and updated you on my latest cycling escapades...so, here goes:

BIKE VIRGINIA

 Bike Virginia ('BikeVA') is a great organization that organizes the state ride in Virginia. For years it was a 'cross state' ride much like the CycleNC "Mountains to Coast" ride that I rode last fall but now it is a 'two stop' ride where you set up your camp for three days of riding, break camp and move to another location and then have three more days of riding. With other summer 'obligations' looming (we had to go to the beach some time, right?) we opted to just ride the weekend portion in Woodstock, VA and had a great time! The headquarters was on the grounds of the Massanhutten (?) Military Academy and Bike VA did a great job with organizing the ride so that there were plenty of spaces to camp, plenty of food options and a lot of great routes to ride.
Over the weekend we rode three rides that went thru the really beautiful central Virginia area and at one time we passed a sign that said "West Virginia State Line 12 Miles" so we were obviously 'out there' in the country. The total mileage for those three rides was 178 miles (37+104+37) and they were all fun but I'm not going to kid you - the guy who put a 2 mile, 8% grade climb at mile 88 of our 104 mile ride on Saturday is a cruel bastard. 
One of the most exciting events of the weekend was that I hit 6,000 miles on my bike. I purchased it almost exactly two years ago to the day and it's been a great bike to get me this far in this amount of time.

Translation: "It's Gonna Get Ugly"

Lots of nice scenery !!

6,000 miles in TWO years !

 The rest of the rides were pleasant and full of really cool vistas and things to see along the way. And as usual with rides like this, we got to meet lots of really nice people to share our stories with.
Bike VA does a great job and it would have been fun to ride "Part Two" but I needed to get to the beach, so I drove from there to Corolla on Sunday for 2 1/2 weeks with friends. And I managed to get in a few rides during that time too :)

RIDING with the BRANDS

You may remember that I told you I would be riding with a few old friends as part of my learning how to tour. Scott and Angela Brand are some of the first people I met when I started my 'work life' in Arizona way back in 1982 and are still very good friends to this day despite the mileage between us now. They were riding from north central Colorado all the way to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and were kind enough to let me tag along with them for their last six days of riding from Richmond, Va thru NC and over to the Outer Banks. Their friend John Crofts had joined them a little earlier in the month and I took an Amtrak train to Richmond to meet up with them there. The next morning the four of us left Richmond and rode the really nice and almost brand new "Capital Trail" that is a cyclists dream as it meanders southeast towards Williamsburg, VA. It was a great ride despite the wet conditions and we encountered lots of local and some long distance riders along the way. After a great dinner and good sleep we spent the day touring around in Williamsburg and then headed across the James River then next day to begin a cross country trek towards my house in Greenville, NC. We found a nice B&B in Murfeesboro, NC for our overnight after a good ride and then we were up and on the road early the next day for the long ride to Greenville. It turned out to be a little longer than we wanted thanks to some poor planning on my part and as the day wore on the wind picked up and created havoc with our riding speeds. BUT, we made it to my house and feasted on tasty Eastern NC barbecue for dinner.

Scott making a few last minute adjustments before we head to Belhaven, NC

The 'view' from my seat most of the time - map with highlighted route and open road

 We took the next day off and took advantage of it to get a pesky issue with Angela's bike taken care of, take a short tour around Greenville and have a good dinner followed by a good nights rest. We then hit the road again and made quick time all the way to Belhaven where we stayed at yet another nifty B&B and met lots of interesting locals. A short ride to Swan Quarter was followed by a 2 1/2 hour ferry ride across the Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke Island and we were on the Outer Banks. It's always cool to take people over to the Outer Banks for the first time and traveling by bike & ferry was a great way to see just how remote the banks are.

One of Blackbeard's victims?

We checked in to Blackbeards Lodge, had a good dinner and a restful night and then parted ways the next day as they pedaled north to Hatteras and I began my trip home. 
Riding with experienced touring riders and learning from them was quite the experience. Hopefully I'll retain a small portion of what I learned and observed as I continue to try and become a touring rider. Scott & Angela's total trip was about 50 days and covered over 2,500 miles... as usual, I hope to be like them when I grow up :) 

Me, Anglea, Scott and John leaving Ocracoke Island

Are You Watching the Tour?

Of course I'm watching the Tour de France, just as I have for years and years. I think there has been a lot of great racing and I always marvel at just how fast those dudes ride - sometimes up to 40mph on the flats and over 60 on the downhills! That's crazy fast. Chris Frome, Peter Sagan, Tyler VanderGarden and all those dudes are really top notch athletes that perform at their peak not just once a week, but EVERY DAY for three weeks! BUT, I don't kid myself and think I'll ever ride like that. That speed and style of riding requires a lot more effort that I can put forward and would also require a time machine to take me back 30+ years! So I'll stick to my slow riding and enjoying the scenery as it rolls past at 15 or so mph :)

 

NEXT?

Right now I am in the process of planning a trip from Santa Barbara, CA down to San Diego, CA in early August. It's only about 250 miles and I am hoping that I can do it in about 5 days. The Adventure Cycling route runs pretty close to the coast and that should provide cool and pretty riding. The neat thing about this route is that the train runs parallel to it so if I 'blow up' somehow and feel like I can't ride the whole thing I can always take the train back to San Diego where I'll meet up with several friends for our annual California Beach Trip. I plan to use an online app called "Warm Showers" that is a network of touring cyclists that allow others to stay in their houses during their rides. So far I've had positive responses from two and hope to get a couple more before I head out to California. If I can't find any Warm Showers hosts then I'll just resort to staying at cheap motels as I don't think I'm up for camping while riding quite yet. Wish me luck and keep up with the ride on my "James Ride From the Couch.." facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/jamessridetoragbrai/?fref=ts

After that and as the summer winds down I'll probably be doing a number of one day rides unless one of you hits me up for a week long adventure to somewhere - well? ? ? 

Until later, take care and keep riding your bike ! ! !