Here is VA, we have strange weather. I was born and raised here, but I think it's gotten a lot weirder over the years. I don't remember it being windy or rainy this much. Thunderstorms seem more violent than the used to be too! So yesterday I got up and decided that the weather was nice enough to go for a mountain bike ride. Here's the catch - my Jeep, my good bike rack (carries bikes by their wheels, not the frame), my helmet and gloves are all in Christiansburg being held captive by the Shelor Motor Mile Service Department. No big deal. I have a spare bike rack which I wouldn't put Punkin on for fear of scratching the paint, I have Ritchey and I have a spare helmet which I hate and of course many pairs of gloves.
So I stuck the bike rack on the lovely 4Runner that I've been fostering for a week and off we went to Mill Mountain. Decided to park in the Star Tail Parking Lot as I wanted to climb the new part of Woodthrush and wanted to get the 4Runner dirty, ahem. I went up Woodthrush through the fog, clouds and rain to JPFish Parkway, up the road to Ridgeline where I climbed to the Star - absolutely no view to be had Saturday. Rode back down Ridgeline to Riser to the Car Trail. Took the old road down to Monument, up Monument which wasn't too horrible. From Monument I went to the "rogue" trail that I call Two Tree (for the twin crooked trees). Took it back down to Woodthrush back to the car. Total ride distance was 8.85 miles with almost 1600ft of climbing. It took me 1.5 hours. I enjoyed it a great deal! It was fun to ride full-suspension again as it had been a while since I had taken Ritchey on a real ride. For some reason it seemed harder to climb on the 26" wheels?!?!?!
The weather wasn't looking promising today either. Sunshine to start the rain storm. I decided to work on stuff around the house. Upon heading to the grocery store the sun burst through again, so I decided to come home and go straight out on the road bike. I got in 26.2 miles in a nice meander around the valley - it took 1 hour and 48 minutes. I'd blog more about it, but I need to get back to my group project.
Starting week 8 (of 10) in Module 5, my week's break comes soon and I will be spending it in Lancaster, PA where I've got a few bike rides in the works. =) Road rides through flat farmland sounds just fine to me!
Bike adventure coming up Saturday - Time Trial which equals me vs the clock on about an 8 mile trail loop and Dual Slalom which I'm not so sure about. Anyway, it's all about having fun right???
=D
1 comment:
I've lived here all my life, too, and I agree, the winds are worse, the storms are angrier, and the weather is just different. It is hotter much sooner, too. We go straight from April to July weather, missing out on all of those lovely days of 70 degree weather we used to have.
I'm glad you got a ride in, though!
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