Got to the airport, bike and bags carefully organized. Two bags -- one for cycling and a quick change for a ride if time allowed and one for clothes and liquids. I was immediately notified that the bike bag would not fit in the overhead as planned.So, a rapid bit of reconfiguring and I was headed to the gate. Oops, liquids in the carry-on, back to the ticket counter, swap out toiletries. Off again. Oops, bottle of wine in the carry-on. Back to the now obviously frustrated Delta agent. But I cannot complain too much, it only cost me $25 to get the bag and bike on board.
After arriving in NC, Spengahli collected me and we visited Mock Orange a seriously cool bike shop with great stuff and retro, college town vibe. Then it was off to Cycles d'Oro to pick up swag and tweaked bikes for the ride. Dale and the crew have a wonderful shop with surprises at every turn. From the great lines to the d'Oro jersey I couldn't resist.
The rest of the day was spent shopping for food, only stopping long enough to eat before shopping for more food and Belgian ale.
Friday morning we prepped and awaited the arrival of our newest Team R2R member James "Heavy D". This Scottish lad is a Clydesdale rider (over 201) who is revitalizing his excersize program to train for marathons and just got back into riding a few weeks ago. Here is his baby picture:
Sorry, couldn't resist the cheap shot -- last one, promise.
We headed out to Monterey, VA anticipating a valley ride. I had insisted to Spengahli that I could not do the 27+ valley ride on Friday, then get up and do the 70 Saturday. Last year the altitude, running around and sherpaing gear toasted my legs. I also know full well that my adopted brother in cycling would talk me into it at some point. So, we found a quiet parking lot in Monterey, changed into our gear ready to head out. HDs bike needed air so we filled it up, pulling the valve stem out in the process. Quick tire change (sort of -- it looked like two monkeys trying to f**k a football). Off we went. A mile in HD was out of site. Spengahli and I doubled back to find him at the side of the road trying to remove his rear wheel. Another flat! Henceforth he was dubbed "Flat Bastard". One last tube, the only CO2 cartridge and we said a little prayer to the Bike Gods and headed out again. As can happen with a new bike, FBs cables need adjusting and on an initial climb, his chain came off and lodged in his deraileur. We got it cured and the below picture is a shot of some great territory:
We came back to the van to see the side door wide open! WTF...? I think that is the point my HR hit my max of 208. We sprinted to the van and amazingly nothing was missing, wallets, money, keys, watches, cameras...beer! Testament to a small town.
We made it to Bear Mountain in the dark, off-loaded and settled in for a 6:00 a.m. wake-up call. The night was terrible for me. Couldn't fall asleep thinking about the planned extra distance -- Valley Ride, plus the three climbs including Hoover -- a 19% grade. Then huge storms rolled in. Thunder, rain, wind. Ironically, Nifi's one concern was the errant smoke alarm battery test going off while I was gone. As it had been happening lately I made sure all ours at home were checked. Not so here. At some point a beep started, about every two minutes. Turns out it was FBs phone charger. We got that solved. Then Spehgali started talking in his sleep! One nature call later I netted about 3 hours of sleep off and on!
6:00 a.m. came too soon. It was soon followed by a monsoon-like storm. Driving and riding in that weather did not sit well with any of us. So, we opted to be sane and hunker down:
We awoke later to the sun and sound of wood being chopped (not sawed). We kitted up and headed out. It was decided to do the 27+ again. If we wanted to do the climbs we would have no sag support. Better judgement called to decline wet, rural roads and steep descents.
Today was much better -- especially for Flat Bastard who had no mechanicals. We rode strong and relatively swiftly, representing the team colors well:
Spengahli and I did the largest climb twice:
before taking a break:
Back to Bear Mountain to consume grilled tuna steaks, wine and Belgian Ale:
And spend time with new and old friends:
Another group that stayed out at Bear Mountain was a group of seven who did the 100 mile ride. That is a BRUTAL trek with over 14,000 vertical feet of climbing (compared to about 3,200 for the Valley). As they slugged ale, one rider sipped on a Dads root beer wearing thick round glasses, a tie-dyed shirt, looking very "earthy". Lest we judge, his name -- Sparkey Ion. He rode the 100 in just over six hours on a 30 year old 3-speed Raleigh/Phillips iron frame bike! More amazing was that he has not missed a day running in over 10 years, including that morning (in the storm, before the Century!)
Return trip was uneventful aside from the $175 fee for my bike on Delta. Apparently I "slipped one past the goalie" on the way up. I was to be charged both ways. That means it cost $50 more for my bike than my body. Golf bags under 50 pounds are free. I counted eight on the tarmac waiting to leave. Think $25 is fair? Think of the number of golf bags versus bikes and the money they would make! Eeergh...
All in all it was a great trip. I have a tinge of disappointment not riding the 70 as planned, but I did ride 60. I spent time with great friends in a wonderful part of the country. I relaxed. I ate well -- maybe too well. Now it is time to take a week off from riding and focus on work and family. Looking forward to a ride in October with the Team:)
Spin On
