chefisaac

A friend called me the other day. Normally I am (or have been lately) an email or text kinda guy but he called me to check up on me. Conversation was boy like, shooting the wind and B.S.ing a lot but then he asked why I have not written much about my rides. I started to explain and he interrupted me (must have be a guy thing) and said I must not have been riding. I started to explain myself but he interrupted me again and said he understood why… since winter was here and everyone is lazy in the winter time. Finally I told him that I have been riding a lot and nope, I have not written a lot. So today, here I am! J

(But in all honesty, I HAVE been riding a lot, commuting to work and weekend rides. Plus my wife moved out here which takes up what free time I had before. He he he)

I was looking at the weather on Monday, eyeing this day. I do not listen to the news anymore because the weather people are usually on crack cocaine and freak out about the slightest things so I check online. No need for the weather small talk. It had a big sunshine (thanks for the picture cues) and said it was going to be 70. End of store… time to find a ride.

I was not sure how I was going to get the day off from work but let’s just say it worked out. I did keep an eye to see who was riding but not too much action in the clubs. Asked some friends but they said it was going to be too windy. Again, I didn’t care about the wind. Talked with my good friend Jim and yup, he was down for a ride but the majority of folks did not want to go out in the wind.

See, I have a theory on the wind. You work a little harder in the wind and then get to cruise the other half of the ride. It is what it is. I mean really… pass up a 70 degree sunny day because of some wind. Now I can see if you have kids or have to work but if you use the wind as an excuse? I could see it being in the 40’s and windy. BUT IT WAS IN THE 70’S. See, the wind… it’s easy to fight with. You have to be friends with it and just realize yes, it is going to be a little harder and yes you will go a little slower but that’s all. You get to be a better stronger rider too. Jim recently emailed some of us some great tips for working with the wind. Check out the link: https://www.bicycling.com/training-nu...y-_-break-wind

Ok ok…. So the ride. This ride was a combination of a training ride for an upcoming ride that we are leading, exploratory ride, and also a workout ride. We did just those things plus we saw some great sights. We started out at a church and did some of the ride that we will be hosting, going to see St. Augustine’s old graveyard where, across the street is a wonderful old house that everyone loves. And a side note…. The trees around this house have wonderful colors to it in the fall. We pedaled past a famous horse breeding stable and watched some standard bred horses working out on the tracks and some thorough bred horses eating in the fields.

Then we just started turning down different roads. We were now in the section of “exploratory”. Why just turn down roads? To find new and exciting rides (dah!). Most people who lead rides only have a few different rides to take people on. Some people only go on the same ride over and over and over again but trying to find new rides is great. You learn the area, so wonderful things and find new rides!

We traveled to Hollywood Beach and Port Herman. The scenery at Hollywood beach was wonderful with the glistening water. We rode to the end of the road where we saw the Chesapeake Bay blow in the Elk River. We also saw a container ship on the Elk River which we have never seen before. We just happened to turn down a new road to explore when we saw the ship. We only saw it because there was a small hill to cruise down. The ship was moving fast and we wanted to see it up close so Jim and I pedaled our hearts out until we got to the end of the road. We noticed that we had to cross into someone yard to get close enough so we snuck back there and watched the ship sail by.

It is so hard to explain what scenery we experienced and I am not very good at being descriptive either. Anyway….

And of course, we went pass an Angus Beef Farm. Only if I could take one home with me….. yummy!

We stopped at a yacht club on the Bohemia River and talked with the shop guys. That place holds 150 yachts. A bike is much cheaper! J
We also pedaled ourselves around the Dupont Farms, most of them named after Winfred Dupont.

Before we knew it, we were pedaling across a family of Dalmatian dogs and, the funny thing was that across from the dogs, a duck was in a small man made bath. So cute! We pedaled up the road and saw a farm of donkeys and more ducks.

We finished up by passing Moon Nursery which is one of the largest wholesale nurseries covering two different states.

This was had to been one of the best rides. Yes yes I know I say it all the time but you have to understand with the changing of the seasons, things look so different. And that’s the point of getting out and riding I guess.

The wind was not a factor. Yes, we had to ride a little harder and push through it but it was a 70 degree day in March. I told Jim that the weather we were having today is what the summer is in Seattle. For me, it was worth every pedal stroke in the scary 30 mile an hour wind. And look…. I made it home safely!! J

Take care everyone!

P.S. If you would like to see pictures, click here: https://picasaweb.google.com/1044663...391/March82012

rec3036

sounds like you had an awesome ride! I was jealous when I saw you were playing hooky to go for a ride!