Saturday, January 26, 2013
Friday, October 14, 2011
End of Phi Sig Bike Ride, 2011
All good things come to an end--our bike ride officially ended at about 10 AM this morning I Shepherdstown WV.
Yesterday, Thursday, Mike and I left Hancock MD in good spirits and full of energy, eager to find out first-hand how muddy and hard-to-handle the C&O Canal Bike Path could be after a day of rain. Although we had to pay attention to what we were doing, it really wasn't bad at all and we made good progress through the mist and occasional light rain. We got in 50 miles, not counting a few extra miles due to a detour and to missing a turn.
However, in the late afternoon my bike developed a loud, irritating squeak, kind of like the honking of a goose, apparently emanating from the cranks. Not a good sign, and we decided we'd camp close to Shepherdstown and go to their local bike shop in the morning. If they could fix my bike and get us back on the trail by noon we thought we'd get in 40 miles of riding and then reach DC on Saturday. Rich Hall was set to camp with us on Friday and ride with us on Saturday, and we were hoping Dave would rejoin us, also.
As we were pitching our tents we were hit by a big thunderstorm and heavy rain. When the rain slacked off we had a good dinner and desert, and crawled into our tents for the night. We stayed dry through the night, but the rain continued and finally, at about 8:15 AM, we decided we might as well get up and pack up in the rain, ride into town and have breakfast, and end our trip. We were not inclined to try to get my bike attended to and then proceed, in the rain, with a very late start on a very muddy trail.
Fortunately, Rich Hall came to our rescue! He picked us up with all our gear and drove to Mike's, where we showered, put on clean dry clothes, and ate a wonderful hot lunch that Lisa prepared. Rich and I then continued to his home in Northern Virginia where I cleaned my gear, washed my clothes, and had an excellent dinner and pleasant after-dinner conversation with Rich and Kathy.
All in all it was a great bike trip, and wonderful to spend it with six old college friends--Dave & Janet, Mike & Lisa, and Rich & Kathy!
The Phi Sig 2012 bike trip will be even bigger and better!
Sent from my iPhone
Walt Wright
917 783 6540
waltercwright@yahoo.com
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Slogging down the trail
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)