Wednesday Road Ride - Rileyville Loop

Ominous looking gray clouds were swirling over head as Gary, Linda and I saddled up and headed out on our favorite short road loop to the little village of Rileyville. I had just spoken with Andy (who was prepping for a night shift) and she told me it was pouring rain in Rileyville (where we live). There were only light drops of rain as the three of us headed north. Sure enough, the roads in Rileyville were soaked and we could tell it had rained quite hard earlier and it was starting to drizzle a little. The light rain actually felt nice and we maintained a good pace for the entire ride. As is the case with trail running, we are all getting stronger on the bike. I always try to catch photos as riders crest the top of the hill on Vaughn Summit road and I managed to get Gary and Linda this time. Side note: I finally figured out how to make images come out properly (not reversed) so this will be the last time backward photos will be posted. We are always looking for new riders and runners to join us! Just check the store web site or our Facebook page for up-coming events. "Thrive Outside"

Wednesday Road Ride - Thornton Gap

Five brave souls showed up at Ruffner Plaza in Luray Wednesday evening for a road bike ride. They were Gary, Linda, Bob, Andy and myself. Four of the five riders knew our destination (Thornton Gap) - a mere ten miles from the shop. Four of those miles are up-hill to the top of the mountain. Just about the time that we were riding by Brookside restaurant, Andy (unaware of the destination) finally figured out where we were headed. Okay.........so I did intentionally fail to mention the fact that we were in for some climbing. I figured that the burden of that knowledge before the ride would only serve to induce unnecessary worry and perhaps even a little panic. After a few choice words for me (which I won't repeat here) we were all climbing the winding road to the top. It really wasn't so bad. The climbing is steady for a solid four miles, but never really steep and I did manage a few shots from my phone. We all made it to the top in pretty good form and everyone was smiling. Or were those grimaces? After a 40 plus m.p.h. descent and a nice flat stretch back to Luray, four of us (five including CFM) headed out to a great local Mexican restaurant (Rancho Viejo) to celebrate cinco de Mayo. Later in the evening, Andy confessed to me that she would not have thought that she could make it to the top of that climb. She was proud that she did make it..............and I was proud of her too. "Thrive Outside"