I talked my buddy D__ into playing hooky with me yesterday and sneaking out on the bikes for a low-traffic day on roads in northwest Virginia and northeast West Virginia. We followed cues for a ride sponsored by the DC Randonneurs, leaving Middletown, Virginia, at about 6:30 a.m. and reaching the West Virginia border sometime around 10. We rode through apple orchards, where I noticed a few trees' fruit ripe and being picked but most still green; remote burgs where cell service was nonexistent; state parks and National Forests. The routing was inspired -- consistently high-quality road surfaces, non-stop excellent views, and a meal stop at a lovely cafe in the town of Lost River. (Having spent countless weekends in West Virginia when I first moved to DC, I never have seen Lost River, and it is a gem.) We crossed two ridges in the George Washington National Forest through Miller's Gap and Wolf Gap to re-enter Virginia, and took a tour northward through the Shenandoah Valley returning to Middletown.
D__ road exceedingly well and strongly. I'm either just not that strong or still feeling the race the other weekend, but that didn't keep me from appreciating what we had. The day was a winner.
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