Cannonball Ride

Deidre and I went to Fredericksburg for an impromptu ride at the end of September (25th) and rode 65 miles in the Cannonball Century. Apparently this ride happens every year, but I've never heard of it before.

We started out from Curtis Memorial Park. We were a bit of a disaster. Didn't register until that day, just a little bit late. Couldn't find registration. Thought we needed a packet but didn't. I can't remember exactly (forgot to write this post in a timely way), but for some reason we came to the attention of the organizers multiple times with our random wanderings. 

Eventually we got on the road.

It was colder than we expected--somewhere in the 50s--so we needed our long sleeves and long pants. 

I don't really think of Fredericksburg as that pretty - it certainly isn't France, but we did pass a vineyard!

Eventually the long sleeves came off. I had one shirt tied around my waist and the other shoved in my bag. My bag was so stuffed I couldn't easily get my phone in and out for pics, so there are only a few.

At the rest stops, they served primarily candy and sweets: little candy bars and animal crackers. That's not really my thing. I did eventually get a banana and some banana bread, and later, some pretzels. But with all the candy--and fall having just started--I thought it appropriate to pass "Boo St." 

Deidre cranking along. This was her first ride of this length...in a while...ever? I'm not sure. I just know it was the longest ride she recorded on Strava. And her watch was dying.

This is pretty much what it looks like around Fredericksburg. We did also pass a lot of little homesteads with goats. A lot of goats.

In the end, 64 miles. Yes, we are rounding. Deidre made it! (not that I doubted it).

Deidre and I went for a beer at a nearby brewery to celebrate the day then headed home. Great day!

Canandaigua Revisited

 We finally got back to the lake! 

So, this wasn't part of my ride, but I have to show how hard it was to get an iPhone pic through Bob's scope without the appropriate attachment. we had a bald eagle in the scope, and most pics looked like this.

But we finally got it right and got this great shot!

But here is where my ride started. Heading out on the dirt road leading to our house on Sunnyside road in Middlesex.

This was only a 17 mile ride through the lowlands at the southern end of the lake. I was riding into town to run some errands. 

But I came to this beautiful reserve where the sign said to look for northern harriers and American kestrels. We are going back in the morning to see if we can see any cool birds. You can't see the actual water, but in the distance, at the foot of the mountains, is Lake Canandaigua.

This is the road cutting across the bottom of the lake.

After running to the grocery store and the very friendly apothecary for some earplugs, and then to Moore winery,  I bought their wine "Inspiration."  Maybe a little too sweet for me, but also had that peppery cab franc flavor that I love.

On my way back I ran into this turkey! Stopped to let him pass and he chortled his thanks as he disappeared into the woods.

These are all the families who own homes/live on the street where we are renting. I liked that they had this sign - it made it feel like a community.

A sunny rock for sunny side road! :)

Distance: 17 miles

Speed: 12.7 mph (but that includes city riding/walking

I went for a second ride in the middle of the week. This time I rode north toward and through Middlesex to Vinevalley Road. We stayed down this road once before when we came to the lake for our vacation. 

Middlesex didn't have much to it that I could tell. Here was their town hall with the fields and mountains in the background. 

A church in Middlesex.

This was a pretty big hill. So I took a picture, of course.

Here is Vinevalley Road. I don't remember hills when we stayed here before - and I did ride my bike. I wonder if Steve drove me to the west side of the lake? There is no way I would forget this hill. It goes straight down in 3 sections to the lake.

This is the beginning of the second section. Looks like nuthin, but it ain't.

This is the bottom. 

Really beautiful day.

After getting to the bottom of Vinevalley, I started going up again. But much more gently. I connected to East Lake Road and began to head north in earnest. I hadn't checked the mileage to Canandaigua (it was much further than I thought), so I was surprised when I looked at my map after 15 miles and discovered I didn't appear to even be half way there. Whoops.

I've lost track, but I think I must have just ridden up this hill. 

Looking at this picture, I feel like I've taken this pic before - maybe I did ride here years ago? (No, I just looked and it's different. Don't have any idea where I rode when we stayed near Middlesex before, but here is the post).

So, I came to mile 14.5 and the top of this hill. If I wanted to get to 15, I had to go 1/2 mile down this hill then climb right back up. Silly right? Nope. Of course I went down. Always a stickler for those numbers. 

Typical Finger Lakes view on my way back.

This is basically the same pic as earlier, except I just climbed this hill from the lake. It's not that it was so long, it was just so steep. In my lowest gear, without my bike packed, I was struggling. This is just the third section. There were two more like it before this. But after this, I was basically home free. A beautiful relaxing ride home.

I stopped at the reserve again to look for hawks, but nothing. I wouldn't see them until we passed with bob and saw a Norther Harrier (!) and then again on my last bike ride when I saw the rough legged hawk I chased all that morning.

At home after the ride, I found the boys relaxing on the dock. 

Distance: 30 miles

Speed: 12.1 (those killer hills!)

I went for a third ride on Saturday. This one just 15 miles. I saw 4 hawks in the first 20 minutes - with 9 total sightings because I followed a few of them. Two red tails (juveniles), one unknown - probably a red tail, and a rough legged hawk I saw in a tree right next to me but he flew away when my damp morning breaks squeaked (rats!). 

In other news, I also spent some time birding, swimming, and kayaking. I thought I was lucky to take this amazing sunset pic...

and this one...

but Steve took the cake with this one. You can see me on the left in the green kayak. 

Overall:

Distance: 62 miles

Speed: 12 point something - birding speed, I think. 

Newport News & CNU Soccer

 For Labor Day weekend, Steve and I went to Newport News for a soccer tournament - and I wasn't annoyed to watch soccer on a holiday weekend - imagine! 

We drove down Saturday to watch the game that afternoon, then spent the night. On Sunday morning, I went for a quick ride and Steve went to hit some golf balls. 

Steve dropped me off at Newport News Park, which had a 5 mile loop trail around a small lake. I set off on that with the intention of finding a turnoff that would lead me to the Colonial Parkway - all of this on the advice of Julie Johnson - Brian Johnson's sister who is also a cyclist. 

Here is the trail around the lake. It was gravel/dirt and fairly well maintained. 

Then there was a turnoff for George Washington's headquarters. The park ranger told me to follow this turnoff.

I had no idea where I was going or what was meant by Washington's headquarters. But soon I came on quite a bit of Revolutionary War history. My time was limited, however (Steve coming back for me at a set time), so I can't say I learned too much. I can say that the Battle of Yorktown was instrumental in ending the Revolutionary War and that the French helped the Americans. When I think of it now, why would French soldiers be over here fighting this war? 

Who are these French soldiers, and what motivated them to fight and die so far from home? 

I had connected to some kind of historic driving tour, so I followed it because it was a nice paved road through the woods with almost no traffic. But I didn't really know where I was going. Here I am crossing a bridge, getting distracted by the graffiti when I should have been noticing that I was crossing a road I expected to turn onto. 

Here is another cemetery for soldiers.

This might have been Washington's headquarters. At this point, I knew I did not have time to stop and investigate. I was worried about being late to miss Steve, which would have meant we'd be late for the game. We all know how this would go over with Steve!

Lots of beautiful old oak trees.

I thought this field was beautiful with its flowing tall grass. In the distance, you can see people approaching on horseback.

Then I came across a place called "Beaver Lake" or something like that. You can see why.

I ended up making my way back with 5 minutes to spare. Steve arrived and we were off to shower, checkout, and head for the game. CNU played Gettytsburg, which was a really intense games. Connor didn't get in. He may or may not have been frustrated, but we were secretly a little glad. There was a lot of contact and a lot of injuries. 

Distance: 20 miles

Speed: 12.6 mph

Elevation: flat!!