Virginia is for Bikers, Too!

By Tom Baker

August 2000

With BRAG being held in south Georgia -- Where heat, gnats and flatness prevail -- my bride and I opted instead to Bike Virginia, a 375 mile odyssey of six days. We were delighted to find out another area couple were going, too: Morgan and Hilda Fraley!

Carol and I left Friday, June 30, at noon, and after nearly an hour (!), managed to escape Chattanooga's maze of pedestrian-speed interstates. Aspirations were higher than reality, so instead of driving all the way to Charlottesville, we managed to stop at Tom Bodette's 45 miles away, as the sun was going behind the mountains! We were only a mile from Cyrus McCormick's farm where you all remember him as the inventor of the reaper. Our last night in air conditioning for awhile…

On Saturday we bounded from our buckwheat (me) and plain (Carol) pancakes, and drove the 45 miles, through Waynesboro, the start (or finish) of the Blue Ridge Parkway, to Charlottesville. We wound up there at the University of Virginia, known for its big time basketball. We found a spot to park our trusty Honda in the shade, and crated our steeds into the provided boxes, but not before I impaled a finger with my chainring, removing a pedal. "Dirty bracket brush," I muttered, remembering to always be the perfect gentleman even as I walked about dripping blood profusely. It wasn't long before we heard Morgan cursing, as he too was bleeding as after a tag-team match with Mr. T. "Damn pedal wrench slipped," Morgan explained. And so our week had begun…

The first part of Bike Virginia was the four hour shuttle from Charlottesville to Winston-Salem, where the ride would begin Sunday morning. Long bus rides are hard for old folks, but we managed somewhat after chomping the 2-for-$2 Whoppers en route. We drove by Wake Forest and to our campsite, a large fairground. We quickly assembled our bikes, also drained from the inactivity, and set up our tents in a secluded spot -- if you could call it such with 1500 others around… With time to spare, we conned Morgan into installing a new computer on my bride's horse. The guy's got lots of problems, but he is a mechanical genius! Not once did he consult the instruction manual for this not-commonplace geek contraption, and within 20 minutes, Carol was ready to take on the "hills." Not to be outdone, I searched for an extension to my bike, so I could attach my Rainbow Trout, a lovely flag a foot long by five inches. I found a bamboo stick and before long, Cousteau was reborn!

The first two days -- both about 70 miles each -- featured some sho-nuf hills. Basically, we were in the Shenandoah Valley and to reach the Blue Ridge Parkway, we had to climb a bad momma to reach the ridge line. All the Bike Virginia riders were not as talented as the "fearsome foursome" from Chattaboogie. Many riders would be seen pushing their bikes up the steep incline. Some opted an even easier escape: for two bucks, local farmers would carry riders to the top in their trucks! We had all heard of this, but scoffed at the thought that any of us would take the easy way out. However, there is a story to tell concerning this. Earlier in the day, I had been delegated to carry Morgan's camera, as I was the only one with a handlebar bag. That morning I had noticed a five and three one-dollar bills in the transparent zip-lock camera bag. We weren't able to stop at any sores along the way -- only sanctioned (free) sag stops before The Climb. Sometime after lunch -- before the ascent -- the Baker's and Hilda became separated from Morgan. "Where is my man when I need him for support on this climb?" Hilda whined. We all thought he was behind us, but that later proved wrong. So the three of us began the ascent, which took over a half-hour. At the top -- while waiting on the girls -- I went into my bag to take a picture of the ladies completing the climb. Instead of 8 dollars in the camera bag there was only six!!! Hilda was next over the top, followed not far behind by my bride, who had not gotten off her Lemond a second! We congratulated each other, then soft-pedaled to the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway where we found Morgan waiting. He was under a tree, eating an apple, dry as a rock and complaining about the difficulty of the mountain climb. To this day he swears he rode up, but some of us have our doubts!

Riding about ten miles on the parkway was an experience to be savored. We did more climbing, though not as severe, as prior. Either we were going downhill or uphill; there was no middle ground. Approaching Roanoke, we managed to car jam through downtown before reaching our campground. Daiquiries were well received that night!

The next day's ride was equally -- or nearly so -- as hilly. Our July 4^th ride was lovely and we saw countless cornfields, all tall and green. That night we ate supper at VMI (which admitted a few token lady cadets recently). The cadet dining hall where we ate was the largest facility I had ever seen. A sign read "capacity - 1400". Very impressive. Even Hilda said she would hate to have to wipe off all the tables there… After supper we went to a field to see hot-air balloons being filled and people riding in them. Lexington was a neat city!

The next day's ride was to Staunton and we spent two nights there. The first afternoon in town we went to the famous Frontier Culture Museum where we saw some neat period farmhouses and listened to several historians, bedecked in attire from the era, who entertained us immensely. Carol was the only one of the bunch to have the stamina to dance with a dozen others to German music -- just before the rain came.

The final day featured a 50-mile ride and we were warned that Afton Mountain was a problem mid-way. Well, this one proved to be only about a ten-minute climb in the middle chain ring! We soon were in Charlottesville showering at the University of Virginia's fieldhouse -- HUGE!!

After eating a very good box lunch, Carol and I departed about 1:00pm so I could deliver the mail the next day. Hilda and Morgan stayed over to visit Monticello, Jefferson's mansion, and I can't wait to hear their report.

The trip was a good experience, even with all the hard climbs to negotiate. Since we had about 1500 riders (and BRAG has about 2500), we were able to shower and negotiate feeding much quicker. It was great to have Morgan & Hilda along; never a dull moment with that twosome! But the next time you see Morgan, ask him what happened to the two dollars in the camera bag!

Tom

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