Kayaker Rob has been organizing Tuesday night bike rides this season. Every week I want to go and every week something comes up which prevents my participation. Well, since it's now getting dark early he decided to switch to organizing weekend rides instead, which works out better for me. I'm generally leery of cycling with other people since I'm still quite the slow cyclist, but Rob assured me that it was a leisurely ride and so I signed on.
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| My Glow in the Dark Friends |
The group was Rob, Nelson, Nelson's twin brother HalfNelson (OK, his name is really Norm) and me. We met at the western end of the W&OD Trail in Purcelleville, VA. Our goal was to ride to Ashburn and back, a total of a about 35 miles. We hung together at first, which gave me the illusion that maybe my riding had advanced to the point where I could keep up with other people. Occasionally Rob would sprint out ahead, as did the Labbe twins. I later learned that HalfNelson was a strong cyclist and had recently ridden a metric century (about 62 miles). Even Nelson, on his relatively old, low tech bike, was clearly able to pedal faster than I could. Still, the group kept a mellow pace and stopped here and there and as a result we generally kept together. At the very end of the outbound portion Rob, Nelson and HalfNelson all took off out of sight. It was only then, as they disappeared into the distance, that I realized just how much they had been slowing down for my benefit.
I caught up with them about a half mile later at Carolina Brothers Barbeque, which sits alongside the trail at Ashburn Road. It's a down home kind of place, which is a surprise in the generally nouveau riche plastic suburbia world of "Cashburn". The day had started out grey and drizzly but by the time we got to Ashburn the skies had cleared so we ate outside at the restaurant's picnic tables.
You think I was slow before? Well, the ride back was mostly uphill and I had a belly full of BBQ. I was pretty much riding by myself way behind the pack all the way back - hence my headline for this entry. But I made it, and without any pain. When I first started riding, my knees would give out at around 25 miles - so there's hope for me yet.
Cyndi had recommended that we stop by Catoctin Creek Distillery in Purcelleville at the end of our ride. We locked up at their bikes at their convenient bike rack and headed into the tasting room, which is in a building which started life in the 1920's as a Buick dealership. Catoctin Creek's main products are rye whiskey, gin, some brandies, and "white whiskey", which is, well, moonshine. Given that we live in the hipster era, this was not just any moonshine but organic craft moonshine made in a solar-powered distillery. Oh, and it's kosher, too (is there a big demand for kosher unaged whiskey?)! You could order a flight of three of their products to try, straight up or as three mini-cocktails. I went for the latter, choosing the Bloody Mosby (a very horseradishy Bloody Mary made with their moonshine, which is called "Mosby's Spirit" - after the Confederate cavalry leader, of course), a warm spiced apple cider spiked with rye, and a "Practical Magic", which is Mosby's Spirit, Green Apple KoolAid, pineapple juice and ginger ale garnished with a gummy worm. It was actually pretty tasty. The tasting room itself is a pleasant environment and we unwound and let the Mosby's spirit relax our tired muscles.
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| Flight of Cocktails |
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| I don't know what these guys are drinking, but I'm pretty sure it's not Rogaine |
A good outing. I just need to get faster.
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