Gloria
At about the 11 mile mark, we decided to take a break. When I got back on my bike, I couldn't shift my gears...at all. There was no way I was going to be able to get up those hills! After several attempts, I pulled over into a driveway and tried to manually shift my gears. Nope. Michael, realizing that something was wrong, came to help. After 5 minutes we both determined that I had a busted cable. Since neither of us are carrying cables, we finally decided that the best thing to do was call AAA.
We woke up very early today so that we could get an early start. At 5:30 we were standing in front of Fox's Cafe, which is directly across the street from our guesthouse. But to our dismay the door was locked and no one was home. We decided to walk back and prepare all our stuff and check back later. Around 6:00 we went back over and had breakfast.
At almost 7:00 on the dot, Craig Shapiro arrived. He will be joining us for this last part of the ride all the way to Yorktown.
By 7:30 we were well on our way. The ride started out with a good bit of traffic and rolling hills.
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| Eric and Craig with lottery tickets purchased at a remote location (remote stores are usually the locations with winning tickets!) |
At about the 11 mile mark, we decided to take a break. When I got back on my bike, I couldn't shift my gears...at all. There was no way I was going to be able to get up those hills! After several attempts, I pulled over into a driveway and tried to manually shift my gears. Nope. Michael, realizing that something was wrong, came to help. After 5 minutes we both determined that I had a busted cable. Since neither of us are carrying cables, we finally decided that the best thing to do was call AAA.
Michael and his wife, Linda, made the decision before we came on this trip to purchase 100 miles of free bicycle towing with AAA...just in case. Today was a good day to try it out. We had to wait a while for the pickup, but it worked. While Michael and I waited for AAA, Eric and Craig continued on with the ride. (See Michael's description of the rest of the ride below)
Ray (the driver) & Travis (driver in training) from AAA picked me and my bike up and drove us to Richmond - 80-ish miles away. On the truck they also had a Land Rover and a Mini Cooper. Ray joked that my bike pushed him over the weight limit. At one point we talked about our messed up fingers - like me, Travis lost the tip of one of his when it got smashed in a car door. Ray has a pinkie that doesn't have a tendon, so he can't straighten it out. A bonding moment~
Ray had some funny stories. He told a story about someone who called for an ambulance (he heard this from a relative who is an EMT) and said they had a bone in their leg. He laughed as he said, "We all have bones in our leg." Apparently the person calling had a dog bone stuck in his leg. Ray also told a story about the time a AAA driver had a turkey vulture fly through the truck window. He said, "That driver didn't know what to do with that bird flying around inside." Another Ray joke - "I outran a Corvette once...it was hitched to the back of the tow truck!" I laughed all the way to Richmond!
A couple of things that did not have me laughing. Ray went to bed last night at midnight and had to pick up a car this morning at 4 am. You could see the exhaustion in his face. He told Travis that you have to get used to sleep deprivation. I noticed that neither Ray nor Travis wore a seatbelt, even though we were sometimes going almost 85 mph.
By the time we arrived in Richmond, it was lunchtime & I was hungry. Ray needed to drop off the Mini Cooper first. We dropped it off, then went to the bike shop.
At the Performance Bicycle shop, John assessed my cable and came to the same conclusion as
Michael and I had - broken cable. I left the bike and my panniers with John and went in search
of food. Spinach pizza and Greek salad. Yum!
Michael and I had - broken cable. I left the bike and my panniers with John and went in search
of food. Spinach pizza and Greek salad. Yum!
When I came back to the shop, my bike wasn't ready. I struck up conversations with people, looked around for a while, and within 20 minutes my bike was finished. I paid my $15 ($5 for cable and $9 for the labor - can't beat that) happily.
By now it was about time for the eclipse, so the one worker in the store with glasses passed them around so all of us could see it. We tried taking pictures without looking at the eclipse, but we were not very successful. The partial eclipse was pretty cool, though, and it was nice of the Performance Bicycle staff to share their one pair of glasses with me.
Michael's wife, Linda, was going to pick me up from Performance when she got off work, but it was so early that I decided to use Lyft instead. So glad I did - I got to meet Mustafa!
Mustafa drove up in a van (perfect for a bike). He graciously put the seats down, so my bike did not need to be taken apart. I liked him immediately.
As we drove we discussed politics, refugees, Charlottesville (he lived there 2 years and thinks the people are very welcoming), Iraq (his country of birth), his 3 sons (high, middle and elementary schoolers), and music.
The music Mustafa played in his car was some of the most soothing music I've ever heard. I got the names of some of the musicians. David, Moreza, Armik, Giovanni Marady, Omar Akram, Can Atilia (not sure of any of the spellings). Hopefully I can find their music somewhere.
The lively conversation and soothing music made the time fly. We arrived at the hotel before 3:30. Plenty of time to shower, dress and relax before dinner.
Even when your bicycle breaks it can still be a great day!
Michael's Part
After leaving Gloria in the capable hands of the AAA driver, I quickly continued on. Of course, I had to stop to get something to eat a mere 1 mile up the road. Then I continued on for real to find that Eric and Craig had stopped to wait for me in Palmyra. When I arrived, they were discussing whether to go to the local library to view the eclipse where viewing glasses were available, whether to make a viewing apparatus out of cardboard, or whether to just ride on.
We ended up riding on without stopping at the local library. I was glad because it turned out that where we were was cloudy and we were not even sure when the eclipse happened. However, we enjoyed the clouds and the slightly darker afternoon.
We stopped for drinks in Ferncliff and then continued on to Louisa. However those last 10 miles had a lot of traffic and we were very happy to get off the road.
That night we had a fine Italian dinner at the Roma Italian Restaurant.
Life is still great. We will be spending tomorrow night at my house and I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.
Michael's Part
After leaving Gloria in the capable hands of the AAA driver, I quickly continued on. Of course, I had to stop to get something to eat a mere 1 mile up the road. Then I continued on for real to find that Eric and Craig had stopped to wait for me in Palmyra. When I arrived, they were discussing whether to go to the local library to view the eclipse where viewing glasses were available, whether to make a viewing apparatus out of cardboard, or whether to just ride on.
We ended up riding on without stopping at the local library. I was glad because it turned out that where we were was cloudy and we were not even sure when the eclipse happened. However, we enjoyed the clouds and the slightly darker afternoon.
We stopped for drinks in Ferncliff and then continued on to Louisa. However those last 10 miles had a lot of traffic and we were very happy to get off the road.
That night we had a fine Italian dinner at the Roma Italian Restaurant.
Life is still great. We will be spending tomorrow night at my house and I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.
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