Ride Report: 58 Miles, 4,134 Total Miles, 16.3 Avg. mph, 2,205 Ft. Climbing, 4,481 Calories.
The ride report itself is largely unremarkable - except that I can now say I rode thru a hurricane. That the hurricane force winds were farther East is, to me at least, irrelevant. It was a bit blustery here today, especially early, even if not as bad as it was on the coast. And given the rotation of the storm the wind was generally out of the North, which just happened to be the direction I was heading for the first 15 miles. This, of course, resulted in those miles sucking wind - so to speak. But it was really no worse than a windy day back home in Kansas. We encountered no rain, no downed trees or branches and the sun made an appearance about an hour before riding ended for the day. I haven’t checked the forecast for wind tomorrow, but understand that the storm will be far enough out to sea that it won’t negatively impact tomorrow’s ride. We thought that before the last day of riding we’d call the RV park near Yorktown where we plan to stay and see what they have to say about local conditions, then decide what to do. I think we’ll be OK to finish the day after tomorrow, but have read reports of some localized flooding being possible. More on this as it develops.
Of note: As I passed thru a creek bottom today I looked at Mr. Garmin. He was saying that the current elevation was right around 100 ft. - ABOVE SEA LEVEL. Holy Cow! At that elevation, if someone threw a good sized rock into Chesapeake Bay we might see the ripple in the creeks around here. I’ll try and include a pic of the remaining elevation chart. It’s hilarious. That the ACA completed the elevation chart all the way to the Atlantic Coast and doesn’t have one for Kansas should be an affront to reasonable thinking Kansans everywhere. Break out the pitchforks and lanterns, and mark your calendars - we meet at the ACA HQ in Missoula Montana on November 9th at noon. I picked a Saturday at noon in order to increase participation. Ya can’t just organize a protest like this willy nilly - some serious thought has to go into it first.
In fact, why wait for it. Here's the elevation chart right now.
Just look at that "elevation" chart. It runs from Ashland, VA (our current location) to Yorktown at the Chesapeake Bay. There's no way Kansas shouldn't have one too. Hey - if you're gonna get the populace all riled up, no sense leavin 'em hanging. Best just to go for it in the moment. My local Teamster's rep. is an expert in transportation. Call her to arrange ride sharing to Missoula.
But even with all this excitement over the protest at ACA HQ, one still must take care of daily business. So, I shall commence giving you the business for today...
Me and Sig first thing this morning in front of the Mount Gideon Methodist Church where we all spent the night. It's a neat looking building, and it appears that it was expanded at some time by the addition of the entrance behind me. From the side you could see that different brick was used in the expansion. Not surprising, since it was first constructed in 1852. That's pre-Civil War for you history buffs. The vestibule and steeple were added in 1969. I bet they saved and paid for it with cash.
This is the parking lot and The Rig. The little house across the street was very well kept.
It was like this a lot today. Susan and I were just discussing last night how one of the things that we eventually tired of when last in Virginia over 30 years ago was all the trees obstructing our view. They also interfered with Mr. Garmin on several occasions today. So, when reflecting on the ride report as I know readers do, take the Average mph with a grain of salt. The trees never make your speed faster, always slower.
Another old tractor alongside the road - this one a bit more dressed up than the last one. I believe this to be a JD 730 - although I am unsure of the variant. The reader should be impressed that I am aware that tractor models have variants and leave it at that. Is that a variable width row crop front end under that thing?
OK - this is a big deal. I waited over 4,000 miles for this and there was no way I was gonna miss out on a pic with the name of the City of Bumpass on it. For some reason (gee - I wonder why) they didn't have a big sign that said "Welcome to Bumpass, VA - Population 8,972" This was the best I could do - the sign for the Post Office. Susan and I have no idea where all the people are since the town didn't look like much. My guess is that they're all embarrassed and in hiding. Just imagine what that would be like. "Oh look honey! We got our annual Christmas Card from the Hildebrands.
Yup - they still live in Bumpass." Moving along...
Not far from Bumpass (get used to it) I ran across this old barn. I thought it looked pretty cool. Probably belongs to someone in Bumpass.
We also stopped in the parking lot of the Mount Olivet Baptist Church - it dates to 1849 and is in the town of Beaverdam. (Don't ask me.) We got to go inside. It was way cool.
This is the view from the door to the sanctuary. The reader should note the balcony. Susan went inside with the Church Secretary before I got there and the Secretary told her that the balcony was used by slaves before the Civil War. Then after the War, former slaves left the Church and started Ebenezer Baptist Church about a mile down the road.
When I got there we went inside with Pastor Dale. We discussed the possibility of me delivering a sermon to the faithful on Sunday, but when I tried out the pulpit, it was a bit short for my taste - so I declined. They've been here since 1849, I'm sure they'll do fine without me. BTW - that chandelier is original and was converted from gas to electric.
This is Forks Church - named after the confluence of several local streams near which it is located. Construction on this building began in 1736 and was completed in 1740. That, boys and girls, is pre-Revolutionary War. Yowza!
This is another Church on the way in to Ashland. In all honesty, there was a sign back up the road, but I was too lazy to go back and get a pic of it. That this is an original log building should tell the reader something about its age. There is a wing attached to and located behind that portion of the building that appears in this pic. It was bigger than what you can see here.
This (for a change) isn't a church. At least not so far as I was able to determine. Just a small log building sitting on the edge of a harvested corn field. I thought it an interesting pic.
This is Central Street in Ashland. There is a set of RR tracks running between the streets on either side of the tracks. The streets are one way in opposite directions. And in a bit of an unusual move, it appears that some of the larger (and nicer) older homes in town may be located across the street from the tracks. I thought it odd anyway. In this shot, I happen to be near what I'm guessing is the original business district. In all my travels across the country on The Thin Blue Ride, this is the only time I've encountered this arrangement.
And to close out the day - this is the shot out the front window of The Rig. RV Parks can be a case study in contrast. Note the Allegro Bus with the full body paint to the left. Then get out your magnifying glass and look at the small fiberglass tow behind camper by the red truck to the right. I think the small camper would fit in one of the bays under the Allegro Bus.
Till next time.
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