Every once in a while, I love doing the type of ride I did last
Saturday – pure enjoyment, let the speed and power data be whatever they will
be. This kind of ride is especially good
for dirt road riding because, by its nature, it’s slower than riding on paved
roads. And for me, fall is the perfect
time for such a ride because I purposely take a break from the Strava distance
challenges for a few months. I have to
structure my unstructured-ness.
A bonus on such a ride is to have a fun destination. I had been wanting to trying a new local
restaurant, Bryan’s Wing Hut. I came up
with a great plan: ride a few hours on some less familiar dirt roads and then
pick up some wings for lunch on the way back home.
It was chilly and overcast when I headed out on my
cyclocross bike. That didn’t dampen my
spirits, though. I ran a few quick
errands in town and then stopped by The Vanilla Bean. Peach Peloton starts next Saturday, and so
it’s going to be several months before I get another chance for a Saturday
morning pre-ride visit to The Vanilla Bean.
I got a cup of ginger twist tea and a banana-chocolate chip muffin
(slightly warm!) – the perfect fortification for my cycling adventure.
Most of my dirt riding is in the fall and winter, when it’s
too dark to ride on paved roads after work.
With lights on my bike, it’s safe to ride on the sparsely traveled dirt
roads near my house. That’s the thing,
though – on those weeknight rides, I don’t have enough time to venture very
far. During the day on a weekend, however,
I can do some exploring. I mapped a
route that took me on dirt roads in the north part of the county, near Charlie
Elliott Wildlife Center.
Soon after I headed out from The Vanilla Bean, the clouds
began to clear. Patches of sunlight streamed
through streaks of grey clouds, backlighting the red, orange, and yellow leaves. The pines provided just enough green contrast
to give the whole scene that uniquely autumnal look.
The sun began warming everything up. I was quite comfortable in my cool-weather
riding gear. It was good just to feel my
muscles move. Round and round in that panacean
rhythm.
A couple of years ago I rode to the Charlie Elliott Wildlife
Center on dirt roads. This time I turned
off of Murder Creek Church Road a little south of there. I mused about the strange juxtaposition of
words in that road name.
Then I got to the really fun part – some roads in the Clybel
Wildlife Management Area (WMA) that I had never ridden on. The Clybel WMA has several ponds interspersed
among acres of woods. I saw a few
fishermen around the ponds, but mostly it was a solitary ride. When I’m in places like this, I never understand
why they aren’t just packed with people.
My soul craves the kind of beauty I saw that day. It was so beautiful it almost hurt.
Magical therapy…
My route continued south, back toward home. I savored the day, enjoying going at my own
pace. I transitioned back into rural residential
areas and then approached the Monticello city limits. Time to go by Bryan’s Wing Hut.
Bryan is Monticello’s mayor and recently opened his Wing Hut
after retiring. I got to chat with Bryan
himself while another worker prepared my wings.
I ordered wings only, figuring that would be all I could carry on my
bicycle. I kind of hoped I would be able
to carry them in my jersey pocket, adding to my repertoire of Stromboli, sopes,
and olives. Alas, my wings came in a
Styrofoam clamshell. That’s not too big
an alas, though. It was still notable
that I carried them in my backpack along with a library book and some wooden clothespins
from that morning’s errands. (I had
stashed my backpack at the office while I rode.)
The wings and I made it the last few miles back home. With a pear on the side, it was the perfect
way to cap off a stupendous dirt road ride on a glorious November day.
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