I promised that I would share my experience at this year’s ODMP ride with you. I had my fun, now it’s time for me to deliver.
A few bumps in the road
The trip started with a few headaches- first the plans that my wife and I had made for our daughter fell through so we had to make alternate arrangements, only to end up returning to the original plan after scrambling for a new solution. Ah, the joys of being the parent of a teenage girl…
Then my wife and I hit the road, but first we had to make a couple pit stops. Our daughter lost one of my wife’s gloves, so we had to stop and get her a new pair. (Did I say how much I LOVE being the father of a teenage girl…) And, my accessory power adapter died so I had no way to plug in my phone/GPS (no, I can’t blame this one on my daughter). We had to hunt around for a replacement.
Once we finally got on the road traffic was pretty heavy, even though we were headed opposite to the majority of the DC area commuters. Then when we finally got to the hotel, we found that the hot tub was out of commission—no hot relaxing soak for us. Oh the misery of first-world problems.
We did manage to grab a decent dinner and wound down a bit before heading to bed. It really wasn’t a bad day, just a few unexpected complications.
Saturday morning, we were up nice and early, grabbed breakfast, filled the tank, and hit the road. The ride in was a little chilly, but it was warming up fast. We arrived plenty early for registration, got our t-shirts and started out on the route.
When Everything is Right- It Just Doesn't Get Any Better
Here is where the complications all disappeared.
The route that the organizers of this ride have set up is through gorgeous country. About 2/3’s of the route is on old, backcountry road that doesn’t see much traffic. I mean roads that don’t even have any markings. These roads have plenty of gentle curves and rolling hills. Roads like these are the reason that motorcycles were invented!
The springtime foliage was AMAZING. The entire route was lined with trees newly in leaf, heavily dotted with pink, purple and white dogwoods fully in bloom. Where there were no trees, there were rolling horse pastures and beautiful old Virginia homesteads. I mean houses with names like Twin Oaks, Fox Meadows, Serenity—gorgeous colonial architecture everywhere.
Take all this natural and manmade beauty and add perfect spring weather. There were a few fluffy clouds in the sky, which was bright blue. The sun was shining, and the temperature was in the low to mid 70’s.
We finished the route and went back to the launch point for lunch. While we were there, we ran into a few people that I know and ended up spending the afternoon with them waiting to see if any of us won any prizes. (Spoiler alert- I didn’t bring anything extra home with me.)
After all the prizes were awarded, only one of our group had won anything—he took the prize for the worst poker hand. Then the whole group of us rode back together. Everybody made it safe, no injuries and no breakdowns.
Once I got back home, I found out that there were over 600 participants this year. They doubled last year’s attendance. That means that this was a great fundraiser for the ODMP.
OK, I’ve run on long enough. I’m pretty exhausted after a great (but long) day, and it’s time to hit the rack. My bike was put to bed nice and early, and my wife has already turned in for the night. Now it’s my turn.
A few bumps in the road
The trip started with a few headaches- first the plans that my wife and I had made for our daughter fell through so we had to make alternate arrangements, only to end up returning to the original plan after scrambling for a new solution. Ah, the joys of being the parent of a teenage girl…
Then my wife and I hit the road, but first we had to make a couple pit stops. Our daughter lost one of my wife’s gloves, so we had to stop and get her a new pair. (Did I say how much I LOVE being the father of a teenage girl…) And, my accessory power adapter died so I had no way to plug in my phone/GPS (no, I can’t blame this one on my daughter). We had to hunt around for a replacement.
Once we finally got on the road traffic was pretty heavy, even though we were headed opposite to the majority of the DC area commuters. Then when we finally got to the hotel, we found that the hot tub was out of commission—no hot relaxing soak for us. Oh the misery of first-world problems.
We did manage to grab a decent dinner and wound down a bit before heading to bed. It really wasn’t a bad day, just a few unexpected complications.
Saturday morning, we were up nice and early, grabbed breakfast, filled the tank, and hit the road. The ride in was a little chilly, but it was warming up fast. We arrived plenty early for registration, got our t-shirts and started out on the route.
When Everything is Right- It Just Doesn't Get Any Better
Here is where the complications all disappeared.
The route that the organizers of this ride have set up is through gorgeous country. About 2/3’s of the route is on old, backcountry road that doesn’t see much traffic. I mean roads that don’t even have any markings. These roads have plenty of gentle curves and rolling hills. Roads like these are the reason that motorcycles were invented!
The springtime foliage was AMAZING. The entire route was lined with trees newly in leaf, heavily dotted with pink, purple and white dogwoods fully in bloom. Where there were no trees, there were rolling horse pastures and beautiful old Virginia homesteads. I mean houses with names like Twin Oaks, Fox Meadows, Serenity—gorgeous colonial architecture everywhere.
Take all this natural and manmade beauty and add perfect spring weather. There were a few fluffy clouds in the sky, which was bright blue. The sun was shining, and the temperature was in the low to mid 70’s.
We finished the route and went back to the launch point for lunch. While we were there, we ran into a few people that I know and ended up spending the afternoon with them waiting to see if any of us won any prizes. (Spoiler alert- I didn’t bring anything extra home with me.)
After all the prizes were awarded, only one of our group had won anything—he took the prize for the worst poker hand. Then the whole group of us rode back together. Everybody made it safe, no injuries and no breakdowns.
Once I got back home, I found out that there were over 600 participants this year. They doubled last year’s attendance. That means that this was a great fundraiser for the ODMP.
OK, I’ve run on long enough. I’m pretty exhausted after a great (but long) day, and it’s time to hit the rack. My bike was put to bed nice and early, and my wife has already turned in for the night. Now it’s my turn.
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