Great Pumpkin Ride 2015

Great Pumpkin Ride 2015

This ride was like no other I've ever been on.  It was nutty from the get-go.  George Perry and I drove out to Warrenton, VA for our first entry into Fauqier County's finest road ride.  Not quite a century, the mileage was supposed to be 67 miles.  I ended up recording 74.3 in 4 hours 48 minutes.

Strava Stats Here

George and I started out riding together for the first 10 miles.  We were supposed to continue for the next 57.  Somehow George snuck by me on a downhill and I didn't notice.  So I ride on for a few miles, slowing down, letting everyone pass me, and eventually I turn around.  Did George have a mechanical?  Pull a muscle?  Is he dead?

I ride ~8 miles in reverse looking for him.  To be honest, I was pretty confused as I was absolutely positive he did not pass me.  I send a few texts to him asking WTF?  Eventually he gets back to me and he's waiting at the first rest stop for me.  So then I get my game on for the next 2 hours trying to catch him.  This was the best part of the ride as I was really moving.  I took a quick break to capture my thoughts about the current situation.

All good things must come to an end.  We each got a really nice shirt for the event.  Unfortunately, I tucked them into my water bottle holders under my seat.  One of the shirts came loose and wedged itself between the brake and wheel.  I happened to be going pretty quick on a downhill at the time my back wheel locked up.  Let's just say it's a bit unnerving when descending and this happens.  The skid mark is impressively long.  Rob is my SAG savior who drove me to the 2nd rest stop, where I would meet up with George.

 

     

As you can imagine, I had a few choice words I wanted to capture after this incident.  I really did think my ride was over, but the rest stop 2 mechanic had a tire and tube for me.

And then I find out that maybe my ride isn't over.  I'm waiting for the Rob the SAG support to help me out and get on the road again.

Whoa, there's a familiar face!  George and I actually met up again to do some riding.  George was a trooper on this ride, not the specimen Danny Clarke is, but still did well.  He hasn't been riding much and just the other day he rode 30 miles and about keeled over.  George claims his finest miles were the first 20, which I believe.

Rest stop 3 was at the Old Bust Head brewery.  I can think of worse places to stop.  We enjoyed a fine IPA and were treated to more local talent. I'm a fan of good beer and local talent!

We eventually finished up the last 12 miles from the brewery.  The last 6 miles were all uphill and I'm pretty sure George enjoyed it immensely.  I mean, why else would be taking so long to soak up the surroundings?  And since it is the Great Pumpkin Ride, I treated myself to some pumpkin pie at the finisher tent.  I'm looking forward to this event next year.  The roads were lightly traveled, it was well organized, it's a really cool shirt.

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