Day 44 (6/12/22): Now I Know How Professional Ball Players Feel

Start:                  Charlottesville, VA

End:                    Fredericksburg, VA

 Mileage:             69 miles

Elevation:           2,850 feet

The rain was supposed to be finished by the time we woke up this morning.  The rain had other ideas. 

We woke to drizzle which turned to a heavy downpour by 9 a.m.  So much for a 6 a.m. start.  Based on the radar, though, we had high confidence the heavy stuff would be through Charlottesville by 10 a.m. so we just hunkered down and waited.  This was a classic case of something being out of our control that’s just not worth worrying about—kind of like how MLB players approach rain delays. 

I had been eager to get an early start because for the first time this trip I wasn’t following an Adventure Cycling Association route.  I was following a Randy Made Up route.  The ACA route recommended a much longer, 2-day course.  Looking at the map, I was pretty confident I could literally cut some corners and get it done in 70 miles in a day.  The only problem was—and it stressed me out quite a bit yesterday—I wasn’t sure my route was going to work.  I couldn’t quite tell if any of the roads I selected were dirt roads or presented other challenges.  They hadn’t been pre-approved. 

It turns out I planned quite nicely.  The roads were not heavily traveled for the most part and took me through beautiful wine country and farmland.  The riding itself was splendid.  It was a bit splashy at the beginning from the earlier rain, but any elevation gain was more than manageable.  As a very big bonus, I also passed through several Civil War battlefields including The Battle of the Wilderness and Chancellorsville.  I had hoped to spend some time touring the Fredericksburg battlefield, but the late start put the kibosh on that.  Passing through the other battlefields more than made up for this miss. 

From the picture that accompanies this post, you’ll see I was treated to a special lunch.  A bagel!   Thanks to a recommendation from my buddy Matt, I brought along a Bodo’s bagel for lunch.  Delicious.

Dinner was also a treat.  A nice sub from Wawa—my first purchase from this Northeast stalwart.

 Some notes from previous days:

• Our day in Charlottesville on Saturday was wonderful.  Bodo’s bagel for breakfast, a self-guided tour of the rotunda on the UVA campus, good pizza for lunch (yes…good pizza in addition to good bagels all in one day), and a wonderful visit to the Meriwether Springs Winery in the afternoon.  The winery recommended came from Andy-- a Green Streeter and fellow cyclist who started just as I left the firm.  His parent own the place, and I highly recommend a visit if you’re ever in the neighborhood.  The Petit Verdot was fantastic.

• We went to a Jersey Mikes for dinner on Thursday in Waynesboro.  Unlike the indifference the staff at the Oklahoma location showed at my goal of finishing up near Point Pleasant, the manager in Waynesboro was not only into hearing about my ride, but also brought his entire crew out to hear my story.  As a tribute to Ray Liotta, I ask you, “You know why?  It was outta respect.”

What am I Grateful for Today

I didn’t blog on Saturday.  It was my parent’s 62nd anniversary.

 It should be clear I’ve thought a lot about relationships as I’ve pedaled.  One conclusion I’ve drawn—and one of the most important lessons of the trip—is my parent’s relationship with one another was and is the most important influence on my life.  It’s enabled the most important relationship of my life.

We didn’t have a lot materially growing up.  We weren’t poor and we never went hungry, but there were a lot of (material) things I wanted that just weren’t feasible.  That bothered me for a long time.  Frankly, it still bothered me (just a bit) until I was ascending some mountain in Arizona in April and had a moment of clarity.  Specifically, the most important gift they gave me wasn’t anything physically material.  The material stuff isn’t material.  The most important gift they gave me was an incredibly clear example of how a woman and a man are supposed to love and respect each other.  They equipped me (without me knowing it) with the emotional maturity to form my own healthy and vibrant marriage.  Maybe I could have done it without their example, but I’m sure it would have been much harder, and the chances for failure would have been higher.  It’s a priceless gift that I’ve appreciated—mostly unconsciously—when we wake up each morning and one I’ll appreciate even more—very consciously—as a result of this journey.