Biking with Bipanes and Bottles

On Saturday I drove back to Remington to restart the bike ride from last week. It was a beautiful day, sunny, warm with a brisk breeze. I set off, actively checking the road for any random pieces of glass that could threaten my recently repaired tires.

A cool gate emblem, would love to know the meaning behind it.

The Green Genie looking awesome. I'm loving the new taped handlebars and it glides like a dream.

On one of my brief stops as I took a photo of something that caught my eye, I looked at my phone app which I was using to plot my route and show me where to go. My phone had only 20% power left so I had to memorize the simplest loop route back to the car. It was very frustrating not being able to check the map but I needed to conserve the little power I had in case of an emergency. but it was also nice just pedaling along not worrying about checking a map.

I stopped at a country store in Elk Run, I think, and got some water. The lady owner was very chatty and had the most amazing collection of incredibly healthy plants on top of one of the fridges. The finest African violets I'd ever seen.

Further on my ride I spotted a lot of tents in the distance and wondered what the event was, until I got closer and ducked as a biplane swooped down over me. I had unexpectedly come across one of my favorite places, Bealton's Flying Circus, and the boy scouts were meeting there. I stopped and watched the planes for a few minutes, enjoying the free display, then carried on.

I guess a mail carrier lives here?

Near to Remington I got drawn towards this very American scene of a train and an old abandoned farm in the background.

The house was tightly boarded and padlocked up but I still had a nose around the outside and the outbuildings. I found these old bottles lined up, a Mountain Dew, a Sprite and a Pepsi, all with the names debossed on the glass. I was tempted to grab them all but had nowhere to put then, and they were too skinny to fit in my bottle holders on the bike. I have enough junk already so I soon moved on without fretting about not having them! Getting back to the car, I plugged my phone in to charge and worked out my mileage. Not as far as I would have liked to ride but a modest 24 miles. And I didn't ache so the legs are getting stronger. Roll on the next ride!

Remington and the C & O by Bike

Saturday was a bright and breezy day with plenty of blues skies and sunshine, so I drove down to Remington for a bike ride. There are a few rides in that locale mapped out and I planned on doing two of the smaller ones, totaling about 20 miles. I unloaded my bike and started pedaling out in the country lanes, enjoying the peace and quiet.

That was until I came close to a gun club. I'd heard the shots and was a little nervous about stray bullets putting an end to my ride. But the club seemed to be focusing on clay shooting and with the guns pointing upwards my worries passed.

I kept going, noticing that whatever direction I traveled in the wind seemed to be against me but it wasn't cold and it was heaven to have the roads to myself. I came to some traffic lights and dismounted, checking my map and seeing that I'd need to cross the busy Rte 29 to continue on quieter roads. But as I climbed back on my bike I noticed immediately that I had a flat rear tire. I then realized that I hadn't checked the air in my tires before I'd set out and assumed the tire had just run down. There was an ice cream parlor across the road and so I pushed my bike over there asking folks if anyone had a bicycle pump. No one did, I guess ice cream and cycling don't go hand in hand. But very fortunately for me, although I'd cycled about 5 miles, it was only 2 miles back to the car so I walked. I carry a tiny pump with an air canister in my emergency bag attached to my bike seat but didn't want to use that unnecessarily. Back at the car I pumped up the tire but it went down again, this was a puncture.

So goodbye Remington, until another day. I loaded the bike back on the car and headed to my bike shop in Warrenton where they found a huge piece of glass in the tire. With a new inner tube in place I drove home, not really too upset as I had another bike ride arranged the next day.
On Sunday, I met with friends at Brunswick. Today I was riding my other bike with hybrid tires as we were cycling along the C & O canal path to Shepherdstown, WV. We met at Beans in the Belfry, a wonderful cafe that offered a fabulous breakfast and coffee. The cafe is a restored 100 year old church full of comfy chairs and sofas and interesting antiques, as well as a superb selection of teas and coffees.

The crew gearing up for our ride. With bellies full of tea, coffee and breakfast sandwiches, we started on the trail, immediately pedaling through beautiful woodlands along the Potomac River.

After a few miles we came to Harpers Ferry and I had to take a photo of poor Ed's seat. Absolutely rigid and unforgiving, compared with Margie's pad of comfort in the background.. The poor guy was already complaining and we had a ways to go.

A quick drink stop and a chance to fiddle with seat posts, gloves, remove jackets, etc. We were amazed at how empty the trail was, we had it to ourselves for most of the ride. Rob, above, chose to ride down a hill while Jason in the background took the flat route!

The white sycamores looked beautiful in the bright sunshine and buds of bushes were popping out in the hedgerows. We arrived at Shepherdstown, instantly recognizable by the Bavarian Inn on the river bank. We rode into town and stopped at the Blue Moon Cafe.

A quaint little restaurant with a place to park our bikes and a gorgeous collection of blue glass.

Emily trying to get a photo of Jason's trendy wrap around sunglasses.

The food here was amazing and they also had a great beer menu. I was very cautious and chose just a taco salad with 1 beer, envying Richard's choice of a beef and brie sandwich with fries and 2 beers. There was no way I could have continued the ride having consumed all that but I was envious. Ed, above, looked pretty content with his large burger too.
After our meal we hopped on the bikes and started our ride back. I was grateful that I'd chosen wisely at lunch and kept sneaking looks at Richard but he showed no signs of discomfort.

Jason was just in front of me when his rear wheel went flat with a loud explosion. Completely undaunted he flipped the bike over and had the inner tube replaced, tire pumped up and the bike ready to ride in under 10 minutes. No wonder he's known as a Bike Master.

We all stopped for this deer. Two of her friends had crossed the path in front of us so we halted to let her join them.

Completely unfazed she trotted across the trail and into the undergrowth.

The shadows were getting longer as we neared the end. Richard and I rode along together for a while. This had been a great day. We'd all kept up with each other and it had been so nice to ride with one person to chat and then another, or even to push on alone for a bit. We all got back to the car park at the same time and heeding Jason's advice of doing some stretching exercises, Emily and I laid on the ground and wiggled our arms and legs. We'd done about 38 miles in all, which wasn't bad for a first proper ride of the year. Stopping at Beans in the Belfry again, we had more coffee with a delicious blueberry and lemon meringue, having well earned the right to consume some extra calories. After goodbyes I managed to get home before dark and was grateful at having done those stretches. I didn't have a single aching muscle the next morning!

Rainy Lanes And Sundays Never Get Me Down

Saturday and Sunday were both forecast as very wet, very windy and downright miserable as far as weather was concerned so I made no effort to get out of bed in a hurry but instead relished looking out through the window and watching the rain pelt down. But the cats insisted on having their breakfast served at a reasonable time and so I had to get up before 8, which was OK, because as soon as they were happy with heads in bowls I made myself a huge mug of tea and ran back to dive under under the still warm covers.
But unable to sit still for too long I got up and headed out for some retail therapy.

These derelict cottages in The Plains had a skip to one side of them so concerned about the possibility of their demolition I snapped a photo in the rain.

Stopping for fresh eggs as advertised, I ended up having a tour of the farm and meeting all the animals who had been brought in from the rain and were in warm stalls, including, horses, llamas, sheep, goats and bunnies. The chickens were outside but had their hutch to shelter in.

Then a stop at one of favorite stores, Home Goods to roam around. I couldn't think of a single use for the sawdust candles. Candles for men? Couldn't imagine any guys lighting these in their garages or workshops out my way and commenting on their gorgeous scents while standing with friends clutching a bottle of Bust Head beer. I nearly got the pepper sauce but then remembered the unused bottles of similar contents in my cupboard at home, and as for the tea, I know the saying originated in England but it's really been overworked in the U.S. I didn't even bother to check if the tea was English. But I did find a fabulous pot for the patio that I really needed and a garden ornament that I simply couldn't live without and so I left happy. Photos of those will appear in a later blog when said patio has been prepared and filled with pretty things.

On the way home I left the car for precisely 15 seconds to grab this photo of an old store but still managed to feel damp on the drive home. It was nice to get back to a dry warm home and a lovely guilt free lazy evening was spent indoors.
I woke up on Sunday to fierce winds buffeting the house. Branches whipped against windows and rain thrashed in waves against the glass. It was a couple of hours before it subdued a little and then I wanted to fetch a few ingredients for a beef stew. I wasn't long at the supermarket and so didn't want to rush straight home. Instead I decided to explore Bust Head Road, the lane after which our new local brewery was named. There's a couple of theories about the name. One was that the old tavern that used to be down the road was called Bust Head, another was that bust head was the term given to how one's head felt after a night in the tavern, or that is what happened to one's head if one tripped after a night in the tavern. There's even talk of an old hog that lived down here with the name of Bust Head because he butted folks. I'm happy to believe any of them, it's such an awesome name for a brewery.

There was no paving on the road so I had a great time slooshing through the numerous puddles and sliding on muddy inclines. There are few houses down here, it's a desolate lane but a Roland Farm seemed to dominate the way with numbered and named gates opening from the road.

Obviously a horse lover's lane as I spotted a few harnesses and leading ropes hanging from the trees.

Back at Meadow House the rain continued to pelt down and the winds were still high. So after throwing my beef stew ingredients in the slow cooker I started a project which I've been meaning to do for years, at least 6. I gathered many of my urbexing mementoes and placed them in shadow boxes, one of which I've had for at least 5 years just for this purpose but never used. It's been moved about and dusted God knows how many times so it was wonderful to finally fill it. And there's still room inside to add a few more pieces.

I even hung them on the wall with some other bits and photos, and was rather chuffed with the final outcome. I need to frame some more photos and hang those before I'll be content but at least I now have an 'Urbexing Exhibit'.

The cats were glad when I finally sat down but I could almost hear them complaining that my lap wasn't big enough. The rain continued to fall and the winds continued to howl and batter the house through the evening and maybe much longer because they did a very good job of lulling me to sleep that night.