Touring recommences, Sunday 8 October
Waynesboro to Raphine
25.8 miles @ 8.5mph Ascent 1,324'
Today’s ride was always going to be about I
fared after five days off the bike. The short answer is passably well. However,
another factor came into play that was totally unexpected – the cold.
I knew from moving around the motel at
breakfast that it was a cold day. When I finally started cycling around 9.30am,
the temperature was still no more than 9C and it never rose above 12C while I
was out. The culprit was a cool westerly blowing all morning at a steady 14kmh.
I kitted myself out with a long sleeve thermal vest, an ordinary T shirt and
two cycling shirts, all short sleeved- and was tolerably insulated.
My exit from Waynesboro was on Lyndhurst Rd, a
winding, undulating suburban thoroughfare that has the benefit of a marked bike
lane for much of its length. Then two country roads that still headed west
until it picked up US 340, which was 4 lanes through to Stuart’s Draft, where
at MP10 I stopped for a cup of brown sludge, er, hot chocolate, to help me keep
warm. At the same time, I added my thin, plastic shower jacket and that made
for much more comfortable cycling in the ever- present wind.
I eschewed the scheduled turn off for Indian
Ridge Rd, estimating that I could gamble on reducing the amount of climbing by
staying on the main roads. It turns out I reduced my overall ascent by something
over 100 feet, but did also manage to avoid a pinch of 9% plus.
UUS340 then became a quiet country road until
its junction with US11, but that road was very rideable for the next few miles
into Greenville. There was less provision for a shoulder for final 5 miles into
Steele's Tavern but traffic was light and the absence of really steep inclines
allowed a certain momentum to be maintained.
A diversion of around 2 miles from the route
originally planned was then necessary to get me to lodgings at the Interstate
exit to Raphine. The road was a silky smooth new blacktop, sadly all uphill.
I was pleased to have finished what was a
nondescript, cold, windy day. Nonetheless I remain positive and look forward to
a slightly warmer day tomorrow, knowing both distance and total ascent will be
greater than today's.
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