Friday Night Ride Follow-up
Over the Thanksgiving Day holiday I wanted to get out on the bike. Kevin, Ashley and I decided to hit a couple gravel roads. The evening started out with a catastrophic blowout. I changed over my tires to the WTB knobbies, but didn't inflate them until I got to Wheeling. I pumped them up and in haste did not check to see if the tube was pinched. It was, and it sounded like a gunshot when it blew out.
We started in Woodsdale and headed over to Washington Ave. Up to the trail. Of course they are rebuilding the bridge and it is chaos to cross the road and get back on the trail. Down to Elm Grove and we wound through the parking lots and back streets to the plaza and onto National Road. Then we turned up Peters Run. Lots of traffic on Friday night. We then hit Stewart's Hill which is gravel and ice, and fresh loose gravel. We climbed up to the top and turned onto Chapel Hill. At that point Ashley realized that the cold, about 30 degrees at the time, makes bike light batteries go wonky. And by Wonky I mean drain. So Kevin loaned a light to Ashley and halfway out Chapel realized his battery was showing that it needed recharging. I have found that wrapping my battery in a wool sock and putting it in my rear bag keeps it from draining so quickly from the cold.
We turned onto Dement(ed) Road and ended up at 88 in front of monster house. I have heard that the square footage of the house is anywhere from 18,000 to 24,000 square feet. From there we rode to Speidel Golf Course and found the access road to the cabins. We proceeded to ride through the Festival of Lights (see video below).
We rode up 88 to Caddy Camp. Caddy Camp was clear and a great ride down into the heart of Oglebay. At the bottom of the hill the gravel road turned icy and we rode cautiously. When we reached the main road from the pool we stopped for a second to let Ashley catch up. I took the opportunity to do my best Sloth imitation by yelling "Baby Ruth" down the valley. It echoed. Someone responded. We laughed. Then we headed toward the Lodge and Kevin almost got hit by someone in a truck mesmerized by the Christmas lights.
Down Falls Drive to Waddles and back home. Kevin and I traded drafting on Waddles and hit 30mph with knobbies into the cold wind.
21 miles of fun.
We started in Woodsdale and headed over to Washington Ave. Up to the trail. Of course they are rebuilding the bridge and it is chaos to cross the road and get back on the trail. Down to Elm Grove and we wound through the parking lots and back streets to the plaza and onto National Road. Then we turned up Peters Run. Lots of traffic on Friday night. We then hit Stewart's Hill which is gravel and ice, and fresh loose gravel. We climbed up to the top and turned onto Chapel Hill. At that point Ashley realized that the cold, about 30 degrees at the time, makes bike light batteries go wonky. And by Wonky I mean drain. So Kevin loaned a light to Ashley and halfway out Chapel realized his battery was showing that it needed recharging. I have found that wrapping my battery in a wool sock and putting it in my rear bag keeps it from draining so quickly from the cold.
We turned onto Dement(ed) Road and ended up at 88 in front of monster house. I have heard that the square footage of the house is anywhere from 18,000 to 24,000 square feet. From there we rode to Speidel Golf Course and found the access road to the cabins. We proceeded to ride through the Festival of Lights (see video below).
We rode up 88 to Caddy Camp. Caddy Camp was clear and a great ride down into the heart of Oglebay. At the bottom of the hill the gravel road turned icy and we rode cautiously. When we reached the main road from the pool we stopped for a second to let Ashley catch up. I took the opportunity to do my best Sloth imitation by yelling "Baby Ruth" down the valley. It echoed. Someone responded. We laughed. Then we headed toward the Lodge and Kevin almost got hit by someone in a truck mesmerized by the Christmas lights.
Down Falls Drive to Waddles and back home. Kevin and I traded drafting on Waddles and hit 30mph with knobbies into the cold wind.
21 miles of fun.
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| Friday Night Ride 11/28/08 |
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