VCHSS April Fools at Oak Ridge (Arrington, VA)

After sitting out the first two rounds, I was eager to get back on the YZ for the Stan Hardy Memorial Race at Oak Ridge Estate.

Lining up with the rest of my heat, a quick head-count revealed a field of about twenty riders in my 40+C category.

When the start flag dropped, I began kickstarting the bike while most of the field took off. I was able to quickly catch the field and the massive dust cloud they'd kicked up before settling into the group.



The course was fun & fast, with a fair amount of options for passing. The laps were long - over 10 miles - so our entire race would only consist of three times around the track. By the end of the first lap, I was in 12th place. With no falls, but two stalls, I was reeling in riders ahead of me then watching them pass again while I kick-started. I did net five more spots in the end, finishing the race in 7th place out of 22 riders.



Most importantly, though, was the fact that I had zero wrecks and will be able to simply throw a leg over the bike next weekend for the WATR Trail Ride Day!



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Stokesville, VA

Nearly every time I walk into the shop at work, I glance up at my rooftop tent perched high atop an industrial shelf - just begging to be taken down and mounted on top of the car. This weekend, I did just that!

With my wife traveling to Tennessee to visit her brother, I had four days to spend however I chose. The destination for a single-overnight trip would be Stokesville Campground on the edge of the George Washington National Forest.

My dog Ruprecht and I headed west on a beautiful Thursday morning, catching the first blooms of the trees lining 64 West.



By midday, we had reached our campsite and I began setting up the tent and awning.



Around 2pm I chose my route, a modified circuit pulled from the Stokesville 60k route on mtbProject.





The ride was phenomenal, with long climbs on gravel roads followed by blistering descents on singletrack. After roughly 25 miles on the saddle, I was reunited with the old boy.



That night, I made a fire and heated a smoked sausage to share with my grateful companion!

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