Ride Diary

DC-Cycles Rides

We proceeded through Warrenton and followed some twisty roads until the first mishap where one rider lost his chain master link. The ride leaders got the entire entourage turned around and they made arrangements for the rescue of the disabled bike (it's always nice having a wife at home with a truck). We were then underway, approaching Thornton Gap, the Blue Ridge crossing on US 211. I was near the back of the second group and enjoyed the leaning through the curves with gusto. I'm developing more confidence in cornering. Then came the bad news. Not one but two riders crashed within 200 yards of each other on a left hand sweeper about two thirds of the way up the mountain. Neither was hurt, but their bikes were unridable. Luckily it had happened several minutes ahead of me and I was going slow anyway due to a pesky minivan. After stopping to check on everyone and spending a few minutes directing traffic to keep idiot cagers from running into us, I rode over the mountain and down the other side and came back over, albeit chastened by the wipeouts.

Once again the leaders got everyone regrouped at the base of the mountain, but many folks were getting discouraged. The schedule for the ride had completely fallen apart at this point and a bunch of riders decided to head back to DC. After making arrangements with the HRC (they were both on VFRs) to pick up the damaged bikes, elements of the "fast" group decided to finish the ride as planned, which was now running about two hours behind schedule. I had misgivings about keeping up with them, so I elected to take a short cut to Front Royal and then decided, on a whim, to stop by and see list member Ron Spicer. I was actually a bit of a relief not having to keep up with a pace and not having seemingly impatient riders in your mirrors. After chatting with Ron I came back east on US 50 with a slight diversion via Mt. Weather and the Snickersville Turnpike, which has got to be one of the top ten prettiest roads in the state.

Monday's ride, also through DC-Cycles, was smaller in the number of riders and was conducted at a less blistering pace. We also had a wider variety of bikes: a Suzuki GSX-R600, two VFRs, a Yamaha YZF, a BMW F650 (drool), my NH and a Magna 750. We did about a hundred miles in a loop through the back roads of western Montgomery and Frederick Counties in Maryland. I had little trouble keeping up with this group and the CB750 (and pilot) held its own against riders on newer and much more potent bikes. I'm glad I've got the new Macadam 90s, though, as I wouldn't have attempted this sort of ride with my old tires.

All in all a good long weekend meeting new people, seeing a variety of bikes and having the opportunity to observe other riders with more experience setting up for turns and riding fast. I've also been learning a lot more about group ride dynamics.