Sunday Ride

Last Sunday I decided it was NOT too cold to go out for a nice long Sunday ride. I had already put my bike on the trainer for good but the weather had gotten warm yet again! I was pretty well rested since daylight savings gave me an extra hour of sleep. My friend KMR and I left at about 3:15 for a nice 3 hour rolling ride to Richmond and a trip across the ferry. We started the ride out pretty fast because I hadn't been outside on my bike in awhile and it felt really great to enjoy the fall weather. We went out Delong road, to Jacks Creek, to old Richmond road. At one point we got off on a road called something Lick (dirty I know) and this took us down to the river. This is when I realized I was getting a bit chilled. I am a major baby so once my feet were cold I was nervous. We were only a little over an hour into our ride and it was only going to get colder! Thankfully after we passed a bar that sits on the river, The Boathouse, and took a bridge across the river we had a large climb that took my mind off of my chilly toes.

so lovely down by the river :)

I had been smart enough to wear gloves but had not put toe covers on my shoes. We had a nice time climbing hills and getting through Richmond then finally turned onto Old Tates Creek. After a few rollers the road turned flat for about 6-7 miles with a creek running beside it. With the fall smells, sounds and leaves it was really nice. At this point we also realized that it was getting dark. Duh! Daylight savings was out to get us. With the pending cold we hammered through the 6-7 mile stretch to make it to the ferry. It was awesome to be able to just work hard and have no cars around to worry about. Once we reached the ferry we had to wait for it to come and get us then take us across.

 

The baggie that I keep my phone in made it in this pic because my hands were too chilly to leave my gloves so my dexterity was 0. The ferry is super cute though and has nice flags on it. Once across it was time to climb the 2 mile hill up to get back to Lexington. It is about 16 miles from the bottom of the ferry to my apartment so we were still not that close to home. We took the climb pretty quickly because we were so freezing, especially after sitting still so long waiting for the ferry. One of the ferry men told us before we left that it would be 20 degrees warmer at the top....this was notttt true. It was also getting to be very dark very quickly out there. 

We were coming back to town on Old Tates Creek and each downhill was full of cold air. It was like plunging into an ice bath. It was getting not only miserable but dangerous with the darkness. The night had come on so quickly! We ended up pulling over at Delong and Old Tates Creek to call in a ride home...it was just not worth the risk! I had some reflective stripes on my arm warmers but my friend was dressed in all black. We could have easily gotten run over. The worst part was the wait! We were both hungry and chilly. 

Once home I took a very long long warm shower, had a nice dinner, drank some hot chocolate and cuddled with my new friend, Travis :)

With daylight savings complete it feels much more like winter is coming here. We still have the occasional 70 degree day but I'm pretty sure those are gone for good now. It is sad because it will be cold and dark but it will be a nice change, which I'm ready for.