The Tuesday Group tackled a portion of the Capital Trail today in what may have been our coldest bike ride of the year! A sudden arctic blast dropped temperatures below freezing overnight and this was made even more frigid by 10-20mph winds with gusts up to 30mph! Did any of this bother the 12 intrepid Tuesday Groupersl Not too much! Cycling this day were Ellis, Marti, Sandy, Cecil, JP, Carl, Bill, Sherri, Mark, Jody, Allan and me, Phyllis. We rendezvoused at Chickahominy Riverfront Park where we did our safety talk, introductions and handed out hand warmers prior to departure. The first leg of our trip was a tough one-riding over the Chickahominy Bridge which involved a lot of strenuous pedaling due to the elevation..Not an easy task at the very beginning of a ride. We took our first break at mile marker 10 where JP and Carl decided to head back to the parking lot. They'd join us later at our lunch spot. We continued on our ride making sevaeral stops along the way for wardrobe adjustments. Bill even had some extra skull caps he was selling for $5! We arrive at Cul's Courthouse Grill for lunch, right on time for our 11:30 reservation. The restaurant was [fairly] warm and the food restored our strength and resolve. Once burgers, sandwiches and salads were consumed, we resumed our ride. This time the wind was somewhat in our favor which made the return ride a bit easier. Jody and Allan dashed on ahead on their e-bikes as they had plans later in the afternoon. The rest of us continued on, taking several breaks along the way. The birdge was a bit easier as well with the wind at our backs. But we didn't linger at the top as there was a pretty strong crosswind. By the time we arrived back at the Park, the wind had really picked up and it felt much colder. We did 28 miles today. Mostly we shared good times with good friends. I love the Tuesday Group! Phyllis
A note from Bill: Thanks to Phyllis for leading this grand bicycle adventure! She even provided hand warmers for the Tuesday Groupers that actually showed up for the ride. I was concerned about the weather forecast that called for gusts as high as 29 mph! Ellis checked the forecast just before we started riding and I was delighted that the gust forecast had been downgraded to only 24 mph! Fortunately we didn't get that much wind. The sun was out but it was still in the low 40s. We rode from the Chickahominy Riverfront Park to the Courtyard Grill and back. Great fun! Bill
View Bill's photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/63qZ3eX6gdK34rWu9
View Sherri's photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GVEgq7CFF3W3Con16