Biking with Cars (aka Survival of the Fittest)

Saturday, May 17;

Headed down to Williamsburg, VA to visit family and celebrate Mother's Day with my mom and grandmother. I brought my bike because I knew it would be beautiful and there are some really nice areas to bike down there. My mom had mapped out the whole ride. She used to do road biking, (she did the AIDS ride from North Carolina to DC a few years ago. How awesome!) so I trusted her ability to set out a safe and road bike friendly trek. (mistake #1)

I arrived early Saturday morning, and got the directions from my grandfather. He promised that it would be a nice easy ride. I'd be driving with cars, but the speed limit was fairly low. He also promised that the entire trek would be paved. (mistake #2.. listening to grandfather). I figure now may be a good time to explain why I am the way I am. I was not babied as a child. I had to take care of myself. Feed and cook for myself. Wake myself up in time to get to elementary school. Walk myself to elementary school. Let myself into the house after school.. yada yada. My uncle's favorite saying is, "what ever happened to survival of the fittest?" I truly live by that. I have a tendency to think that if I can't kick someone else's ass, then they'll kick mine. It's a survival mechanism that I've developed over the years. This being said.. sometimes I feel like my family is testing me to make sure my survival skills are still sharp as a tac. Bastards!

Back to my bike ride... I headed out around noon. I was supposed to meet my mom in Yorktown a little before 2pm. It's about a 20 mile ride (my longest to date.. I just got the bike about a month ago). Clipping in and out has become second nature now, and I haven't fallen in a few weeks. I'm gaining balance and getting faster. The ride was going well until I got out on the main road. It was my first foray into riding the bike with cars speeding by me at speeds that would kill me instantly. I felt safe because there was a nice shoulder to ride on, but that warm, safe feeling didn't last too long. In fact it vanished the second I realized I would have to bike past highway entrances and exits. See, I was riding on a major route that run's through Williamsburg and is the main way to get onto Intersate 64 as well as other heavily traveled highways in central Virginia. My mom and grandfather's words echoed in my head, "oh, you'll be safe.. this is an easy ride." Thanks guys. I made it past the ramps and felt safe until I saw the big orange signs ahead.. "No Right Shoulder Ahead." The thought echoed in my head, "Who thought this was a good idea? Let's send the biking novice out on the highway and then make sure she's riding next to cars going 75mph. That'll be fun for her."

I made it through okay... obviously, since I'm writing this. The next portion of the trip was the road that runs along the James River and runs into Yorktown. This is where the, "all the roads are paved, right?" comes into play. I took the turn to head to Yorktown and saw it.. the road that I would be 14 miles on was paved indeed.. paved with ROCKS!!! I hit it .. swore at my family.. and then thanked G-d that my bike is the sweetest bike ever. I have a Zertz system that obsorbs shock.. lots of shock. If not, today I would have been making an appointment with the lady doctor to make sure I still have the ability to bear children. I also was happy that I had my heavily padded biking shorts on. My who-ha is writing thank you cards tonight after work.

Despite the rocky terrain.. the ride was beautiful. It was about 80 degrees out and sunny. I was riding along the river. People were happy. I was happy. Up ahead of me, I noticed a nice little pull off point that I could walk down to the water. I had enough time to stop, so I pulled over and decided to walk down through the marsh, with my bike and my biking shoes.

Now, I said I was tough.. but I never claimed to be smart! Walking through the marsh I was reminded of a scene from The Never Ending Story (I think this is my second reference to the movie since I've been blogging). It's the scene where Atreyou is trying to encourage his horse Artax to keep pushing through the mud.. and Artax is sinking in.. and Atreyou is begging him to hurry up. Despite all the prodding the horse ends up dying a sad, slow death in the swamp. Well, I guess my little run in with the mud wasn't as depressing. I did learn that the next time I want to go gallavanting through mud I should shoulder my bike and take my freaking shoes off! I made it out of the sludge safely, and figured I should get going.

I ended up meeting my mom in Yorktown. I was a little sunburnt, but I felt good. My ride was all in all a success.

Lessons Learned:
Don't take your bike into the mud. If you do.. put it on your shoulder and take your biking shoes off.

Wear sunscreen (I obviously didn't learn last time)

Map out the bike ride for yourself.. your family may be trying to kill you.

Driving with cars is scary. Driving with motorcyclists is MUCH scarier.

Driving with 50 motorcyclists is the scariest thing ever.

Porto-potties being hauled on a flatbed are also pretty scary.. but they don't smell.