It’s So Peaceful in the Country
-- recalling jazz singer Julie Christy’s lovely song by this name. And I have to agree with this thought as experienced in yesterday’s ride through rural Fauquier County in Virginia. Readytoride of this forum planted the seed that grew to a plan, that blossomed into a venture through her familiar haunts.
I stitched together a map from a shortened portion of one of her lengthy road/gravel experiences. Readytoride endorsed my plan via e-mail, adding a recommendation for a lunch tavern. Armed with this information I had no trouble coaxing friends to join me on a day’s exploration via auto starting at Upperville. The bike ride was only fifteen miles, but our delight in rolling through the exquisite countryside was well worth the expedition’s efforts in organization and travel.
I had a secondary mission—to take
pictures in keeping with popular format subjects in this forum—cows, fences, signs, food, odd discoveries. This is my report.
Immediately on leaving the starting village we encountered scenery just as Readytoride has portrayed in her descriptions of rides through horse country. The fields and farms were
manicured as if prepared for real estate showings.
Miles of fencing in traditional rock walls or horizontal rails and planks kept in the livestock, mostly horses.
Food farms often were laid out in carefully managed rows as if handiwork of designers.
From the start we discovered this is e-bike terrain. It’s rolling country. Hill after hill, after more hills, called for mucho shifting and stepping through Tour-Sport-Turbo. We appreciated continuously managing the e-bikes without intimidating effort. A very long downhill sweep on smooth, winding pavement ended in in a tiny village called Delaplane. There, we found a few seemingly abandoned buildings, some labeled “Antiques” and “Country Store,” with no people in sight anywhere. At this stop we encountered a problem: we couldn’t find the junction to the gravel road route 623 in spite of signs purporting to point to it. From four Googling cell phone map consultations, and much discussion, we backtracked a bit to find the return gravel route 623.
Here was the oddest find of the day. An immense barricade of old railroad ties greeted us, as if built by craftsmen who constructed the stone walls we had encountered.
Oh, mustn’t forget cows...
and signs…
and eateries and plates of food!
This was a day to remember. We will be back.
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I will add a note regarding Readtoride’s latest posting. We too, in the adjacent county below her Loudoun County, were treated to airplanes practicing formation flying at low altitudes overhead. We witnessed only fleeting views since we were mostly pedaling among trees during the excitement. We could only speculate what the droning above was about.
I pedaled into DC this Friday morning to take up station to watch the flyover. I then learned that cloudy, rainy skies caused cancellation of the big event. Tomorrow is to be rescheduled.