Wasn't aware that Europe was being slammed by not one but two storms. Seems like the people in charge of naming the storms are dipping into the Harry Potter books for inspiration. Either way, hope everyone is staying safe.
Our weather here in northern Virginia has been the proverbal "hot and cold", flip flopping at random, raising eyebrows as well as interest in getting out of the house and onto the bikes. As luck would have it, the Washington DC ebike group had a 27 mile ride this past weekend out in West Virginia (another state altogether that shares a mountainous border and some rather large rivers) with Virginia) to visit Harper's Ferry, a National Park where the great Potomac River met the just-as-great and pehaps more famous Shenandoah River, both bodies of water named by the native American Indians who are now long gone. A "special secret" entrance into the park was promised by the ride organizer, an entrance where only hikers and bikes were allowed. This, and the day's warm weather, was a great incentive to toss the bike on the car's rack and enjoy an hour's drive to Almost Heaven West Virginia. (A not so subtle nod to the late John Denver's well known song "
County Roads").
As luck would also have it, the temps unexpectantly soaring into the stratosphere that day prompted a good crowd of 22 riders. Most in attendance had eagerly shed the puffy winter jackets for something sleeker and more "cycle worthy". What we didn't anticipate was our meeting site was fully several degrees (Fahrenheit) colder than what we had at home, which had us collectively digging in our cars for any warmer jackets and gloves we might have brought with us. I did OK in that department, although I wish I had thought to bring a pair of warmups to wear over my cycling pants. We all did a small jig to ward off the chill while we waited for the start, but once off we settled down into a pace on the public paved roads that warmed the legs and cranked up the 'ol internal furnace.
The majority of the first loop kept us on the smooth pavement until a mile from our destination where we merged onto the lesser traveled gravel road. This pathway ran alongside the northern branch of the Potomac River towards the National Park, a more sedate and scenic route. We took time to explore part of the workings for a now abandoned hydroelectric water plant perched alongside the river. Per Google: "The Potomac Power Plant was an innovative small hydroelectric facility that operated from 1899 to 1991, originally as part of a wood pulp mill (built 1888), and solely as a power house after a fire in 1925. Significant extant equipment/machinery in the plant includes a c.1905 Dayton Globe water turbine, and a 1925 Woodward water turbine governor. The building is also symbolic of industry in Harpers Ferry, as it occupies the site (and possibly the partial foundations) of Harpers Ferry National Armory buildings dating to 1834 and 1853, and contains reused structural materials from various Armory buildings as well as from an 1848 Harpers Ferry cotton mill (later a flour mill)."
There wasn't much left but a few traces of rusted machinery, the sluce gate, a silted canal, and lots of concrete and old rock stonework decorated in the bright colors of modern graffiti artwork. Still, it gave our collective group a breather, plus a chance to poke around the old works, and admire the headlong rush of the river on its way towards the merge ... or confluence as it is known... with the equally rushing Shenandoah.
Our route also shared company with a major railroad line whose track surface had been laboriously carved into the rock ledges along the river, high enough to prevent any of the regular flooding from affecting the commercial train traffic, and well above our heads as we negotiated our careful way along our increasingly rough gravel road below. The recent cold had frozen the water dripping down the cliffs into several lovely waterfall sculptures of sparkling white ice. The recent warmth hadn't touched the solid, unmoving cascades, nor had the sun's rays which was still a bit too low in the sky to find their way into the darker recesses of the rockface high above the train tracks and our hidden road. I stopped to take a picture of one of the more elaborate ice waterfalls. The train tracks are far above and out of sight in this photo. For me to get closer to the frozen waterfall would have meant climbing with both hands and feet up the very, steep embankment, which I was not prepared to do, even in optimum weather and in climbing gear.
Within moments our group had successfully threaded to a conclusion the silent backwater "secret road" which dumped us without further ado into the mad hustle and bustle of civilization, directly into an overcrowded Harper's Ferry National Park filled to the brim with crowds of people eager to escape to anywhere just to get out of the house. We have been held captive by a rather vicious winter cold snap for the entire month of January that not only sent everyone's heating bills soaring through the roof, but drove everyone stir-crazy while we waited in our homes for some kind of weather warm-up to release us back outside. Even the ice cream parlors in town were open, and doing a booming business. Fancy that!
The massive traffic jam of cars on the road and people thronging the sidewalks caused our group to split into smaller factions in order to negotiate our way to the selected lunch spot. It was a lovely grassy area overlooking the confluence of the rivers and the remaining mementos of centuries old stone pilons crossing each river, pilons once supporting long destroyed roads that were just a few of the many sad casualties of the 1860s War Between the States. Our group stayed for a while enjoying lunch and conversation (it was several degrees warmer here and the sun had come out making all those craving ice cream happy to indulge) before a few of us headed off to go back while the rest added a 5 mile "tour" to their ride.
The return was a rather challenging hilly route. Challenging not only to our winter weakened legs but also to our bike batteries. Happily, despite one missed turn quickly corrected, and one unexpected tour on a very muddy yet very scenic, very quiet private road that shortcut our travel time on the busier paved road, our breakaway group managed to return in excellent time with big smiles (and depleted batteries). High 5s were shared all around to celebrate the successful, fun return trip together. The chill had been waiting for us, however, so we were anxious to be on our way home after our final round of socializing and goodbyes.
Since then my cycling has been confined in my living room, my bike on the trainer, and a YouTube video taking me along with an adorable, enthusiastic group of French cyclists through a sunny warm French countryside. Quite a change of scenery from West Virginia with narry a frozen waterfall anywhere to be seen.
The wind speed grew on my way back: I felt jeopardized with side gusts of the wind! There is a Strava e-bike segment on the way. Enough to say, I was just 2 seconds behind my King Of Mountain record there, so hard I was propelled by the wind! And when I got back, the real cataclysm occured... But I was already safe at that time.
I guess it wouldn’t be a good time to step out and take a selfie.
