VA iBoB Ride

Sunday morning I headed on down to Ol' Virginia to attend the iBoB ride put on by Meade Anderson. You couldn't have asked for a nicer day. The skies were clear and the temps were supposed to get into the upper sixties. The drive down went quick, something that can't always be counted upon when passing through the DC metro area, and I arrived at the staging area half an hour early. Even so, there were already several riders already there. That region seems to have a nice active grapevine for ride alerts. We rolled out into the Virginia countryside on some wonderful, almost traffic free roads. The nearly forty (?guess?) riders soon split into the customary slower and faster groups. As I had not picked up a cue sheet due to the larger than expected turnout, I hung back with a few riders who had them. Soon we were at the Stonewall Jackson Shrine, located where the Civil War southern general was brought when he was mortally wounded by friendly fire. The water and restrooms were welcome. I took a few photos and snacked on some nuts that Tom S. shared out. Thanks Tom!
We soon set out on the shorter top loop and encountered the steepest hill of the ride and my only mechanical of the day. I had just been passed by a truck who was then slowed by the group just ahead of me. I was bombing along trying to maintain the momentum for the climb, but had to slow for the truck. I tried to give a burst to move to the right of the truck, but the rear wheel shifted in the dropout and hit the stay. This has happened to me before when I don't REALLY bear down on the QR when tightening it. I hopped off and walked the ten or so yards to the top and readjusted the wheel and got back on the road. Soon we were back at the Shrine.
After a short break we hit the final leg, following some of the sections of Bike Route 1. A number of people were flagging a bit on the last small hills, and I am glad I was single speeding instead of on a fixed wheel. Too soon, we were back at the starting point. Driving home was not as nice as driving down. The traffic volume was higher and slower and turned the two hour drive into a three hour one.

All in all, an Excellent Ride. The Quickbeam is still a dream to ride and I got my first cycling sunburn of the year. Thanks Meade!

Full Flickr set here.