I left Friday after work around 6:30p and drove the three hours to Bethany Beach. Traffic crossing the Bay Bridge was light, a rare occurrence and good omen of a great day on Saturday. Heavy rain fell overnight from about 1-2am, an event not well forecasted or I wouldn't have left the Atlantis locked to the car rack uncovered overnight. In hindsight, a foolish decision.
Saturday morning broke cool and foggy; a perfect morning at the beach. We rode the half mile from my friend's house to the start of the ride and were on our way at 7:30am biking north on Route 1. The fog limited visibility to a tenth to quarter mile. I was glad for the wide shoulder on that section of road. As we approached the turn off from Route 1 to go under the Indian River Inlet Bridge, a beautiful cable stayed span, we could not see the bridge for the fog. However, It majestically appeared from the fog as we cycled under it, turned back on to Route 1 and cycled south. By 8:00am the fog was lifting as we headed inland. The sky turned blue, the temperature rose slowly to the mid 70s, and the humidity stayed away. It was in short the perfect cycling day for me. The first rest stop was at Holt's Landing State Park at mile 18. After leaving there we were on to Selbyville, DE. The crowds thinned and riders spread out. We kept up a great pace and marveled at our almost effortless speed. After leaving leaving the rest stop in Selbyville, we cycled into Maryland and a head wind. We discovered that our previously mentioned speed had been aided by an undetected tail wind. Over the next 30 plus miles we alternated a tail and head wind; we enjoyed and lamented each in turn. We completed the 62 mile ride in a little under 7 hours; we weren't racing, but we weren't rambling either. The weather was perfect! The event was well organized with a well marked route. The scenery was great, and the roads mostly flat! I am ready to ride the route again and hope to be back next year. My Atlantis received countless compliments to the point my riding partner gave me a ribbing about it. I spoke with one other Atlantis rider, who reported seeing a third Atlantis. I spotted no other Rivendells; sorry if we missed each other. Half way through, my bike developed a chronic ticking from the drivetrain; likely a result of the overnight soaking. And my saturated Brooks saddle was broken in anew! The Compass tires road well; I will order another pair when these wear out. Photos prove I road in the fog and sun on Saturday and didn't take many pictures: https://flickr.com/photos/86975051@N08/sets/72157649741097563 Safe cycling, Erl -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
