1. Reset blog odometer to zero.
Check!
2. Get on bike.
Check!
3. Pedal.
Check!
New Years Day brought the warmest weather we’ve seen in six weeks. With temps in the mid-50s, I only had to don about HALF my cold weather gear, which was great. I got in a 43-mile ride which took me to the far (Western) side of Nokesville Road. Only four of the miles in that area were new to me and there wasn’t much to report, other than construction of the yet-to-be-named Prince William County High School #11 appears to be almost complete. I sampled two new (for me) Clif Bars – Carrot Cake and Blueberry – and both were quite tasty. It’s hard for me to miss with a Clif Bar. While riding through the small town of Nokesville, I was treated to a rendition of Ave Maria from the town’s church bells. Very nice.
There were a lot of cyclists on the roads today. I counted 14, which is a large number, even for a summer’s day. As I passed a couple on Aden Road, we congratulated ourselves for cycling every day in 2011. If I can keep this rate up, I’ll log 15,695 miles this year! Somehow, I don’t think I’ll reach that mark.
Virginia Historical Marker Segment!
While pedaling by the Bristoe Battlefield, I spied these two markers which I had not noticed before. A couple of things caught my eye. First, the markers were erected nine years apart and you can see the difference in weathering between the two. Second, I have no idea why the place of the battle is “Bristoe Station” when the town is presently known as “Bristow.” Very strange. Those with an exceptional memory will recall my first post on this battlefield, where I mention a local housing contractor is refurbishing things. The latest example of this effort is the wooden plank fence located behind the signs. These fences are obligatory at every Civil War battlefield. I’m looking forward to visiting again in the summer and seeing what other improvements have been made.
There And Back Again 
Happy New Year. What a great start. 43 miles;0D
Your miles this year are more than double mine.
We’ll see how long that lasts. I suspect not very!
Great ride Steve! I have yet to do a ride of that length. I did manage to get out the previous four days in a row to log about eighty miles. Did you get caught with any surprise rain while you were out? That is the primary reason for my absence yesterday. On the plus side, it did give me an abundance of time to clean my bike. Now it looks brand new again!
I carefully studied the weather radar before setting out, so I avoided the rain. Last year, I discovered that (for me, anyway) rides of less than 30 miles were pretty straightforward. Rides longer than that required a little bit of planning, especially with nutrition/hydration. I can’t wait to see what 100 miles entails!
Great ride feller! Well done! By the way, in answer to your comment on my Blog 1 stone in weight for us Limeys equates to 14Ibs for you Yanks.
That’s a heavy stone! And you want to lose three of them? I bet you do it!
Congrats on a great start to 2011!
I’m going to make an official prediction right here – you will ride…
4,678 miles in 2011.
You heard it here first.
I hope you’re right. That would be a great number!
Nice report Steve, I am thinking you should maybe get some sponsorship from the makers of Clif Bars, you seem to give them plenty of free publicity.. 🙂
So much so that I have looked for them over here so that I could try their seemingly magical qualities, but I havn’t managed to find them anywhere !!
I’m easily amused, Brian, but if you haven’t already found Clif Bar’s online presence, here it is: http://www.clifbar.com/. I don’t know if they ship to the Old World, but perhaps they do. Truth be told, most energy bars I’ve sampled taste pretty good. Clif Bars are my favorite, though.