You can only get **** wet through once

Day 12
From Fredericksburg
To Mechanicsville VA
Mileage estimated 73
Mileage actual 74
Top speed 36.8 mph
Riding time 5 hrs 50 mins

Today, we were told last night, may be a bit damp as rain was expected, so we were advised to get out our waterproofs ready for what the weather gods may throw at us. Rising bright and early I got into the 'Aunt Sarah's' restaurant next to the hotel to be greeted by the sister of the receptionist from the hotel at Phillipsburg. At least, that's what she acted like. 'No food till the man who comes in to pay is here', 'I hope you all realise that there's only one server and one cook on this morning' and 'No. You can have either water or coffee or orange but not more than one' were some of the points put across to us that were definitely NOT for discussion.

After leaving the breakfast spot, it didn't seem that the rain was going to come, so it was a toss up whether to put the raincoat on or put it into the van for 'just in case' sake. When it came to leaving time, we were all in wet weather gear with rear warning lamps flashing away. The sky was such a colour that we were in danger of breaking the 'no riding in the dark' AbB rule. Local traffic lights work on a metal / magnetic system and there has to be a substantial amount of heavy metal pass over the sensors for the lights to register your presence then change. Bikes don't fit into that category and the road we were on had few cars that were going to do the deed for us. We sat at the lights for 10 minutes getting wetter and wetter until finally the SAG van came out and put us out of our misery, the lights changed in our favour and we were able to get on our way.

The rain by this time was getting heavier and I couldn't see a thing out of my glasses so we made quite a motley crew riding along trying to get out of town. Sadly, again due to the location of the hotel and the time it took to get to Fredericksburg, I didn't get the chance to look around a famous old town. The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, from December 11 to December 15, 1862, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, is remembered as one of the most one-sided battles of the American Civil War. The Union Army suffered terrible casualties in futile frontal assaults on December 13 against entrenched Confederate defenders on the heights behind the city, bringing to an early end their campaign against the Confederate capital of Richmond. (Borrowed from Wikipedia) If you want to read a bit more about it you can have a look at http://www.nps.gov/frsp/fredhist.htm We rode through the old part of town and then through the battlefield park, past signs that showed the positions of the various battalions during the conflict. Sadly, that was all we did do as the weather was such that it was not a place to stay and linger for any longer than necessary.


We rode through the Park for about 3 miles before getting onto quieter country rodes which took us further South.


Now here's some advice and it's good.


Don't ever believe what the adverts say about Gore-Tex being waterproof. It is not true. I have a good quality Gore-Tex coat that is supposed to be waterproof and windproof and wick away all internal moisture so that you don't get done by the rain from the outside or the condensation from the inside. It's complete and absolute shoemakers. After about 20 minutes of riding I was as wet as an otter's coat pocket both inside and out, the only difference being that inside was slightly warmer than outside. I'll tell you how wet it was; THIS was on the side of the road as we rode along!






That's the white line at the side of the road and the poor thing was wriggling until just before we got to it!





First SAG today was at 33 miles into the ride and described on the cue sheet as being 'on L in Pull Off' which in English means on the left on a patch of gravel big enough for the van to park on. There was no room even for the bikes and certainly no shelter. Bikes were propped against the omnipresent crop of the country, corn, which, to its credit, did prove that its stalks are pretty strong and supportive. SAG stops were not for long today and we were soon on our way again. The road surface was wet, we were wet and to add to our pleasure, wagons or large cars travelling in the opposite direction developed a habit of giving us a further shower for good measure from the road surface water. The road authorities in Virginia had also hit on a good wheeze whereby they had laid sandy gravel on the surface of the road; now that it was raining this was no longer in between the little stones that there were and was lying on the surface. Well, lying, that is, until you rode a bike over it when it went everywhere imaginable. Clothes, hands, feet, legs, bike parts, saddles - just everywhere. YES, everywhere, and that didn't help the comfort angle today.



Mike the Bike (Mechanic) when he introduced himself to us on the first day told us that the sun always shines when he rides. Today he was to ride after the first SAG and we all thought that the weather would improve thereafter. Mike drove the van to the first SAG when he got changed into his riding kit.


He tells lies.





He came out of the van with his riding kit on and he had a coat on. Now, if what he said on Day 1 was true, he wouldn't even own a rain coat. See, they all tell me lies. How can I believe him anymore? He then rode off just after telling us that within half an hour it would be sunny. BUT HE DIDN'T SAY WHERE! It's a locals' conspiracy against the Educators.



It did finally stop coming out of the sky just as we reached the second SAG at 56 miles which was only 18 miles from the end of the day. I didn't even take my coat off but some of the group got into 'normal' gear for the ride into the Holiday Inn Express at Mechanicsville. No, I've never heard of it either. It's a suburb of Richmond which is the capital of Virginia and the capital of the Confederate States of America before the civil war.



Debbie had rung ahead and asked for a hose pipe to be available for us to wash our bikes down; I hosed mine off then hosed down my coat, hands, legs and shoes. After I had finished there was enough sand to supply a house builder for a few days. The next stop was check-in and as I walked in and gave my usual banter introduction, the receptionist said, 'The accent! If he just keeps on talking like that I am going to get a divorce!' to which I replied, with a wink to her colleagues alongside her, 'Well I suppose we could give it a try, but I will have to see what my boyfriend says about that first'. Her face dropped about four feet and the two colleagues' laughter was quite unrestrained. I did tell her the truth and apologised for the joke but I don't think she laughed much. What I couldn't understand is why she wanted to get married to an accent?



Today was a 'Get There' day and we made such good time that I was able to get into the laundry room and do my duties before anyone else had gathered their thoughts about them and got to the washer before me. So now I have a clean body, clean bike and clean clothes and I'm ready for the next leg of the adventure.