Riding with the Kauffmans

Today was a GREAT day. My dad rode with us the whole day and my mom excelled in the role of SAG wagon driver. Halfway through the day, she met us on the side of the road with an excellent lunch spread.

Towards the end of the ride, my mom told us about a winery on our way into town and asked if we wanted to meet there (which we did). For an impromptu picnic, my mom somehow had a ton of food already. Two kinds of hummus, two kinds of vegan spreadable cheese, crackers, chips, and bread. She even had plates and napkins for each of us. We sat outside and each had a flight of wine. It was the perfect way to end the ride.

Anytime I visit my parents’ house, my mom will buy an insane amount of food for me. I could visit for just one evening and the following morning, and she’ll get two dinners, three breakfasts, and a lunch or two. All for me. Knowing this, I was somehow still surprised that she bought four dinners for me for tonight while at Wegmans in Charlottesville this morning.

We’re spending the night at a BnB in Mineral, VA. It’s the only place in town, so we didn’t do much (any) research on it before booking. I checked the reviews on Google maps this morning and the review word cloud included the words “paranormal” and “ghost hunting”. So the place is apparently haunted.

Highlights

• riding with my dad!
• having my mom as the SAG wagon driver!
• I somehow avoided being chased by two dogs that chased all four of the other cyclists.

Lowlights

• the drivers continued to be terrible today. Lots of drivers chose to overtake us during a blind turn, when they absolutely couldn’t see if there were any oncoming cars. Even worse, there were many drivers who chose to overtake us when they could see an oncoming car, and then they would just play chicken with the oncoming car. It was ridiculous. At one point I honestly think I would have been hit by a truck if I didn’t have a rear view mirror. This truck tried to overtake me, didn’t do it before the oncoming car arrived, so he just jerked back into my lane, right at me. If I didn’t see it unfolding in my rear view mirror and stop suddenly, he would have hit me.

Julie’s food

• Breakfast: oatmeal, Jewish apple cake, coffee
• First Snack: Clif bar
• Lunch: veggie sandwich, granola bowl, chips
• Winery picnic: Miyoko’s pub cheddar, vegan Boursin, hummus, crackers, sour dough
• Dinner: veggie lo main, twizzlers

Stats

• Total distance: 54.88 miles
• Elevation gain: 3,195 feet
• Weather: dry, high of 60 degrees Fahrenheit