January 12, 2016
A 25 mile loop that is a Really Good workout happened today. I started at the old Moccasin Power Plant. As I was getting ready, I saw a man standing nearby on his phone but looking at me. I was afraid he’d tell me I couldn’t park there but it turned out it was Eric who works there and also cycles. He has actually given me the ‘ok’ to park there. I’m not sure he has the authority to do so but I’ll take it. We’ve ridden together in the past but I didn’t recognize him in civvies!
Leaving Moccasin, I started up the new Priest Grade and warmed up quickly. I made several stops to remove layers. Elevation at Moccasin is 935’. Elevation at Priest Station Café is 2400’. So, I had a good climb to start.
The next section for the day was Priest/Coulterville Road which gets me to Coulterville. Now Coulterville is at a lower elevation than Priest Station Cafe but there is a lot of up and down before the final drop into town. Since climbing is not my forte, I tend to dread this portion of the ride but got through it. The reward is a stop at Mary Lou’s Cup of Brew for a hot tea. Today, the second reward was seeing Dan there. He got out for a ride on his BMW 1200RT and knew my planned route so met me there. Sort of. He actually met a couple other motorcyclists across the street from the coffee shop and shot the bull with them the whole time I was inside enjoying my Earl Grey.
Dan told these other two guys about my planned #BikeTheUSforMS event. One of them told me I should take a lighter bike and that Dan should ride his motorcycle across the country to meet me in Bar Harbor. I like his idea (and he’s not the first one to suggest Dan come along) about Dan but am not sure a lighter bike would be a good idea for the distance I’ll be traveling and the potential “stuff” I may have to carry while riding.
The final leg for today was mostly downhill back to the car in Moccasin. One other suggestion from the motorcycle guy was for me to ride up Greely Hill/Smith Station Road. Hmmm, that might be my next ride. That’s another climbing ride with one long, steep section. It’ll be good for me. Build character. Yeah, all that ‘good for you’ stuff.
Stats: 27.43 miles; 9.7 average; riding time: 2hrs 50 min.
thecyclingdiva 