Last weekend
I had a rather full weekend, starting with a ride Friday morning. Four of us rode from Groveport to Ashville for breakfast, then took a longer route back for a total of 35 miles. Very pleasant ride and good company. I also did essentially the same ride Sunday with a larger group.
In between Faith and I went to a show in London Friday evening at [xxx] Loft, which is over the hardware store in town. (I don't have the program handy.) A retired teacher put it together. We had seen another show she did 2 years ago, which featured her talents much better than this one. This time she and another actor played the part of a couple dreaming about their high school days after attending a class reunion. That part was lame, but served to introduce the songs done by various individuals and a chorus. They did a pretty decent job on some 50s and 60s music. It was generally entertaining. That was preceded by a very tasty meal - I had meatloaf and Faith had chicken marsala.
Saturday we got up early and picked up the 5-yo from her mom, who was working, and headed to Moundsville (WV)for my class meet-up. We had a nice turnout, and it's always good to see my old classmates (emphasis on old). I took my bike along (it lives in my van), but didn't hook up with anyone to ride with. Faith wanted to take her granddaughter to the zoo at Oglebay Park, so she dropped me off just south of Wheeling and I biked through Wheeling and up to the park. And around the park, and beyond the park. They were at the zoo all afternoon, so I got in 34 miles of hills. There were many climbs of up to a mile, at 4-5 mph. But at least there were a couple of descents in the 40+ range. The most amazing part was all the deer I saw. They were all over the place. I counted 33 altogether, mostly in pairs or small groups. Late in the afternoon I saw one pair right next to the lodge and the couple in the room closest to them was out watching and photographing them from about 20 feet away. I stopped my bike within 30 feet of them and they were pretty unconcerned while I was getting their pictures.
Oglebay's Festival of the Lights started last week and we hung around until it got dark to drive through and see it. This is I believe the 25th year for it, and of course they add and improve every year. The route is about 6 miles long. Everything new is LED lights, so the displays are more elaborate. Much of it is animated, depicting such things as a tennis game, horse jumping, skiers, and acrobats. They also had a very detailed Cinderella's coach. It's definitely worth the $15 per car. And for $20 they throw in a dvd to take home. There's also an elaborate display at the gift shop area, which is right on Rte. 88, so you can see that for free. We saw some of the same lights for sale in the shop, which are quite pretty. They were like a flower (I don't know what kind) with green for the leaves/stems and different colors for the blooms. Outside there were endless rows of these on the borders on all the walks, numbering well into the thousands, I'm sure. It was a very mild night, and we walked all around that area taking it all in.
On the way home I stayed on the National Road back into town because I wanted to see if the Windmill service station was still there. It was a gas station at the top of the hill above downtown when I lived in the area. It was more recently the Windmill Pub, but is now closed. There was a "For Sale" sign, but I'm not sure if it was for the building or the business. The windmill is still there, but I don't know if it was ever functional. I found some good pictures of it on the internet, but nothing of its history except for some out-of-date items about the pub.
It was a long day, and we didn't get back to Columbus until late. I didn't expect to get up and ride Sunday morning, but I woke up early and decided to go. So, I rode 3 days in a row, which I haven't done in a long time. I was actually a little surprised I had the energy to do that, as I had done quite a bit of climbing the day before. Believe me, there's nothing flat in that area once you leave the river valley. I do love riding over there, though.
In between Faith and I went to a show in London Friday evening at [xxx] Loft, which is over the hardware store in town. (I don't have the program handy.) A retired teacher put it together. We had seen another show she did 2 years ago, which featured her talents much better than this one. This time she and another actor played the part of a couple dreaming about their high school days after attending a class reunion. That part was lame, but served to introduce the songs done by various individuals and a chorus. They did a pretty decent job on some 50s and 60s music. It was generally entertaining. That was preceded by a very tasty meal - I had meatloaf and Faith had chicken marsala.
Saturday we got up early and picked up the 5-yo from her mom, who was working, and headed to Moundsville (WV)for my class meet-up. We had a nice turnout, and it's always good to see my old classmates (emphasis on old). I took my bike along (it lives in my van), but didn't hook up with anyone to ride with. Faith wanted to take her granddaughter to the zoo at Oglebay Park, so she dropped me off just south of Wheeling and I biked through Wheeling and up to the park. And around the park, and beyond the park. They were at the zoo all afternoon, so I got in 34 miles of hills. There were many climbs of up to a mile, at 4-5 mph. But at least there were a couple of descents in the 40+ range. The most amazing part was all the deer I saw. They were all over the place. I counted 33 altogether, mostly in pairs or small groups. Late in the afternoon I saw one pair right next to the lodge and the couple in the room closest to them was out watching and photographing them from about 20 feet away. I stopped my bike within 30 feet of them and they were pretty unconcerned while I was getting their pictures.
Oglebay's Festival of the Lights started last week and we hung around until it got dark to drive through and see it. This is I believe the 25th year for it, and of course they add and improve every year. The route is about 6 miles long. Everything new is LED lights, so the displays are more elaborate. Much of it is animated, depicting such things as a tennis game, horse jumping, skiers, and acrobats. They also had a very detailed Cinderella's coach. It's definitely worth the $15 per car. And for $20 they throw in a dvd to take home. There's also an elaborate display at the gift shop area, which is right on Rte. 88, so you can see that for free. We saw some of the same lights for sale in the shop, which are quite pretty. They were like a flower (I don't know what kind) with green for the leaves/stems and different colors for the blooms. Outside there were endless rows of these on the borders on all the walks, numbering well into the thousands, I'm sure. It was a very mild night, and we walked all around that area taking it all in.
On the way home I stayed on the National Road back into town because I wanted to see if the Windmill service station was still there. It was a gas station at the top of the hill above downtown when I lived in the area. It was more recently the Windmill Pub, but is now closed. There was a "For Sale" sign, but I'm not sure if it was for the building or the business. The windmill is still there, but I don't know if it was ever functional. I found some good pictures of it on the internet, but nothing of its history except for some out-of-date items about the pub.
It was a long day, and we didn't get back to Columbus until late. I didn't expect to get up and ride Sunday morning, but I woke up early and decided to go. So, I rode 3 days in a row, which I haven't done in a long time. I was actually a little surprised I had the energy to do that, as I had done quite a bit of climbing the day before. Believe me, there's nothing flat in that area once you leave the river valley. I do love riding over there, though.