[DVBC] Boo Hoo (Bike VA)

[Drew Knox]

Deb,

I kept returning to Bike Virginia long after I grew weary of it because
friends wanted to go. Compared to other tours, the riding portion is well
organized. The routes were usually well-marked with good scenery and low
traffic. I would generally rate the routes very good to excellent, except
for the Williamsburg tour, which I would rate a 3 on a scale of 1-10.

On most large rides (these were usually around 1500 riders), amenities
become a problem. If you are an early arrival at a campsite, the shower
truck may not be set up (I waited for 5 hours in Shepardstown) but if you
are a late arrival, you will likely face long lines and/or filthy and
flooded locker rooms.

Tenting is different from camping. In tent city, you can share your
neighbor's tent pegs because he's gonna be that close.

Dinners were too frequently problematic. 1500 hungry guests often swamped
small host towns so that restaurants were out of food by 7:00. We kept
hearing, "We didn't know you all were coming" night after night on repeated
tours.

Finally, I've always disliked the Saturday to Wednesday format. Tours that
go weekend to weekend feel more filling since you can get an 8 or 9 day
trip for your 5 days of vacation.

That being said, most new rides are worth trying because each tour has its
own flavor. I've had enough tastes of this one and am ready to move and try
something else.

Drew



On 1/9/07, eric zwicky <zwicky2 at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> i'll give you one:  hopewell is the home of allied chemical, who dumped
> tons of kepone into the james river back in the '70s.  it's a grubby
> industrial town with not much to offer, unless they've drastically
> cleaned it up and created a lot of parks and what-not since i left the
> area seven years ago.   in the 20 years i lived in richmond, i never
> found anything of value there.   it's kind of like chester is here, or
> camden, but on a much smaller scale.     i was surprised to see it
> hosting bike VA.
>
> however, it IS close to the petersburg civil war battlefield park if
> you're into history.   and once you cross the harrison bridge to the
> other side of the james, there is nice riding in charles county, new
> kent county, king and queen county, and on towards williamsburg.
>
> -eric
>
>
>
> Chaga, Debra wrote:
> > Drew,
> >
> > Fill me in on this.  I have been thinking of going, but would like to
> > hear the "con" side of this ride.
> >
> > Debbie
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > *From:* dvbc-list-bounces at list.dvbc.org
> > [mailto:dvbc-list-bounces at list.dvbc.org] *On Behalf Of *Drew Knox
> > *Sent:* Tuesday, January 09, 2007 10:00 AM
> > *To:* dvbc-list at dvbc.org
> > *Subject:* Re: [DVBC] Boo Hoo
> >
> >     Thanks, Doug, but I'm not the least bit tempted. I've already done 6
> >     or 7 BVAs and that's enough and, unfortunately, the one
> >     in Williamsburg was by far the least interesting.
> >
> >     On 1/9/07, *Doug Bower* <Bowerdou at verizon.net
> >     <mailto:Bowerdou at verizon.net>> wrote:
> >
> >         Drew,
> >
> >         It looks as if the DVBC will have a good showing at Bike
> >         Virginia this year, care to join?
> >
> >         Doug
> >
> >         -----Original Message-----
> >         *From:* dvbc-list-bounces at list.dvbc.org
> >         <mailto:dvbc-list-bounces at list.dvbc.org>
> >         [mailto:dvbc-list-bounces at list.dvbc.org
> >         <mailto:dvbc-list-bounces at list.dvbc.org>] *On Behalf Of *Drew
> Knox
> >         *Sent:* Tuesday, January 09, 2007 7:14 AM
> >         *To:* dvbc-list at dvbc.org <mailto:dvbc-list at dvbc.org>
> >         *Subject:* Re: [DVBC] Boo Hoo
> >
> >         If you go on Bike Florida, don't forget to take your OSU sweats
> >         -- that will be real popular.
> >
> >         On 1/9/07, *Doug Bower* < Bowerdou at verizon.net
> >         <mailto:Bowerdou at verizon.net>> wrote:
> >
> >         Ok! Ok!  Get it over with quickly, 51 days off and the loss of
> >         Gin in the first play was too much to overcome….
> >
> >         Buckeye
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
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> > DVBC at list.dvbc.org
> > http://list.dvbc.org/mailman/listinfo/dvbc-list
>
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