Where is everybody? I wondered when I pulled into the Yorktown Battlefield Visitors Center for the Wednesday morning "C" ride. I had a feeling that it was cancelled due to a prediction of thunderstorms. My suspicions were confirmed when I checked the WAB website on my phone. (Should have done this BEFORE I left home!)
However, being a former sailor, model aviation enthusiast, and a keen observer of the weather, I had my doubts about any immediate impending storms. After all, the sun was poking through the clouds, the birds were flying around and happily singing to each other, and I reasoned that the bad weather just might hold off long enough to fit it a quick ride. It brings to mind the song by the Allman Brothers where Dickey Betts sings: "Don't fly, Mr. Bluebird, I'm just walkin' down the road. Early morning sunshine tells me all I need to know." So, I kitted up, hopped on my bike and headed off on the ride - by myself.
There wasn't much to see once beyond the confines of the Yorktown Battlefield, except for the odd boat parked in someone's driveway. The course was flat, and traffic at times was busy on the main roads. I rode out to the 12-mile point on the map and headed back to the parking lot, but not before I rode down to the Yorktown waterfront to check out the action. I spotted someone fishing from the pier and I asked him, "what's biting?' "Just the mosquitoes," he replied, as doused himself with bug spray. I wished him well and headed for my car. I stopped and asked someone to take my picture as proof that I was there, and here for your viewing pleasure is a picture of me with the York River in the background. I finished the ride at 11:30 AM and covered 24.8 miles today, for an otherwise pleasant ride in and around Yorktown.
Philip Bowman
Where Wuz Everybody Today?