The forecast was for more of the same.
That was true until the tenth mile. The sky to the east was bright and sunny. The sky to the west was suddenly gray. Sprinkles began, but it was so bright to the east, I thought I could get to the top before it got bad.
The sprinkles became light rain. The mountain to the east almost disappeared in haze. Then with one kilometer to go, I heard thunder.
Shit. I was too late.
I turned around and rode in increasing rain at down the hill for about a mile, then sheets of rain and crosswinds hit me. I watched water swirl and eddy on the road in front of me. I took off my sunglasses and tipped my helmet low so I could see. I let myself roll for a while at 35mph then started squeezing the brakes. After riding slower for a while, I let the brakes go and went back to coasting in the torrents.
Raindrops stung my face and arms when the wind turned and whipped toward me. At one point after miles of descending I thought, 'At least there are no bugs!' Bugs buzzed around me all the way up.
I passed the turnoff for the ranger office and knew I was close to the bottom of the hill. The grade lessened. Then I was pedaling slightly uphill across the James River to the parking area. I pulled up to the car, opened the door and emptied my pockets onto the passenger seat. Then I took the wheels off the bike, put it in the car (I have a 2001 Prius; the bike rides in the back seat; it won't fit in the trunk.) and stripped off my soaked clothes.
I dried off with an old sheet I had in the trunk and sat on an old camouflage shirt. It was so humid I turned on the AC and the rear window defroster.
Tomorrow I am going back to Thunder Ridge. The forecast is good and I want to get all the way to the top!
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When I arrived in Richmond for a few days, I searched on line for the toughest climbs in the area. A group called PJAMM listed their top ten climbs in Virginia. Thunder Ridge was the longest. Here is their site.
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