mom and dad tackle the creeper

Last weekend my parents rolled into town and planned on bringing their bikes along just in case there was a chance to ride. I guess it runs in the family so I decided this would be a good time to expose them to the VA. Creeper trail which up until the day before my Mom though was paved. The weather forecast was looking good and everything appeared to be in our favor. Instead of the usual round trip ride we opted for hiring one of the local shuttle services to take us to the top of the mountain and ride down. We had quite a crew with 8 adults and 4 little ones sharing 2 carts pulled by their Dads'.





As we loaded up in the shuttle a few rain drops began to fall on the windshield of the van and I heard a few uh ohs. The whole drive up we looked east, west and in the direction of our destination trying to figure out if we were going to get wet.
As our luck would have it we arrived to find the parking lot dry but as soon as we took off down the trail within minutes the rain began to fall. Everyone tried to remain positive but as the rain soaked us I had a feeling this might be the first and last trip to the Creeper for most of our crew.
After a while we could see a break in the rain and we managed to ride out of it. The only problem was we couldn't stop and enjoy the scenery because every time we did the rain would catch back up to us.





One of my biggest concerns before the ride began was how will the kids do. For the most part they seemed to really enjoy themselves despite the bad weather.

My Mom actually had a smile on her face even though her legs were covered in the infamous Creeper trail grime. She even stated at the end of the ride that she would like to return and do it again.

While we were loading up our bikes in the shuttle parking lot I was checking out my Dad's really cool antique Schwinn cruiser when I noticed not only was the bike an antique but so were the tires. They were so dry rotted and cracked I was afraid we were going to spend a long day walking instead of riding. Of course I jumped at the chance to return the lecture he gave me when I turned 16 and got my first car, just like an automobile regular maintenance on a bike is a must. There will be no doubt what to get him for Father's Day this year. My Mom even threatened to buy him a new bike.

Although most of us were soaked and some covered in grime to my surprise everyone agreed a return trip was definitely a must. We ended the day with dinner and drinks at Bella's Pizza in Abingdon and luckily for me the famous Bourbon Barrel Stout was on tap and it definitely lived up to the hype.

In other non cycling related news my cycling friend Jason, also one of Johnson City's finest had the opportunity to pull over the Mayor of Johnson City for speeding recently. Unfortunately the Mayor was not on her best behavior and some of her comments to Jason as he cited her were a bit uncalled for. Props to Jason for standing up to her and doing his job regardless of her threats.