Info: The Dirty Gretna Routes Collection
The first truly remarkable aspect of this specific Dirty Gretna is the new start / finish location - The Pod!
It’s more than just a wonderful coffee shop, it has lots of food and pastry options, it’s spacious with outdoor seating too and even a menu for dogs! I had a bacon, egg and cheese on a croissant breakfast sandwich and a small vanilla latte. Both were delicious!
Since we announced / created this Dec 6 ride event idea on Dec 2 Paul and I were thinking it might just be the two of us on this adventure.
But then Martin Piedl texted that he was on his way too! So the 3 of us carpooled in the minivan ultimate. Even the drive to the ride was gorgeous.
When we arrived at The Pod we saw another rider was already there - Elvir Berbić! With temps hovering in the 30s but promising to rise, we were excited and off we went!
And we made it 0.1 miles when Paul realized his ultra fancy new-to-him bike would only shift to easier gears and not back down to harder ones. We were all stranded on the side of the road while Paul opened an app on his phone and tried to diagnose and repair … yes you read that right.
His bike has 5 batteries. And it’s not even an eBike! 5!!
One for the right shifter, one for the left shifter, one for the derailleur, one for the power meter and one for the computer.
While I don’t own a bike with electronic shifting (yet 😜) I have been in a bathroom with Ed Bridge on a frigid ride while Ed replaced the 2032 battery in his electronic shifter to remedy this exact issue.
So we turned around, rode back by The Pod to the Food Lion shopping plaza that’s right next to The Pod. We got a 2032 battery, Paul installed it, problemo fixed and … we’re off!
And the riding is great! It’s not too cold, we’re digging the winter wonderland views, and the next thing ya know … we’re inside an abandoned house!
This route isn’t just a route through woods in the middle of nowhere … there’s so much to see!
Abandoned homes and tobacco barns, miles and miles of solar farms, an old mill, historic roads:
At times we were just noodling along on top of the Coles Hill Uranium deposit! (true story)
Then there was this surprise treasure of a treat:
A dirt roadside shack, and inside …
We were flabbergasted happy!
Literally nearly all the miles are good miles. What does that mean? Low to no traffic, gentle rolling, dirt and rural roads. There are no big climbs. Zero.
While I love climbing, it’s fun to mix it up and sometimes do rides like this! In my opinion flat rides like Croatan are OK, but routes like the Dirty Gretna collection are much more interesting and engaging. Our 50 mile route was perfection for this past Saturday, but if you wanna ride all day Dirty Gretna has got you covered:
It’s really neat how this region combines and displays the past and the future. Sites that were once plantations, now decaying tobacco barns and old abandoned homes … adjacent to expansive solar farms. German baptists with horse-plowed fields on top of vast uranium deposits!
We explored the old Mill that was run (overrun?) by feral cats:
Then it was onward toward the ultimate rest stop
BB’s!!!!
Marsha, the owner, was happy to jump into the celebration selfie with us! Elvir took his shoes off in BB’s Place, wrapped his toes in tin foil (graciously provided by Marsha) then reinstalled his shoes and … it worked! His formerly frozen toes were toasty for the final 10 miles!
Great Success! We made it back to The Pod!
Here’s the Strava ride file: https://strava.app.link/b9jxOpjaVYb
Even the easy drive home was other worldly beautiful, I mean look at this!
The Virginias Endurance Series tries to host a Dirty Gretna Grand Depart annually - but the routes are well curated by adventure maestro Paul Workman, and they are fun any time of year! In fact …
This coming weekend! Beth Oakes, a Gretna native, is leading a Dirty Gretna ride!
Thanks so much to Paul, Martin and Elvir for joining / making the bicycling funs. The next VES idea is LINK
