Checking the Fauquier Spring

Spring has barely sprung in Fauquier County, Virginia, and it was an overcast day for a ride, with a biting wind coming off the mountains. I saw my shadow briefly and faintly at 4:15 p.m. There were few blossoms and newborn beasts yet, but the fields were greening and the horses were frisky. The mountains were blue shadows icing the rural landscape on the ride down Leeds Manor Road to Orlean. The nine miles of John Marshall Highway were almost as brutal as the last few washboard miles on Ramey Road, but elsewhere on this ride, the pavement was mostly smooth and easy, signs of a milder winter. I forgot that big hill when you first turn on to Leeds Manor Road! While I didn't fly up it, I was mostly able to keep my speed in the double digits. The Computrainer classes are paying off. I stopped quite a while in Orlean Cemetery on John Barton Payne Road, to rest and eat and drink.  I saw several handfuls of cyclists go by as I sat there. It's a pretty scene with views of the mountain, but a little hard to photograph. I noted a number of tombstone names I recognize from my bike excursions: Colvin, Hume, Rector. One of the Rectors had a hound on his stone, but I couldn't make out much more of the name and date. Flowers had been blown around the grounds in some recent storm, and I placed some on forgotten graves. My favorite part of the ride was making friends with two young horses I named Blaze and Star. We had quite a conversation. They were very amiable, considering I had nothing to feed them.