Our new sports obsession: Bicycling

Great quote "borrowed" from a posting to the rec.bicycles.misc newsgroup by Elisa Roselli of Paris, France: "Bikes in cycling shops are like animals in pet shops - unloved, treated only as well as is minimally consistent with their economic status as a commodity, they wait forlornly for a human to adopt them and complete their destiny."

The Thornhill Mobile HomePage Cycling Pages

2005 Cycling Page

2004 Cycling Page

2003 Cycling Page (this one)

Cycling cartoons from the webmaster of the Thornhill Mobile HomePage

2003 Rural Ride 'Round the Islands

(December 5-7, 2003) Held at Camp Ho Nan Wah, near Charleston, SC, it's a benefit for the Palmetto Cycling Coalition. I've put a few pictures from the ride on a separate page.

2003 Ride for Raptors

(September 20, 2003) Our second organized ride as a "non-connected tandem" in which we finished the distance for which we signed up (at the Hilly Hellacious Hundred, we signed up for the 30 mile ride, but only rode 15). It was a perfect morning for a ride: sunny and not too warm. Our primary goals were:

• Don't be the last to finish
• Don't get lapped by Tracey's boss, who was riding the 25 mile loop twice
• Finish before the guy on inline skates

We accomplished two of those (and we let that Rollerblader beat us -- that's our story, and we're sticking to it). We're doing pretty well at the raffle game, too. At NAMI, we won a picnic basket. This time, we won a water bottle.

Unfortunately, we forgot the camera -- and missed a chance for some good pictures of the eagles, falcons and other birds of prey that were at the town square in Pendleton as mascots. The ride is a fundraiser for the Carolina Raptor Center in Charlotte.

(June 12, 2003:) Michael gets a new bike -- a Specialized Allez. It's a world of difference from the old dual suspension Mongoose mountain bike I'd been riding, especially since most of our riding has been on the road. Also new: the upgrade to clipless pedals on the new bike. No falls yet (I've been especially diligent about unclipping early before stopping), but that's bound to change as I stop paying as much attention to the pedals.

2003 Darrel C. Leonard Ride for NAMI SC

(June 7, 2003) This was Tracey's first organized ride: 35 miles through the rain (notice a pattern here?). This ride was sponsored by the Electric City Cycling Club in Anderson (link at the bottom of this page), and organized by Annie Leonard. We met Annie a couple of months ago when we attempted to participate in a weekend club ride she organized for EECC. "Attempted" because the rest of the group was far above our lowly riding skills, and left us in their dust at the first intersection. Fortunately, Annie took pity on us and accompanied the Thornhills on a shorter, more novice-friendly ride through relatively flat (at least, compared to the hills surrounding the Thornhill estate) Anderson County. But I digress.

So, anyway, back to the NAMI ride. It started at Pendleton Elementary School, and after ten miles in the pouring rain we finally reached the first rest stop. Thanks to Annie's sister and the other volunteers who stood out there waiting for us, long after the rest of the pack had moved through their checkpoint. Shortly after that, the rain slacked off, though it remained with us, off and on, for the rest of the ride. Also soon after the first rest stop, we began to be passed by riders who were doing the metric century option, which crossed paths with the 35 mile route several times. At least we weren't alone on the road (although we were on remarkably car-free roads for most of the ride). We finished in about four and a half hours -- last, I'm sure, among the 35 milers, but at least we were done before some of the metric riders.

2003 Assault on Marion

(May 17, 2003) Michael's first organized ride.

Marion is one of two "Assaults" put on each May by the Freewheelers bicycle club of Spartanburg. The Marion portion of the ride is approximately 73 miles, from Spartanburg, SC, to Marion, NC. For the full Assault on Mt. Mitchell, add in another 30 miles to the top of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the eastern U.S. Michael's time in this first effort: 6 hours 35 minutes (to put it in perspective, the first finisher all the way to the top of Mitchell finished in just over five hours).

It was a lovely day, with rain virtually the entire ride. Since I didn't initially put my rain jacket on, I was starting to feel a little hypothermic by the second rest stop, at around 41 miles. I briefly contemplated stopping, for the long-term good of my health, but decided to put on the jacket and see if that helped. It did, since the jacket held in a lot of the heat I was generating by pedaling, and I was able to complete my mission. Next year, I'll try to go all the way to Mitchell, unless Tracey feels up to an Assault. If so, we'll cruise along together to Marion.

Special thanks to David Plunkett, my cycling mentor; Mike Johnson, who loaned me the road bike I used for the ride (technically, I should thank Mike's wife, since it's her bike); Mary Hunt (or is it Dunning now?), whose positive, enthusiastic attitude during our tortoise-and-hare ride (I caught up with her around the NC state line, and finished just after she did) helped keep me motivated (that's her in the background in the large photo, right in front of the car) (could I add any more parenthetical asides?); Kevin Beattie, who volunteered to help shuttle David, Mike and me to Spartanburg; and, of course, the ever-lovely Mrs. Thornhill, who picked up Mike and me in Marion, and who lost most contact with me for the last few weeks before May 17 while I put some miles on my bike in preparation.

By the way, if you'd like to waste some hard-earned cash for a picture, poster or mouse pad showing my "official" finish of the 10th Assault on Marion, follow this link to Bird's Eye View Event Photography, the official photographers of the event.

We're members of two cycling clubs:

Blue Ridge Bicycle Club in Asheville

Electric City Cycling Club in Anderson, SC