Place: Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park, Cleveland, OH
Ridden: February 2015
Click on video to watch.
We named our blog "Nankman Adventures in Cycling" because it highlights the journeys we take and the adventures we encounter all in the spirit of mountain biking. The recent weekend to Ray's tops the lists of adventures; neither Joël nor I can think of any mountain biking trip (or any trip in general) that was more adventurous than the weekend spent traveling to Cleveland, OH to ride at Ray's Indoor MTB Park.
We waited to embark upon the six hour drive until the weather report showed that the recent snow storm which was passing through our area was out of the way. Our goal was to drive to the Ohio border, stay overnight at a rest stop, and then continue the other 90 minutes or so to Ray's the next morning. Well, things did not go as planned; the snow storm was NOT out of the way. After driving six to seven hours through at times white-out conditions and averaging no more than 30-40 miles per hour, we decided to call it quits for the night. The rest stop we choose was about 60-70 miles short of the Ohio border and took us two hours longer than planned to get there. Luckily, we had packed a bottle of wine because it was Valentine's Day. Hunkered down in our mummy bags to stay warm we toasted to our Valentine's adventure and watched the snow fall outside.
Waking up the next day we found everything to be frozen; water bottles, my contact case (yes, with contacts in it), even the milk and orange juice that were in an insulated cooler. Guess that is what happens when the temperatures get into the negative numbers overnight. Oh well, things were thawed out via the defrost vents on the van's dashboard and we soon got on our way...until the next rest stop. This is where I locked the keys, along with our wallets, jackets, and one of our cell phones, in the van. After over an hour filled with multiple phone calls to try to get help, Joël ended up breaking in through a back window to unlock the backdoor.
So, finally 20 hours later after leaving PA we arrive at Ray's. We rode for a few hours and then turned around to head home. Being that it was too late to make it all the way back to home, once again we spent the night in a rest stop.We left PA around 3pm on a Saturday, and arrived home to PA around 9am on a Monday. Most couples go out for a fancy dinner or buy/get jewelry for Valentine's Day...Joël and I spend almost 40 hours traveling while experiencing a snow storm, sleeping in a van during sub zero temperatures, sharing wine in mummy bags, and keys locked in the van...all for a few hours of riding. And we would not want it any other way, that is what "adventures in cycling" is a about.
- words by Jess
- video by Joël