Another Day in the Fog?

I was sure that after five straight days of riding in the fog, we were finally done with it. Indeed, there was hardly any fog around when I drove out to the Morning Call this morning to see who would show up for the Northshore ride. Training rides at this time of year are always kind of sketchy, attendence-wise, and this one was not exception. Only Sam was there when I arrived, so we loaded up the Volvo and hit the Causeway. It was looking good. Clear skies and no significant fog at all. Until, that is, we hit the north end of the Causeway. Damn! The fog just got thicker and thicker the farther north we went and by the time we were at the parking lot where the ride was to start, I was wishing I hadn't left my tail light at home. As it turned out, we had only eight riders today, but it was a good group and everybody was pretty much on the same page. I thought it would be a good day to take the unpaved "Dusty Road" route to Enon, since that would keep us off of relatively busy Lee Road, so after a few miles to warm up we hit the red dirt and gravel for a couple of miles of slip-and-slide. Actually, the road was nice and dry and the gravel wasn't deep, so it was a pretty easy traverse today. We were over half-way through the ride before we finally started to get some glimpses of the sun overhead, and finally, with twenty miles or so left, the fog was gone and the temperatures well on the rise. Since the bikes were already dirty, we decided to make our return trip via Isabel Swamp Road, which also has a mile or two of dirt. This road was surprisingly hard-packed and some sections felt just like smooth asphalt! Although we only logged about 60 miles today, my legs were definitely feeling it by the time we got back.