I skipped riding this weekend so I could travel over to Fontana Village with the VeloWife so she could check out Minis on the Dragon. We’d scored a reservation at the Tapoco Lodge; leaving Greensboro after work on Friday meant arriving at the Lodge middle of the evening.
Saturday morning had an ugly look to it — lots of storm clouds were brewing. We ate breakfast and drove to Fontana to register (the event actually started Wednesday, so we were dropping in on the tail end of it). We were scheduled to be in the group panoramic photo so I gave the car a quick wash while the VW supervised, then we scooted over to Fontana Dam. After waiting in a long line of Minis we were directed to our spot in the group, and then we waited some more. By then the rain had started to fall. After what seemed like an hour of getting wet, the photos were finished and we were on our way.
On our way was supposed to involve hooking up with the Ice Cream Run. The rain had scattered the group, so were made our best guess of where we might find the other cars, drove that way, and quickly realized we had figured right:
Within a few minutes we were tucked into a long line of Minis, making our way along Highway 28 toward Bryson City.
After lunch and a cup of coffee we headed back toward Fontana, with a quick side trip down the Dragon’s Tail and back. There, we talked to vendors, sat on a porch and enjoyed a beer, and waited for the evening dinner to start at 5 PM.
Dinner is where I learned the difference between organizers of bicycling events and organizers of driving events. The former would never, never, never screw around with anything having to do with food. Unless they wanted a riot.
The latter group, in this case, announced that a mistake had been made and dinner wasn’t going to arrive until 7 PM. No problem. We chatted with a couple seated across from us and bided our time. But then the appointed hour came, and rather than moving us expediently through the buffet line, the announcer forced us to play a game to see who got to eat first. I said to the VeloWife, “I’d enjoy seeing him pull this shit on a crowd at a bike ride.”
“Why?”
“Because they’d probably kill and eat him, just for starters.”
This was a not-so-surly crowd, though, and we got through dinner without any violence. We skipped the after-dinner announcements and headed back to our cabin.
Today’s schedule? Sleep in, eat breakfast, and enjoy a leisurely drive home. Fun? The VeloWife thought so:
