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We arrived in Middleburg in time for lunch.<br />
Middleburg was established in the late 1700s and supposedly<br />
got its name because it was midway between<br />
Alexandria and Winchester. This little town has several<br />
good meal options ranging from a grocery store<br />
bag lunch to fine dining. We chose a café called<br />
Mello Out on E. Federal St. and had interesting sandwiches<br />
and drinks while we relaxed and listened to<br />
several local horse owners talk about the trials and<br />
tribulations of owning a horse. Based on what they<br />
said, we were thankful that we only had bicycles to<br />
contend with. You may want to plan your cycling trip<br />
to Middleburg to take advantage of its horses, fox<br />
hunting, and steeplechases. Or plan your trip for May<br />
when the town hosts the “Hunt Country Stable Tour.”<br />
I took this tour several years ago and was amazed at<br />
how well the horses lived. In fact, one stable even had<br />
a swimming pool for its horses.<br />
Middleburg to Warrenton: 30 miles<br />
Right on US-50<br />
Left on VA-626 to The Plains<br />
Right on VA-55 to Marshall<br />
Left on US-17<br />
Right at Carters Run Rd.<br />
Left at Wilson Rd<br />
Left at Cannonball Gate Rd.<br />
Continue on Bear Wallow Rd<br />
Right at Norfolk Dr.<br />
Left at Gold Cup Dr. into business district<br />
Next, we headed south to The Plains. The W&OD<br />
was flat but the further south we got the more rolling<br />
hills we cycled. None of them were difficult and the<br />
change of pace was nice. We were now in the heart of<br />
Virginia’s horse country which made stopping by the<br />
side of the road very enjoyable. We also noticed that<br />
the number of wineries was increasing as we headed<br />
south. It would be fun to plan a cycling trip that<br />
incorporated stops at several of them. In hindsight I<br />
wondered why I chose to tour the horse country and<br />
not the wine country.<br />
The Plains is a very small town but you won’t go hungry<br />
as the town has several cafés where cyclists are welcome.<br />
In The Plains we met a man interested in our<br />
ride. While in his professional life he is a mine inspector,<br />
his and his wife’s passion is competing in long<br />
distance cycling races. We were definitely not racing<br />
since we only averaged 12 mph. However, as with<br />
most cyclists we found a common bond as we swapped<br />
cycling stories.<br />
HORSE continued on p.14<br />
301.663.0007<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2008</strong><br />
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