The start of the 50-miler for Roll Over Cancer. Great cause, and a great way to earn a brew. In my case, a Cheeky Monkey.

The Ride – Roll Over Cancer 50-miler

Any ride that starts and ends at a brewery is a good ride.  And Roll Over Cancer is one that makes you earn your beer!

The Roll Over Cancer Ride has been taking place for five years in Franklin County, Va.  The 50-miler is a doozy with about 4,000 feet of climbing.  Most of it on short, steep rollers.  These hills force riders to use their larger leg muscles — forcing fatigue that accumulates sooner than it would if they were just spinning.

Burning muscles made me begin searching for beer thirty at somewhere around 30 miles.  At about 35 miles my friend Al Henry hurried me along, declaring it was “…already beer fifteen.”

The scenery is amazing.

The corn is beginning to tassel and the soybean fields are so green they hurt your eyes.  The farmer’s efforts are nicely set against a backdrop of the surrounding mountains.

Click here for a view of the loop from above.    It’s amazing how much climbing you do without actually climbing the mountains!

By the way — How cool is that Relive app?

Want to do the loop yourself?  Here is the map from Strava.  (Hee Hee. Check out my descent on Ferrum Mountain.)

More about Roll Over Cancer

The ride is a fundraiser organized by local rider and cancer survivor Rob Leonard.  Numerous volunteers sporting Roll Over Cancer bike jerseys as well as non-cycling helpers make things go smoothly.   There is no registration fee — but a donation or fund-raising is expected — and deservedly so.

Rob was emotional as he thanked the riders for coming out.  In a Facebook post, he wrote, “There were countless stories of people connected to the disease. Tales of sadness, bravery, survivorship, support, triumph, endurance, and inspiration.”   That pretty much says it all.

Combined, the 50 and 25-milers attracted a record 106 riders.  Someone remarked that five years ago they had “like 8 riders.”

This ride raised $3,277, bringing the total to nearly $50,000 since Roll over Cancer was born.  It appears that the ride will just continue to grow.   I could see a 10,000 payday at some point in the future.

Despite my complaining about the climbing, I would gladly do it again.

This was in fact, the second time I had done the ride.  I first wrote about this ride in 2015 and all the attributes are the same.  Click on the link for a more in-depth description of the ride.

Click here to see the group’s Facebook page  

The Facebook page is the best way to keep up with the charity which includes several other rides annually and information on a group riding across the country to raise even more money.

The Beer – Cheeky Monkey

The Cheeky Monkey logo from Chaos Mountain Brewing’s website. A good after-ride beer!

After changing our clothes in the car, we found happy sanctuary in the brewery where the choices were mind-boggling, and cyclists milled about in stupors either from exhaustion or the aforementioned choices.

My choice was Cheeky Monkey.

It’s a Belgian style golden ale with an IBU of only 25.  It has a fruity aftertaste, which seemed like the perfect remedy for my fatigued mind and body.  The food truck offered BBQ sandwiches which seemed to pair perfectly with the beer.

Or maybe I was just so hungry that it all tasted great.

The fruitiness comes from the Belgian yeast.  Click on the link above to learn more — including the origin of the term “Cheeky Monkey.”  I’m pretty sure that at various times in my life, I was one.

Kudos to the Roll Over Cancer gang and to Chaos Mountain Brewing, which offered help and encouragement to the event in many ways.

Ride a bike, drink a beer and help a great cause.  Not a bad Saturday.