Right Here In River City

Linda Burton posting from Richmond, Virginia – “The idle brain is the devil’s playground,” goes Meredith Wilson’s song Ya Got Trouble, pointing out the dire things that might happen “right here in River City” if young folks don’t have enough to do. That warning was a highlight of 1957’s Broadway hit, The Music Man, and here in this River City by the James, it has been heeded, because nobody, young or old, has reason to be idle here. Outside magazine last year named Richmond the “Best River City in America,” probably because of the Class IV whitewater the James provides and the 500 acres of parkland that offer outstanding mountain biking and running trails. But when I looked into the “sports and recreation” aspects of this capital city on the river, I found that Richmond residents have a variety of gung-ho goings on to choose from. Biking ranks high, to be sure, and has some interesting twists, like the Anthem Moonlight Ride under a full moon, in costume; and the Grand Fondo, an all-age, all-fitness ride that covers 100 miles of the Region’s roads. The Muddy Buddy sounds like the most fun; held at Pocahontas State Park in the rainy spring, it’s a 6-mile race for two-person teams on bikes, and on feet; challenging terrain and mud pits make up the obstacle course. There’ll be some serious biking in 2015 as Richmond hosts the World Road Cycling Championship; it hasn’t been held in the USA since 1986, when it took place in Colorado Springs. Planners are busy now with the infrastructure development for this amazing race. As to everything else going on in River City, you’re going to need a long piece of paper to write it all down. » read more