Today was a good ride. I debated and debated about whether to do a shorter ride that would allow me to get back in time to watch the semi-finals of the gymnastics national championships (more on that later) or do the longer ride. It was a tough decision.
Ultimately I decided that the gymnastics competition would come out the way it would come out, and my watching it would not affect the outcome one iota. I opted for the longer ride, and I left this morning with Rozmo and a group of other cyclists. Katydid was pulling Chico (a chihuahua) in a trailer behind her bike, so she decided to do a shorter ride due to the extra weight.
Sorry, Gus, but I don't love you that much.
Our group dwindled down to three of us: Rozmo, Kelly, and me. I would like to think we rode faster than the others and left them behind. I will go on thinking that if I want to.
It was windy at times, but for once (perhaps the first time ever), there was a noticeable TAILWIND toward the end of the ride. We hit a stretch of smooth pavement, downhill, WITH a tailwind. That combination will probably never happen again.
We rode a total of 65.5 miles, and I averaged 14.4 mph. That isn't my all-time highest, but I was pleased with it since there were quite a few hills, plus the wind. It wasn't ALWAYS a tailwind, I assure you.
I'm glad I chose to ride the longer ride, since that's what we came here to do after all, and the UGA Gym Dogs are NOT advancing to the finals of the national championships. It's just how the whole season has gone. We did okay on beam, bars, and vault, but melted down on floor exercise. Floor. How the hell do you fall off a floor? On a positive note, we have three gymnasts who qualified to advance to Sunday's individual championships, so we could end up with a national champion after all.
On an even more positive note, one that has me periodically shrieking with laughter, random outbursts that startle Chico, Florida's gymnastics team also failed to qualify for finals. They were ranked #1 all season long, posted astronomical scores right out of the gate, and suffered yet another epic meltdown at the end of the season. Last year they did it on their own home floor. I'm having a very hard time feeling sorry for them. In fact, I don't.
I toyed with the idea of riding the century tomorrow, but I don't think I'm going to attempt it. We'll probably ride 69 miles, and that will be a-plenty. That is, if the severe storms they are predicting for tonight don't blow us away in the RV.
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