Oddly enough, summer time is pretty sparse as far as organized cycling events go. That's when most of the cross-state rides take place, so I guess folks don't schedule rides that might conflict with those. Or it could be that with the temperatures hovering in the low bajillions here in Georgia, ride organizers are afraid of being sued by masses of people who have suffered heat stroke. Even though they require riders to sign waivers before participating.
This ride was about a 2-hour drive from my house, so I left around 5:15 this morning. Then I turned around and went back for one of my water bottles (it was in the freezer), and I left again around 5:20. I had to drive right smack through downtown Atlanta, and I was mesmerized by the light fog hanging around the tops of buildings. I would have taken a picture of it, but that's hard to manage at 70 mph. And they sort of frown on someone stopping on the interstate. Or going below 70 mph.
This was the first year for this particular ride, and I think they did an excellent job with it. The routes were good, low traffic and not too many hills. They overlapped with several other rides we do in that area, but they had enough variety in them that we didn't feel we were just repeating a ride we had already done. I wanted to take a picture at one of the intersections were there were symbols painted on the road for a number of different rides. But I didn't. I'm a butthead.
The rest stops left a little to be desired, but I suppose I shouldn't criticize them in their first year. They had the usual bananas and oranges (cut into convenient pieces, which is always a nice touch), and they had some Clif bars (taste a lot like sweetened sawdust, but they're supposed to give you energy, so whatever). They also had boxes and boxes and boxes of honey buns. Seriously? I can't eat a honey bun and remain in an upright position, so I can't imagine eating one and riding my bicycle. That immediate burst of energy would wear off after 500 yards, and they would find me napping in a ditch.
The t-shirt wasn't much to write home about either. Not that I needed to write home. Especially about a t-shirt. Maybe I'm just now finding out that I'm not a fan of green. I'm pretty much over the ride/event t-shirts at this point anyway. I know I should decline them, thereby potentially helping a charitable organization save a little bit of money, but I can't bring myself to take that step. It's like I have to have SOMETHING, some visible, tangible evidence that I did indeed ride my bicycle 66 miles. Never mind that they gave me the t-shirt BEFORE the ride, and I could have brought it home without having ridden a single mile.
I had just uploaded the route to my computer when Hubby walked past my computer.
"What do you think that looks like?" I asked, pointing to the map.
He first said, "Texas."
WTH? Did someone amputate part of Texas without TELLING ME?
Then he said it looked like Casper the Friendly Ghost. I can almost go along with that one.
My first impression was that it looked like a dove, flying to the right. No, I don't know what happened to his wing either. Maybe it's the part of Texas that got lopped off. He even has a nest all ready for him, right up there above his deformed wing.
That "nest" is actually something I find pretty cool. On this particular mapping software (and some others that I've used), bike trails are marked in green. The town where all these lines appear is Peachtree City, which has billed itself as a very bicycle-friendly town. I have a friend (one of those riding across the country even as we speak) who lives there, and she uses her bicycle for EVERYTHING. She has a trailer she can pull behind her when she goes to the grocery store and other errands. I think this series of bike trails is an incredible thing for a 21st century town to have.
Skies were overcast for most of the day, and that made temperatures bearable for a while. The heat started getting intense toward the end, but at the end of a ride you can stand almost anything. My trip home was uneventful, even considering the fact that I drove past Turner Field at around 2:00, not knowing the Braves were playing at 3:30. Oblivious, I sailed right through downtown. Rozmo was not so lucky, sitting in traffic on I-285, desperately in need of a gas station and a restroom.
I'll definitely take tomorrow as a day off the bike. Good night!
1 comment:
Green is not my favorite color either. I can a celery shade but just barely. I am taking some time off my bike too, since it's raining. :-(
Post a Comment