First team ride since the Tour de Cure last month. This route was part of the Up the Creek Without a Pedal charity ride (aka UTC) north of Berry College in Rome, GA. The team met up in a corner of the parking lot at Mt Berry Mall. Thirteen riders set out a little after 9:00 and headed north. Didn't take long and we were in the rural area. The UTC routes are my favorites. This time we were going in the opposite direction of the UTC, but rolling through farmland on nice paved country roads with mountain ridges all around can't be beat. Karl, our ride leader, usually has a shorter route available but all of us were "going long" today. Our turn-around point was Lake Marvin in the Johns Mountain Wilderness Area. The lake was really nice and a bonus of an ICE MACHINE took some of the edge off the hot temperature. Some of the guys climbed a bit farther to the top of the mountain while the rest of us chilled down by the lake. Heading back, I was feeling good and pumped up the pace in the first few miles. The stronger riders eventually caught and passed me, but it was fun leading the way for awhile. We turned off onto a different road going back and after the first long uphill climb was pretty flat. No shade though, and we pretty much "cooked" on the way back. That ice in the water bottles didn't last too long. 45 miles in the books.
All of us made it back okay and a great post ride lunch at Fudrucker's in Rome was enjoyed. As always, we have lot of laughs at these things.
Need to start taking pictures with my phone. I wish this area was closer to Cobb County as it is my favorite road riding area.
Next ride in 2 weeks is out west in Polk County I believe. Polk County to me (in addition to great riding roads) is the land of free-ranging dogs. Maybe it will be too hot for 'em to bother with us.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Jackson County Brevet - Braselton, GA - 16 June 2012
This was the 3rd year for the Jackson County Brevet and my 2nd riding in it. It was the "scene" of my first metric century (66 miles) last year and almost my last. Last year, I had been riding for 2.5 months leading up to this ride and thought I would set a personal best. Well, the last 10 miles just about did me in after a pretty steep hill around mile 44 took a lot out of me. At least this year I knew what was out there plus I now have a road bike instead of the hybrid.
This is one of the best organized group rides I've been on. Robert Wilhite, a cycling coach, created the event to raise funds to support research into finding a cure for Aplastic Anemia/MDS. Robert's wife has AA and he was disturbed when he found out the treatment hasn't advanced in 25 years. It was reported 1200 riders took part in this year's event. The start/finish area was Northside Church right off I-85 in Braselton. Lots of parking and indoor restrooms highlight this event. The SAG stops were superb as well as the post ride meal.
I was fortunate to meet up with some riders I have met on other rides. These fine folks generally participate in Atlanta Cycling rides and lots of fun to ride with. Mike "Hollywood" Harmon is the unofficial leader and his videos of various rides are top notch. I actually made it in to this video.
Jackson County Brevet video
Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle was the official "starter" of the ride. The first 15 miles or so are pretty much downhill which makes it pretty fast. You have to be on your toes and comfortable riding in close proximity to 1200 other riders. Things kind of break up after the first SAG stop. The weather was pretty cool for June in Georgia and the humidity was lower than normal. At our first SAG stop, Robert Wilhite led us back on the road for a few miles. Last year, I was pretty much riding solo and had a good time. This year, riding with a group really bumped up the fun factor and provided good motivation for keeping up with the group. The hill at mile 44 is still plenty steep. At least I did not stop after making it to the top although my heart rate was plenty high. The last 10 miles were very hard again, but my average speed for the 66 miles was higher than last year.
One of my favorites and I'm looking forward to next year!
This is one of the best organized group rides I've been on. Robert Wilhite, a cycling coach, created the event to raise funds to support research into finding a cure for Aplastic Anemia/MDS. Robert's wife has AA and he was disturbed when he found out the treatment hasn't advanced in 25 years. It was reported 1200 riders took part in this year's event. The start/finish area was Northside Church right off I-85 in Braselton. Lots of parking and indoor restrooms highlight this event. The SAG stops were superb as well as the post ride meal.
I was fortunate to meet up with some riders I have met on other rides. These fine folks generally participate in Atlanta Cycling rides and lots of fun to ride with. Mike "Hollywood" Harmon is the unofficial leader and his videos of various rides are top notch. I actually made it in to this video.
Jackson County Brevet video
Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle was the official "starter" of the ride. The first 15 miles or so are pretty much downhill which makes it pretty fast. You have to be on your toes and comfortable riding in close proximity to 1200 other riders. Things kind of break up after the first SAG stop. The weather was pretty cool for June in Georgia and the humidity was lower than normal. At our first SAG stop, Robert Wilhite led us back on the road for a few miles. Last year, I was pretty much riding solo and had a good time. This year, riding with a group really bumped up the fun factor and provided good motivation for keeping up with the group. The hill at mile 44 is still plenty steep. At least I did not stop after making it to the top although my heart rate was plenty high. The last 10 miles were very hard again, but my average speed for the 66 miles was higher than last year.
One of my favorites and I'm looking forward to next year!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Sky Loop -- 2 June 2012
Fantastic day on the bike! I had been watching the weather forecast since early in the week hoping the forecast for cool temps would pan out for Saturday. Temps in the mid-50's starting out was too good to be true. Fortunately, it was true! These rides are impromptu affairs where someone posts on atlbike.org a start time. You never know how many riders will show up. Today's weather drew a large crowd. Several rode in on the Silver Comet. I didn't know most of the riders, but it is a friendly group.
The Sky Loop is a route set up by "webgeek" aka Chris at atlbike.org starting at the Racetrack in Hiram and looping south and west for 40 miles. The ride is billed as an intermediate training ride and that is pretty accurate. Plenty of hills and longer climbing grades on this route.
I got to the parking lot a little later than I had planned, and was a little rushed in getting "suited up". We rolled out a little after the announced start time of 8:00. We all leave together, but it doesn't take long for the group to split up into subgroups along average speed lines. The A group is very fast averaging nearly 20 mph. The B group is more like 16-17 mph.
After the Memorial Day ride where I couldn't ride on level ground very well, I was a little nervous to see how I felt. I had only walked a few miles during the week; no bike riding. My legs felt strong, but I planned on falling off the back of the pack once we got into the hills. It turns out I was able to keep up over the most difficult parts which really fired me up. After the store stop, I felt really strong. The Sky Loop comes back into the Silver Comet at the Tara Drummond trailhead in Paulding County and is the last rest stop where we regroup for the final 8 miles or so back to the start.
There must have been about 12 of us in one group thundering back on the Silver Comet. With the great weather, there were tons of folks out on the Comet. Bike riders, runners, etc. I wished I had taken a few pictures of our group.
This route is a great training route for upcoming big group rides. Next big ride is in 2 weeks over in Braselton, GA for the Jackson County Brevet. This was my first ride over 60 miles last year and it was touch-and-go on whether I was going to make it. I'm better prepared, but the last 15 miles is all uphill.
The Sky Loop is a route set up by "webgeek" aka Chris at atlbike.org starting at the Racetrack in Hiram and looping south and west for 40 miles. The ride is billed as an intermediate training ride and that is pretty accurate. Plenty of hills and longer climbing grades on this route.
I got to the parking lot a little later than I had planned, and was a little rushed in getting "suited up". We rolled out a little after the announced start time of 8:00. We all leave together, but it doesn't take long for the group to split up into subgroups along average speed lines. The A group is very fast averaging nearly 20 mph. The B group is more like 16-17 mph.
After the Memorial Day ride where I couldn't ride on level ground very well, I was a little nervous to see how I felt. I had only walked a few miles during the week; no bike riding. My legs felt strong, but I planned on falling off the back of the pack once we got into the hills. It turns out I was able to keep up over the most difficult parts which really fired me up. After the store stop, I felt really strong. The Sky Loop comes back into the Silver Comet at the Tara Drummond trailhead in Paulding County and is the last rest stop where we regroup for the final 8 miles or so back to the start.
There must have been about 12 of us in one group thundering back on the Silver Comet. With the great weather, there were tons of folks out on the Comet. Bike riders, runners, etc. I wished I had taken a few pictures of our group.
This route is a great training route for upcoming big group rides. Next big ride is in 2 weeks over in Braselton, GA for the Jackson County Brevet. This was my first ride over 60 miles last year and it was touch-and-go on whether I was going to make it. I'm better prepared, but the last 15 miles is all uphill.
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