200K Morrisville NC Pre-Ride

Next Saturday is RUSA's 10th anniversary, and Fearless Leader Al has two rides planned -- a 200K brevet and a 110K populaire -- as well as a picnic at the finish. Three of us, myself, Branson and Chuck, have agreed to help out on the Big Day, so we took advantage of RUSA's pre-ride rule to complete the 200K last Saturday.

The weather was tailor-made, especially for August -- low humidity and high temperatures in the mid 80s made it feel more like late September, and cloud cover kept us relatively cool for most of day. By the afternoon, however, it felt like summertime.

Steel was the ride of choice with two Cohos and Branson's Serotta. We picked up a hitchhiker about 25 miles in. A rider named Greg saw us passing by as he rolled out of his driveway on Mann's Chapel and hung with us until the turnaround at Siler City, where he took a shortcut home by following Hwy 64E back to Pittsboro.

The company and pace were both exceedingly pleasant. At times we flat out lollygagged. I made the boys offer up opinions on the John Edwards story, as that titillating scandal was still fresh news.

After a fairly slack schedule this spring, I finally got good miles in during July, and on Saturday's ride I felt just about back to normal and pushed the pace a few times toward the end of the day. We finished in just over 8 hours, not bad for a ride without any focus other than fun and friendship. At the finish we got a sneak preview of some freshly minted 10th anniversary medals that RUSA made for next weekend's events. Very nice!

Chuck headed back to Randolph County for a church social featuring homemade ice cream while Branson and I ducked into Salsa Fresh for tacos.

Next Saturday, we'll trade the helmets for chef hats and play short order cooks as riders return from the two scheduled rides. At least 20 riders have already signed on. Should be fun. Come on out for the celebration.