Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Weekend rides



Too many projects. Just getting to the weekend post.

Two days of weekend riding -- I'm not sure I've done that all summer. But I made it happen last weekend with a 200K on Saturday and a social ride on Sunday with several old friends.

I got back-to-back days in just under the wire. Fall officially sprang on Monday, but the weather on Saturday and Sunday was Autumn's advance team, with temperatures in the mid 70s and a steady wind from the north or northwest.

I glommed on to John M's inaugural ride of his new permanent from his neighborhood just behind Eno State Park up to Hyco Lake and back. Along for the ride were Dean, Mike O, John, and Jerry for about 20 miles. John said the route was relatively flat, but relatively is a relative term. It was flat except for all of those hills.

We rode into a stiff wind all the way up to Hyco. We visited with Gilbert and his fantastic bike shop in Yanceyville on the way up and the way back.

A fun time was had by all, and Mike and Deano apparently had so much fun that they threw in some bonus miles at a missing sign post as they neared Durham.

This is a fun route and highly recommended. Thanks to John for putting it together.

On Sunday, I hitched a ride over to Chapel Hill with Dan for a social ride with JoeRay and Wes. What a great crew that is. This was a foodfest. We did a 100K to Hillsborough and back, with a meal stop at Weaver grocery and a milkshake at MapleView. Did I mention I had an egg, cheese & sausage bagel before heading to Chapel Hill?

Highlight of that ride was watching Joe and Wes chase down and spit out some racer guy who went by without a hello. I watched from a seat way at the back of the train.

Two days of riding. I'm looking forward to an encore presentation this weekend.

1 comment:

dean furbish said...

Mike O and I decided, after crossing a county line not on the cue sheet that enough was enough. It was evident to us that we could not improve on a great route the good doctor had stitched together.

John was smart in placing a convenient store at mile 90 just after Gunn-Poole Rd, after which, to our "disappointment," only "insignificant" hills remained.

Would I do the route again? You bet. Why? Scenic. Good roads. Low traffic. Sufficient conveniences.

It was great riding with everyone.

-Dean/Raleigh