2 Days / 2 200Ks / The Great Escape

I needed a weekend out of the house, so I settled on a two-wheeled escape. This is a shot from Saturday's 200k -- Joel Lawrence's Sauratown loop, which rambles from High Point up to Virginia, passing near Hanging Rock (pictured, I think, in the gold coat of Autumn), Sauratown Mountain and Pilot Mountain, which is visible from one of the controls. Thankfully, you don't have to climb any of those peaks, but there are still plenty of hills.

Four of us -- me, Branson, JoeRay & Wes -- managed to escape the showers that rolled through in the early morning hours, but there wasn't much we could do about the wind on the way up. It would turn in our favor as we neared the Virginia line. It was a glorious day to be on the bikes, but unfortunately Wes developed knee problems just past the 100 mile mark and Joe ended up fetching a car from a nearby relative and sagging Wes in. But the route will be there for them another day.

Branson and I finished just after 5, and I celebrated with a double shot of espresso at the finish. Bad choice. That kept me awake half the night. I could have used the sleep because I got up early, escaping from a day of leaf raking, and met Byron and Geof (also known as Team Bianchi) for a Lake Loop. Both of those guys blog. Check em out. Geof is here and Byron is here. If Saturday was all about Fall, Sunday was our first taste of winter, with lines of fair weather clouds and a northwest breeze that chilled down considerably in the afternoon. This was Geof's first 200K of the year (!) and we rode along at a pretty leisurely pace, which suited my legs just fine. He was in fine form and finished with a big smile.

Below are pix. Joe and Branson from Saturday, the rest from Sunday.