I can’t think of a better way to spend the first day of summer than doing the Solstice 300K. Thank you Kevin for making it possible!
This is my favorite time of year. I love the long hours of daylight, being warm, and seeing everything green. What a treat to get to be out in all this beauty all day long. I especially enjoyed the creatures along the route. The cows helped us greet the day as they stood by the fence along the hill approaching the landfill. Also, I loved all the rabbits we saw. It occurred to me that a great thing about the Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga Trail is that there’s no road kill because there are no motorized vehicles.
One of the most challenging parts of the ride was maneuvering around the other people using the trail toward the east end. Really, I felt more nervous there than riding typical roads with traffic. But it was good mental exercise to keep concentrating. There was one fairly narrow bridge covered in kudzu vines. We got as far right as possible because of other people going in the opposite direction. As the tendrils of kudzu reached out and wrapped themselves around our arms, I was reminded of the trees in the haunted forest in The Wizard of Oz.
Brian Burke and Daniel were my main companions during the ride, and they were terrific ones. I simply don’t have as much power on the mostly flat terrain we encountered, and I appreciated being able to draft them. In fact, I’m convinced that Daniel has a secret buttocks motor.
The one real downside to the day was that a few miles into Alabama, Brian went down on one of those pieces of metal remaining at an intersection where a post had been removed. He landed on his elbow, getting some nasty looking road rash. Also, he thinks he cracked a rib. Both of his tires flatted, but between Daniel, Wayne (who rode up behind us shortly after the crash), and me, we had enough equipment to get Brian going again. I’m so thankful he was able to keep riding. Brian, I hope you’re back 100% very soon!
Our foursome continued on the Chief Ladiga Trail, and that’s when the rain hit us. We contemplated taking shelter – several lightning strikes got pretty close – but there wasn’t really anywhere to go. Fortunately, we made it through. I was surprised that the storm lasted as long as it did, about 30 miles. At least it washed a lot of the grime off of us from the cyclocross tunnel we had ridden through twice toward the east end. (You know which one I’m talking about!)
We all were glad for the stop at the Sonic on the west end; it was a super Sonic! That coconut cream pie shake really hit the spot. Sometimes I treat myself to a Dairy Queen Blizzard after a long ride, but I’m glad to now know that Sonic is an excellent alternative.
As we refueled at Sonic, Wayne told us that riding with us was the longest that he had ever ridden with anyone else on a brevet. I felt honored! He did a great job pulling the train for a little while as we headed back east. Brian dropped back pretty soon after we got back on the road; I’m sure he wasn’t feeling too great. Wayne dropped back, too, after a while. Maybe he went to check on Brian. I continued with Daniel the moto-machine, and we kept up a good, steady effort to the end. I was feeling noticeably tired and sore for about the last 10 miles, but I knew I’d make it.
Before I started home, I went to Zorba’s, an Italian and Greek restaurant in Cedartown. I had a particularly good Greek salad – large chunks of feta cheese, pepperoncini, and cherry peppers. My entrée was a delicious concoction of spaghetti, Italian sausage, bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions baked with cheese on top. It was monstrous, however. The rule is to never eat anything bigger than your head, even after riding a 300K. So, I brought half of it home for lunch today.
Thank you again to everyone for making it such a memorable day. I’m already looking forward to my next brevet!
Betty Jean
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| Me, Daniel, and Brian at the state line (transition from the Silver Comet to the Chief Ladiga Trail) |
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