Otis Redding Memorial Ride

A few days ago, my friend Jennifer Cain put the word out that she needed someone to take her place on the biking leg of a relay team at the Rock 'n RollMan Half IronMan in Macon on October 10th.  I've been doing plenty of training, and I would be riding that day anyway.  Therefore, I told her I would be glad to substitute for her.

The bicycle portion of the Rock n' RollMan will be 56 miles.  I needed to get a feel for a longer ride on my TT bike; 56 miles is longer even than the state TT championship, which is about 40 km (about 25 miles).  I had already planned to ride around 50 miles today, and I had a special destination in mind: the new Otis Redding memorial in Gray, Georgia.  I simply switched from my road bike to my TT bike.

I was glad that Robert joined me on the ride today.  He drafted me the entire way so that I could get the full effect of riding my TT bike.  I rode at a steady tempo pace; at the end of the ride, I was pretty tuckered out!  It was excellent practice.

The Otis Redding memorial at our turnaround point was the best part of our ride.  It lists some of the highlights of his life, and you can even listen to some of his hit songs.  One of my favorites is "Hard to Handle."  I first knew this as a Black Crowes song and later was delighted to learn that Otis originally sang it.

http://youtu.be/1ZxN9iQM7OY

There's just something about where I live.  It's so beautiful, and it has produced all kind of literary, artistic, and musical talents like Otis Redding.