Chops & Hops Populaire

Sometimes it's good to put aside the power data, speed, and competition and simply ride bikes with your friends.  That's exactly what I did last Saturday at the Chops & Hops Populaire.  Wayne, our new Audax Atlanta Regional Brevet Administrator (RBA), wants to offer some social rides to our group, and he's getting us off to an excellent start.

A populaire is a 100K event.  This was only my second one.  Both times the group rode it audax style, meaning that everyone purposely stays together.  Maybe I didn't ride Chops & Hops as fast as I could have, but the camaraderie more than made up for it.

The ride was scheduled to start at 8:00 AM in Watkinsville.  It had rained all day the previous day and overnight, but the clouds were supposed to clear fairly close to ride time.  We checked the radar as we gathered in the parking lot.  If we waited an hour, we just might miss the rain.  So, we headed down the road a few blocks to a coffee shop.

It was great to get caught up with everyone, especially Robert N.  This was his first ride back since a serious hand and wrist injury in a crash a couple of months ago.  I was so glad he was feeling up to the day's ride.  After coffee, tea, and muffins, we all were well fortified for the ride.

Thirteen of us rolled out:

Wayne was taking the picture; someone else was off taking a nature break

Just a few miles into the ride, we came to an intersection blocked by a sheriff's deputy.  A running race was underway, and this was the turnaround point.  Fortunately, we were allowed to proceed on our route.  It was a unique adventure to ride among the runners.

I would be on my bicycle much longer than the runners were running.  We all probably thought we were getting the better end of that deal.

Later that day, I looked up the race online and discovered that it was the 20th Annual Will Chamberlin Memorial Santa Stroll 8K.  Will helped us in Monticello for many years with the Deer Dash 5K.  It was particularly meaningful to me to learn that that's what this race was.

It turned into a beautiful day for riding.  I reveled in the sparkling December sunshine and great companionship.

Andy sporting a cool Audax Atlanta jersey

I enjoyed the opportunity to ride with Neil.  Neil might not be fast, but he's amazing.  He's nearly 75 and keeps on keeping on despite several broken bones in recent years.  Brian gave multiple pushes to Neil to help him up the climbs.  Wayne joked that it was like Neil had an e-bike.  Actually, he had a B-bike!

I get by with a little help from my friends.

When I was mapping the route ahead of time to upload to my Garmin, I was pleased to see that we would be going down the steep hill at Hard Labor Creek state park, opposite of the direction I usually ride.  As I continued mapping, however, I realized that the route was out and back to Rutledge.  We got to make the big climb after all.

We cruised the remaining 18 miles or so back to our starting point.  Afterwards, everyone gathered at Chops & Hops.  Good food, good beer, and good friends - a high point of my holiday season!

Me, Andy, and Neil

Jim, Tim, Brad, and David B.

Beer connoisseurs Brian and Robert N. enjoy a flight