Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day (February 2) is one of my favorite holidays. Georgia's official meteorological marmot, General Beauregard Lee (Beau to his friends), moved to nearby Dauset Trails Nature Center a little over a year ago. I got to see him at his inaugural Groundhog Day event last year, and I was psyched to go back again yesterday because of this year's T-shirt:
Jake was in charge of planning yesterday's Peach Peloton. He and several other guys, including Robert, opted to pre-ride the Middle Georgia Epic route before that race in two weeks. However, Jake also planned a regular Peach Peloton from Bolingbroke. That worked great for me for several reasons, primarily because it gave me time to go see Beau before riding yesterday morning.
I arrived at Dauset Trails at about 7:15 AM, shortly before sunrise. As I approached the gate, I was tickled at how many cars were waiting to get in - all for Beau! Turns out I had forgotten that there was also a half marathon and 5K that morning at Dauset Trails. Still, there were over 500 people there to see Beau. I know this from the button I received as I approached Beau's area:
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| Button being held by my groundhog puppet Woody (as in woodchuck, another name for a groundhog) |
Alas, Beau predicted six more weeks of winter (insert sad face emoji). However, I still had fun checking out the festivities:
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| Hanging out with Beau |
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| With Chopper, mascot of the Gwinnett Stripers, the Triple-A team of the Atlanta Braves. He's also a groundhog! |
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| Because nothing is more all-American than predicting the weather from a ground squirrel |
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| With another Beau groupie |
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| Whistle pig is yet another name for a groundhog |
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| Beau used to live at the Yellow River Game Ranch, which closed a couple of years ago. I got this button the first time I saw Beau, back in 02/02/02! |
Peach Peloton
I had just enough time to drive from Dauset Trails to Bolingbroke for Peach Peloton. Because a number of the regulars were going to Irwinton for the Middle Georgia Epic pre-ride, I knew it would be a smaller than usual Peach Peloton group. I was glad for the four others who did show up: Chad M., Doug, Tom (hadn't seen him in ages!), and Tony L. There was some firepower there, but I figured Chad would keep things under control. He's good at that.
Over the first 20 miles, we picked up a few more riders: Brock, Stony, and Jeff K. Brock and Stony in particular could have put a real hurting on the group, but the stronger riders made a point to keep us together. I certainly had to work harder than the others, but I was OK. For one thing, I sat on the back during rotations.
Chad, who had turned into our de facto leader, suggested a couple of detours. One gave us a good store stop option. The second detour added a few miles at the end so that our total actual mileage (78 miles) wasn't much less than the original plan (84 miles).
I thought I might finally hang with the group until the end this time. I didn't quite make it. That second detour at about mile 70 took us on Rumble Road. It's paved but has a rough surface. Because of the extra friction, I simply couldn't keep up, particularly as the guys were smelling the barn. Oh well, I rolled in just a few minutes after them. I had a good time and certainly a great workout.
After the ride, I treated myself to lunch at Panera Bread (panini and a Greek salad - both excellent). Panera also fit conveniently into my post-ride quest: finding some Woodchuck Cider for yesterday evening's traditional Groundhog Day dinner. My local Ingles used to carry Woodchuck Cider but doesn't anymore. It's a lot harder in general to find it these days. So, after Panera I went across the road to Kroger. Although Kroger didn't have Woodchuck, I did get to stock up on Clif Bars. Kroger has the best selection of Clif Bars flavors and good prices. Yesterday there was an especially great deal: buy 8 or more Clif Bars for $0.88 each! I had to go to three other stores before finding Woodchuck Cider, but at least they all were pretty much on my way home.
By the way, yesterday's traditional Groundhog Day dinner was delicious: Woodchuck Cider, Six More Weeks of Winter White Chili (see recipe below), Beau's Cornbread, and Springy Squash and Onions.
Six More Weeks of Winter White Chili
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup cooked chicken*, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 small cans chopped green chilies
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1-2 teaspoons oregano
Dash chili powder, Tabasco, and pepper (to taste)
2 cups chicken broth*
2 cans white hominy, drained
2 cans black-eyed peas, drained
2 cans chopped tomatoes, drained (same size can as hominy and black-eyed peas)
3-4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Grated Monterrey jack cheese
In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add chicken, chilies, cumin, oregano, chili powder, Tabasco, and pepper. Saute about 30 seconds. Add broth, hominy, peas, and tomatoes. Stir. Simmer for about one hour, stirring occasionally.
Add cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste. Garnish with cheese and serve.
*Cook 1-2 chicken breasts the night before and use the resulting meat and broth. Skim any fat from the broth before adding to chili.
Yield: 6 servings
Fried Green 50
My friend Monty typically holds the Fried Green 50 (FG50) in early November. It didn't happen this past November, but he's revamping it for next fall. In the meantime, he had a chill version of the FG50 today.
By chill, I mean that it didn't have the usual SAG stops or course markings. That was no problem, though, because we still could get water at the fire tower midway through the ride, and I simply uploaded the route from Strava to my Garmin from a previous edition of the FG50. Perhaps best of all, today everyone rode the FG50 more recreationally rather than as a race.
I found myself at the front with teammates Allen and Stony as well as a new friend, Haby from Columbus, GA. Allen and Stony can drop me any day of the week, but they kindly stayed with me, at least for about the first half - ha ha! That was largely because I was the only one of the three of us who knew the course. Not that they would have gotten lost, but they didn't know all the many turns. Haby had the course on his bike computer, too.
Later in the ride, the three guys rode ahead but waited for me at intersections. They did ride on at the very end, but I was cool with that. I really enjoyed being able to take in the scenery more than I usually do on the FG50.
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| Piedmont Wildlife Refuge |
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| The Ocmulgee River |
It was overcast and rather midwinter dreary for most of the ride. However, the sun came out in the afternoon, and it warmed to around 60 degrees - beautiful for February!
By the way, there were six creek crossings. Due to recent rains, they were a little higher than they usually are in November, but they were still ridable, particularly those with good technical riding skills. Unfortunately, I don't have good technical riding skills. I was 1 for 6 on the creek crossings, meaning I rode through only one of them without putting a foot down midstream. Oh, well, it didn't faze me because I had on wool socks, and it wasn't a super cold day.
I've been contemplating today's ride. I wasn't lollygagging, but I wasn't riding breakneck race pace, either. I probably would have had to ride at my race pace to keep up with the guys at their fairly easy pace. Especially after a hard workout yesterday, I just didn't want to race today. These two back-to-back rides, just as I did them, are probably plenty good training for PBP (still a ways off) and just in general. Still, I'm always second-guessing myself. If I don't ride hard enough, often enough, will I lose the ability to ride hard? But on the other hand, sometimes it's good and important to ride just for fun. How do you balance everything? I was talking with Robert about this as I cooked dinner tonight, and he assured me that all serious cyclists wrestle with these questions. He told me to let him know if I figure it out.
At least I know one thing:
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