Moon Ride

Today is the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.  Although I wasn't born yet, I'm awed and thrilled by this human feat.  Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Mike Collins may have been the ones physically there, but it truly was "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

To celebrate, I rode 50 miles today, an out-and-back route to Juliette.  I stopped at the Honey Comb, a shop that sells Moon Pies.  They have full-sized Moon Pies and these great little mini ones for $0.50.

It was the perfect mid-ride snack.

This evening I had a moon theme dinner for Robert and me.  He graciously let me pause the Tour so that I could play my list of moon songs during dinner:

• Fly Me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra
• Man in the Moon – REM
• Walking on the Moon – The Police
• Ticket to the Moon – ELO
• Moonshadow – Cat Stevens
• Eclipse (from Dark Side of the Moon) – Pink Floyd
• Moondance – Van Morrison
• Bad Moon Rising - CCR
• Luna – Tom Petty
• Full Moon – The Kinks
• That’s Amore – Dean Martin

The menu included:

• Pizza ("When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie..." - see That's Amore)
• Salad with blue cheese vinaigrette (The moon is made of green cheese, but blue cheese is all I could find.  If I had planned earlier, maybe I could have gotten some green cheese by letting some get moldy.)
• Blue Moon

We're watching the end of the Tour now.  When it's over, I'm going to play Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven on the piano.

"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." - Apollo 11 plaque

2019 Hoot Owl 200K

Last year I volunteered at the Hoot Owl 200K brevet (see 12/27/18 blog entry).  This year I rode it.  I wanted to ride it mainly for some nighttime riding experience before PBP.  I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as difficult as I expected to ride all night.

I took about an hour-and-a-half nap late in the afternoon yesterday to prep myself for the Hoot Owl.  Then, I cooked dinner for Robert and me and headed to the staging location in Ellenwood.  Nine of us gathered for the 10:00 PM start.

We were still one group when I hit a large pothole only a few miles into the ride.  Fortunately, my bicycle was fine, but my rear light popped out of its holder.  I had to go back to get it, and the others pedaled on.  My light attachment seemed quite adequate, and so I think that was simply a particularly nasty pothole.  However, I'm going to double check my light setup before PBP.  This is exactly the kind of data I was trying to collect to get ready.

Meanwhile, I found myself riding alone for almost the first half of the ride.  I didn't mind, but it would have been nice to have at least one companion in the earlier miles where traffic was heaviest.  Traffic wasn't that bad, but it didn't really die down until about 30 miles in, after Covington.

Then, I relaxed into a groove, enjoying the night air and sounds.  Happily, the moon was close to full.  It was a typical muggy summer night in Georgia.  Several of my riding companions later complained about the humidity, but it felt good to me.

The first official store stop was in Madison at mile 53.  Here I finally caught up to Brad, Brian, and Wayne.  A few minutes later, Ian and Joe rolled in; they had made an extra stop at a convenience store in Covington.  (I had passed Chris and Graham shortly after I picked up the light I had dropped.  Unfortunately, Graham had gotten a flat.)  Brian and I were ready to roll out of the Madison control first, and so we headed on.

The next stretch was almost completely on Georgia Highway 83.  Typically, I don't ride long distances on this road, using it only as a connector between quieter county roads.  However, Highway 83 was great in the wee AM hours; few, if any, cars passed us between Madison and Monticello.

Brian pulled ahead of me pretty soon after we left Madison.  He was almost always within sight, but I was essentially by myself again for a while.  I didn't mind.  It was a lovely nighttime ride.

Brian pulled over and waited for me once we got to the Monticello city limits.  We rode together to the next control, the Circle K in Monticello.

Like cyclists coming through around 3:00 AM . And me eating sardines.

There was a sweet dog hanging out.  The cashier says he comes over all the time from his nearby home.

I posted this photo on Facebook, and one of my friends in Monticello says this dog loves Slim Jims.  My friend buys him one every morning.

Photo credit: Brian Burke

Wayne and Ian joined Brian and me as we headed out of Monticello.  The four of us stayed together for the rest of the ride.

Brevets provide ample time to discuss things with your rando buddies.  This time I educated Brian (originally from Ohio) and Ian (originally from England) about cathead biscuits.  They are called thus because they are as big as a cat's head.  Ian thought about that for a while and then brought up an adage I've heard before: Never eat anything bigger than your head. He then amended that to, unless it's a cat's head.

Wayne had been dangling behind, not drafting but staying with us.  Toward the end of the ride, he shot around the rest of us.  I thought maybe he wanted to get on the front.  Or maybe he was trying to get off the road we were on and to the next quieter one.  Brian and Ian caught up to Wayne, but I got dropped.  Oh, well - it wasn’t a race, and I had plenty of time.  After a while, they slowed down, and I caught up.  Wayne said, “I’m sorry Betty Jean. I was listening to James Brown.”  I laughed.  Best reason ever to drop someone.

We finished at 6:33 AM.  That was well before the 11:30 AM cutoff, but it was still cool to also finish before the 6:37 AM sunrise.

Jasper County Dirt and Other Adventures

This past Saturday I had a thoroughly enjoyable day exploring right near home.  It all started with a quest to visit Barnes Mountain (elevation approximately 880 ft), the highest point in Jasper County.  Barnes Mountain is on private property, but I got as close as I could on the public road.  Barnes Mountain Rd. is a dirt road; thus, a dirt adventure was in order!

First up was a trip to the Saturday morning farmer's market on the square.  I picked up some great swag: homemade pickles and green tomatoes.

Then, it was time to ride.  My route took me northward on some familiar dirt roads.  I love these roads but don't get to ride them except on my longer dirt outings.  The top of my loop went along Clybel Road:

I wouldn't drive on most of Clybel Road without 4-wheel drive

Rut road!

but this part is OK:

A cyclocross bike works great on the entire road!

When I've ridden on Clybel Road in the past, I've turned left, heading south onto Ellis Road.  This past Saturday, I continued straight on Clybel Road, a portion I had never ridden.  My spatial skills came in handy here.

I had created my route as a gpx file and uploaded it to my Wahoo.  Also, I had studied a map ahead of time.  My Wahoo told me to turn on Ellis Road.  That wasn't correct!  I reviewed the cues in my uploaded file, and somehow the northwest portion of my route had been truncated.  It wasn't even going by Barnes Mountain, which was the whole point of this ride.  I determined where my Wahoo route would bring me back into the correct route.  Time to do a little navigating on the fly.

I was never truly lost, but I stopped a couple of times to check Google Maps on my phone to make sure I was going on the roads I intended.  I had never ridden on a few of these dirt roads - woo hoo!  Before long, the green lights on my Wahoo lit up; I was back on (its) track. 

For the second time ever, I rode on Faulkner Road.  The first time was last fall at the Sasquatch Ride.  That time, however, was in the opposite direction.  My route last Saturday took me up a steep climb that I didn't know I'd encounter.  According to Strava, parts of it were more than 13%!  There were a few technical points on my route - heavy gravel in a few spots, including a steep descent or two, plus some severe rutting on Clybel Road - but getting up this hill on Faulkner Road really did test my off-road cycling skills.  Glad I made it up without falling or having to walk!

Faulkner Road dead-ended onto Highway 16.  From there, I went almost straight across onto Concord Church Road.  I stopped to visit an interesting old grave at Concord Church that I discovered a few years ago:

Good Grief!  Can you imagine naming your child that?  The headstone must have been replaced at some time because this man lived so long ago.  He almost made it to 100, quite a feat, particularly back then!  Note that he was a mason, too (see symbol at top of headstone).

Fourteen miles to go, but only about the first half of those were off-road.  I had to savor the dirt while I could...

It was a good ol' humid summer day.  I had been fine on food and water, but I was ready for the treat I had planned for the last part of my ride: Dairy Queen!  I indulge in a Blizzard once or twice a year.  This time I got a summer berry cheesecake Blizzard - fuel for the last three miles.

When I got home, I had a late lunch.  I tried one of the pickles I had bought that morning at the farmer's market.  It was outstanding!

The good eats weren't over, however.  That evening I made a green tomato casserole.

I love where I live.  Check out your own backyard - who knows what treasures you'll find!

Drafting Queen

This morning I rode with Bill, Robert, Tony B., and Tony L. in Macon.  It was 2 1/2-hours at steady tempo - just what I needed!

I felt better riding than I have in a few weeks, which made me realize that my cold probably took more out of me than I realized.  I think I'm about 97% recovered.  Also, I was thrilled to stick with the guys for an entire ride.  Granted, it wasn't a killer pace, and there were no attacks or surges, but it's been a while since I've been able to hang with them in any form or fashion.

Because it's been so long since I've ridden with the guys without being dropped, I purposely drafted the entire time.  In fact, today I was the

Drafting Queen

You can draft 
You can ride 
Having the time of your life 
Ooh, see that girl 
Watch that scene 
Dig in the drafting queen

Ironically, I got a QOM on my Drafting Queen ride 😂