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.
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| Like cyclists coming through around 3:00 AM . And me eating sardines. |
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.
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| Photo credit: Brian Burke |
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.
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