Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

On Friday nights I've been trying to do festive dinners at home while we can't go out to restaurants like we did pre-pandemic.  This past Friday night, I combined my dinner plans with a semi-serious bike jaunt.

This all happened because of Strava.  I'm doing the September Cycling Distance Challenge, which involves riding 1250 km during the month.  I do this challenge from March through September, taking a mental break from self competition during from October through February, when I typically ride less anyway.  About a week ago, I checked my stats to see how I was coming with the September Cycling Distance Challenge.  I was planning a 100K yesterday and a 50K on dirt roads today.  On the remaining seven cycling days in September, I had to average about 20 miles per ride - definitely doable.  This even included taking Friday off as I usually do.  Wayment...

Then I realized that tomorrow and Tuesday I'll be teaching classes in Augusta.  Therefore, I can't ride on Monday because I don't have room in my car for both my teaching supplies and my bike.  So, how was I going to make up those roughly 20 miles?  I could add them to my longer weekend rides, but that would take away from my much needed weekend time for other responsibilities.  Aha!  I'd ride on Friday and make Monday my off day for cycling.

I looked forward to my Friday ride but knew it would be a challenge to fit it in.  I taught a half-day class in the morning.  By the time I drove back from Atlanta, it was 2:00 PM.  Then, I still had about an hour's worth of office work I had to get done.  Also, I needed to do my weekly grocery shopping, which I've been doing on Friday after work to free up Saturdays to ride.  On top of that, I really needed to take the recyclables to the collection boxes at the landfill, which is only open a few days a week and closes at 4:15 PM.  Nevertheless, I was determined to make everything work.

I completed my office work, dashed home to finish making my grocery list and load up the recyclables, got to the landfill right before it closed, did my grocery shopping, and went home and put away the frozen and refrigerated items.  (The other stuff could wait until later.)  I had just enough time for about an hourlong ride before sunset.

First, I rode uptown.  From there, I went out and back on Rock Eagle Road.  It was a lovely evening.  When I got back to the square, I headed to Big Chic.  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

I enjoy cooking and am pretty good at it, but I'm not very good at frying chicken.  Why should I be, though, when Big Chic does such a great job?  Also, what better thing to put in my Yogi Bear picnic basket than fried chicken?

During my grocery shopping, I had gotten some sparkling wine, which goes great with fried chicken.

I had plenty of time to chill it at home during my ride, but I have a great tip in case you ever want to drink a chilled bottle of wine as soon as you get home from the grocery store.  Select your bottle of wine first thing when you get to the grocery store.  Stash it in the freezer section, hidden under the Brussels sprouts where no one will see it.  Complete the rest of your grocery shopping, and retrieve your nicely chilled bottle from the Brussels sprouts right before you're ready to check out.  I'll bet I could do my own version of Hints from Heloise, except mine would be more like Hints from Morticia Addams.

I cooked sweet potatoes, okra, and biscuits to go with the fried chicken.  The sweet potatoes were the scraggly remnants of a batch I bought at the farmers market a few weeks ago.  I boiled them, mashed them, and mixed in some cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, pecans, and a splash of Jack Daniels.  The okra was from my weekly CSA delivery.  I would have fried it, but I didn't want two fried things at the same meal.  Therefore, I roasted the okra, which is also delicious.  Lastly, we had some good ol' cathead biscuits.

In addition to a wonderful evening with Robert and the hounds, I was well fueled for my 100K the next morning.

An Ordinary Ride - Or Not

I thought it was going to be just another ride, but sometimes the ordinary can be really enjoyable.  I rode a loop to Newborn and Godfrey.  It was a great route with very little traffic.

Although I could have made it on the water bottles I started with, I stopped for a refill at the B.F. Grant check station.

I've been grateful many times for the spigot there, one of the few water water sources for miles.  At the check station I saw some cicada exoskeletons - cool!  How many things might we miss if we don't slow down?

I felt even better during the last part of my ride.  That was probably because the Clif Bar that I ate kicked in, and I was well hydrated thanks to stopping for extra water.

As I rode back toward Monticello, I remembered that I dreamed about boiled peanuts last night.  I love boiled peanuts but couldn't remember the last time I had some.  Maybe the boiled peanut vendor would still be on the square as I went through.  Yes!  Another vendor was selling BBQ . Actually, he was out of BBQ and just had Brunswick stew left.  Perfect!

I carried my Brunswick stew and boiled peanuts in my Yogi Bear picnic basket for the few remaining miles to the house.  Robert got home from mountain biking right after I got home.  I shared my loot with him.

One Love Solidarity Ride

The Metro Atlanta Cycling Club (MACC) One Love Century is one of my favorite charity rides.  It's held the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, but this year it was a virtual ride because of COVID-19: the One Love Solidarity Ride.  Riders could ride any route in any location they chose.  I rode a century from home.

Recommended attire was a One Love jersey/kit, One Love T-shirt, etc.  I have a couple of One Love T-shirts from previous events, but I didn't want to wear one on my ride because I needed jersey pockets.  However, I had the perfect alternative: my MACC/One Love bracelets.

As usual for a Saturday, my ride started with a visit to the Monticello farmers market.  It was a good haul: sweet potatoes, muscadines, and one of Laverne's fried peach pies.

My plan was to drop off the sweet potatoes and muscadines at home and take the peach pie with me for ride fuel.  Because My Yogi Bear picnic basket was full, I carried the sweet potatoes in a reusable bag around my neck; it's only a few miles from the farmers market to my house.  One of the market vendors and I usually chat about cycling things.  Her daughter does Ironman triathlons.  She flagged me down right before I headed out, wanting to check out my cycling setup.  In particular, she wondered if I had anything that might work as a Christmas gift for her daughter.  She said, "I don't know that she would want a neck bag."  I laughed and explained that that wasn't official cycling gear; it was simply my stopgap measure to get my sweet potatoes home.

When I left the house after dropping off my produce, Robert joined me for about 25 miles.  Woo hoo!

I always forget about Robert's GoPro.  He took some video of me.  Here's a clip where I'm climbing, climbing, climbing:

Robert rode with me through the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge.  He turned around at Jarrell Plantation Road, and I continued on my century route.

I love the tomatoes at all the rest stops on the One Love Century!  So, I packed my own for Saturday's One Love Solidarity Ride.  MACC puts out garlic salt with their tomatoes.  I didn't have any garlic salt, and so I brought some Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt, which has garlic salt in it.  I stopped at Liberty Park in Jones County.  A covered pavilion with picnic tables was the perfect spot to have my tomato snack.

At the park I was thrilled to see a Little Free Library that Girl Scout Troop #60438 put up.

Good thing I had my Yogi Bear picnic basket - plenty big enough to add a book!  I'm doing the 2020 Library Challenge, and one of the categories is A Book with a Monster on the Cover.  A ghost is a monster.

I enjoyed riding through Jones County.  Although I don't ride on a lot of these roads very often, they are familiar to me from so many seasons of Peach Peloton.

I stopped for another fuel break in Bradley.  I knew of a vacant house for sale, and its front porch was the perfect shady spot to eat my peach pie.

The rest of my ride was uneventful but pleasant.  Because Robert had ridden with me earlier in my ride, my average speed was higher than it would have been otherwise.  I played a game with myself, setting a goal of finishing my ride with an average speed of 17 mph.  I did it!

I look forward to next year's One Love Century, hopefully in person.