"Train"ing Ride

Yesterday Peach Peloton switched from its usual location in Macon and joined up with the Winter Bike League in Athens.  Because that didn't fit into our schedule, Robert and I did a fairly long ride from home instead.  It was nice not to have to get up to an alarm on a Saturday morning.

I came up with a route that was a little more than 80 miles long.  It first took us through downtown Monticello.  Just before we got to the city limits, we saw a skunk waddling along the side of the road.  Robert said that he had seen the same skunk a day or two previously.  Because it's unusual to see a skunk in broad daylight like that, we suspected that it was rabid.  We stopped when we got to the Monticello square, and Robert called animal control.  I felt kind of bad about the potential demise of the skunk but knew that if it was, in fact, rabid, it posed a threat to other animals and humans.  Robert predicted that if the skunk were OK, it would evade animal control.  That's what I'm hoping for.

The day started out quite overcast, but brilliant sunshine and blue skies replaced the clouds a couple of hours into our ride.  That helped to make up for the significant wind.  No matter which direction we went, there seemed to be a headwind!  I just pretended that I was in Kansas during RAAM.  I've been trying to ride in adverse conditions of all types when I can, and wind is one of them.  The two most popular songs from the rock group Kansas were apropos for the day:

"Dust in the wind - all we are is dust in the wind."

"Carry on my wayward son.  There'll be peace when you are done.  Lay your weary head to rest.  Don't you cry no more."

I can already imagine myself getting the "Wayward Son" lyrics stuck in my head as I pedal across Kansas during RAAM.  I told Robert about this, and he suggested another Kansas connection:

"I'll get you my pretty - and your little dog, too!"

Kansas...

Tornadoes...

Which sound like trains - the perfect tie-in for this "train"ing ride:

Robert and I stopped for lunch about 5/8 into the ride at The Caboose, a restaurant in Rutledge, GA.  A deli sandwich and a side salad were just right to fuel me for the rest of the ride.  By the way, lots of the sandwiches looked good, but I had to pick one with a train theme, the Boxcar.  They also had the Engineer and the Amtrak.

This is my favorite caboose: