West Georgia Fall Line 200K Permanent

Yesterday I rode the West Georgia Fall Line 200K permanent.  I was fully prepared to ride it alone, but I was so happy that a couple of rando buddies, Ian Flitcroft and Robert Newcomer, joined me.  I hope they enjoyed the day as much as I did.

Waffle House

The ride started at Waffle House in Thomaston.  Thus, I forwent my usual pre-ride oatmeal at home and fueled up there instead.  Because Waffle House is not known for its vegetable matter, I ate some fresh grapes on the drive over.  Then, with a pecan waffle, a couple of scrambled eggs (with Tabasco), and hot tea with lemon, I was rarin’ to go.

Waffle House is the stuff of Southern lore.  Many a college student has gone there in the wee hours after a night of merrymaking.  I also have fond memories of Waffle House being the only available food source after being snowed in for several days during the blizzard of 1993 in Atlanta.  More recently, with it being open 24 hours a day, I’m rediscovering it as a valuable resource during my long bicycle rides.  Ah, Waffle House: haven for rapscallions, raconteurs, and randonneurs.

After I finished my breakfast, I went out to the parking lot and met up with Ian and Robert.  We set out on a beautiful morning.  Oftentimes, my ride will take on a particular theme.  Yesterday was an environmental ride.  Our conversation and several things we saw along the way inspired me to do a little post-ride research.

Wolves at Yellowstone

Robert described something interesting that he learned recently.  When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, it led to rivers changing course.  I was fascinated.  It makes perfect sense ecologically.  The increased wolf population has led to a decrease in elk and other herbivores.  This has allowed more abundant growth of plants.  In turn, the denser plant root growth has held the soil better.  Therefore, rivers have rerouted themselves around these less erodible areas.

Everything is interconnected, but too often we humans are blind to this truth.  I was reminded of some lines from one of my favorite Rush songs, “Natural Science”:

Wheels within wheels in a spiral array

A pattern so grand and complex

Time after time we lose sight of the way

Our causes can’t see their effects

Wiregrass Region

The route was aptly named because we clearly saw both the piedmont and the coastal plain as we crossed the fall line several times.  As we rode in the coastal plain, I was delighted to see the needles of the longleaf pines waving in the breeze.  They are quite distinguishable from the needles of the loblolly pines that predominate in the lower piedmont region where I live.

We were in wiregrass country.  This is a rich ecosystem that used to stretch across much of the Southeast.   The primary vegetation includes open longleaf pine forests with abundant wiregrass growing on the ground below.  Today, only a few pockets remain from the millions of acres that used to comprise the wiregrass region.  During our ride it was easy to see what has caused the transformation.  Most of this land has been converted to agriculture or sand mining. 

Environmental Justice

Our route was a big, counterclockwise loop.  Most of the sand mining was in the southwest corner of the loop.  Leaving this mining area, we traveled east on the Fall Line Freeway, enjoying an excellent tailwind.  After a while, Ian pointed out a particularly large sand mine protruding above the tree line.  However, within the next mile or so as we rode into a low spot, we detected a rather pungent odor.  I suspected that that large sand mine was actually a landfill.  Sure enough, we had a clear view of the landfill a short time later.

This was in Taylor County, and I was reminded of a big news item from about 25 years ago.  A hazardous waste landfill was proposed for Taylor County, and it was so controversial that it made national news.  I was in college at the time, and I remember one of my professors referring to the case in a discussion of environmental justice.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines environmental justice as "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies."  Taylor County has a higher percentage of both African-Americans and people below the poverty level than the rest of Georgia.  Opponents of the hazardous waste landfill asserted that local citizens were not included in the discussions of locating it there.  Supporters touted the badly needed economic development that it would bring.  I didn’t remember the outcome of all of this, and so I tried to find more information online.  I suppose that the hazardous waste landfill never was built because I didn’t see one listed in Taylor County on the website of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.  Additionally, the two landfills that I did find for Taylor County included a municipal solid waste landfill (for regular household garbage) and an inert waste landfill (for waste that doesn’t react or decompose, e.g. sand, gravel, and concrete).

One interesting side note: during our ride yesterday we noticed numerous campaign signs for Debbie Buckner for state representative.  As I was doing research for this ride report, I read that she was one of the most active opponents of the hazardous waste landfill.

Highlight of the Day

Lest you think it was a total nerd-fest, we did have some lighter moments during the day.  For me, the highlight came after our lunch stop in Reynolds.  As we pedaled on, I remarked to Ian and Robert that I have one connection to Reynolds.  My local Monticello-Jasper County Chamber of Commerce has an annual dinner that always includes a keynote speaker, e.g. a politician or someone entertaining.  (Those are usually mutually exclusive.)  One year we had – of all things – a mortician from Reynolds who was absolutely hilarious.  He talked about small-town Southern life and his work, but he did it in such a way that it wasn’t morbid or disrespectful.

Ian, Robert, and I went on to discuss the funeral business.  Ian observed, “Embalming is taxidermy for humans.”  Brilliant!

Photo Opps

Because I had riding companions, I didn’t stop to take as many photos as I might have otherwise.  I did get a couple, though.  The first was at a railroad crossing.  It was on a rural road with very little traffic and probably only a few trains each day.  Murphy’s Law dictated that we arrived just in time to get caught by a train:

Later in the ride we stopped at this picturesque covered bridge, which also served as an information control:

Welcome Wagon

About 10 miles from the end, we were climbing a pretty steep hill.  I looked back and saw that a car had slowed down to talk to Ian and Robert.  I immediately suspected that it was Daniel, the organizer for this permanent.  I was right!  How thoughtful of him to come check on us!  He even drove on to the Waffle House to greet us at the end.  It was also convenient to be able to hand our cards to him then instead of mailing them later.

Thank you, Daniel, for organizing a great permanent, and thank you, Ian and Robert, for riding with me!

Team Camp

My cycling team, the Georgia Neurosurgical Institute, had our team camp this weekend.  We traveled to North Carolina and South Carolina for a fun weekend of riding and simply enjoying each other's company.

A few of us were able to take time off from work to get an early start on Friday.  Tyler, Robert, and I met in Greenville, SC, on Friday afternoon for a chill ride.  We rode on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.  We picked up the trail near Falls Park in downtown Greenville, rode through the Furman University campus, and went to the end of the trail in Travelers Rest.

Tyler and me

Here's a rather amusing sign we saw along the trail.  Fortunately, nothing like this happened to any of our teammates this weekend:

That evening, most of the rest of the team joined us for dinner in downtown Greenville.  While we waited for everyone to arrive, we checked out the food festival that was going on all along Main Street.  I even saw this lovely praying mantis among the big city goings on:

At last we all were there, and we went to a terrific Belgian restaurant that Robert and I had discovered on a trip to Greenville earlier this year.  It's called the Trappe Door, and it serves an excellent selection of craft beers (many from Belgium or other European countries) and authentic Belgian food.  Here's Van, enjoying a lambic called Vichtenaar.

After dinner we drove to Tryon, NC, where we had rented a house for the weekend.  Along with a couple of spouses and Tyler's baby, there were 11 of us.  The house was just big enough for us and worked quite nicely (at least after we went to the grocery store and bought some soap!).

We divvied up the cooking duties for the rest of the weekend.  Robert and I cooked breakfast Saturday morning.  Then, we hit the road for our first day of riding as a team.

Our first climb was rather deceptive.  It was about a 4% grade for several miles around the reservoir that serves Greenville.  Several teammates thought this might be the first of our two big climbs for the day.  Oh, no.  The real fun was still to come.  In the meantime, we had a most pleasant stop in Saluda, NC at the Wildflour Bake Shop.  As you can see, this is a popular stop for local cyclists!

We fueled up with various pastries, e.g. a pumpkin ginger scone for me.  I also enjoyed taking in the decor.  I'm still trying to teach my chickens to do this:

Before we left, we asked another cyclist in the parking lot to take a team photo of us:

Chad, me, Robert, Tina, Tony, Jeff (a.k.a. Stony), Van, and Tyler

Then, it was time for the real festivities: Skyuka Mountain.  Robert and I had done this climb back in May, and so we knew what to expect.  It's about 7 miles at a 9% grade.  You just have to put your head down and grind it up.  The hardest part is that it's unrelenting.  After a little more than 30 minutes, we all made it to the top.  Wow.  That was quite a climb for us Middle Georgians who usually ride on rolling hills.

The view from the top was stunning.  I don't know what this plant is, but I love the feathery, red tops.

Also, you can see a few clouds; however, even in the short time that we rested at the summit, the cloud cover increased noticeably.  We decided to descend and head back to the rental house pronto.

As tough as the climb was, the descent was perhaps even tougher.  I'm not a very aggressive descender.  Most of the guys finished before me.  Van was riding carbon wheels, which melted from the friction of his brake pads!

We correctly predicted that Van wouldn't be able to ride all the way back to the house.  More on that in a moment...

The group continued on, but somehow we got split up.  Chad, Robert, and I made a turn onto a particular road just as the rain caught up to us.  Robert commented that all we needed now was for the paved road to run out.  Wouldn't you know it - about two seconds later (literally), the pavement ended!  Fortunately, the dirt road wasn't too bad.   It lasted only about a mile before dead-ending into a paved road.  We lingered there for a few minutes.

Robert and me.  I always say that with my very round, full face, I have enough cheeks for three people.  The angle of this picture makes me look like I have enough cheeks for five people.

We kind of figured that the others wouldn't continue on the unpaved road.   Even so, we tried to help them out by making an arrow out of sticks to point them in the right direction.

Between the first monster climb and the rain, I don't think anyone was too disappointed to forgo the second big climb that was originally planned.  We headed back to the house, which was less than 10 miles away.  Before Chad, Robert, and I made the final ascent up the driveway, Chad had to stop for a little swinging:

The others got back to the house pretty soon...except for Van.  Tyler had called his wife Ginny, who had come with us on the trip, to pick Van up.  The only trouble was that Van had forgotten to take his cell phone with him, and he didn't stay put!  Tony also went out in search of Van.  They eventually found him, and we were glad to have him safe and sound back with the group.  By the way, Robert had fortuitously brought an extra set of wheels on the trip, which Van was able to use on today's ride.

We all took showers and enjoyed relaxing for the next few hours.  Chad, our Beer Czar, brought an excellent selection of brews, including several flavorful seasonal ones.  Stony must have had pre-dinner (lunch + supper = lupper?), fixing himself this delicious looking salad:

Maybe this is what allows him to put the rest of us through the Stony Grinder.

After a while, Tony, Tina, and Chad cooked dinner.  Tony and Tina prepared penne pasta with a choice of sauces: bolognese and Cajun chicken cream sauce.  I wish I had had enough room for both, but I opted for the Cajun chicken.  It was outstanding!

Tina stylin' in her compression socks as she prepares the cream sauce for the Cajun chicken

Chad made a yummy salad to go with the pasta.  Good food with good friends after a good ride.  Life is good.

After we ate, we enjoyed modern technology, checking out various songs on Pandora and iTunes.  We started with a tribute to the 80s, the highlight of which was Safety Dance by Men Without Hats.  We watched the totally cool video, which has kind of a Renaissance flair.  This is one of the happiest songs I know.  When I hear it, I have to perform the Safety Dance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjPau5QYtYs

Then, Chad the music maestro played us an assortment of remakes.

After a good night's sleep, it was time for Day 2 of team camp.  Van and Stony cooked breakfast on Sunday morning.

Those are cranberry and walnut pancakes that Stony is cooking - yummage!

Not to be outdone was Van with his eggs and sausage:

After having breakfast, packing, and cleaning up, we departed in our vehicles for a remote start from Hotel Domestique, George Hincapie's resort near Travelers Rest, SC.  When we got there, it was about 60 degrees and rainy.  Our intended route, to include a seven-mile climb at 6% up Caesars Head, sounded a little more daunting after our tough climb up Skyuka Mountain the previous day.  Thus, we came to a consensus.  We would drive back to Robert's and my house in Monticello and ride from there.  Everyone else had to go through Monticello on their way back to Macon anyway.  Not to mention, it was 85 degrees and sunny in Monticello...

Robert and I planned a 41-mile route as we drove home.  It was a good bicycle ride, but I could tell that most of us were feeling the effects of the previous day's ride.  Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that we didn't do the Caesar's Head climb.  Even so, it was tough enough to get back in regular group ride mode, averaging nearly 21 mph.  I hadn't had a good group ride like that in over a month.  Commenting on how a ride like that is such valuable training and you just have to work through the pain, Chad said, "It's better to get your ass kicked today than get it kicked tomorrow."

Frankenbike Goes to Atlanta

I have three homes, and I love all of them: Monticello (where I live), Macon (where I work and do a good bit of my cycling), and Atlanta (where I grew up).  This past Saturday I had the best time spending the whole day in the Atlanta area, and Frankenbike made a great companion.

The day started early.  I left my house in Monticello at 6:15 A.M. to go to Kennesaw for the Athletes Helping Athletes 5K, the biggest fundraiser held each year by Southeastern Greyhound Adoption (SEGA).  I have had greyhounds for the past 19 years, and I love volunteering with SEGA to help other greyhounds find permanent, loving homes.

Running is barbaric.  Just kidding!  (sort of)  Even though I prefer cycling to running, I’m glad to do a little cross training, especially to help greyhounds.  I’ve been running once a week for about the past six weeks to get ready for the SEGA 5K.  My aerobic base is great; the main thing I have had to do is wake up my running muscles.  Saturday I had a good run, placing first in my age group!  There were a couple of other women in my age group that were faster, but they received awards for being the 2^nd and 3^rd overall winners.

The best part of the SEGA 5K is getting to see all of the greyhounds cheering on the human runners.  Each runner is paired with a greyhound, kind of like how a young greyhound at the track is paired with a running mate, i.e., an older greyhound, to learn the ropes.  It’s fun to find your running mate in the crowd.  My running mate was Copper.  Isn’t he sweet and handsome?

I usually bring my greyhound Lily to be a running mate.  I have two other greyhounds, but one is too old (Cosmo), and the other is too freaky (Mr. Spock) for such events.  This is the first year I haven’t brought Lily.  She’s 12 and recently was diagnosed with cancer.  Although, thankfully, her energy level is still fine, she does have swollen lymph nodes in her neck.  I didn’t want to answer a thousand questions about that, but additionally, the logistics of taking care of her all day would have been difficult with all of the other things on my Atlanta agenda.

After the 5K I drove to Decatur.  Although my Decatur activities weren’t scheduled until later in the day, it made a good base camp.  Also, it gave me a great excuse to ride Frankenbike on some of the PATH trails in the metro area.  Frankenbike is my cyclocross bike, which I ride primarily on rural dirt roads near my house, but it is also very well suited to urban riding.  Besides, with a name like Frankenbike, how could I not bring it along on my adventure?

I rode the Stone Mountain trail toward downtown Atlanta and then picked up the Beltline trail heading north.  I’ve heard so much about the Beltline, but this was my first chance to experience it.  The brainchild of a Georgia Tech master’s student in urban planning, the Beltline builds community and promotes good health.  I saw people walking, running, skating, and riding bicycles ranging from road bikes to recumbents to hand cycles.  I had correctly presumed that this would be strictly a ride for transportation, not a real workout, but I had fun just being part of the city vibe.  The artwork along the Beltline trail really caught my eye, but I decided to wait until my return trip to check it out more thoroughly when I had more time.

 

Although the Beltline trail ends at Piedmont Park, it was easy to wend my way through a few side neighborhood streets to get to the Georgia Tech bookstore.  From there I went a few blocks down Spring Street to an Atlanta institution: The Varsity!  On the rare occasion that I do go to The Varsity, I usually go inside.  However, Frankenbike wanted to go to the drive-in, which is the world’s largest!  The carhops said that they would be glad to provide me with curbside service.  Really, I think they enjoyed seeing Frankenbike at the drive-in as much as I did.

  

I got the same thing I always get at The Varsity: a chili dog, onion rings, a Frosted Orange, and a peach pie.  Also, as you can see above, I requested a paper Varsity hat.

From there I headed over just a few blocks to my alma mater, Georgia Tech.  I had a special reason for going to Georgia Tech on Saturday.  Jasper County, where I live, has a mentor program for at-risk youth.  Jehan, a friend of mine who is the director of the mentor program, had planned a day in Atlanta filled with educational activities for about 50 young people (plus their chaperones).  One of those activities was a tour of the Tech campus.  Because it was a weekend, regular tours were not available.  Therefore, knowing that I’m a Georgia Tech alumna, Jehan asked me if I would lead a tour for the students.  Of course!  I boned up on my Tech facts and studied a campus map.  There’s a lot of new stuff since I finished 20 years ago!

 

I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner, but early last week it occurred to me that the tour would be even better if I could find a current student to help lead it.   To make a long story short, I discovered the Georgia Tech Ambassadors Program, which leads tours for alumni.  We wound up having not one, but two excellent student tour leaders, Connor and Joe.  They were so gracious and knowledgeable.  After seeing how adeptly they managed our tour, I laughed at the one I had planned.  Mine was a little overly ambitious, to say the least.  I forget that a large group moves pretty slowly.  Not to mention, keeping track of this high-energy group was like herding cats.  It didn’t faze Connor and Joe a bit, though.  Maybe we’ll never know what effect the campus tour had on the kids, but I’m sure that simply being exposed to a college campus was a good thing.

Connor talking with half of the group

Campanile and fountain constructed for the 1996 Olympics, a couple of years after I finished at Tech

I particularly enjoyed getting to see the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, a new building since my time at Tech.  It adjoins the library and has LEED platinum certification, the highest level possible.  Some of its features include a very open floor plan that maximizes sunlight for lighting and a cistern that collects rainwater used in toilets throughout the building and in the rooftop garden.  The rooftop garden provides cooling for the building and a lovely oasis for study breaks.  Not only that, the views from there are spectacular:

 

View toward the Student Center and campanile.  Note the festive tent set up for tailgating before Saturday evening's football game.

View of the Atlanta skyline

We headed back to the Tech Tower, the beginning and ending point of our tour.  By the way, I parked Frankenbike next to Buzz Bike while I was on campus:

What a beautiful day on the Tech campus!

On my way back to Decatur on Frankenbike, I took a little more time to see the art along the Beltline trail:

I was particularly drawn to the one below because I’ve always had a fascination with tornadoes, and this piece draws attention to the plight of unwanted animals.  By the way, Saturday (October 4^th) was St. Francis Day, commemorating the patron saint of animals and the environment.

When I got back to Decatur, my husband Robert joined me for the remainder of the day’s festivities.  First, we went to Maker Faire, which I learned of thanks to Jehan.  In fact, the mentor group had gone there earlier in the day before our Georgia Tech tour.  Robert and I enjoyed the eclectic mix of creativity at Maker Faire: robots and other technological devices, crafts, and various other tinkerings.  Here’s one example from a man who creates art from miscellaneous metal parts.  (This piece moves!):

  

His titles and descriptions were as entertaining as the art itself.

After Maker Faire, Robert and I went to one of our favorite places in Decatur, the Brick Store Pub.  We make at least a couple of pilgrimages there every year.  The Brick Store has one of the best beer selections in the country (no exaggeration), with a dozen beers on tap and dozens – maybe hundreds – more in bottles.  No Bud Lite here.  Just good stuff.  Not only that, each beer is served in a special glass to bring out its particularly qualities.  Although this might sound beer snobbish, it’s not by any means.  Every single server is down-to-earth and a wealth of information.  They are more than happy to make suggestions, even if you have no idea what you’re doing.  All of this takes place within a cozy, European feeling space with nary a neon light or TV.  But wait, there’s more!  The food is worth the trip, too.  It’s bar food but really, really good bar food.  They serve everything from salads made with locally sourced greens to shepherd’s pie to killer fish & chips.  Saturday, however, we really lucked out.  It happened to be the Brick Store’s annual Oktoberfest!  We’ve been to their Oktoberfest before, and I was so excited to find out it would coincide with our trip Saturday.  Robert and I both ordered from their special Oktoberfest menu: a tender, savory German pot roast for Robert and the Bavarian plate (sausages, cabbage, and cheese) for me.  Wunderbar!  Our beers were fantastic, too.  We each ordered different lambics.  Mine was the Pumpkin Lambicus:

Note that because I’m wearing my pointy ears, I was really celebrating Spocktoberfest.  Live long and prosper, indeed.

 

Next, we walked around the corner to Java Monkey, a terrific coffee shop.  I don’t like coffee, but I love tea.  Java Monkey has especially good chai tea.  It’s more peppery than most, making it quite flavorful.

Then it was time for our last event.  We went to the Carter Center for a celebration of Heifer International’s 70^th anniversary.  I’m a longtime supporter of Heifer International, which works with communities around the world to end hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth. Its approach is more than a handout. Heifer provides animals (e.g., heifers, goats, water buffalos, chickens, rabbits, fish, and bees) and training to impoverished people in over 30 countries. The animals can give milk, meat, or eggs; provide draft power; or form the basis of a small business. Communities make their own decisions about what crops, animals, and market strategies make sense for their everyday conditions and experiences.
 

Heifer International is based on 12 Cornerstones, such as Sustainability; Genuine Need and Justice; and Gender and Family Focus. Perhaps the best known Cornerstone is Passing on the Gift, in which Heifer recipient families pass on the offspring of their animals to others in need. In this way, whole communities can raise their standard of living.

Although I’ve been to the Carter Library before, this was my first time at the Carter Center, which is where President and Mrs. Carter do much of their peacemaking work for the world.  Just three days earlier, President Carter celebrated his 90^th birthday right in this location.  I admire him greatly and am proud that we share a birthday!

Pie Ride

Thanks to my cycling friends in Milledgeville, yesterday's ride was made even more fun.  As I checked Facebook while I had breakfast before my ride, I saw a post from the Bicycling Club of Milledgeville explaining that yesterday was International Pie Ride Day.  We were instructed to stop for a piece of pie during or after whatever ride we did yesterday, post a picture, and use the hashtag #PieRide.  I have no idea what this was all about (perhaps related to one of my favorite holidays - International Talk Like a Pirate Day - which was the day before?), but I was game.  Besides, it fit perfectly into my existing ride plans.

Yesterday was one of those rare Saturdays when I didn't have an out-of-town ride or race.  I didn't even have to get up to an alarm clock.  Therefore, I planned a nice, longish ride from home, beginning whenever I felt like it.  After breakfast, I headed to the Monticello square.  When I'm home on Saturday morning during the spring or summer, I always go to my local farmers market.  Yesterday we even had live music - Les Steele and the Yellow River Band.  For years Mr. Steele was a music teacher and band director in the Jasper County schools.  Additionally, he participates in any local musical endeavor, like the Monticello Community Band.  On many a Saturday morning at the farmers market, he has entertained the crowd with his singing and keyboard playing.  Mr. Steele is a Monticello institution.  I was thrilled to see him yesterday because it was probably the first time he's played in the community since a terrible accident he had in recent months.  Because of the accident, he ultimately lost both of his legs.  He's been living at The Retreat, our local nursing home.  Here he and the band are (Mr. Steele is kind of hidden, wearing a purple shirt and playing the keyboard in the middle of this photo):

I saw my friend Ed at the farmers market, and I loved the way he described the scene: Music Midtown in Monticello.

I always like to buy something at the farmers market.  Yesterday's purchase was a wonderful, homemade tamale prepared by a local family.  I discovered these tamales several weeks ago.  They come filled with pork or chicken and are wrapped in banana leaves.  Corn husks are usually used to wrap tamales, but these are so huge that I guess banana leaves work better for them.  They come with two salsas, red and green.  Both are fiery (and delicious!).  One tamale is plenty big for Robert and me to split.  I looked forward to doing just that for lunch after my ride.

Then it was time to fulfill my Pie Ride obligations.  Besides going to the farmers market, the other thing I like to do to kick of a Saturday morning ride in Monticello is to go to The Vanilla Bean on the square.  It's a wonderful coffee shop run by a local Mennonite family.  They also serve high quality sandwiches, salads, soups, and pastries.  Since I don't like coffee, I get tea.  Additionally, it's one of the few times I splurge and get a sweet treat, usually a muffin.  But of course, today I was looking for pie!  Michelle, a cute teenage girl who works behind the counter, took my order.  I told her that I was instructed to get a piece of pie during my ride today.  I'm sure that sounded quite bizarre to her, but she simply smiled and went with the flow.  Scanning the display case of pastries, at first I didn't see any pies.  (There are usually a couple of types available.)  Fortunately, Michelle directed me to the Key lime pie in the lower corner, which I had overlooked.  Perfect!  Especially with a cup of Earl Grey tea:

Now well-fueled, I was ready to begin my ride in earnest.  Robert (sweet husband) accompanied me for about the first 10 miles.  He was on his cyclocross bike and, therefore, planned to do a paved/dirt mix.  I did an all-paved, 51-mile route on my road bike.

I love my rural home.  Where else would you find a sign that reads simply, "MULCH WANTED" - no phone number or other contact information.  I said to Robert, "How does that work?  Someone's driving down the road, knocks on their door, and says, 'I got your mulch right here?'"

Robert turned off on a dirt road, and I continued on my route.  What a glorious day!  I was grateful for so much: the strength and health to ride my bicycle, blue sky, green trees, sunshine, warm air, fields, cows, hay bales, crickets, excellent roads to ride on, Robert, friends and neighbors I had seen at the farmers market, delicious oatmeal for breakfast, and a good night's sleep - just to name a few things.

It's only a couple of days until the first day of fall, Tuesday, September 23rd (a little later than usual this year).  I try to appreciate every season, but I have to admit that I love spring and summer best.  I get a little melancholy as fall arrives.  None of that on yesterday's ride, though.  The day was like a luscious lemon, and I was determined to squeeze out every last drop of summer juice.

Fried Green Tomato 200K Permanent

Yesterday I completed another permanent in my quest to earn the Randonneurs USA (RUSA) R-12 award (only two months to go!).  The Audax Atlanta chapter of RUSA has a brevet scheduled for the last Saturday of this month, but I was a little nervous to wait that long into September.  So, I did the Fried Green Tomato 200K Permanent.  It was a terrific route anyway, and it passed about 1/4 mile from my house!

It was rather uneventful, but that's not a bad thing on a ride.  I did the whole thing by myself, which I didn't mind a bit.  There were several big things I planned to ponder during my ride.  I got some good pondering done during the first two or three hours when I felt fresh.  After that, I don't really remember what I thought about specifically.  I just let my mind wander and enjoyed the day.

One of the highlights was riding through the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge (PWR).  It's one of the most beautiful places I know, and spending any time there - whether riding through on my bicycle, kayaking, or hiking - always makes my spirit soar.

Several miles after the PWR, there was a big rut in the road at an intersection.  I took it slowly, but I heard a clank on the ground behind me.  I looked back and saw that my CO2 cartridge had fallen out of the small supply bag attached under my saddle.  The bag, which holds what I need to change a flat, has a zipper that has been splitting.  (Time for a new bag.)  My spare inner tube had come unfolded and was hanging out like a tail.  I retrieved the CO2 cartridge, put it and the inner tube back in the bag, and zipped the bag securely.  Unfortunately, my tire tool must have fallen out somewhere.  I couldn't find it.  It's not expensive to replace, but I was a little concerned about what I would do if I had a flat later in yesterday's ride.  Fortunately, that didn't happen.

The control at Kroger in McDonough made an excellent lunch stop.  I bought a pre-made turkey sandwich, banana, and a big bottle of Powerade.  There was a bench outside the entrance, the perfect spot for my makeshift picnic.

When I left Kroger, I headed east on the route.  Big thunderclouds loomed just to my north.  I was glad that I would be turning south soon, hoping that I would be able to avoid the rain.  I think I did miss the worst of it, but I rode through a fairly short segment with a heavy downpour.  One time a big thunderclap boomed right on top of me!  I ducked, started pedaling faster, and looked for a safe place to pull off of the road.  I didn't see anywhere.  By the time I started seeing some possibilities, I had ridden out of the rain.

I should have bought a bigger bottle of Powerade back at Kroger.  I was about five miles from my next control, which was a convenience store, and I was almost out of liquid.  I could have made it to the control without a problem, but I was grateful to pass right by a fire station in Butts County.  It looked like people were around.  When I called out, however, no one answered.  Therefore, I helped myself to the spigot on the side of the building, filling both of my bottles with water.  I don't think they would have minded.  Thank you, Butts County Volunteer Fire Department!

I finished my ride in 8 hours, 39 minutes, including stops.  Not bad, particularly riding the whole thing by myself.  I celebrated and did a little post-ride refueling at Dairy Queen in Monticello.  I got a pumpkin pie Blizzard, my all-time favorite flavor!

I felt good after my ride.  In fact, at the end I thought, "I could keep going if I had to."  Nevertheless, I kind of underestimate how much these long rides wear me out.  Last night I slept 10 hours, and I took a 2-hour nap this afternoon.  How grateful I am for that restorative sleep!

La Vuelta a España Dinner

For several years I've had the best time cooking a French dinner for Robert and me one night in July during the three weeks of the Tour de France.  I don't know why it took me this long to figure out that it would be just as fun to do the same thing for the other two Grand Tours.  We're about two-thirds through the 2014 Vuelta a España.  Therefore, tonight I began a new tradition: cooking an annual Spanish dinner in honor of the Vuelta.

I was really pulling for Nairo Quintana in this year's Vuelta.  I became a fan of his after watching his magnificent climbing in the 2013 Tour de France.  He grew up in Columbia at an elevation over 9,000 feet above sea level, making him an excellent climber.  After Quintana won the 2014 Giro d'Italia, I couldn't wait to see him in the other two Grand Tours this year.  What a disappointment when I learned that he wouldn't be racing in this year's Tour de France.  His team wanted him to focus on the Vuelta a España in August/September.  How heartbreaking that he then crashed out of the Vuelta!  I think he'll be a major contender in all of his races next year.  In the meantime, I'm now rooting for Alejandro Valverde, Quintana's teammate, who is from Spain and is currently no. 2 in the general classification (i.e., overall) in the Vuelta.

Speaking of Alejandro Valverde, doesn't he have a romantic sounding name?  The English equivalent is Alex Green.  Ha ha!  I can just picture young girls in Spain swooning, "Alex Green - isn't that a romantic name?"

Despite my disappointment about Quintana having to abandon the Vuelta, my enthusiasm for cooking some delicious Spanish dishes did not diminish.  The first part of Robert's and my Vuelta dinner was tapas, or Spanish appetizers.  I prepared several small offerings that I had purchased at Fresh Market in Macon.  I love everything at Fresh Market, but the prices limit me to only a few splurges now and then.  The olives and peppers from their antipasto bar were definitely worth it!  I had wanted to get some marcona almonds, commonly served with tapas, but surprisingly, Fresh Market didn't have any.  Thus, I substituted Wasabi Wonder, an excellent assortment of wasabi flavored peas, almonds, and cashews.  Wasabi may not be a Spanish flavor, but it was a wonderful accompaniment to our other tapas.  Finally, we had some manchego cheese, a flavorful Spanish cheese made from sheep's milk.  Of course we had to have some good wine with our tapas.  I selected an outstanding Spanish wine, Ergo Rioja.  Rioja is made primarily with tempranillo grapes, native to Spain.

Our entree was paella, the traditional Spanish dish.  My Aunt Betty gave me a simple yet delicious recipe for paella.  It contains only five ingredients: hot Italian sausage, rice, canned tomatoes, shrimp, and peas.  (I add a little fresh garlic, too.)  On the side I served a nice salad consisting of the fresh arugula that I bought at my local farmers market this morning, diced apple, dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, blue cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette.  When I went to the grocery store this afternoon, I intended to buy some fancy bread (baguette or similar) for dipping in olive oil.  I forgot; therefore, I made some garlic toast with some leftover hamburger buns, drizzling them with olive oil and sprinkling them with freshly grated Romano cheese.  Not bad!  Dining al fresco on our deck made it even better.

We don't eat many desserts, but we indulged tonight.  I picked some fresh figs this afternoon and made some fig bars.  What better way to get a taste of both late summer and the Mediterranean?  These not-too-sweet bars are perfect with tea:

I'm so glad we don't have to wait a full year to enjoy our next Grand Tour dinner.  Up next: the Giro d'Italia in May!

Ride Just to Be Happy