Back on the bike

[MommyBird]

I have ridden my bike 3 times in the past week and a half after a dry spell from October to March where I only rode 3 times.

You may have heard about the driver in Augusta who plowed into the OutSpoken group ride and injured 6. One man was on life support for several months until it was determined he could not recover. Young orthopedic surgeon with wife and young kids. Very sad. We did not know him but many on Dave's cross team did. They are city dwellers and we live in the country. The good riding roads start at the end of our driveway so we do not do the scheduled group rides and our FLBS is a different one.

I was pretty freaked out by the accident and mentally couldn't ride. A week and a half ago we trucked the bikes to Mistletoe park so that I could ride on the real but isolated roads that I started on a year and a half ago. We only got in 8mi because we spent time visiting with friends who camp there all summer. Locals but they enjoy the lifestyle and he commutes from work.

That weekend we went to an Airstream Rally in Hiawasee, GA. Dave had a ride mapped to take him over 3 gaps and I was going to do a loop adjacent to Lake Chatuge. I felt so good that I canned the side loop and did a loop around the lake all on fairly busy roads. Only 22+mi but I knew I was over my fear.

Yesterday Dave and I did the Best Dam Ride in GA. Dave said he didn't feel right and was not sure if he would do 60, 80 or 100 so I was relegated to the 30mi ride which at one point is a mere 1/2 mile from my house. I had planned to make the detour and use my own bathroom but was waylaid by a tech issue and wanted to make up time. I discovered that I am pretty peppy for the 30mi crowd. I rode the 30mi loop and then turned around retraced the route, hit the rest stop again, rode home, took a shower and returned by car to eat the post ride BBQ meal with my husband. I made 42.3mi.

I found out why Dave was wishy-washy about his distance. He spent the night throwing up. Poor guy is home sick today. He did the 80mi ride with a very fast group. I saw him streak by when I was at the rest stop on the way home.

Today is the first non-windy day we have had in weeks and my son and I are excited. He for a calm day rowing and me for a ride without bucking against the wind.

[MommyBird]

Things have changed since October.

My husband read that cross bike article in Bicycle mag last fall and became obsessed with the thought of racing. Within two weeks he had a brand new bike and was practicing with the local team. He raced 9 Men's C races last fall and ended up 9th in the state. He attended all 10 races but did one 45+ race instead of the C. It pays to be old, self employed and financially sound so you can rack up points every week while the fast young guys tend to only make some of the races.

I have been his #1 fan with Cooper, our JRT in tow. It has been weird since he has never been a competitive guy in the 28 years I have known him. He always just rode for the love of riding and fitness.

By the end of the season he was racing the C and single speed races. Next year he plans to do the 45+ and the single all season.

Sometimes we had to rush from a rowing regatta on Saturday, in say FL, to a cross race on Sunday in north GA but that was not a big problem. We have a new-to-us RV that makes traveling a breeze.

We sold our 2004 28' Airstream CCD and purchased a 2005 Airstream Westfalia Sprinter.
http://www.colonialairstream.com/preowned/8533b.html
http://www.colonialairstream.com/preowned/8441.html
These links are not for our RVs but they are pretty cookie-cutter.

We loved our CCD but it was difficult to take quick trips in. The Westy is a foot shorter than our tow truck! We shortened our RV setup by 30'!

The Westy is on a Mercedes Sprinter Chassis and gets almost 20mpg. We can park it in a regular parking space. It allows us to boondock at most rowing and biking venues. Best of all, I rarely have to stay in a hotel.

Airstream imported 250 James Cook Westfalias from Germany in 2005, renamed and Americanized them. Ours is #244. They did not originally sell well but now there are not enough and they are difficult to come by.

We found ours in TN with 5700mi on it. We have more than doubled the miles since October!

We have 4 more regattas this spring, 5 if Nick makes nationals, the Assault on Mt Mitchell and several charity rides on the calendar this spring. Then we will use the Westy for camping thru the summer until the rides and racing start up again next fall. We may take it on a cross-country trip to my home state of Washington this summer. We will probably more than triple the miles by our one-year purchase anniversary.

[redrhodie]

Congratulations! 3 days in one week is great. You're back!