I joined the club for a tough century today. Up and down, up and down we went. The crowd of 30 some riders spread out and at one point I found myself riding between groups which is not a big deal.

I did join up with a large group of riders at about the 30 mile mark and stayed with them for the next 15 miles or so. At this point I started to drop back but they were still in sight. I saw something come out into the road and the group ahead continued on and then I noticed something in the road where they had just been. When I got to this spot I found a small Yorkie in the road. It appeared dead but I stopped to pull it off the road for it evidently belonged to someone in the area. As I approached the dog I noticed it was breathing and my training at the vet clinic went into motion. I checked gum color - pale pink - heart beat, rapid breathing. I gently picked the dog up and moved it to the side of the road. The little dog locked it eyes on me as if to say "what just happened?" I went to the house I was in front of. It appeared someone was home for I could hear a TV blaring inside but no matter how hard I pounded on the door no one answered. Just as I was about to move to the next house I looked up and saw the little Yorkie running up the driveway. He was very scared and dashed into the backyard. I returned to my bike and made my way to the lunch stop where I encountered the group. First question was "did you stop to help the dog?" I told the person what I had encountered at which point he told me not one but two people in the group ran over the little dog. One rider went over its head and the other rolled over its midsection. Inside I was pissed that no one in the group stopped to check on the dog, they all assumed it was dead from the initial impact. I guess I just do not understand how anyone could go off and leave the dog in the road. Even if it had been killed they should have at least stopped to pull it to the side of the road so it would not be run over by vehicles on the road. I hope the little dog is okay but deep in my heart I know it needs to be assessed for internal injuries. Maybe I did not do enough?

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, thank goodness. It was hot and humid here today. Summer is back in force in the Ohio Valley. The Ironman participants are going to have an even hotter day tomorrow.

So today I logged 97.5 miles, averaged 15.1 mph and enjoyed some beautiful scenic countryside. We climbed over 6,800 feet so I'm not sure if I will participate in the century tomorrow. I'm beat!