April 17 ride

[MommyBird]

No ride on the 17th. We spent time un-winterizing the fresh water tank of the Airstream and took a 120 mile country drive in search of canned hams, mini-streams and vintage trailers. Had to stop at Heavy's BBQ in Crawfordville, GA, for some local flavor. DH and I split a pulled pork sandwich and each had a "sweet-tea". This place was like stepping into the past. It was a real road house. Tin roof...rusted.

Our ride was on the 18th. The Seventh Annual Best Dam Ride on Clark's Hill Lake (or Strom Thurmond Lake, but I still can't call it that. What right did SC have to rename a lake that it shares with GA?)
My goal was my first metric century (which I had planned to do last weekend but the roads around Lake Chatuge were too busy for my taste so I only did 31mi)
I made it this time with ease.
The hard part was around 50 miles when the route overlapped my "regular ride route" and it had me "heading back to the barn" for a stretch. I live in the country fairly close to the lake and the ride came within 5 miles of my house. Then I turned left onto a road that had me backtracking on another of my "regular routes". Wow, what a difference! I usually descend the hills that I was now climbing and they were really long and steeper than I expected. Plus, we had a strong headwind.
As I was in the final miles of my ride I was passed by the lead century group. I am pretty poky.
When I got to the finish I only had 60 miles on my odo so I rode past and turned around so that I would get in my whole 62.
We had catered pulled pork, fixins and more "sweet-tea" at the finish line. Plus, a majestic view of the dam.
Oh, and I made BBQ for dinner Friday night. Who knew I would be eating pulled pork all weekend?

[MommyBird]

I forgot.
The Best Dam Ride is for the Medical College of Georgia Burn Center.
After years of saying we need to be a sponsor of this ride, my DH finally didn't let it slip by. So our company was a major sponsor this year. Another T-shirt with our name on it. As usual, I gave mine to my youngest son.

Now, I am looking for an 80 mile ride to get me closer to my 50th birthday century.

[kenyonchris]

Did the Sea Otter Classic on Saturday. We signed up for the 45 mile ride, but DH messed something up in his headset, so we spent an hour in Monterey waiting for the bike shop to open so he could get it fixed, turned out to be a missing compression ring from when he put it back together (in the dark) at the hotel out of the bike case. We caught up to the end of the pack at the bottom of the hideous climb back up to Laguna Seca. It was a truly hideous climb...but happy to say that we both made it up...he hammered it up and would stop to wait for me, I would slog on past.
At one point I gasped, "Thank God. A little downhill. But why am I still pedaling?" He says, "That's not downhill. Its just less uphill." THAT is a hard day.
Day off yesterday, today we are doing 17 mile drive.