The ABC Bike Club ride that we merged with. I was getting ready to take a photo and I heard folks talking behind me and felt bad that I wasn't watching. Sorry guys!
Chris Shaw and Mark Rogers talk about Chris' trip to Tour de Georgia
We all met over under the I-430 bridge. Actually just passed it. 1pm came and everyone was ready to roll out. The weather was hot and humid as the sun broke through the clouds and cool when the clouds would roll by can cover up the sun.
Our pace was good and steady and at first I thought we were going to be in an all out leg burning session but things calmed down as folks began to warm up. Most of the time we were in the 19-21 mph range and the paceline was set up nice.
We crossed over the bridge and I was behind one of the new guys and he rode with a removable cast on his arm. He went over the bridge with one hand in order to keep the shock of the bumps from bothering him. He's an excellent rider without the cast and a pretty amazing rider even with the cast! Stayed with the group the whole time.
As we got over the bridge we had to slow several times for familes along the trail but the speed picked back up as we got out on the road. We were moving along at about 18 or so and I thought it was a good time to grab my camera and get some action shots but the ABC ride had caught us and merged. I didn't realize someone was drafting me. Felt bad not watching and listening for them.
We turned and headed up Ft Roots and I felt good climbing. Still had a couple more gears to go at the top and had kept my speed around 10mph up the hill. Everyone made it to the top and we stopped for a second to gab about who rode what ride yesterday. Weather threw a monkey wrench into the day yesterday
Next was a nice pace out and around Burn's Park and on the road by the tennis courts we cranked it up! Rawked through there and as I looked down I saw the number 32. Paceline moving at 32 mph!! WoHooo! We got over to Cook's Landing and regrouped and started back to the Little Rock side. Robb's chain decided to play boa constrictor and wrap up and squeeze. He had to remove the back wheel to get it back on thread. Bummer!
As we got to the end of the road by the dam Chris Irons pointed to Overlook. I got excited! We were going to climb all three hills!! I'm not the best climber but I enjoy it. My goal again was to make the climbs without using the granny gears and I did it! Overlook is a beast but it's not really because of the length and the grade but because the road is slanted to the side and for some reason that messes with me. We got to the top and regrouped. Everyone did great! As we were about to head down there were other cyclist training on the hill. My bud, Charlie Haight was one of those. He's a lot of fun to ride with.
Next hill which is not much further is River Mountain Road. Again, up we went. I felt good going up although I was slow. Mark passed me on the way up and I studied his cadance and tried to find a gear that would put me in the same time as him but I was at my low gear on the mid ring so it wasn't going to happen. Mark is my mentor as far as riding. I try and copy him as often as possible. He and Chris Shaw are both very strong riders and worth trying to copy. I kid with Chris about whenever he rocks his neck back and forth that is a sign that he is about to attack. HA! We all made it to the top with no problem and headed back down to the cars.
So we did it! The local version of the Triple Bypass. Good weather and good friends. It was a dandy way to spend the afternoon!
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