Camping, Oreo Cows & 80 miles

Talk about an exhausting weekend! One of these days I am going to slow down. I reluctantly signed up for a century ride with friends this weekend. I didn't really *want* to do it, but I thought making the commitment would force me to get 4+ hours in the saddle. Plus, I really do need to be riding 75-100 miles more often.

The ride was an hour east of Atlanta through Madison, Eatonville and Rutledge. Yee-haw. At the last moment we decided to camp out the night before. Nothing screams good idea like a poor nights sleep and riding a bike for hours the next morning. Nonetheless, we persevered. I didn't leave Atlanta until about 8 so I was late to arrive.

Rolling up to the campsite, I was a bit in awe. The ride this weekend is a big deal....I guess I just down played its potential. It is used as a warmup to the Bike Ride Across Georgia (BRAG). So the event had options to ride Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I was shocked to see nearly 100 tents scattered around the campsite.

(As an aside, I think BRAG is a must do next year. Seven days of riding, nearly 500 miles. Starts in east Georgia near Athens and ends on St. Simons on the Atlantic. Totally cool idea).

Well I found my crew of 7 and we began to crack open the beers. Before long we were that tent. And after about 10 pm, it seemed as if we were the only ones awake....or alive. After midnight we were definitely the only ones away. At 1:30 we were just plan silly. It was time to call it a night.

The morning started with a number of delays. The weather was bipolar and couldn't make up its mind. Then a number of people were just dragging and not getting ready in time. Our group was joined by other friends and we had a posse of about 15 for the day. Despite the rain we had wheels rolling by 8:30.

The ride had several options 12, 35, 57, 72, 105 mile options. Every 10-15 miles there would be aid stations with water, powerade, fruit and goodies. And most importantly, bathrooms. My plan was to ride the 105 mile option. I brought my own nutrition and planned on only taking water from the rest stops. I wanted to test my nutrition plan for Ironman Florida.

Once we hit the road, Greg and I pulled ahead of the group with little effort. My plan was to ride it at a moderate pace. I didn't want to kill myself but I wanted it to be a good workout. We rode together holding about an 19 mph pace for the first 40 miles. We were moving at a good clip. Then we found the Oreo Cows.



They are Belted Galloway Cows and native to Scotland. They were hilarious. Apparently they had quite the personality as they came running when we arrived. The owners provided oreos, cold beer and water for the rides. Awesome!


At mile 57 I had to make the decision to either go for 105 or call it at 72. Greg was only doing 72. I didn't really like the idea of doing the next 50 alone. At the point, we were only passing people. Our pace was a bit much for us to be picking up additional riders. So I made the decision to stick with 72. As we made it back to the camp ground, I went out for a few more miles. I wanted to ride about 20 more but realized I better just dial it back it....I was a tired boy.

Great ride. Saw Oreo cows, camped, drank too much beer, had a killer workout and go quite a bit of sun.

Total ride time 4h 19m 18s 80.12 miles (18.54 mph)