To celebrate the 4th we decided to ride the 2 hottest days of the year back to back. Friday we rode the Autaugaville routes and Saturday we rode East Peach Fruity Loops. Both days we started at 7am to avoid the heat. Both days were ridiculously hot regardless.
Six others showed up to ride on Friday. Four did the 70mi route, and I was in the group of three that did the 57. We all rode together the first 24mi to Evergreen Church and refilled bottles. At mile 27, the 70 milers turned left to pick up an extra 14 gravel connector.
The 57mi group really didn’t need to stop at Evergreen with the store stop at mile 30, but we did to say bye to the rest of the group and stopped by the store. With the heat, both stops were more appreciated than normal.
This ride was a big bite for me after coming of being sick last week, and having not fully recovered from back pain prior to that. I had felt good this week, but I think it was my cardio that almost did me in.
About 10mi from the finish, the heat was getting to me and my heart rate was high for me. I worked on my breathing while riding, but couldn’t get my heart rate below 140. I finally asked the others to leave me at a spot in the shade and come back to pick me up. After 15 minutes of sitting in the shade my spirit came back to me. I still had some water left and only 10mi to go, so I messaged them to let them know I was back on the bike. I felt great the rest of the ride. Greg drove back anyway and gave me a cold drink that made it even better.
Once I got done with my ride and put my gear away, I headed back on route with a cooler full of ice and water for the 70mi crew. At this point they were referring to themselves as Team DA. They appreciated some ice cold water even though they only had 6mi to go.
Pics from Friday: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/plj8ha0cdctgomalntbtr/ACEBPbOWx_YKlHVxYW3koPQ?rlkey=w31qt4gpnzkhk1tkxkqjewn2n&dl=0
Before Saturday morning rolled around, the group that did the 70 decided to postpone their second day ride for day. That left me and Rox who did the 57 and Casey who wasn’t with us Friday to roll the East Peach Fruity Loops route. I had thrown out the 34mi route as what I was capable of, Rox was fine with it, but Casey was thinking about getting more miles. It’s always better not to commit until you get down the road a little.
The Clanton roads were less sandy than Autaugaville, but the hills are slightly less friendly. The 34mi route includes Mary’s climb, so there’s no getting away from some of the tougher stuff. Being that all of the routes share common away and return paths, it’s nice turning back on the 34mi route and being much closer to home than normal. Another nice thing about it is that it’s slightly less driving time than it is riding time, and if you start at 7am you can be home before noon. We had a great time out there and were thankful for being done early, even though the heat was already getting ridiculous.
Pics from Saturday: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/kby2mmvr2k08h0i3ciuv8/AGxQ3GXn3L–n23CoiAb9G8?rlkey=yc56alzzjmo5828aob93bzmq9&dl=0
Thanks to everyone that came both days! And Happy Birthday Muricah!