Ten of us met at Southern Carnage Bike Shop in Mooresville. I parked next to Mike, who had coerced his daughter into baking dark chocolate and pistachio cookies for me and Merrill. They had an almost crisp texture with a buttery moisture. Mike, please send my gratitude to the chef. Terri also brought us homemade chocolate chip cookies. They had so many small chunks of chocolate that it didn’t make sense how they held together. They were so good. Then, at the end of the ride Audrey broke out the birthday cupcakes. I ate more sugar on my birthday than I had since the beginning of the year.
We were blessed with incredible weather, starting the ride with clear skies, very little wind and a brisk 40 degrees that slowly made its way into the low 60’s by the end of the ride. We all rode the West loop together first and came back to the cars for a break. Jory had opened the bike shop by the time we got back. After a break, we discussed options for the second part of the ride. Merrill suggested a 3 mile add on loop to the original 50 which was perfect for my birthday miles, and another option others took was a double back on the Eastern loop part of the route to get Merrill’s miles in.
Riding through Wheeler was beautiful as always, especially while riding next to the Tennessee river. We saw lots of birds, including a lot of white pelicans, who were relaxing on one of the ponds as we rode by but took flight before I could get any pictures. Those that rode Merrill’s miles with him got to see a good-sized alligator just below the water.
After the ride we gorged on cupcakes and hung out with Jory at Southern Carnage for a bit. We got to hear an interesting story about how someone from the adult film industry made a fortune by selling his lubrication formula to a catheter company and used that fortune to start a bike company. The badge on the front of the bikes may or may not reflect this part of the history of Mullet cycles.
We continued the party with a late lunch at the Brick in Decatur on the way home. It was really nice having so many friends to celebrate another year with us. Truly the best birthday yet for me.
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