Today we rolled out the old year on the Peach West route in Clanton. It’s crazy that the past few rides I’ve put out there have been summer days in winter with less than ten folks, but today when the cold really hit we had a great group of fifteen. You never know who is gonna show until you hit the parking lot, and today brought a lot of faces I wasn’t expecting to see. That’s always my favorite part of these rides, surprise guests and introducing friends to each other. Today was a spectacular, yet freezing day on some of the best gravel roads.

We had three who rode the first ten miles with the rest of us, and then rolled the 46mi route. Then the dirty dozen split off and conquered the 63mi route. I hadn’t planned for this to be a Mississippi Gravel Cup training ride, but several MSGC veterans showed up including Michelle who drove all the way from Starkville, MS just to join us. The pace got spirited at points, and in the last ten miles I was dying so four of us rolled the last piece at a pace where I could still smile.

I for one am very glad to leave last year behind, and nothing could make me feel better about the new year than seeing all my friends on the ride. Thanks to everyone that came out, it was truly a great day on bikes. If you have thought about joining us on future rides, we look forward to riding with anyone and having a great time, so come on out. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/99xcsteci5iix6v9y9tmn/h?rlkey=v98woj0z9xgf86dzgdh40lgkm&dl=0