The big kids rode their bikes all day today between Maplesville and the Oakmulgee District of Talladega National Forest. We had a good group of 7 and everyone really enjoyed the route, even if I was the one in the struggle bus for not having been on the bike in two weeks.
We met up at Pleasant Grove #2 Baptist in Lawley, made some introductions and said a quick word over the ride before rolling out towards Oakmulgee. It is one loop that makes up the 40 mile route, and two loops added on to make the 50 and the 65.
I will be updating these routes to remove the technical Matt Moore loop. We made the audible today to leave it out, while Kevin and Tim got a little of it. I was worried about the rutted up road being muddy, and the black flies were biting over that way. Going forward the 50 will change to include the Holsembeck Swamp loop, which was really pretty, instead of the Matt Moore loop. The 65 will remain the same and offer the extra technical MM loop as an option.
The roads out that way are mostly a sand clay mixture, extra heavy on the sand. This is NOT a good route to ride in the rain, or if it has rained heavily within 48-72 hrs. A lot of the route would be creamy peanut butter. Ask me how I know? Story here, https://alabamacyclingcalendar.com/06-29-24-mulberry-monsoon/.
So today I was surprised to see that it had rained over the last 24 hours, leaving puddles in several spots, but fortunately, the long stretch between the Matt Moore loop and Plantersville, 13 miles of remote wilderness, was not the peanut butter patch it was back in June. On the other end of the spectrum, today’s roads were more of a loose tire sucking wettish sand, with slick patches spotted about. That long stretch does have one really nice view once you get to the top and the trees fade away for a minute.
I’m usually pretty good with heat, but low fitness had me dying out there. I had done the best I could not to whine, but deep inside I was already planning a creek extraction from the 50mi stop. I got better after we loaded up at the store and sat in the creek for a bit. We shared space with some locals running four wheelers down the creek, and I got fully submersed and got my sanity back.
After the creek we climbed Perry mountain to get back to Lawley. I couldn’t have done it without that cooldown. We got back to the church and I was surprised to see a lot of cars on a Saturday afternoon. They were having a wedding. I hoped we hadn’t bothered them. As we were getting our things together, Nate and I spoke to the groom and Nate said a really nice blessing for him. I had been wanting to offer some cash to the folks at the church for letting us park there, but the moment hit and we gave him a good wedding blessing instead.
Massive thanks to everyone that showed up today. Everyone is welcome to join these rides, we love meeting new folks. Keep an eye out for my posts on https://alabamacyclingcalendar.com/.
Link to Pics: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/8bfeurzvlev87dpt2xvir/AB6ZZwllWa51yZKh-zzT3-w?rlkey=lhmzphj3hsb3k4kjeflpjufif&dl=0