Average Speed: 13.3 mph
Distance: 24.45 miles
Average Cadence: 80
Average Heart Rate: 160 bpm
Altitude: Climbed total of 1034 ft
Total Time (including stops): 2 hours 30 minutes
Well, we had our first group ride this morning! Chris, Layna, my dad and myself were all there. It was a good ride.
We left New Hope right at 9:45 and headed West on CR 28. Boy, was it windy! Weather.com showed the wind around 15mph, gusting to 20! Combined with the hills on CR28, it was a pretty good workout. Several of the riders had not been on a bike for several weeks prior to this ride and made sure that I knew they were putting in some effort. 
We were a little concerned about turning South, because the wind was more out of the South than the West. Once we got turned, though, it wasn’t too bad. It turns out that 327 has a lot of hills that are lined with lots of trees on both sides of the road. The trees broke the wind surprisingly well, especially considering that they had no leaves on them. After we got past the big S-curve on 327, somewhere around CR40, the tree line broke and the wind really picked up. We dealt with that wind all the way into Garrett. I think at one point or another everyone had a turn to do some drafting off of someone else. That wind was pretty stiff.
We made a pitstop at Huck’s in Garrett to use the restroom and refill waters. It seemed like a long stop. And, Layna may have scared the attendant… (She went to the soda dispenser and hit the water tab to refill her water without first explaining what she was doing to the attendant…I guess she got a pretty funny look!) Once we got back on the road, we switched over to 205 and stopped again for a phone call, and to pack a coat that was just too warm for the amazing 60 degree weather in the middle of November.
Now, we had a tailwind…and what a tailwind it was! We flew to Auburn. As we were coming into Auburn we decided that we would stop at the Methodist church and pick up a loaf of Kiwanis Holiday Bread. When Chris and I got there, we had lost sight of my dad and Layna, so we went ahead and stopped. As we were going in to get the bread they passed by and didn’t see us. So, we hurried up and got the bread and then hopped on the bikes and took off to catch them. I think we averaged around 23mph while we tried to catch them. I know that I topped out at 27mph and stayed there for about a minute! That was a good workout.
We finally caught them at Dekalb High School (about 3.5 miles from the Methodist church). They told us they didn’t know if or where we turned, so they decided to keep going. That was okay with me, it was fun racing to catch them!
Then, we got back to the church and broke out the Holiday Loaf…it was SO GOOD! I could feel my arteries clogging with every bite…but I had just ridden nearly 25 miles on a bicycle, so a little bit of that type of food is okay.
Layna missed riding so much that she decided she wants to ride again tomorrow! So, I am working out a 30-40 mile map, and we are going to meet up and ride again tomorrow afternoon. I think we might have one or two more join us. If you’re interested, just leave a comment and I’ll get you the details!
Well, the first winter (if you can call 60 degrees in November “winter”) ride is down…we’ve got the rest of the winter to go. Maybe we’ll see you guys next week!
)