Benny
10-09-2009, 04:30 PM
Seems like a cruel joke to have a tradition of riding my age (plus one) in miles on or around my birthday every year. The ride gets longer as I get older.:confused: But I've done it every year since I turned 50 and today I did it again. Fifty-four plus one or fifty-five miles. It was not nearly as dramatic this year as it was a year ago (http://mvillebikes.com/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=149) when I was in the middle of treatment for throat cancer. Then I needed plenty of support from my friends and from my wife, Lori, driving the SAG wagon, not to mention a team of doctors and a nutritionist helping to make sure I was in shape to try it. We weren't sure I could do it and to be perfectly honest, we didn't know if I would be around to do it again this year. But I did and I am and I did it again. Last year's riding partners were not available today. Michael is in school, Lori and Adam are working and Richard is in Afghanistan.
The weather was nice and cool at the start at about 9:20 this morning. It got warmer later, but not bad. Heather, also a cancer survivor, joined me for the first 10 miles, a familiar loop around Coopers. Then I continued, exploring some roads I had never ridden, testing some routing ideas for next year's April Fools Ride. This took me up and down some back roads to Haddock. The scenery was nice, but some of the roads were shake and bake. From Haddock I went to the Nelson Road-Old Monticello Road loop, up the hill on Horace Veal Road and back home to Coopers. This is the route (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ga/milledgeville/344125506001998655), but I made a few slight changes when one of the roads I planned to ride, County Line Road, turned out to be unpaved. That only caused me to backtrack about a mile (uphill :mad:) to Kitchens Road.
Once home I ate the Starbucks pumpkin muffin that Heather picked up for me as a birthday treat. It sure was good after the ride. Now I'm watching Bad Company in concert on VH-1 Classic while resting up before I head over to my parents' house where my son, Hunter, (the world's best steak griller) will cook me a piece of dead cow. :D
all the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/sets/72157622550432572/
The birthday boy and my faithful bike, Ribby, which I have been riding since 1992.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2640/3996365392_954eb052cb_o.jpg
One of the great backroads on my route (Fortville Road)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2451/3996367894_ae6eaa90f1_o.jpg
The proof
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3445/3995609045_8c22508ecb_o.jpg
Cream filled pumpkin muffin
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2542/3996369030_7c8cefd90b_o.jpg
The weather was nice and cool at the start at about 9:20 this morning. It got warmer later, but not bad. Heather, also a cancer survivor, joined me for the first 10 miles, a familiar loop around Coopers. Then I continued, exploring some roads I had never ridden, testing some routing ideas for next year's April Fools Ride. This took me up and down some back roads to Haddock. The scenery was nice, but some of the roads were shake and bake. From Haddock I went to the Nelson Road-Old Monticello Road loop, up the hill on Horace Veal Road and back home to Coopers. This is the route (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ga/milledgeville/344125506001998655), but I made a few slight changes when one of the roads I planned to ride, County Line Road, turned out to be unpaved. That only caused me to backtrack about a mile (uphill :mad:) to Kitchens Road.
Once home I ate the Starbucks pumpkin muffin that Heather picked up for me as a birthday treat. It sure was good after the ride. Now I'm watching Bad Company in concert on VH-1 Classic while resting up before I head over to my parents' house where my son, Hunter, (the world's best steak griller) will cook me a piece of dead cow. :D
all the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/sets/72157622550432572/
The birthday boy and my faithful bike, Ribby, which I have been riding since 1992.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2640/3996365392_954eb052cb_o.jpg
One of the great backroads on my route (Fortville Road)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2451/3996367894_ae6eaa90f1_o.jpg
The proof
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3445/3995609045_8c22508ecb_o.jpg
Cream filled pumpkin muffin
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2542/3996369030_7c8cefd90b_o.jpg