Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

As we riders assembled for the 7am start, the moon was still very visible over the lake, with the sun just beginning to pop over the trees. Our route today would take us from a park just north of Gainesville, through Cleveland, past Helen, through the Chattahoochee National Forrest to the town of Tiger, then back south a slightly different route. The wind was blowing nicely and I hoped it would not blow too hard. I snapped a few pictures and we were off. I managed to start in the first group, an unusual position for me. We trucked along at a good pace for a few miles, then four of us dropped back, then I dropped off from the other three. It was good to have groups of riders ahead of me for guidance, as I hadn't ridden these roads before and hadn't studied the map carefully enough the week before.

More riders eventually passed me, but a fixed gear rider in a passing group slowed to comment that we had similar baggage. I sped up a bit to chat with him while we headed through Cleveland. Soon I slowed and off he went. I stopped along the way to take a few pictures near Unicoi, then pulled into the Batesville Junction control. There were half a dozen riders out front when I arrived, snacking and getting ready to ride. I hoped one of my mottos, slow on the road and fast at controls, would allow me to ride with them for a while. As I left the store they were pulling out, so I quickly filled my bottles and headed off in pursuit. Pushing as much as I could in the heat to keep up, I was focused on the next cue instruction, STRAIGHT-DO NOT TURN HERE. After a while I wondered why I couldn't see the other riders. I looked at my odometer and the mileage wasn't right, and I realized I missed the previous instruction for right turn on Burton Dam road. A few bonus miles were fine, and I finally made it to Tiger and the turn around. Coming back I found a large turtle on Burton Dam Road and helped him across. He was a big one, probably was older than most of those houses out there. I hope he safely stays in his new location.

The Big Hill was quite a climb. Whatever time it was now, there was little shade to be found. I stopped at The Shady Spot, emptied my water bottles, and hoped the summit would appear soon. It did, and I coasted down to the gas station for a resupply. I'm not a fan of cycle specific clothing, but today was a good day to have a jersey pocket for an extra bottle of water. The next 20 mile stretch was the toughest of the day for me. It was sunny, it was windy. There wasn't much protection from the weather. Off and on I could see two riders in front of me, speeding up, slowing down. I finally caught them, and there were now three of them, at control #4. They were sticking around a while to rest and eat, and while I would have liked to have ridden with them I knew they'd drop me in the first mile out of the control, so I drank a V8, topped of my water bottles, and headed back on the road.

The end was similar to the beginning, only later in the day. With only 139 miles for the day, the bonus miles weren't as many as they could have been. The important thing, it was a good day for a bike ride.