MICHAEL'S ULtIMATE MISSION

Saturday (June 11^th) was the seventh and final day of the 2011 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG).  Finished yesterday having ridden just over 300 miles and woke up this morning with 36 more to go from Hinesville to Savannah.             

Most of our team was staying at the Hampton Inn so the morning breakfast was lively.  Plus the hotel was only about a mile from Snelson-Golden Middle School (home of the Soaring Eagles) so there was no need to load up the bikes this morning as we were able to start the ride from the hotel.

Rip and Mark left around 6, as they had to get a ride back to Hinesville to pick up their vehicle.  Bob, Doug, Buck, Lee, Teresa and I left around 6:20 with Billy, Mary-Stewart, Doris, Sandy, Phil and Gary leaving a few minutes later.  The first few miles were at a very casual pace but when we turned right on GA Hwy 144 things got interesting, and fast.

Led by Bullet Bob and the Diesel Doug Lane, our group of six lined up and started moving out.  Soon after our line of six had become a line of twenty plus and the engines up front were pulling us at 20-21 miles per hour.  I think there were several reasons for the fast pace.  Today’s ride was fairly short and it was the last day so we wanted to finish strong.  However, I believe the main reason was we didn’t want Rip and Mark to have ridden their bikes to Savannah, caught a ride back to Hinesville and returned to Savannah before we finished the ride.  Pride and ego can make you do strange things.

About 4 miles before the rest stop, 10-12 of the riders that had been in the back of the line pulled ahead and took off.  I waved goodbye to them and wished them well as there was no way I could keep up with them.  Our smaller group rolled into Richmond Hill United Methodist Church having finished the first twenty-two mile sprint at just over 19 miles per hour.

After my last banana with peanut butter and jelly, we were off again.  We turned on Hwy 17 and then to GA 204.  Here we picked up our one and only police escort near the by-pass to downtown Savannah.  A few more miles and we were winding our way through residential areas as we closed in on Armstrong-Atlantic State University.  Bob had us line up in a “missing man formation” to honor Michael as we rounded the last curve that brought us to the finish line.

Lisa and Leigh were there ready to get our pictures as we finished up.  My Dad and Mary were also there having driving their motor coach in from Missouri.  We had hoped to get everyone together for a big group picture but some folks needed to get home for various things so the next hour was spent taking pictures and saying goodbyes.  Doug, Leigh, Bob and Buck headed home first and were followed soon thereafter by Kathy, Mary Katherine and Wayne.  Rip and Mark arrived with their vehicle, found Lee and Teresa and loaded up to head south.  George tracked down his gear and was off as soon as his ride arrived.  The rest of us strolled to the university dining room and had one last meal together before loading our respective cars for the hour ride home.

It was a long but fun 340 miles.  As a group, I’m not aware we had any wrecks, flat tires or illnesses, which was great.  But we did have a lot of laughs, good food and interesting conversations.  Lisa has already informed me that I need to be ready for next year:  Chattanooga to Lake Hartwell.  We will have to see about that.

Friday (June 10^th) was day six of the 2011 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG).  Old mister Webster does not contain a definition for hooah so I picked this up from Wikipedia:  hooah (pronounced /’hu:a:/) is a U.S. Army (and rarely Canadian Army) battle cry used by soldiers and also in use by the U.S. Air Force airmen “referring to or meaning anything and everything except no.”             

Woke up early in Statesboro to get my hooah to Metter so we could get going early.  We left Metter High School around 6:20.  Unlike the other days where we only encountered a handful of early riders, the first 20-minutes or so today there was a peloton (cycling lingo for a whole bunch of riders) we had to navigate through and around.

Our group of seven got in line and started passing other riders.  Early into our charge to the front of the pack, we went around a team from up north (Atlanta) of about 15 riders that were still trying to work out the early morning kinks as they were just cruising along, side by side and talking.  I guess they didn’t appreciate being passed by a bunch of flatland southerners.  Within a few minutes, I heard what sounded like a train coming and when I glanced back, it looked just like that:  a line of 15 riders blowing by us.  Never one to miss an opportunity, Bullet Bob and The Diesel jumped in behind the speeding group and the rest of us had our hooah drug along for the ride.  We sped across the Bulloch County line and maintained a very fast pace for the 5 or 6 miles to the first rest stop at Scott’s Creek Missionary Baptist Church.

Our team needed a few minutes to re-organize while the group of 15 did a splash-and-go and were back on the road quickly.  Never saw those guys and gals again.  The next 12 miles had a few gentle climbs before we passed under Interstate 16 (again) before pulling into the second rest stop, a convenience store near Brooklet, GA.  The temptation of another Mountain Dew was great but we had only ridden 26 miles and had another 35 to go so I thought it too early in the day for that so I settled for a banana with peanut butter and saddled up for the next segment.

Immediately upon departing the rest stop, we completed the last segment of our northern ride as we passed south of I16 for the final time.  Many of my friends don’t appreciate that I define the north as being anything above I16 but that’s my definition and I’m sticking to it.  Crossing I16 also meant the end of the hills, which I soon realized meant I had to pedal all the time now.  In the hills, you had to pedal hard uphill but with that effort also came an opportunity to coast.

A few miles after leaving the rest stop, we had our first mechanical issue: the Diesel Doug Lane broke a spoke on his rear wheel.  Fortunately, we didn’t all crash as Doug slowed and eased his bike off the road.  After a few minutes, we continued on and left Doug to wait for a SAG wagon.  I had to look it up but SAG is an acronym for ‘support and gear’ with gear referring to mechanical support.  We entered Bryan County and made our way to the next rest stop at Pembroke Baptist Church.

This stop was only 10-miles from the last and not enough time to dampen my desire for a Dew.  There was a convenience store across the street from the church but I was convinced I would need a nap in about 17 miles once the sugar and caffeine fix wore off.  The problem was we had 25 miles to go and I doubted there would be any comfortable place for a siesta as we would be riding through the middle of where the U.S. Army conducts tank training and maneuvers at Fort Stewart.  Thankfully, the SAG wagon showed up with Doug and watching the mechanic repair the broken spoke took my mind off the cooler full of Dews across the street.  A little longer break than usual but we were soon on our way.

I didn’t think the next 20 miles would ever end.  It was a long, straight road.  We encountered smoke, army personnel at tank crossing points, a dead, big wild hog and a headwind.  About the time we crossed the Canoochee River and the Liberty County line Bullet Bob, Diesel Doug, Mark and Buck pulled away and Lee and Teresa were a little ways behind me.  Once they caught me, the three of us along with some fella from St. Petersburg hooked up and drafted together which helped neutralize the impact of the headwind a little plus it made the long, straight road less boring.  Two miles before the last rest stop we rode past one of the entrances to Fort Stewart and had to deal with heavy traffic.  Everyone regrouped at the rest stop and we soldiered on the last 4 miles of the ride.

When we reached Snelson-Golden Middle School (home of the Soaring Eagles) Rip, whose day it was to drive, had chocolate milk waiting for us.  And it was good.  We loaded up the bikes, stopped at the Hampton Inn to check in, then took off in search of food.  For the second time we ate at Chili’s.  While waiting on our food I sent Billy Copelan a text asking him to let me know when he and the other half of the team finished the ride.  A few minutes later, he replied they had just wheeled into a Dairy Queen, the stopping point for their group at the end of every ride.  After a few minutes, I remembered that today was the “big race” between Lee and Doug.  Knowing Gary Larkins would be with the rest of the group at DQ I sent Billy another note, which led to the following text exchanges:

MW:  By the way, investigators from Fort Stewart and Liberty County are investigating potential sabotage of Doug’s bike.  They are lifting prints off the rim and a person of interest last been identified.  More to follow.

BC:  Larkins says all he cares about is who won.

MW:  Does mechanical failure disqualify Doug?

BC:  Phil (Curry) says only if you spend over $3,000 for the bike.

MW:  Lee refused to declare victory from Doug’s misfortune.  They agreed to push the showdown to tomorrows 36-mile sprint.  And they want Gary in the mix as we are all staying at the Hampton Inn tonight.

BC:  Gary says only if he gets a 10-mile head start but the rest of us think he would need 20 miles and we are still not sure he could do it.

MW:  Doug says Gary doesn’t even wear the right kind of shorts and Lisa (Warren) thinks she can beat him and y’all have no confidence in him.  Sounds like he should just wave that white towel he has hanging out of his shorts.

BC:  Gary says he’ll take Lisa on right now.

MW:  The ladies here have outfitted Lisa and she said for Gary to be in the Hampton Inn parking lot at 3:30.

BC:  I think Gary just choked.  He said y’all are ganging up on him!

MW:  If he were a lesser man, I would agree.

BC:  He says forget 3:30.  He is ready NOW!

MW:  Tell him to have another dilly bar on me.

I was reading Billy’s reply to our group at Chili’s and I’m sure he was doing the same with the group at Dairy Queen.  Everyone was laughing and I think I even heard a hooah thrown in somewhere.

Lisa and I went back to Snelson-Golden Middle School (home of the Soaring Eagles) to talk with a reporter from the Coastal Courier.  They had run a story the previous Sunday about MICHAEL’S ULtIMATE MISSION and the fundraiser we were doing as part of BRAG.  They planned to run a recap of BRAG in the upcoming Sunday paper and wanted to ask us a few questions.  When we were leaving, we saw another team member that had been staying in a RV during the week.  We stopped and caught up with Kathy and Wayne Hutcheson and their niece Mary Katherine.  Kathy and Mary Katherine have ridden BRAG for a number of years and Wayne takes care of setting up and breaking down the RV, getting it to the next town and making sure everyone is fed.  He said something about his camp being called high maintenance but I didn’t catch everything he said about that and even if I did, I’m not sure I would repeat it.  We made plans to find each other at the finish line tomorrow.

Before returning to the hotel, I received a phone call from the owner of Georgia Theatre Company, Bill Stembler.  He has been keeping up with the ride through the updates Billy was providing The Brunswick News and saw we were in Hinesville so he called and offered to treat any of our team to the movies at the theatre he owned in Hinesville.  Some of us had planned to go to Savannah to Elizabeth’s on 37 to eat dinner but six or seven that were not going took him up on his invitation and saw X-Men, part of which was filmed on Jekyll Island.

Everyone enjoyed the last night of BRAG and prepared for the last 36 miles to Savannah tomorrow.  Hooah.

Thursday (June 9^th) was day five of the 2011 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG).  After yesterday’s break, it was time to get back in the saddle for the longest ride of the week: 73 miles of more rolling hills.        

Woke up to the smell of smoke and figured it was Rip and Bullet Bob leaving early and burning up the road.  Must have been a small fire nearby but the smell was gone by the time we started pedaling at 6:10.  Started the morning riding with Diesel Doug Lane, Bullet Bob and Bullet’s son Buck and the 13 miles to the first rest stop was a nice ride with one good climb just before the stop.

The next 12 miles had about a half dozen climbs before we pulled into Jim Bob’s in Glenwood, GA.  Another banana with peanut butter and I was ready for the next 14 miles which consisted of rolling hills that continued to roll uphill.  Saw most of the team at this stop as either we arrived or as we were leaving and it gave Larkin’s a chance to continue his banter with Doug about the big race tomorrow with Lee (Rip’s wife).  Lee was not riding today because it was her turn to drive their vehicle to the next town.

Crossed over the Oconee River at the Treutlen County line just after the stop.  As mentioned earlier, these next 14 miles were rolling hills but overall uphill.  Maybe it was the day off but I was tired when we rolled into Zaidee’s Corner Store outside of Soperton.  I was tempted to eat a couple of hot dogs but thought better of it and settled for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a handful of Fig Newtons.  40 miles down and another 33 to go.

Six of us left Zaidee’s together but I lost my drafting partners somewhere along GA 298.   I crossed the Emanuel County line and Ohoopee River before coming up on Interstate 16 for the second time.  I thought I might be delirious and riding in circles but the next rest stop was just past the I16 interchange at a convenience store outside Twin City, GA.  Four of the other five riders were in various stages of refreshing and I knew another banana or peanut butter sandwich or fig newton wasn’t going to cut it but Bullet Bob took one look at me and had the answer:  a cold Mountain Dew.  Several things you need to know.  Mountain Dew has been my favorite soft drink since I was a little kid.  My Grandpa used to take me to Purvis’s store and buy me a Mountain Dew and Three Musketeer bar and all was right with the world.  However, I had not drunk a Mountain Dew or any soft drink (other than a few cokes when I went to the movies and ate popcorn) in the past nine-months as I was preparing for this ride.  Though not a bottle from the ice chest I remember from my youth, this Dew was so cold and so good that I chugged it down and almost got a second one.  After “doing the dew” and once that 46 grams of sugar and 54 milligrams of caffeine kicked in, those last 17 miles were a breeze.

Lee met us at the last stop having driven their vehicle to Metter and back tracked to find us so the seven of us cruised down GA 57, entered Candler County and crossed the Canoochee River before rolling into downtown Metter.  I’m not sure if everything is better in Metter but I can tell you the folks of Metter rolled out the red carpet for the BRAG participants.  There were people along the way sitting on the side of the road waving and

saying welcome to Metter and they had a festival going in the town square.  We rode past all the well-wishers, crossed I16 again and finished at Metter High School, which looked like something out of an army movie as BRAG tent city was being setup with all those brown tents as we entered the school.

We loaded up the bikes and headed back downtown to find a place to eat.  We saw the other half of the team ride by as we settled on Edenfield’s, a country buffet with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and all kinds of vegetables.  I ate too much and began feeling the crash coming on from being temporarily jacked up on Mountain Dew earlier.  We walked around the festival where I was hoping to find a funnel cake but no such luck.  We made our way back to the cars and headed for Statesboro for the night where we stayed at a Holiday Inn.

After dinner at Millhouse Steakhouse, we went back to the hotel where I started reloading the car for the next day.  I got back on the elevator with a couple with three kids, the oldest was maybe eight.  They exited on the same floor and I had one of those feeling like I used to get on airplanes when I had an empty seat next to me.  I would size up the people walking up the isle and think I hope that person doesn’t have that seat.  I know, terrible, but it is what it is.  Anyway, I just knew this young family would have the room right next to us and I was going to try to go to sleep early as we had about a 25-minute ride back to Metter in the morning.  Sure enough, right next door and for about an hour and a half it sounded like the circus was in the next room.  Eventually things quieted down and I went to sleep dreaming of some type of liquid backpack that would keep Mountain Dew cold on five-hour bike rides in 90+-degree heat.

I know this was a long blog but today was a long ride.  Tomorrow we head south to Hinesville and flat country.

Wednesday (June 8th) was day four of the 2011 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG).  There were numerous things that made today a great day:  spent two nights in the same hotel and didn’t have to pack the car last night, had a break from riding, slept until seven, and today was mine and Lisa’s 26^th wedding anniversary.      

Though I slept in, Lisa and Leigh, (Doug’s wife) left early to go for a walk.  I woke up before they returned and Lisa sent me a nice text asking if I was up.  Told her I was up, showered, shaved, dressed and ready for my massage.  She told me she would send Doug right over.  Not really what I had in mind.

We hung around the hotel until 11:30 then met my cousin Bobby and his family for lunch at Della and Johnny’s.  Bobby pastors a church in Dublin and he and his wife, Laura, are currently foster parents to three sisters ages 3, 4 and 5.  Add these three cuties to their other five (ages 5, 8, 11, 13 and 15) and it makes for an interesting lunch.  It’s good to catch up with Bobby and, at some point, we always get around to talking about his brothers, Jimmy and David.  One of my favorite David stories is when Bobby’s son Joshua drew a smiley face on David’s baldhead while he was sleeping but that’s a blog for another day.  The lunch was lively with all the kids and I got a kick out of Joshua and Jacob explaining how they keep catfish they catch alive in a small pool in their backyard until they are ready to eat them.  Jacob informs me this “keeps them fresh”.  Who can argue with that logic?

Though talking about Jimmy and David is always fun, the story of the backyard, pool raised catfish made me laugh, the topper was when one of the young sisters announced that she needed to poop.  Mother Laura, seeing this as a teaching moment, calmly said to the young one, “I have to go to the restroom.”  A huge smile broke out on the young girls face as she looked at Laura and exclaimed, “So do I!”  Priceless.

We hurried off to the school where Bullet Bob Fuller was completing the optional ride on this off day.  Bullet had challenged his friends that if they met a minimum pledge-per-mile for Michael’s Ultimate Mission then he would ride the 100-miler on Wednesday.  He said they met the minimum within a few hours as many of his friends ganged up to push him over the mark.  I think Wednesday was the hottest day of the week but there was nice, cold chocolate milk waiting for Bob and two lovely ladies to present him the yellow jersey when he finished.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around waiting for my massage.  It just wasn’t meant to be but we had a nice dinner at Deano’s Italian Grille and most everyone from the team (with the exception of Phil, Kathy and Mary Katherine) were able to attend.  Gary Larkins (aka triple zero) was at our table along with The Diesel Doug Lane.  Larkins was giving it to Doug pretty good about the upcoming “race” between Doug and Lee on Friday.  Will cover that in my Friday update.

Nice relaxing 26^th anniversary.  Longest ride of the week is tomorrow to Metter.

Tuesday (June 7th) was day three of the 2011 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG).  Everyone was looking forward to the ride from Milledgeville to Dublin.  First, the ride was only 48 miles, the shortest of the first three days.  Second, most of this ride consisted of true rolling hills so I amend my earlier post where I used that term, as the previous two days were mountains.  Lastly, the only riding done tomorrow (Wednesday) is optional.  And I’ve already optioned out.

We rolled out again around 6:20.  About 5 miles into the ride, we passed the Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery before skipping the first rest stop at 8 miles.  There was a good climb just past this rest stop so it seemed like a good time to let my group get out ahead of me.  Another climb at the 12-mile mark reinforced that I had made a good decision earlier to let them go.  After this climb, the next 10-miles were comfortable and fun, ending with a nice decline into the town of Toomsboro and the second rest stop.

Bob, Buck and Rip were getting ready to leave when I rolled in so Doug and I got ready to move out when Lee and Teresa pulled up.  The four of us left together and rode most of the way together before getting to the last rest stop at 37 miles.

We regrouped after the stop and tackled the remaining two climbs before hitting a headwind for the last 5 miles or so.  Doug pulled us through the wind while racing with another rider as neither one seemed to want to ride behind the other.

Our last turn was on Shamrock Drive, which I thought was very appropriate as we were in Dublin.  We arrived at Dublin High School at 10:15 which was too early to check-in and too early to find a place serving lunch.  We sat in the car cooling off while a few folks walked over to the vendor area and looked around.  Eventually we made our way to Johnny’s Pizza for lunch and then on to the Hampton Inn where Lisa dropped me off and left in search of new stores to explore.

This was the first night that most all of the Michael’s Ultimate Mission team stayed in the same hotel so it made it possible for all of us (with the exception of Buck, George, Kathy and Mary Katherine) to get together for dinner at Longhorns.  We made it challenging for the staff as we had a group of almost 20 but they did a decent job and only one of our merry band didn’t get to eat as the grilled chicken on her salad came out sushi grade, which isn’t good when you’re talking about chicken (sorry Sandy).  But at least Sandy received a dessert as the day before she rode her age on her birthday.

All in all a good day.  Really looking forward to two nights in the same room.

Today was day two (June 6th) of the 2011 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG).  Okay, this is posted two days after the ride but do not read anything into the timing.  The ride from Oxford to Milledgeville covered 63 miles bringing the two-day total to 120 miles.  Today was the second longest ride I have ever pedaled and the longest was 64 miles with no hills.  Cannot say the same for today’s experience.

Everything felt good when we rolled out at 6:20.  About five miles in, we encountered one of the longest climbs of the day.  The only good thing about this was it came early in the day while the energy level was still high.  Just after the climb, a young man rode up behind me, and noticing my BRAG license plate, said he heard about the ride being a fundraiser through the UGA Wesley Foundation email list.  He was a graduate student and though he didn’t know Michael he knew of him.  We talked for a few minutes and then I settled into about ten miles of mostly downhill riding.  This early morning was much different from yesterday’s stroll through downtown Atlanta.  Birds chirping, roosters crowing and dogs barking as compared to the sound of trucks backing up, trash cans being dumped and just general big city sounds.  We crossed over the Yellow River just before the first rest stop at the 17-mile mark.

Arrived at the rest stop just as three of the people I’ve been riding with (Rip, Bob and Buck) rolled out.  The other three in our group today, Doug, Lee, Mark and I then left together and rode as a group for most of the day.  The next stop was 14 miles later at town square in Monticello.  The courthouse in Monticello was featured in the movie, My Cousin Vinny.

The next 12 miles were a series of climbs and declines before another stop at the 43-mile mark at St. Paul’s AME Church in Eatonton.  This was followed by 10 miles of a general decline peppered with five good climbs and a nice view crossing Potato Creek before the last rest stop at the 54-mile mark.  This rest stop was not very relaxing because we couldn’t miss the big climb waiting when we resumed the ride.  At the beginning of the first climb, I saw the last of Mark, Doug and Lee.  I finished the last 10 miles as I had started the day, riding alone and enjoying the scenery as I rolled into Milledgeville, the capital of Georgia from 1807 to 1867.  After 30 years as the hub of politics in Georgia, the need arose to establish the State Sanitarium in Milledgeville as well.  No time in this post to pontificate on the relationship between politics and mental health, maybe another day.

I finished the 63 miles at around 11:20, hot, tired and really ready to eat.  We were able to check in the Hampton Inn and get a shower before going to eat at Chili’s.  The shower and food perked me up.  Lisa dropped me off at the hotel to rest and then left to find the mall.  She has been trying to buy things for various upcoming youth trips.  We had a nice dinner at Aubri Lanes where we presented Rip with a yellow t-shirt as he was the first rider to arrive at the end-point for today’s ride.

Today’s ride didn’t seem as tough as yesterday though it was a little longer.  There were spots that were challenging and I was told the cumulative climbs were about 4,500 feet.  However, there was plenty of time to notice the tags on the back of the bikes as I passed folks and passed by others.  I saw tags from California, Nevada, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Maryland, Louisiana, Illinois, Florida and Connecticut to name the states I can remember.  Obviously, the majority of the tags were from Georgia and the towns represented covered the State:  Peachtree City, Lawrenceville, Savannah, Thomasville, Tybee Island, Clarksville, Roswell, Athens, Forsyth, and Americus to name a few.  Most people also write their name on their tag but a few have their nickname.  At some point early in the day, Super Fly passed me but I’m not sure if he was related to the great Superfly Jimmy Snuka.

Looking forward to moving on to Dublin tomorrow.  Shorter ride with more hills but a day off on Wednesday.

Today was day one of the 2011 Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG).  The route is from Atlanta to Savannah and will cover about 350 miles.  I have wanted to ride BRAG for years and decided last fall this would be the year.  In addition, we are using this event as a fundraiser for MICHAEL’S ULtIMATE MISSION (MUM), the foundation we created to honor Michael’s passion for mission trips.  The support for this endeavor has been much more than we expected with hundreds of people donating to the cause and another thirteen riding BRAG as part of Team MUM.  So I bought a bike, fancy shoes, funky riding shorts, etc. and have put in some miles since September.  However, none of the riding prepared me for the 57 miles we rode today.

Woke up this morning excited.  The event was finally here and it was time to get going.  The excitement lasted about 27 miles.  We started this morning at 6:30 a few miles north of downtown Buckhead at Oglethorpe University.  The route took us straight down Peachtree.  And don’t ask me if was Street, Road, Parkway, Trail or whatever, I have no idea and it is very confusing to those that don’t live in Atlanta.  At 14^th Street in Midtown, our friends Michael and Sandy Nyenhuis were there to wave and take a picture of us at 7 am.  It was great to see them though I did catch a little flack for having a cheering section.  We also passed a block from The Varsity but I figured a chili cheese dog and onion rings wasn’t a good idea so I’m thankful it wasn’t open as the temptation may have been too great.

We made our way through downtown Atlanta before turning east and passing under Interstate 75 a little north of Turner Field.  It’s safe to say I had never been there before and frankly picked up the pace somewhat.  The first rest stop, Decatur High School, was at the 16.5-mile mark, still excited, feeling good.  Took off on East Ponce de Leon for a while then parallel to East Ponce and then back on East Ponce to the next rest stop at Stone Mountain Elementary School.  This segment was a tad over 10 miles and had me thinking “this isn’t so bad” but now I realize why the organizers had a stop before we entered Stone Mountain Park.

We were only in the park for 2 miles but that was the beginning of the pain.  On top of that, I missed the world-famous Stone Mountain carving, as I was mesmerized with the hill that would not end in front of me.  After exiting the park there was a slight decline but that was short lived.  The next 13 miles were rolling hill after rolling hill.  I think there were about 15 climbs of various lengths and grades but I KNOW there was one that was about a ¾ of a mile climb of 250-300 feet.  Three miles later, we rolled into the next rest stop at a convenience store.  At this point I was feeling gassed.  And not very excited.  One of our Team MUM riders, Bob Fuller, tried to get me to drink a chocolate milk but I figured the last 14 miles would be a piece of cake compared to the last 14 miles.  I was wrong.

I don’t know how many climbs there were on the last segment.  They were not quite as steep but they were longer.  At first I would anticipate a nice decline around each curve, but after about eight curves where all you saw was another hill, I soon decided that the law of physics that says what goes up must come down doesn’t apply to the hills between Stone Mountain and Oxford.  I pedaled unto the Emory campus at Oxford at a few minutes one side or another of 11:30 and Lisa was there to take a picture as I rolled by.  I’m sure my face was more a picture of relief that I had finished as opposed to a face of excitement that Michael and Sandy snapped 4 ½ hours earlier.

So the good news:  I finished, my rear-end doesn’t hurt (thanks to my new saddle, cyclist lingo for a seat), I didn’t wreck and I’m now fed and showered so felling pretty good.  The bad news:  the ride tomorrow is longer.