A few weekends ago, I journeyed to the dirty south with Mike Carpenter, Sue Haywood, and Matt Smith for a four day “training camp”. After an eight hour drive, we arrived in Atlanta, Georgia Thursday afternoon, and were on our road bikes by 4:20 pm. The five of us, now including Oliver Quinn whom we stayed with that weekend, rode fifty miles that evening - starting the trip off with an awesome taster of what was to come...
We northerners were given a southern-style welcome by a fleet of turbo-charged dachshunds and cocker spaniels, and I got a glimpse of Georgia gravel, (dirty, sandy, and chunky). We toured downtown Atlanta that evening, ate pizza, and made a grocery store run.
Powered by pancakes and West Virginia maple syrup, we started Day Two with dreams of fried chicken and cabbage patches. After lunch, we found the cabbage patch, a giant stretch of fields with dirt road webbed throughout. We took a tour through a "friend’s" hunting grounds, spotted some boar tracks, and affirmed the thorn growth in the woods surrounding the patch. We reached the dirt road again after an hour of testing our creek-crossing-and-log-hopping-on-road-bikes skills, and went out the way we came in... Over the fence. More freshly graveled roads took us back to the house to mark an 82 mile day, and we feasted on steak and lamb chops for dinner.
After another delicious breakfast featuring bacon, eggs, and juice, we were back on bikes for Day 3, and rode 110 miles in sleeveless jerseys and with high spirits. Many sprint points were achieved among the group, and I spent the majority of the day chasing the pack through porch parties and potholes. Pork carnitas awaited us in the crockpot at home, and were the only thing that kept my legs moving after bonking at mile 90. We ate our fill of another fine dinner, and later snacked on manchego cheese and dark chocolate while watching Mad Max.
More highlights from the expedition include: our following of updates about the missing Malaysian flight, potential sponserships by Golden Pantry, only one flat tire round-trip, juicing every morning, and a high daily dosage of Vitamin D.
On the last day of Georgia Slumfest 2014 we woke to rainy conditions. A quick pro-serious two hour spin in the rain brought my legs back to life, and we packed the car up to come back to reality in Harrisonburg: snow and cold weather. Very glad I got to experience some of the riding Atlanta has to offer and improve my endurance and performance with a group of inspiring individuals - it was a Spring Break well spent!
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