Bay Minette to Jackson, Alabama

Today’s Miles: 100.2 / Total Trip Miles: 138.7

There are some photos mostly from the first part of today’s ride here.

Today’s ride was a 60/40 ride: 60 glorious miles followed by 40 miles that bore far too strong a resemblance to work.

Because of the length of the day’s ride we were on the road early, before 7:00. All morning Mother Nature smiled on us: thunderstorms were in the forecast, but we only got a couple of drops of rain; the sky was overcast, so we didn’t have to deal with a burning sun; there was a steady breeze that cut the heavy humidity we’d had the day before - and it came from behind. Let’s hear it for tailwinds! The route was rolling hills - longer ones than yesterday’s but manageable, what with the tailwind pushing us along and the adrenalin we had flowing with the excitement at the prospect of doing a century. The terrain was like northern Florida - thick pine forests, low population density.

As you can see from today’s photos, I made good on my promise to stop at every roadside marker.

The morning ride was touring at it’s best: minimal traffic, pretty countryside, good weather. We felt fresh and strong. All was right in the world.

Patty had the van and trailer at the 60 mile mark and had lunch set out for us. Usually we’re on our own for lunch but with route being “far from the madding crowd” there wouldn’t have been any place along the way for us to stop and get food. By that point I was ready to be off the bike for a bit: the rolling hills were getting to be not so much fun and my energy was definitely dwindling - when you catch yourself struggling uphill and look down to see that you’re on your big chain ring, having neglected to downshift, you know you’re getting tired and it’s time for a break.

After lunch Mother Nature got pissy. First of all, the sun came out full force so we had higher temperatures to deal with. Secondly, the route turned a corner and we found ourselves pedaling into a fierce headwind for 30 miles. Third, we were no longer on car-free roads. Not a nice thing for Mother Nature to do to a bunch of women on Mother’s Day.

It took me almost as long to do the second 40 miles as it had to do the first 60. And that’s why I took only one photo today after lunch - from then on, all I did was focus on making it to the end of the ride!

But you know, hard days make for good stories afterwards and at dinner people had tales to tell. A few had had mechanical problem: Frankie couldn’t get her bike to shift into granny gear - something you definitely don’t want to happen when there are hills to climb; and Judy N snapped a cable and had to be sagged in. But, you’ve got to love (and admire) their spirit: they had us laughing, describing how their days had gone. One not good thing: Gloria has decided to, as they say in professional cycling circles, “abondonné le tour”: she has knee problems that need to be taken care of. The group is already, after two days’ riding, starting to bond and feel like family and she will be missed. I’m glad I got to meet her - she’s a neat lady, already talking about what tour she’d like to do next. Love that attitude!

Turning the light off at 9:00. Imagine I’ll sleep very well. G’night!