Yesterday I
had a terrific if challenging century on behalf of the Middle Georgia Down
Syndrome Society (MGDSS). I planned it
around the first day of a mini training camp with my cycling team, The Georgia
Neurosurgical Institute. The team rode
from Macon to Irwinton, where we spent the night at the Blue Goose on Main. (Robert and I visited the Blue Goose a couple
of months ago; see my post from September 22.)
Then, today we rode back to Macon.
It was a wonderful weekend of riding and enjoying the company of my
teammates.
I was
thrilled to be invited to join the Georgia Neuro team a few months ago. Robert has been on it since its inception,
and so I have already been a groupie. I
have had fun helping them with the Macon Cycling Classic each spring, especially
serving as a podium girl. I get to kiss
all the guys on the podium! European
style – once on each cheek – but kiss them nonetheless. It’s a high point of my year :) Now I get to represent the team in an
official capacity as a volunteer as well as a racer. Just to be clear: I’m still racing only time
trials – no mass-start races (road races or crits).
The team
started from Hudson & Marshall, our friend Monty’s office in
Bolingbroke. To get my century
yesterday, I rode from my house to Bolingbroke beforehand. I had plenty of time to get to Bolingbroke
for our 12:30 P.M. team start. It was nice
not to have to set my alarm clock! After
a leisurely breakfast and a little laundry folding, I set out on my century. It was a foggy morning, and so I used my
headlight and blinking taillights.
My route to
Bolingbroke took me through the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge (PWR), one of my
favorite nearby places to ride. As I
rode on Round Oak-Juliette Road, the main road through the refuge, I noticed a
number of trucks parked alongside the road.
I figured that it must be one of the few days when PWR is open for
hunting. I checked on-line, and sure
enough, November 14-16 is one of three three-day windows when deer hunting with
firearms is permitted for this season.
I felt
really good on my ride to Bolingbroke.
Most of the team was there when I arrived, as was Chad’s wife Kathy, who
graciously agreed to drive Robert’s and my Nissan to Irwinton with everyone’s overnight
bags. I had plenty of time to eat the
lunch that I had packed for Robert to bring me in the car.
I love sardines,
especially in Louisiana hot sauce, and they are a great protein source for long
rides. However, I’m sure that Kathy was
glad that I disposed of the empty sardine can in the Hudson & Marshall
dumpster rather than stowing it in the Nissan.
Kathy also
took a nice team photo before we headed for the Blue Goose:
(L-R): Jeff (a.k.a. Stony), Tina, Tyler, Tony, Robert, Bill, me, Chad, and Ron
The fog lifted
late morning, and in the afternoon the sun even shined. It was a beautiful November day in
Georgia. I was having a great time
riding along with the team. After a
while, however, it started getting harder for me to keep up. That’s not surprising because I had already
ridden at a decent pace for the 44 miles from Monticello to Bolingbroke. Not to mention, the guys on my team generally
ride pretty hard, even without attack zones.
At about mile 70, I was riding next to Stony and having a nice
conversation with him. He told me about
his son, who is a high school senior, looking at various colleges. One of those is Carnegie Mellon, Jeff’s
father’s alma mater. As Jeff talked
about Carnegie Mellon, I started imagining that my head was a watermelon and
that it was exploding. That’s when I
decided that I needed to back off.
At first the
team waited up for me, but I asked them to please continue without me. I was familiar with the route, and I knew
that they and I would both be happier going at the pace that suited each of us
best. I struggled more than usual for
the remaining solo portion of my century, but I did just fine by taking a
banana stop and a Clif Bar stop.
As I pedaled
along, I thought about the children and adults served by MGDSS. Perhaps my century yesterday is a little like
the journey of people with Down syndrome.
They might have farther to go than other people, and it might take them
a little longer to get there, but we are all one team.
At last I
arrived at the Blue Goose!
Although I
can’t bring myself to put out any Christmas decorations until at least December
1, I have to admit that this sight warmed my heart:
Everyone
cleaned up and enjoyed the mild evening outside, as indicated by Bill and Ron. This picture is kind of blurry, but that’s
because they’re drinking beer:
Bill and Ron
are legendary in the Macon cycling community.
They are two of my heroes. They
are both 60 but ride better than most people half their age. I hope I can do half of what they do when I’m
their age.
Robert had
taken everyone’s order ahead of time for what kind of meat they wanted,
purchasing some very good quality steak, chicken, and salmon at Fresh Market in
Macon before the ride. Tyler was an
excellent grill-meister, somehow managing to have everything get done at the
same time. With some delicious sides
provided by Chad, Tina, Tony, and Tyler, we had a fine supper together.
We Georgia
Neuro riders are par-tay animals! Everyone
was in bed by 9:00 P.M.
After a good
night’s sleep, we all got up around 7:00 A.M. Robert served as a short-order cook for breakfast:
He was zipping around so fast in the kitchen that this photo turned out blurry. I wanted to take a second one of him stylin’ in his
apron, but he said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”
Robert
cooked scrambled egg concoctions to order.
We could add ham, turkey, chicken, bell peppers, onions, and/or tomatoes. Between that, the banana ginger bread that I
had made (see recipe from my post on October 31), and orange juice, we were
well fueled for our 60-mile ride back to Macon.
Although I
certainly wasn’t fresh as a daisy, I really felt better than I expected on this
morning’s ride. And fortunately, the
guys went a little easier today than they did yesterday. As we approached Macon, we had a special
treat; Andy Tice joined us for a few miles.
Andy and his wife Shelley are one of our team sponsors.
At around
mile 50, I had to slow down a little. I
ate the rest of my bike food, and thanks to Robert letting me draft off of him,
I was able to catch up with the rest of the team just as we got to
Bolingbroke. I definitely pushed myself
by riding as far and hard as I did this weekend, but I’m so happy I did it. Thanks, everyone, for helping me get there!
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