1st Bike Ride of the year & in Georgia

So today a group from the tri club were meeting up to take a group bike ride. Carterville is a little less than an hour north of Atlanta and a good place to get away from the traffic and ride our bikes. The weather was calling for partly cloudy and 56 degrees so I told them I would join them.

After yesterdays run I really wanted to get some exercise in so I don't lose my conditioning while I heal my knee. I woke up and the knee felt pretty good so I got my gear together and headed to the starting point. The funny thing about the starting point for the Carterville ride is it starts at an Anheuser Busch Plant. There is a big parking lot and the company lets us use the parking lot especially on Sundays.

The weather was nothing like what the weather men were calling for. It was cloudy and about 43 with a pretty solid 10 - 15 mile an hour wind. This course is a pretty hilly course which is different from the Silver Comet trail I have run at before (people bike that course as well).

So we started the ride and it was pretty chilly. I was a little under dressed but overall doing OK. We rode up and down the roads and this route is marked really good on the roads as were to go for rides anywhere from 27 miles to 100 which is really nice especially for new riders. After about 3 miles the group of about 16 people was pretty spread out. I found myself riding in a group of 4 people who I know pretty well from swimming and running. We rode along the winding and hilly roads. My body felt really good and it was super nice to get back on my bike and away from the traffic congestion of Atlanta. For the first time since I have been down here I kind of felt at peace and was reminded of riding back in Connecticut. Lots of fields with cows, bulls, and donkeys! I laughed each time I saw a donkey, not sure why it just makes my smile riding past a field of donkeys. At about the 18 mile mark the group stopped and people decided how far they were going to go. Being my first ride I decided to ride 31 miles today so I only had 13 miles to get back to the truck. Feeling good one a few of us took the 31 turn and headed back to the beer plant.

Overall I my hands and feet were cold but it was a great ride and my body felt really good. I got back to the car and some people were going to run for a few miles (people do this to get their bodies use to the triathlon bike to run transition. That type of workout is called a "BRICK"). Due to the day before I didn't bring my running shoes and wasn't going to push it I felt good.

Headed home with a smile and thinking of home.

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