< 100

Saturday was a beautiful day.

A touch chilly, but not quite brisk at 7:15 in the morning as I rolled into the Gore (as in Goretex) parking lot in Delaware.

Looked like the lot was full, but as I cruised towards the back, there were The Boys, working out of Mark's truck, getting their gear on and getting ready to ride. Nice timing.

Final decisions about what to wear, a visit to the portapotty, a stroll over to the registration table and we're ready to go.

Early on, about 5 miles later we rode by the trailhead to FairHill, one of our typical haunts for mountain biking. No mountain biking today, it's all on the road. Through farmland out to the Susquehanna, turn north for a while, then head back.

The first third of the ride is in the rolling foothills in the southern part of the state. We're not yet into the open farmlands, so the wind wasn't really an issue. The roads are sort of small with light traffic. We averaged about 15 mph for the first two hours.

As the farmland begins, we pass the Herr's potato chip factory. Unfortunately there is no time for a tour.

We keep heading west, doing a little pacelining, but not much. We're a little too strung out, there really is no group mindset to form a line and work it. Maybe because some folks aren't feeling too great, or maybe because with the thought of doing a 100 miles, folks don't want to burn up too early. It's all good.

Brown and black wooly bears are always present whenever you look down at the road. The old wive's tale come out that the blacker they are, the colder the winter will be.

Watching the mileage tick by (I have my GPS on the bars) I am surprised when, through the trees, I catch a glimps of the mighty Susquehanna. Seriously. It is just a glimpse, but even so, it is a wide river that conveys a certain amount of seriousness (even though you sometimes see folks standing in the middle of it fishing).

Larry and Eric are hurting a little so at the decision point, we decide to just do the "75" mile route rather than the full 100. The 75 turns out to actually be 80, but no big deal...

Coming back, at about the 55 mile mark we stop at the "aid station" that we missed around 35 miles. Not much happening there, but we munch some of the standard fair and start rolling again before we really have a chance to stiffen up.

We passed a couple of Harvest Festivals, one of which reeked of fresh cooked cider donuts! I identified the smell immediately from at least 100 yards off! Yummy.

All in all it was a good ride. A couple of good stiff climbs. Lots of beautiful farm scenery. Great autumn day. Capped out with a huge Mexican lunch afterwards... Total miles 80. Total time 5 1/2 hours.