May 13/14 - another two go by

Let's see ... on Friday we hacked down the bananas.  They'll now spring up again.  Jerry and I drove to Clewiston and had a so-so dinner at a barbecue place. 

Our ride started at 5am on Saturday and we finished up at 9:28 p.m. for a time of 16:28.  The wind was from the SE which helped us as we headed west ... knocking off the first 100 miles is exactly 6 hours.  The next 50 was mostly south, into a headwind, and that took 4 hours.  From there the route went back north, finishing the final 100 miles in just under 6.5 hours. 

This is a flat profile, no climbing ride.  There was a fast group, perhaps a dozen to fifteen, who stuck together and finished an hour before us.  In front of them were two really fast riders.  The riders after us finished up about an hour later, except for some real stragglers.

That leg northbound from the lunch Control was really hot.  That was the start of that final hundred, with 40 miles cruising with the wind -- that's the good news -- and no breeze on our faces to cool us off -- that's the bad news.  Relief came in the form of rain and for once, I didn't don a jacket.  Later on we got another quick shower and again, I didn't add my raincoat as it was way, way too hot.

John, Juliet and the gang do a great job organizing and supporting these rides and this was no exception. 

Changed, food at Burger King (ugh), we hit the road around 10:30 p.m. and were home around 2am. 

Jerry headed out this morning to visit a friend in North Carolina (or was it South Carolina ?).  He'll head home to Eau Claire WI tomorrow.

Done.  Onward !