503 in July

That's miles and it's the most I've logged for the 7th month, ever. Not Herculean by a real rider's standards, but I'm pretty pleased with it. The YTD total is also my max ever, as well. While my moving average is just a bit slower than last year, it is faster than 2008 or 2009 were, so what movement there is, is in the positive direction.

Yesterday (Saturday) Frank and Max joined me for a randonee style ride to Clanton for a stop at the Dari-Delite. We did this ride last July and it was just as enjoyable this year. Ron put in cameo appearances at Bubba's PitStop in Marbury and again at the Dari-Delite, but generally he followed his own travel plan for the day. A new to the area rider named Charlie showed up at the start, based on the ride post. When I emphasized the nature of the ride and expected pace (which I did after one look at him and his ride) he thanked me but opted to hop back in the car and head off to other possibilities.

The ride was really uneventful. Very humid, and hot so I sweated a LOT. The Joneswares merino jersey and Ibex wool shorts handle being wet very well. No issues there. I got a little overheated towards the end of the way back as the sun came out and broiled us, but a passing shower providentially provided cool refreshment just when needed, and did not develop into a true downpour until well after I made it home and had showered and changed. Total was 72 miles, 3,355' of climb and a 14.7 avg pace. I rode the Rambouillet and it behaved very well all day. It is running a SRAM 8 speed rear these days. They were on closeout at Bluesky for $9.98. How can you go wrong? I got 11-32 and it works just fine in place of the original equipment Ultegra 12-27 9 speed. With 8,000 mi or so on the bike, this is the 1st replacement cassette needed.

Today after church, I met Max & Deb, Rob and Nicholas and we picked up Rick along the way. Glen came out with his bike, but forgot his shoes so he was just there to say hello before heading back home. Here they all are:

Although clouds were in the area most of the time, the rain cells moved around us and never hit us. Our destination was the Boy's Store in Slapout, but we stopped along the way in both directions as needed. The only excitement of the day was when a large spaniel-retriever looking mix ran out at Rob and sideswiped his bike, nearly knocking him over. As soon as I rang the bell however and yelled at him, he made a beeline back to his own yard and huddled in the doorway. Rob was only slightly rattled, more than anything because it caught him by surprise. He was unhurt and after a moment was ready to carry on. It was the longest ride to date for Rick, Rob and Deb, the longest in a while for Nicholas and a good relaxer for Chris (who rode the Blazing Saddles Century in West Georgia yesterday) and Max & I after our own hot and hilly outing yesterday. Max did the ride on his new mountain bike which tended to equalize his pace to Deb's more closely. 33.7 miles at 13.4 with only 583' of climb. I resisted the urge to loaf at low cadence, and geared to maintain a good HR. Avg was 78 RPM.

Hard to believe that August is already here. In 3 weeks, my daughter-in-law to be will lose the "to be" part, and she'll join our family. She brings with her a darling 4 year old who has already endeared himself to us. I wondered how I would do as a grandfather. Am I old enough for the part? Judge for yourself. We're watching (for at least the 20th time) "Mickey and the Beanstalk"

Tailwinds