weekend 'o riding and related schtuff

The weather her in Middle GA was absolutely wonderful this weekend. 81 on Saturday and 85 on Sunday. Lots of sun, some clouds passing through from time to time, and the humidity was present, but not stifling.

Saturday I hit the trails with Karen and Beth. Beth had recently clipped in and never dealt with sand, so had a few rough moments out at the sandfest we call East Macon. But, as always, she's a trooper and despite the many scratches (did I mention that sticker bushes surround all the sand at EM) she put in some great climbing and figured out the way to deal with sand by the end of the ride.

Karen & Beth...sweaty but sassy post climb

Sunday I hit East Macon again, bright and early. Well, 10...but I was up at 5:30. That's sleeping in when the alarm clock normally goes off around 4:15. I met two of my fellow Sorella speedsters, though I didn't ride. The trail needed some good hard trimming...so I hiked several miles with my loppers in tow.

Lopper girl, self portrait

Kerry was blazing fast and I never managed to have the camera ready to get her on film. I did managed to get a very nice shot of Melissa (mxmelba - not Melissa Neal) as she powered up one of the steeper climbs at the beginning of the race course.

Sorella Melissa powering up the climb

After two hours of hiking and trimming I set the green meanie toward the Thomson trails. Put in not quite forty miles on the trails and on the road (half and half). Got to watch the guys on the dirt jumps. Always impressive. Especially BKX Jason, who's brake cable snapped early in the session. He had one pretty spectacular loop out which I wish I'd caught on video, and apparently came close to colliding with me once, though I didn't know it as my back was turned and the MP3 player was going as I pedaled toward a trail entrance.

Me and my pigtails at Thomson

It was an all around great day, Sunday. All those miles meant pizza! Yum! And a Milky Way Dark for dessert. Sweet!