Summer Solstice

Unionville is mourning the loss of another great dog. Maggie, a 17 and 1/2 year old golden retriever went to be with Rudy today. We're thinking of you M&M! And may the bourbon flow tonight.

With today being the longest day of the year, I had grand visions of riding my bike to Columbus, ordering new bike shoes, and riding home. One route involved SR 46 for 15 or so miles; I decided against this traffic-laden course and ventured to the back roads. Having looked at a map for 3-4 seconds, I knew Gatesville Road to Hoover to Georgetown would get me close to Columbus. I still think it would have.

The wind was out of the West/Northwest; it would be in my face the whole route back. Nevertheless, I found my way to Gatesville Road and kept my eyes peeled for Hoover. In the mean time, I climbed the LONGEST HILL ever. It wasn't super steep, but I was sure the girls would love it. I'm going to map out a new route to include this incline; a creek on the right side accompanied me most of the way. Too cool.

Twenty-four miles later, I still hadn't found Hoover Road but saw a road sign indicating I was now on Sweetwater Tr. Uh oh, I knew making a wrong turn was possible--even likely. In my head I started cussing the county highway dept for incompetence and teenagers that steal road signs. So, I consulted my handy iPhone for an alternate route; the new route would still take me 23 miles to get to my destination. "Negative, Ghost Rider. The pattern is full." (Anyone? Anyone? Top Gun)

Knowing I would have a head wind and the temps would climb to the 90s, I abandoned my destination and decided to turn around; a 50-mile ride is still nothing to scoff at. As it turns out, Hoover Road was marked (about 8-9 miles before I turned around); I had missed the sign due to its angle and read the wrong road name--duh. Cest la vie, right? I just laughed and made a mental note for the next attempt.

I loathe riding by myself most days. The chatter, the funny stories, the safety in numbers, and getting my a$$ handed to me on the hills make every ride enjoyable. Today was different; I was an explorer. Today I had a destination instead of just a ride. Granted, I didn't make it, but I still chose my own pace and even chose to stop at the Gatesville store and have a ham sandwich.

My return trip included the hills on Clay Lick and the hike-a-bike section at the bottom of the hill where the bridge was out. Yes, yes, the signs told me the road was closed; this was the second Road Closed sign I had ignored today. Sometimes a bike can get through places that cars can't--and I wanted to go that way. I made my way back to Nashville and opted for Owl Creek since I hadn't gone up it this year. It still hurts.

I ended up with 53 miles or so and am glad I'm not laying along the road somewhere. Below are a couple of images from Google Maps of pieces of my route. My new HR monitor came with a GPS accessory. The Google Map feature is only one-click away--how geeky am I? Again, too cool.

This shows my return trip from Gatesville (green peg on the right) after eating some lunch. Click on pic to make it bigger.

The image below shows Columbus, my destination, and where I presumbly took the wrong turn heading North instead of East. Click on pic to make it bigger.