Inaugural Squirrel Patrol Ride
Five PAX posted to BEGIN ROAD WORK. Little did we know the turns we were in for. Mumble chatter revealed that the PAX, like me, had not ridden in quite a while. Nonetheless, we were determined to launch some road training to prepare for the Triangle Triathlon on June 1, now less than 60 days away!
Warm Up: U-Turn 3.1 to 6.3 mile run
The Workout: As I finished up U-turn, I looked at my watch to find 7 am, the scheduled launch time for the bike ride. Then, I looked around and saw Emeril, Gump, Nemo, and UTI all dressed and ready to go. Uh-oh, good time to practice my transition.
We circled up quickly to identify a route. Because most were aiming to hit the 2.0 workout at 9 am, my plans had evolved to a simple down-and-back to intersection of Friendship and New Hill Holleman Road, near the US1 interchange. 10 miles, no problem. Everyone was game and we took off. But, upon reaching Old Holly Springs Apex Road, we immediately changed plans. This became protocol as we strove to Find New Roads.
On the first hill climb, I learned that UTI climbs on his bike the same way as without–strong and steady. Even with up and downs, we kept the PAX together. Gump kept hammering on his mtn/hybrid. Nemo kept hammering on his bike that he’s ridden on way more miles and any of us combined. In high school, he did a century a day for 10 days. A century is a 100-mile ride. Wow. Emeril had ridden these very roads twice a week in the days when these roads were quiet, even during the week. UTI has recent Triangle Triathlon experience.
Decision point: Woods Creek left or right? UTI knew we should go left. Now this was indeed a nice quiet road. I’ll plan to use this one again. At Woods Creek and Friendship, we found a lone rider taking a break. I thought he was waiting on riders since Double D type riders typically come down from Durham and Chapel Hill. Turns out he was just eating a banana and watching deer cross the road. He joined us to the our next non-pre-determined turn. Nemo recruited him along the way.
Decision point: Left on Friendship and head back to HS. On this segment, a squirrel decided to hop on Nemo’s foot, take a couple of revolutions, then hop on through the frame. Another wow.
Decision point protocol continued until we finally logged about 11 miles, depending on whose device/satellites we were using. Finally made it back to Starbucks for 5-man second F. Great ride, looking forward to next Saturday!
