We started at the somewhat civilized hour of 9am, rode the uneventful 8 or so miles to Banks, bought snacks in the grocery, and headed north on the trail. It was foggy, but was supposed to clear off and warm up. It did neither.
But we had great fun riding through the misty forest. As Susan had just ridden a 200k the day before, we were mostly at social pace, but I did, perhaps, just a tiny bit, enjoy dropping her on the few hills on the route.
Susan had tried an energy bar creation of her own devising, so she gave me a piece. Tasty. I gave her some fruitcake.
We looped around Vernonia Lake - Susan didn't know it was there (I didn't either, until Ray showed me), and answered the info control question. Then back to Black Bear Cafe for lunch, before returning. They've got a new bike rack.
A couple of cyclists came in after us, and one looked really familiar... it was the father of one of my Girl Scouts, who was also involved with the Cub Scout pack, so we got to catch up on everyone's doings in the past, mmm, 18 years. Plus, of course, talk about cycling. I apparently inspired him those many years ago. Cool.
Lunch arrived, and I snarfed my way through the Reuben sandwich and fries and coffee.
Time to head back. The mist was still with us. I stopped to get a picture in a stretch of very tall trees. Susan and I stood there for awhile, listening to a pack of coyotes singing off in the woods.
We stopped in Banks for hot chai. As it was a control, there was some dithering in the booth, but we got hand-written receipts.
Finished up at 6:05 elapsed time. Not the fastest, but the point of this particular populaire is not speed.
Good day!
Oh, and that milestone...
Sweetpea joined Bleriot (being repaired, it will return) and Lemond in the 10,000+ mile club. Big smile!
All the pics here
2 comments:
I'm interested in randonneuring. My hope is to complete a populaire this year. Your blog is inspiring. Thanks
Wow! 10,000 miles. I can't even imagine but congratulations. Maybe my new Sam and I will get into the thousands this year (she's brand new and took the maiden ride today).
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