Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA

I didn't know how I would survive not being on the bike for a week. Especially being at a bike event where everyone around me gets to ride. Without complaint, or argument, Pete put my bike on the rack next to his and we drove our bikes to Georgia.

We're here for Pete to participate in the Bike MS event with Erin's Fight. He rode the event with Erin and Jack last year. I'm a team photographer and here to enjoy the event. The route is a hilly figure eight starting and finishing from Callaway Gardens both days. I'm not riding this year because I've worked this hard and I want the San Antonio event to be my first event.

Friday after decorating the team tent, Pete and I gear up for a quick bike tour around Callaway Gardens. They have a bike path and we decide the ten miles is about right for how much time we have. Plus, what better way to get to see a bit of the gardens we spend so much time at this weekend. I examine the map and think I learned the trick to the route and we'll just stay to the right at every intersection until we've completed the loop.

We quickly discover the bicycle path is not for speed. It's a good path for a leisurely ride and a way to spend the day moving from one exhibit to the next at the gardens. However, we want to get in some training, so we keep on moving. I holler out tree roots that have broken up the path and try to announce intersections where we have to slow or stop as soon as I can. There's even some sudden hairpin turns.

Meandering our way through the gardens, we were under the trees most of the time. There was some beautiful scenery and we paused for a few minutes on a bench near a lake. This lake is circled by the bicycle path, but only one corner of it is seen if you are in your car. It was quiet and peaceful with beautiful scenery. Sadly, we needed to get to dinner, so we continued on our way.

We cut out the loop around the parking area where the Bike MS event is happening. Because this is so separate from the rest of the gardens, we cut almost three miles off of the ride. I was surprised to see that we had done nearly 500 feet of climbing. We didn't hit any of our usual speeds, but it was a good ride and now I could say that I kept my legs fresh.

Before we left San Antonio, I had Tom take off the new Bontrager saddle and went back to the stock saddle that came on the shiny, new Madone. So far, the saddle is an improvement. The true test will be the longer training rides when we get home, but I'm out of time to keep trying to find the right saddle for the big event.

Goals
Today's Miles: 7.15
Total Miles Achieved: 890.78
Financial Investment: $2172.17
Total Weight Loss: 0