Terra Cotta (105km)

I qualified. Woo-Woo! I did my 100km qualifying ride yesterday. What a day.

The ride up to Terra Cotta (2.5 hours) was filled with a really strong headwind that just would not give up. It was great riding in a little pack of 4. It kept me motivated to get through that brutal bit.

Terra Cotta's a cute town. The family whose house doubles as a country store are really great people. They went out to their garden to pick fresh chives for myself and another rider's fabulous egg-salad sandwich. Their daughter has a lot of energy to burn and we had some fun racing the backyard :-)

There was a different energy about yesterday's ride and I enjoyed stopping at the store along the way and taking a break. It was a good spot for some group bonding which I really feel has been lacking so far on the training rides and/or general outings from this experience. I think the Bike Rally would retain more riders year in and out by looking for closely at the theory of group dynamics and how it can be applied from the outset, rather than just the week of the ride itself.

The ride back was mostly fabulous! Long downhill bits. Halton Hills have these great hills where you go so far downhill you almost spring to the top of the uphill. My kind of ride!

I went home and crashed at around 7 or 8pm. I just woke up this morning. It was a hard day but I feel like I'm back into it again.


STATS:
Avg in Headwind: 17 - 18km
Avg on way back: 22 - 23km
Total Time: 4hr55mins

Highlights: Awesome riding partners, the unbelievably creamy egg-salad sandwich + the Mother Lode ice cream in Terra Cotta, downhill roads to Kipling