GLR 200K

Click below for route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/189676193

Another great ride up in Wisconsin today.  What was supposed to be a 93 degree day, turned into a much more pleasant day of riding with some early morning rain which kept things cool!  Well ... cooler than what was forecast.

I was glad to have been accompanied by a few of my regular Saturday morning friends Eric and Bob.  We got to the Super 8 by about 6:45, so we were a tad late in pushing off on time for the usual 7:00 am start.  It appeared that there were only about 10-12 other riders at the start for either the 200K or 300K route.  The 400K and 600K riders left at 6:00.  I am not sure how many were in that group.

By the time we registered, got bikes assembled, sunscreen applied and that whole routine done, we rolled out about 15 minutes late.  Beutiful morning temps at about 75 degrees made early spinning swift and comfortable.  As we made our way to our first stop in Brodhead, skies were overcast and it was looking a bit dark in the west.  About 10 miles out of Brodhead, it started to rain gently, and as each mile ticked over, it got steadily heavier.  We got a pretty good soaking by the time we reached our first stop, to the point the water was gushing out of the shoes.  This wasn't overly concerning as air temps were relatively warm, until we stepped into the air conditioned mini mart.  Brrrrr!

The next leg to Evansville was a lot of fun.  The rain was back to just a drizzle and we picked up a nice tailwind.  By the time we reached the second stop, the rain had stopped altogether and the sun was coming out.  During the time of our stop, the roads went from wet to completely dry as we continued north to Oregon.

Eric and Bob at BP in Brodhead

Now, me and Bob

The trip to Oregon was another short and fast leg.  By now we were getting fairly well dried out and it was sunny and warm.  As we turned the corner which began to point us back toward Delavan, we were greeted by the head and cross winds which would accompany us the remaining 50 miles to the finish.

Bob breaks away ...

... Eric with the catch.

 

 

We took it fairly easy on the last two legs back to the finish as the winds kicked us around a bit, especially on the last 15 miles into town.  During the last 30-40 miles, my knee started giving me trouble, so I was definitely glad to see the Delavan water tower in the last 5 miles of so of the ride. I am especially grateful I had company today.  Thanks for the ride boys!

Can smell the barn now!