Preparations

I earlier stated the obvious, that there has been no activity on this blog. However, activities in preparation for this trip have been blazing. I wish I knew how many collective miles were ridden and dollars spent.

One of the few training rides that included several preparing for the trip was last Saturday. We did about an 80 mile loop north to Lorman, MS and had lunch at the Old Coutnry Store with Mr. D which included cornbread and his cornbread song. The picture is on the front porch (by Teva).

Our group included Teva, Angie, Laurie, Cara, Tommy S, James, Beth & I, and we picked up David, and Kenneth along the way.

It was a good ride out; Beth and I hit 40mph in Church Hill for the first time on our Trek tandem. Then we got dropped. The ride back in was a little tougher. The fried chicken was riding low in the belly and the temperature was climbing. The rule in riding is eat before you are hungry, but a footnote needs to be don't eat too much fried chicken and cornbread and greens and hot peach cobbler with ice cream and sweet tea. You see the problem.

Tomorrow morning we head out. Time to get some sleep.
Allen

Wheel

24 hrs before departure, I drive to St Francisville to pick up our rear wheel.  More on this later.

--------------------------
Allen via BlackBerry Wireless

Maiden Post

In two days we will drive to Nashville only to turnaround and ride our bikes back home. Seems a silly thing for a bunch of adults to do, but everyone in the group I've spoken to is giddy like a rookie before the first game.

Obviously, activity on this blog has been, well...there has been no activity. I think that will change come Monday. For one thing, I hope to have time to post while on the trip; vacations should contain free time, right? Secondly, as the resident nerd, I plan to encourage the luddites of the group to transcribe their experiences out to the ether for all to read. One possible obstacle is the availability of Internet access in rural Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. No way you say? We will see. I'll be carrying a BlackBerry (aka CrackBerry) and will send updates from the road (literally). Service is as rare as restrooms on the Natchez Trace, but my outbox should clear when a signal is available.

1st post of many to come. Please feel free to comment or ask questions. Us cyclists tend to be a little nerdy and like details. On the other hand, some (like my stoker) just want to smell the flowers and enjoy the scenery. We will have something for everyone.

Allen