We came up here on Thursday, pretty much resigned to a weekend of short rides in the rain, but we have remained dry for the two main days of riding. There is a short ride scheduled for tomorrow morning, but the forecast is favoring thunderstorms (70% probability). If we have to scrap that one it won’t be a disaster.
The rally has been a great success. The terrain is quite hilly, but primarily rollers, with nothing very steep or terribly long. Although this is our sixth GTR, it is the first one that we have done much socializing outside our Orlando group. Perhaps that is in part because some of our friends (Mitch and Allison and Earle and Laura) are not here. On the other hand, Brian and Carol Miller drove up, and the Vermeulens, Thompsons, and Ullmanns are all here, so there are plenty of friends to whom we could restrict ourselves, if we wanted.
Friday and Saturday we had good rides, both approximately 50 miles. Today we did the first 22 miles in a fast pace line that was lots of fun. I say pace line, but the reality is that three or four bikes, including a triple and a tandem towing a youngster in a trailer (!) did all the pulling. Neither we nor the Katzmans did any time at the front. The rest of the ride we ended up with just the Katzmans, at a much more casual pace. The hills took their toll on my right knee, but a half hour after taking some aspirin, I felt fine again.
So this weekend completes my preparation for the Tour de Seth, which starts next Friday. Fred is flying to Orlando on Wednesday, and Kathy will drive us up to Gainesville on Thursday afternoon. I am confident that I am physically ready, but there is still some bike prep to do, and I have not even started putting stuff aside to pack. Luckily, we are off on Monday (Memorial Day) so I should be able to finish most all preparations then.
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