Another hot day and another long ride. Leader Stan Ellis had checked with the Green County Highway Department and found that paving had been completed in the Bloomfield area. So, except for the infamous Rock East we had quite a bit of good to excellent to brand new pavement. This is a difficult ride, but all agree it’s not as difficult as last week’s Williams Covered Bridge Ride.
We started with 16 riders and picked up another couple on the way out of town. Most did the whole ride but a few did judiciously opt for the 50 mile short option. The morning ride was a delight. Everyone in the main group made the trek out to the covered bridge before our lunch stop. (Thanks to John Bassett for taking this photo on CE Taylor’s smartphone.)
If you look closely at the right you’ll see CE and me, each sporting CamelPaks. This was my first time trying one. It worked out pretty well. I was able to stay much better hydrated and the back pack was not too hot or uncomfortable. I emptied two water bottles of Gatorade and one 70 oz CamelPak before our lunch stop at the Bloomfield Subway. Most of us had sandwiches and drinks there and were able to put ice and Powerade in our bottles.
After lunch we headed out on the return half of the ride. We followed up with stops in Springville and Harrodsburg. We were split into two groups, not too far apart and both groups generally tried to keep the pace down as the afternoon heat increased.
There were no mechanical problems beyond several dropped chains on hills. Everone managed the heat in his or her own way. Overall it was a good ride on a hot summer day.