Fifty Plus (50+) - Great weekend in Savannah

Just got home from a family trip to Savannah for the MS150 ride. My younger son and I rode and my wife worked as a rest stop volunteer. Her father, Larry, developed MS 27 years ago and is hanging on, but in a bad way. We all decided that we should combine our passion for cycling with a way to help others get a better chance than he has had.

We started the weekend off in fine fashion by meeting my older son for a fine seafood dinner. He drove over from his home in Statesboro. We also met up with an old friend and riding buddy who now lives in Savannah. Good times and great food.

Saturday's ride was a really pleasant 56 mile cruise around the islands with nice views and light traffic. I have never ridden that far without climbing a single hill! The threat of rain held off, the skies were overcast and the temps were around 70 all day. Perfect! It was fun seeing my wife running a rest stop along the way.

My son is a real hill climbing machine, so it was a real change of pace for him to maintain a steady 18mph for the whole ride. It was a good chance to develop more steady state skills as opposed to the bursts he normally likes to do. It was unusual for me too as I stayed in my middle ring turning 80 to 90 rpm all day.

Sunday was a different animal as it started raining about the time we left the hotel. Within a half mile of the start, the bottom fell out of the sky and we were soaked. Water puddled in the streets and riders were picking lines to avoid the standing water. strangely enough, no one seemed to really mind and we had another fine ride. We had a small amount of climbing on a couple of taller bridges we crossed twice each. We enjoyed the 35 mile ride but were glad to get cleaned up and dry when it was over.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/th_family.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/family.jpg)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/th_Donefortheday.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/Donefortheday.jpg)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/th_clowningintherain.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/clowningintherain.jpg)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/th_wetreststop.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/wetreststop.jpg)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/th_Sundayfinish.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/Sundayfinish.jpg)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/th_wetandtired2.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/07%20MS150/wetandtired2.jpg)

Great ride report! Great to share w/family.--better for us to share w/us!!!!!!!!

Great to do a ride like this for a good cause and with the family. Pity about the rain on sunday but at least it meant that the bike will have to be cleaned now.

Great ride and thanks for the report.

Sounds great Blues Dawg. I am trying to get my son (who by the way was born in Statesboro), into biking. I'd love to be able to do some rides with him, like the one you just did with your son. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the report and pics. It's nice to see a family participate in these types of events.

Good deal Dawg, a righteous ride for a righteous cause. Sounds like you had a good old time doing it too. I'm learning that riding in the rain can be OK. Glad it didn't ruin your or anyone else's sunday either. It really IS great to be able to do this sort of thing with your family, remember it well.

[QUOTE=Terrierman] I'm learning that riding in the rain can be OK. Glad it didn't ruin your or anyone else's sunday either. QUOTE]

I'm just glad I had the foresight to pack a second saddle to use for Sunday's ride. I don't try to baby my Brooks, but I don't think it would have been good to give it the kind of soaking we got Sunday. It was the first time I had used the BG saddle that came on my Specialized Rockhopper. It actually felt OK. Being roughly the same width as my trusty B17 was a plus. The softness may have been a factor on a longer ride or in less drastic conditions, but on this ride it was not a problem.

This leads to the question of older posts. Should pedalboat miles count?

'Dawg be cruisin' for the cause! Way to go...
I guess a little rain kind of refreshes, right? ;)