macintheus

Actually I came joint last with a very nice fellow named Bruce.

It was my first organized ride--it was a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser in Springfield TN. But to be fair, I thought there'd be policemen on the corners directing us, team cars, fans lining the roads, that kind of thing. So I wasn't prepared to be on the lookout for the little white circle thingy on the road that tells you where to go. And I CERTAINLY wasn't prepared for OLD little white circle thingies in the road! So I made a right turn at one of these old white circles and went EIGHT FREAKIN MILES out of the way! Fortunately it sent me off on a loop (and the nice fellow that followed me on his brand new beautiful red Madone--sorry David), and not in a straight line heading for California. I saw the white circle pointing straight the second time around. BUT! We did catch up with the back of the pack still with 20 miles to go

And the ride ended with a delicious pasta dinner and a good chinwag with good folks. Loved it!

And I saw some beautiful road bikes. And I drooled. Next year, definitely.

Lecterman

That's awesome, congratulations.

I am from Nashville, and my mom grew up in Springfield. We still have a lot of family there. So what are the good bike shops in Nashville now? I used to go to Cumberland Transit when I was in high school. Are they still around?

macintheus

Thanks man. Yeah, Cumberland Transit is still here. It's a good store. I bought my Trek 7500FX from them. Someone was telling me today about a Nashville bike store called Gran Fondo. I have to go check it out, she says it's great.

Today was my first time in Springfield--seems like a nice place. The folks at the First Presbyterian Church were real nice.

Mentor58

ARGH... Wish I had known about that ride, I'd have been there.

Steve W

Angus

What was the ride like? Hilly? Good SAGs?

macintheus

We set out at 9am. It was overcast but the sun came out as the day went on. There were strong headwinds a lot of the time. It was chilly at around 50 dgs. Clothes coming off in late morning as the sun got stronger. I think the terrain could be described as rolling--some steepish hills but no major climbs. We road through a lot of countryside on relatively smooth and quiet roads. There were a couple of busy segments, and one bit that was very rough for 2 or 3 miles--if you had any loose bolts at the beginning of it, they would have been gone by the end. There were a few dogs to contend with, which I (and my friend on his Madone) got to contend with twice on my scenic loop. Fortunately, they were a bit too shagged to chase the second time around. There were SAGs shepherding the riders. There were four rest stops with snacks and drinks. As far as I could tell, of the approximately 60 riders, all were on roadbikes except for myself on my hybrid, a couple of tandems, and a guy on a mountain bike--who, it turns out, was an experienced roadie and stayed up at the front. He probably averaged about 16-17mph for the 62 miles--w/knobblies & suspension.