Jul-5: A Wet Assault on Flat Rock

Jul-5:

PUE: Assault on Flat Rock; w/ Levi; 45.2 miles; est 2052 ft climbed ---> effort index = 65; 2hrs, 51min; 15.8 mph avg pace.

1st Qt. tot: 20 rides; 755.3 m.; 47 hrs, 31 min; 15.9 mph.
2nd Qt. tot: 43 rides; 2124.3 m.; 134 hrs, 59 min; 15.7 mph.
Jul tot: 4 rides; 199.2 m.; 12 hrs, 9 min; 16.4 mph.
YTD: 67 rides; 3078.8 m.; 194 hrs, 39 min; 15.8 mph.

I had ridden 154 miles the previous two days; Levi apparently had not ridden at all.  Therefore, my legs were tired; Levis' were fresh.  Also, my legs are nearly 53 years old; Levi's are only 31.

They sky was overcast but did not seem threatening; but then it started to sprinkle just as we mounted our steeds.  We decided to do the Assault anyway.

Levi climbs faster than I do even when I have fresh legs.  But I reeled him in after the steeper parts following the crossing of the Neuse River, aka, Falls Lake.  But he may have been soft pedaling.

Levi pulled ahead again on the steep part of Wes Sandling approaching the county line.

I think he stayed with me during the climb up Grove Hill Rd; it was kind of interesting on that climb because although my legs were obviously tired, the climb was not nearly as steep as it used to be.  Is that impression the result of the trips to the mountains?

Levi pulled ahead again on the steep part of Flat Rock Rd, but I again reeled him in when the steep was done.  Was I reeling him in, or was he soft-pedaling, waiting?

He pulled ahead again on Wayside Farm Rd.  But as he paused at the corner with Bruce Garner Rd, I went past and went into "BruceGarner / NewLight homestretch" mode.  9 miles later, the avg pace of the ride was 15.9 mph; it had been 15.0 at the top of Flat Rock.

Somewhere out in the middle of the ride, the extremely light sprinkle ("Seattle sunshine") turned into a light rain, but then stopped before we got back to Bruce Garner Rd.  We thought we were home-free rain-wise, but somewhere on New Light Rd it began to rain for real.  Enough so that we had to slow our pace bit before and thru turns.  I intended to work the rainfall into the body of the story, but I forget exactly where it started and stopped raining, and the "flow" of the "story" is already bad enough.