Oct-23: No Llamas 208 km Permanent

It wasn't the most inviting invitation ever:

"Just to be clear ... I'm riding KLL (assuming approval), at my pace ... regardless of what others do."

But ... I was going to do Kerr Lake Loop regardless of what anyone else wanted to do.
That only makes sense if one understands what happened a month previously
When ChrisW put out an invite to ride Showdown in/at Black Creek.
Next thing Chris knew ... he was doing Kerr Lake Loop with fourteen others,
Because they sorta' hijacked his ride / invite / whatever.
I think Chris didn't mind.

However, I knew I was doing Black Creek on Thursday, er, Friday,
And once-in-a-row within two-and-a-half days is enough for that flat course.

Amazingly, several others were not put-off by the pedantic "invite":

JohnM, however, was put-off by a lingering cold.
Too bad ... I've never ridden with John, and as far as I know, never spoken with him, either.

Mary and Tom F signed on.
But Tom decided to stay in a hotel room and study for upcoming boards rather than ride.

Smiley-Bryan signed on.

[Now, as I think about it, not only was I overpowered by the speed of Mary and Smiley, 
But I was also likely overmatched by the fitness and staying power of each. 
Each of them had completed the Taste of Carolina 1200 over Labor Day, 
And Mary had added an additional 1000 km brevet only two weeks before. 
Oh, and Mary set a RAAM record this year, 
With her teammate (name escapes) ... 
Mary and ___ set a record for Female Each-Over-60 Team RAAM passage this year. 
Hmmn ... maybe Mary was a bit tired.

We rode the entire ride together. 

I hope it wasn't too boring for Mary and Smiley]


Anyway ...

Chilly morning.
Not much of a breeze.
Thankfully, Smiley and Mary humored me, allowing me about 18 miles at 13.6 mph
To warm up my legs.
After that ... we all rode a lot better.
At least that is my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Warmer in the afternoon.
Still not much of a breeze -- thank goodness!

Revolving two-some conversations most of the day.
Sometimes it was a three-some conversation,
But most of the time, two were in conversation, ahead or behind the third.
[Actually, I wonder if Mary thought it was mostly a double-team on her, 
With Smiley and me taking turns talking to her.] 

Luckily, everyone had sufficient stories to pass the day, amusing or informing the others.
Mary also expressed delight in not being dragged along at a pace where her tongue was hanging out.

Several dogs on the route today.
But some still seem to hibernating from the heat,
Not quite realizing that Summer is over.

We saw no llamas in any fields today.
Was thinking we might see them ... now that Summer is over.

Nearly a perfect day on the bike and on Kerr Lake Loop.
However, I am still confused by Smiley needing to stop at that store in Warren County,
Supposedly because he didn't have enough "snacks" in his pockets to keep riding,
Or because he wanted something other than the "snacks" he had in his pockets.
He had that huge handlebar bag ... could have filled that with a
Yehuda Moon-like feast of various foods.
Fast guys!?  :-o
And, because Smiley says his is not a "fast-guy":  Nearly-fast guys!?  :-o

One benefit from Smiley's "snack-problem":
I finally had an excuse to stop at that country store and check it out.
For the Irregulars that may read this:
Think Hollow Ridge Grocery atop Mt. Tirzah,
Think Bobbitt Store.
Only ... MORE-so.  Bigger.  More dilapidated (for lack of an alternative word).

Thanks to Mary and Bryan for making it a great day around Kerr Lake!!
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Oct-23:  Kerr Lake Loop 208 km Permanent; 131.1 m.; 8h,32m in-motion; 15.3 mph; rando elapsed clock time:  10h23 thoroughly enjoyable hours/minutes.  

Q-1 tot: _23 rides; 1822.2 m.; 123 h, 05 m; 14.8 mph.
Q-2 tot: _30 rides; 2604.9 m.; 174 h, 22 m; 14.9 mph.
Q-3 tot: _29 rides; 2479.2 m.; 161 h, 05 m; 15.2 mph. 
Oct tot: __8 rides; _740.2 m.; _49 h, 49 m; 14.9 mph. 
YTD tot: _90 rides; 7646.5 m.; 510 h, 22 m; 15.0 mph.