A ride through a tidy countryside.
Fred, Cindy and I got a crisp 8 a.m start on day one of the Horsey Hundred. Cindy and I had originally signed up for the metric century, but we were so cheerful and strong at mile 30, we breezily decided we would join Fred in doing the 75 mile ride. The decision was a solid one, but it was a good bit of effort, especially since as soon as we took the left turn that took us out for the extra miles––guess what––the hills got a lot steeper. After the ride, I overheard another biker answer the "how do you feel" question with a single word: spent. So, yes, me too. I'll add that I was happy and felt accomplished because I had only ridden up to maybe 69 miles before on the mostly-flat Silver Comet Trail, so this was a welcomed PR for me. With 4,700 something feet elevation.
On our ride, I loved it coming up over a rise in the road and just getting this amazing long view of the farms and all the rolling green hills divided by fences. These dark wooden fences up here are really something extra. Kentuckians favor fences painted deep black, not white, and I admit that they really add a framed and orderly touch to the landscape. You know how a painting on the wall is just dressier with a nice frame? Same idea with these fences. Or maybe it is like when you edge the grass in the front yard and everything is squared up and trimmed? You feel, just for a moment, that you don't have any problems in the whole world. Riding on a bike up here and gazing at all this fenced in order gives you a very good and peaceful feeling.
Traffic was low, the rest stops were great and the other cyclists were chill and easy-going. I can't think of a single jerk. The HH people hired a nutritionist who had created signs for us and placed them at the rest stops to inform and suggest to us about how many calories we may need to eat and how much water to drink according to various factors, like how long we'd been riding and our weight, etc. Quite mindful of them, I decided. The signs caused me to be, hmmmmm maybe slightly more aware of my snacking. But I still grabbed the Paydays whenever I wanted them and felt cheated when Fred said he got an ice cream sandwich but somehow I'd missed it.
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