I promised my legs today would be the last whipping I'd give them, and we'd taper down for next weekend's 18hrs of Scouts Honor.




Started with a double whammy group ride. It's a classic at the beach and this was my first time in attendance. Many of the same folks as the smaller Tuesday rides with many new (to me) faces. The crowd for the 7:15 was well over 20 riders. Thankfully my legs felt great. The 1st regroup was quick then we're off again. The group split into two, one fast and one VERY fast. I got shelled OTB of the VERY fast folks with about 5 miles to go and rode in with the rest.

We gathered to pick up the 8:30 ride at Conte's and the group swelled to 30 or more. For some reason I thought this would be a slower more even tempoed ride.................wrong! Once on the main roads it felt like an all out sprint to the next regroup. I tried to work on my position in the group. We'd gotten so big that if you were on the wrong side of a split, forget about reconnecting. Man I love going fast! Granted fast is a relative thing, but I'm going faster riding with these folks than I ever have on 2 wheels. Many went for a "full reverse" third loop, like on Tuesday, but I had to make it up to the land of the Gooch. 40 miles trying to balance on (and falling off) the knife edge of lactate threshold was enough for the morning.

45-60 minute delay reported on the radio at the HRBT so I took the southern route up through Chester. The boy Scout camp was easy to find and an impressive piece of property.

Thanks to the 3 hour ride I was late but Phil was still there and Craig was finishing up a lap. It was HOT, and HUMID. Someone came in saying they drank the contents of an entire 100 oz. Camelback in one 8.5 mile lap. Duane and his brother Dave where there with the other guys on their team and luckily they were going out for another lap, so I joined them.

The course offers a great mix of single track. double track with some gravel roads and nice scenery. In a few places it was tough to follow, but I'm sure it will be marked better before the race. The facilities are absolutely incredible and will make for an awesome venue.

Nice single track:














Thats D and D in the ST!



nice views:
and some gravel roads to stretch your legs:














Gotta love those Tee-Pees ------------>
Just what does a Scout do in there?

JB