sanford...

had to ride to sanford today. the weather forecast had been iffy - first calling for cold weather, then warmer, then rain, then colder but no rain. in my mind, i had already decided to ride. i have the 'lectric gloves and can bundle up if it's cold. rain?? that's what rain suits are for... i think the only thing that could have started me thinking of not riding was a sleet/snow/freezing rain forecast. the forecast this morning was mid 50s, slight possibility of rain - i was riding!!!

timing was a bot of a concern this morning. i was riding to sanford via durham - meeting a couple other riders at the bob evans in durham. plans were to meet at eight thirty, leave by nine. i wasn't sure what route i wanted to take - more scenic v. direct, so i wasn't sure how long it would take to get there. i was planning at least an hour, which meant that i would have to leave the house no later than seven thirty.

being sunday morning, i wanted to make the morning journey to get my wife's newspaper. i did feel bad that i wouldn't be able to make her breakfast this morning - figuring she's prefer to sleep over eating breakfast at seven. to ensure enough time to get to the store and back before leaving for durham, i figured i had to leave for the store at six. which meant having to get up at five thirty.

this was all getting too much - or more than i wanted to deal with. if i just decided earlier to head straight to sanford, i could have left later and had a more relaxed morning. i decided to forgo the bike ride to the store - figgering i could save a little time since i wouldn't have to mess with my equipment at the store. but, i would have to add a couple minutes to my leaving time for durham since i needed gas.

taking the cage this morning turned into its own little fiasco - which i won't detail here. suffice it to say i wasn't thinking as clearly as i should have been. now i was wondering if this was an omen for how the day was going to go. whether or not, i knew i just better be a little more attentive today...

i also had to put my bike together - not that it was really apart - i just wanted to put the tour-pak back on it to carry all the crap i wouldn't need. easy as that sounds, i had to glue a rubber gasket back on to the screw so i could secure the passenger seat. not a big deal - just something else that needed to be done before i left...

about seven twenty and i finally hit the road. first stop - gas station. on the way there, i decided to take the more direct route to bob evans. in the hour since i had been out earlier, it felt like it got a little cooler and the sky had definitely clouded over - looked like rain. i figured the highway would be the best route. in addition, i didn't need the added stress of showing up late. already enough going on this morning - don't want to add to it needlessly.

sure enough, on the way out to durham it starts sprinkling... a few drops at first, nothing bad. then it picks up a little. do i stop and throw rain gear on or is it going to stop. at this point, it could go either way and the way my day's been going - they sky is going to open up!!! at this point, it's not raining hard enough... it's not that far of a ride to durham - what's the worse that can happen?? i have theliner in my leather jacket, i'm wearing my chaps - maybe my jeans get a little wet. i press on - i'm not stopping until i get to bob evans...

i do make it to durham with no problems. it rained about halfway there - but nothing bad, definitely nothing worth stopping for. and i'm a couple minutes early. maybe my day is turning for the better.

i get there, another rider is already there and one is pulling up. we hang there for thirty minutes, waiting for other riders. two others show up while a volley of phone calls takes place figuring out who we're picking up where on the ride to sanford - the beauty of trying to coordinate a ride. and in the end it all works out...

we finally head out to sanford... we left bob evans with five bikes. picked another up in route. didn't even waste any time. as we pulled off the exist, there he was on the side of the road. we looped around, made a u-turn and he fell in line with us. we didn't even bother to stop.

the ride to sanford was easy - down 15/501 to rt. 1. weather was good - mostly sunny, no rain. cool but not cold. really a good day for a ride. then again, when isn't it a good day to ride??

the ride back from sanford was great. sun was out, it was a tad bit warmer. i was following another rider that lived in the raleigh area. i had considered taking some back roads, but i was ready to get home, so plotted a direct route.

overall - another great day for a ride... this january has been awesome for riding... i was fortunate enough to have ridden every weekend except one. and that weekend we were out of town.

and you can check out the route over on my ride map - this one in girlish pink...