Often one of my Atlanta friends would say to me (or I'd say to them) that it would be really cool to take a day and bike the Silver Comet trail. Four hours up, eat lunch, then four hours back. The other would respond, "Yeah, that's great! Let's do that sometime!"
Today, I did just that. Let's say I have a slightly different answer now.
Actually, I didn't ride for four hours. I counted the hours between the time I started (11:30 am) and the time the sun goes down (6 pm), divided that in half and subtracted 1/2 an hour (1/2 hour for lunch and 1/2 hour for slowness on the way back). So, my turn-around point was supposed to be at 2:30, which is 3 hours of riding.
A few lessons learned:
1) A person who hasn't touched their bike in months cannot ride for three hours straight. According to my records, she can ride for two hours, which includes pushing her bike up the super-steep hills on the way to the S.C., and water breaks. This will get her to the 16.99 mile point (starting at 2.4 - the Concord Road access).
2) Diet Coke with Splenda and water are not ideal take-along drinks. Gatorade or Coke Classic or something with sugar is a better idea.
3) Those nasty energy gel things would also be a good idea.
4) The tuna fish sandwiches and baked Lays were really yummy. What would have been even better is cherry tomatoes. I packed tuna into a plastic container, toasted bread into a sandwich bag and the chips into a ziplock bag. I also included a plastic fork.
5) Using masking tape to fasten a Publix bag to your rear bike rack works just fine as a lunch container.
6) Not that anything happened, but it would have been a heck of a lot smarter to have included a tire patch kit and a first aid kit. Though I was smart enough to bring my phone, i.d., credit card and cash. 911 will get you help just about anywhere on the trail.
7) Exercise or padded bike gloves would have been nice. My hands hurt almost more than my butt. I did bring running gloves because I thought the air against my hand might chap them, but that wasn't a concern (I think it was around 70 today).
8) Dressing in layers was ideal, as riding a bike was a lot cooler than walking. Padded bike pants might be worth looking in to.
9) Helicopter support would have been nice, but wasn't necessary. I think the trail is canted slightly upward outbounds, which was just enough to make it possible for me to get home. On the homeward journey, I stopped to stretch (also to try to get feeling back into my pinkies). I also stopped for Gatorade at the Depot.
10) A pad of paper and a pencil would have been surprisingly handy. Lots of good thoughts.
11) Be warned: after Powder Springs, the trail accepts equestrians. I'm not going to say, what you think I'm going to say. What I'm going to say is that the pavement becomes slightly textured which makes for a less smooth ride. About the other thing, dogs caused more "problems" than horses.
12) Ride with a helmet! This was my first time ever. My brain is finally smart enough to protect itself, thus proving that it is worthy of being protected. Honestly, I didn't really notice it (the helmet, not my brain).
13) Kleenex.
14) One great thing about the S.C: it's flat. This means that the ride is easy. I think I averaged around 7 miles an hour.
15) One drawback to the S.C: it's flat. This mean that you have to pedal the entire time (which, as I mentioned, is more true going out than in).
16) The Epsom Salts bath at the end is worth any pain experienced tomorrow.
17) The S.C. is the finest place on earth. Go see it for yourself!
Note: December 20th, 2006: Per my car's odometer, the S.C. trail is almost exactly 2 miles away via the route I bike. This gave me a 33 mile bike ride yesteday. My last two fingers are still numb, my knees are sore, but "other areas" hurt surprisingly little.
