Cycle to Farm

I've been excited about the Cycle to Farm ( http://cycletofarm.org ) ride since I first saw the flyer at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe, and I signed up pretty early, but I was a little bummed when I found out it was the same day as the Ride for Animal Care, which has a lot of climbing that I thought would be good training for China. However, when the route was posted a few weeks ago, I realized that this ride would be just fine for training - 69 miles with 4900 feet of climbing!
( http://www.strava.com/routes/270670 )

So I headed up to Greenbrier Farms (which is also where we get our CSA from - yay, local food - check them out here: http://www.greenbrierfarms.com ) this morning for an 8:00 start. I had eaten a little breakfast at home, but I knew they would have food at the start. I had a banana and then tried all 4 flavors of Threshold Provisions' new energy bars (these might join ProBars in my rotation of nutrition bars with real food ingredients for long rides and races) and part of a yummy chocolate chip scone from the Swamp Rabbit Cafe. Then I was ready to ride!

 None of my normal riding friends were doing it, so I decided this was a good chance to practice riding alone (since you can't draft and can't ride 2 abreast, there's really no way to talk to anyone during the long hours of the bike section of a triathlon). Because of this, and because it was only 5 miles in, I decided to skip the first farm. After that, it was a while before I saw any other riders, but I did eventually catch up to a few others just in time for the second stop, which was at mile 22 at Hagood Mill. They make corn meal and grits, and have special events one Saturday a month. Even though I don't think this was that Saturday, they still had bluegrass music and cornbread with butter and honey for us to try (in addition to all the yummy rest stop food from Earth Fare). 

Then back on the road for the 30ish miles to rest stop #3 at Double Blessings farm in Travelers Rest, where they had goat milk and fudge and soap made with the goat milk. I don't think I saw anyone on this part, but the route was lovely (and challenging), so it was fine. It was a little hard to get back going after that stop because we were starting on a pretty steep hill and I just couldn't get going fast enough to balance. But eventually I was on my way. The route went into downtown Travelers Rest and onto the Swamp Rabbit Trail for a while before turning off to follow some well-known local bike routes back over into Pickens County. At the turn by the Woodlands, one of the volunteers told me I was the first rider he saw and took my picture - apparently he has a blog about local agriculture, so hopefully I'll be able to get that picture. 

I was ready to be done when we turned back on to Hester Store Road. And I was the first rider back who actually completed the course (they had great sag support, but I was happy I didn't need it)! This was not a race, at all, but I was still pretty happy to be first. And the organizer was pretty happy that the first person back was a woman. :) 

I finished at 4 hours, 22 minutes of actual riding time, for an average of 15.6 mph, which is right on where I wanted to be. China will be hillier, but I still think I can average >15 with 3 more months of training!

The taco bar Greenbrier put together was perfect after that ride!

And since tomorrow is Father's Day, I bought my daddy a shirt (shhh… don't tell).

Overall, this is a great ride and I would highly recommend any Cycle to Farm or other event by Velo Girl Rides (but be prepared for some hills).