Each Spring since we moved here to Evans, we’ve eagerly awaited two events: the Tour de Georgia and the Sacred Heart Garden Festival. I mentioned our fun times watching the pros tackle the mountains in north Georgia last year, and in addition to liking the biking, Andrea really enjoys getting to browse the gardens of some of the posh homes around the old neighborhoods on the Hill in Augusta.
This year, of course they fall on the same weekend. We may still end up doing both, but the past few years, Tour de Georgia has been an entire weekend of travel for us, catching the Friday stage finish in Dahlonega and staying the night in a nearby hotel, then getting up as early as we could stand to make sure we got a good place on Brasstown Bald. The peleton storms the Bald sometime after 3 PM, so you know that’s a full day for us, especially for Elizabeth, even if we don’t travel on both ends!
I want to get some biking of my own in to this big biking weekend, so I’m planning to do the Circle the Bald ride before watching the race on Saturday. Andrea and Elizabeth will drop me off for the morning start in Hiawassee, then drive the car over to the approach to Brasstown Bald and park it somewhere along the route I’ll be riding. I’ll spot the location of our car, finish the group ride, then continue around the loop again. By the time I get to our car the second time, I’ll have ridden about fifty miles, and walk part of the way up Brasstown Bald, where I’ll meet up with Andrea and Elizabeth. A perfect day in the making!
Of course those two events aren’t enough to make the denset weekend of the year, so to wrap it all up, Chain Reaction’s Best Dam Ride #3 takes place on Sunday — hopefully I’ll be able to do that one after all the riding and walking I’ve got in store for Saturday!