Mary and Karen rode the 100 mile Bicycle Ride in the Annual Cruising in the Country event in Claxton, Georgia. There were 600 to 800 bicycle riders in the various parts of the event. See the web site for details of the organization.
We cheered them on at a few of the rest stops and took a few pictures. Would you believe? We took along TWO cameras and both of them developed dead batteries before the end of the race. The second camera gave out just after we took a picture of Karen and Mary at the 100 mile mark but still a bit too far from us for a good picture. When it was time for a close-up the camera was defunct. Here's the shot:
That is Karen on the right in the red jersey and Mary on the right. In the backgound, near the top of the rise in the road, is Ralph. He joined the ride at a rest stop at about the 70 mile mark. The person on foot near the edge of the road is Sean.
Here are some other pictures:
This was Mary's first 100 mile ride and she has been working with a trainer since acquiring the bicycle and equipment in August. Notice the white jersey with yellow and green trim and purple lettering on it. This was for something called the "team in training" -- a group raising money for leukemia and lymphoma research.
Ralph joined the girls for the ride during the last 30 miles. Not bad for someone who had back surgery only 8 months ago. Corene drove their van back to the starting line and Jim followed in the LS. After we parked the van (and left the cameras in it!!!), Corene, Jim, Sean, Katherine, and Ryan drove to the next rest stops, saw them pass, and then made our way back to the finish line. We got this picture:
That's it. Wish we had more pictures of the ride but all that is left are a few shots of some of the spectators:
End of story. Both Mary and Karen claim no ill effects of the ride in the days afterward. There is a lot to be said for being in good shape, being well prepared, and enjoying the ride.