In its purest form, to me anyway, it's me, the bike and the road. The simplicity is the beauty of the sport. You could stop reading now and that says it all.

Yet even within that framework of simplicity there can be a complex jigsaw puzzle of things going on in a ride that has you in the saddle for three and a half hours. For some of that, read on...

Today, unlike yesterday, conditions went from some black clouds to a pretty steady diet of sunshine on this ride. It makes a world of difference to me, both physically and emotionally. On the physical side, this was a day made for arm warmers. I had them up most of the ride, but there were times when I was climbing and into some sun that it felt good to pull them down. It felt even better to be able to pull them up into the wind and when the sun was behind clouds.

Emotionally, the landscape just comes to life under the sunshine and makes me feel better about being out there. The white of the Queen Ann's Lace has given way to something that is a bright golden-yellow color now. The MUP of the Oak Leaf Trail down in Franklin already has a golden tint along its borders. Fall is in the air, and those pesky acorns are on the ground.

I make it a point on these LSD (long, steady, distance) rides to stop and fuel up and stretch a few times. This route works great for that. I stopped before I got to 7-Mile Rd., taking in the view of a creek from a bridge as I ate a banana.

On the way back I detour off the main route to ride over to the Oakwood Golf Course. This is nice because there is a great spot to set your bike and walk right inside (while you can still see your bike) to get fresh cold water from one of those chilled-water bubblers. There is even a bathroom right there should you need it. I had a granola bar and got some fresh water and returned to the ride.

The final stop comes in Whitnall, where I do a lap on the crit course, then stop at a picnic area where there is good cold water. I sat on the bench for a while just gazing up at the clouds drifting by as kids without a care in the world played with their parents across the street.

Back on the bike and head home.

The only tricky part today was the fact that my left quad started to get real crampy in the final mile, with that feeling I am sure many of you know....where you can just tell it is ready to knot  up and leave you in a crippling ball of pain. I really let up and rubbed it and limped home. That's just a sign of not riding much for a while, then doing a hilly 50 miles. It took me forever, but at 3:29 it was more about quality time spent in the saddle today.