Killer Bee
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Peggy, Nelson, our old LSR/rbent friend Jason (the guy that 4 flats on the rbent ride a few years ago, then accidentally drove his bike into the garage header after the ride) & myself rode the 110k Tin Man this morning. This is an out & back route. We awoke to rainy skies. By the time we arrived at the start, the skies had cleared & it was turning into a beautiful day. The ride starts in Celina & heads north through Gunter, & onto to Whitesboro. After 4 miles, Nelson stopped(as he was on the beautiful Ti-Aero), missing front brake pad. That was a quick repair, off we went. Just outside of the Gunter(pronounced Gunner) is the ultimate rando dog. He's not mean/vicious, he's just the energizer bunny that can run ALL day(as we learned from the last time we rode this route-he followed/lead us all the way to Whitesboro-17 miles from home). Upon arriving at his home, he came to greet us, happy as ever to see us. I for one don't want to see this cool dog get hit be a car,so Nelson hop off our bikes, & return the dog to his home. No one home, so we put him in the fenced backyard. Off we go to Whitesboro. Now the wind starts to pick up now, a quartering tailwind(sometimes a headwind). We arrive at Whitesboro with a 17-18mph avg., not blazing, but considering we stopped for a minor mechanical & dog retrieval. We took a few minutes at the control, then into the howling headwind. Jason is fighting a sinus infection & severe allergies, so his breathing was troubled at times, so we took turns riding back with him. With the exception of 8 miles of the 35 return miles is into the headwind. Oh well, more resistance training. We ride back past the rando dogs house, he was there waiting. Peggy & Nelson get off the bike to explain to the owner how he runs with us & he's going to get hit...all of this falls on deaf ears as the owner is clueless. Too bad, this dog is so cool, friendly, smart & he loves to run-FAST(for a long, long time). I don't want to see him get hit by a car. That would be a huge waste. On to the finish, we ride through downtown Gunter, & turn right onto Preston Road, into 9 miles of howling headwind. We finished in 5hrs 25 mins. With the wind today, the return portion was not going to be a speed route. No fast, but finished nonetheless. Nelson rode the Ti-Aero effortlessly. He rode strong all ride, as did Peggy, & our old rbent/LSR buddy Jason fought off his ailments to finish strong. Great ride everyone. Thanks for riding. I flew home, showered & then meet rbent member hornsmw13(Mike) & his friend (Ken) & sold my Corsa SS.
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