10 Dec 2011 Ride: John Dempsey

I know John from riding with the Roadies and he had mentioned us riding together as the weather got cooler since he was looking for a riding partner to help reach his goal of 5,700 miles for the year.   We finally hooked up and today definitely started off on a cold note: 22 degrees.  Since I've been riding in the cold all week, I wasn't eager to push off in below freezing temperatures and requested a late morning start, which John didn't have any problems with.

Except for being on the chilly side, it was a beautiful day with very little wind.  

 John caught me with the big Kahuna that I've started carrying on the back of the bike.

Eager to get some downtime before the early morning ride tomorrow where I will be a bike marshal for a half-marathon, I will keep this short. 

I was glad to take John on some roads he hadn't been on before, which included a full compliment of dogs.  It was a busy day for canines today where twice I thought I was going to get bitten.  Curiously, they seemed to come after me more than John.

We did end up on some roads John has ridden and, even though he has only been here five years, I was impressed with a lot of tidbits he knew about the area and I found out quite a few interesting facts.

On our way back up Hwy 71, we detoured along the road that parallels through West Fork.  Up ahead we heard a loud engine noise that seemed incongruous with the houses that lined the street. 

How very curious to see a helicopter in a front yard.  We waited a few moments to see if he was just testing the engine or actually going to take off.  Until finally...

A few miles further up at Drake Airport, we saw the whirlybird parked by a hangar.

A great ride today with the 55 miles going by very easily.  John and I both share a passion(?) for accuracy as we made threw in a little spur at the end of the ride to make sure we had gone at least 55 miles. 

Today's Ride:  4hrs 53mins.   55.64 miles.  34°-43°  Miles YTD:  9,855.65

Number of miles per day needed to reach 10,000 miles by the end of the year:  6.87

Donations for Biking for Food, which support the Community Meals at St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, AR, can be sent to:  Biking for Food,  St Paul’s Episcopal Church,   224 N. East Ave.,   Fayetteville, AR  72701

Or, make a pledge per bike miles ridden at  www.stpaulsfay.org/bikingforfood.html.

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