Silk Sheets

April 1st I had planned on doing some trail work at Bull/Jake Mountain, but during the preceding days, I had developed quite a cough, and I was worried that I still wasn't over the flu, or that I'd developed a secondary infection, or something. That morning, I woke up coughing and made the game day decision to try to sleep it off.

Hours later I was worse.

But, I left the neighborhood to go to lunch and before we even started eating I was 80% better.

Allergies.

That's all it was. Really, really bad allergies. Must have been something in the neighborhood. We have a trillion cherry trees, in full bloom. I don't know if it's them, or something else, but when they're blooming it's bad.

Dangit. If I'd gotten up, and just left the neighborhood, I'd probably have been fine.

I still had an opportunity to do something fun though. Kirk had been through a week earlier, on his way to New Orleans for his kids' spring break. He was going to be back through late that afternoon, with his road bike, and wanted to ride with me and John.

Cool!

Silk Sheets.

We rolled out of John's house, headed south, crossed the Chattahooche, and did the 25 mile loop.

Kirk is pretty strong these days. He's been doing triathlons and marathons, and of course, just riding a lot. That day was arguably a duathlon, where the first event was a 9 hour drive.

So, Kirk was giving it to us, especially on the Hutchenson Ferry hills.

It was still a good ride though. I ride a lot by myself, and sometimes just me and John, but with 3 riders, you get a good draft, and you go a lot faster overall. I'd almost forgotten about that. It had also been a long time since I heard that bunch-of-wheels-on-the-road sound, which is one of my favorite things.

At the north end of the loop we passed up Charlie's, crossed the Chattahoochee again and climbed the great wall of the Oak Hill neighborhood. Somewhere over there, I think on Yasser road, there was a really fun, twisty descent that I'll have to insist on hitting the next time me and John ride together.

Woohoo!

Towards the end of the ride I was coughing a lot and so hoarse I could barely speak. I guess that though my neighborhood has a high concentration of whatever I'm allergic to, and the general world has a lower concentration, the general world does still have SOME concentration of it, and given enough exposure, I'm bound to feel it eventually.

Before Kirk hit the road, we grabbed some dinner at the Irish Bred Pub in old downtown Douglasville. I highly recommend that place, if you're in the area, and I even more highly recommend their Londonderry Chicken, though I ordered it without something... Tomatoes, I think. Just chicken, ham, swiss, and paremesan.

Delicious.