Robert's Ride 2010, Day 1, Saturday, Aug 21, 2010, Baton Rouge, LA to Aberdeen, MS

On the road again......Day 1 was a beautiful, sunny, and very hot day.  I began the first miles of Robert's Ride 2010 on the Natchez Trace at mile marker 0 at about 8:30AM.  It was a glorious ride with gentle inclines and fun down slops, very few vehicles, and still quite a bit of shade at that time of the morning.  The Natchez Trace is truly an American treasure, especially for cyclist.  We saw quite a few cyclist on the road today.  Philip kept his promise to my mother and kept a watchful eye on me in leap frog fashion until I finished my ride.  After 1hr 45 minutes of leisure riding, I called it quits at 27.3 miles.  I got back in the car and Philip drove to the Reservoir Overlook near mile marker 105, north of Jackson, where he started his ride.  By then it was about 12:40 PM and brutally hot.  He had unexpected company for most of his ride from a guy named Angus from North Carolina, who pulled up in his mini van while Philip was prepping for his ride.  Angus is a pretty big guy, who, it turned out, is a former Olympic rower.  He and Philip made good time on the road until Angus turned around after about 22 miles to return to his van.  Philip was riding with only one water bottle, while I left the Trace to look for ice for his Camel Back.  By the time I caught up with Philip, he had ridden at least two hours and was pretty sun whipped.  There was very little shade by then, and the temperature topped out to 97 degrees (Angus had a thermometer on his bike).  Philip's water bottle was near empty.  (I have much improvement to do in my support role...)Philip got about 20 more miles, and finished near the 146 mile marker for a total of 42 miles.  His computer wasn't working, so he doesn't know his total time. 

We drove 396 miles today, and cycled a total of 69.3 miles.