I rode in the Cheaha Challenge yesterday. It was lots of fun, and the people were very nice. I was really impressed with just how well the riders were checked on during the ride. You couldn't go very far without seeing a vehicle that was checking on riders. As I got almost back into Piedmont, I stopped for a minute to rest and take a drink. A vehicle pulled up just to check and see that everything was alright. I really do appreciate the great planning and the amount of volunteers that The Cheaha Challenge is known for. We are very fortunate to have these dedicated people who put so much effort into making this a great ride. I spoke to several people from out of state who were very impressed also, and said they would definitely be back next year.

I rode the 26 mile ride (hope to be able to do much more next year). I didn't finish first by any means, but was certainly not last either. My main objective was to not finish in last place. Since this was my first organized ride, I had no idea what to expect as far as where I might place. I hope to see the final results in the next couple of days on www.cheahachallenge.com. I was pretty happy with my effort, considering my back has really given me problems this last week. I can give it a few days rest now before starting back trying to increase my distances, and plan which organized ride I'll tackle next.